Las Vegas: The Land of Selfies and Sassy People

A Little Stroll Down Vegas Lane

My cousins and I roadtripped to Vegas this week for a little cousin bonding trip. Instead of staying on the Strip like we normally do, we decided to have some random adventures off of the Strip.  We met a ton of really nice people--both people who worked there and people who were just visiting like us. There were some hilarious sassy people, who for some reason always targeted Kurtis. But hey, maybe he just gives off the vibe for them to make fun of him, who knows? But seriously, it was a really fun trip and we made a lot of funny memories.

 1. Oyster Bar

First, we went to Oyster Bar for some duhhhlicious Cajun food and these things called pan roasts. Soooo yummy, but we had to wait an hour since there's literally only 20 seats there. This was where we met a lady who looked like Maya Rudolph. She was hilarious and full of sass. Like she could be the sass master of Las Vegas. Kurtis had fun being picked on by her over and over again. I think she's probably my favorite person that we met.

It was the first place we went to once we arrived in Vegas, so we were a little tired as you can see here. Awkward photo/photo fail #1 and #2.

 Vegas was also Land of the Selfies for us. But most of them turned out like this, so I'm not going to post them all.

Photo fail #3.

2. The Mob Museum

We went to the Mob Museum in Old Vegas. It was awesome. Seriously, it was the coolest place. I've always been fascinated with mobs and mafia stories, so it was probably my favorite place we visited this whole trip. We got to learn about the different mobs, and some of the most notorious mob members in history. We also got to see some of their personal lives and learn about their families, which you don't usually hear about. It's a definite must-visit place.

We tried to take a picture at the photobooth inside, but couldn't figure out how to select a background... So here's awkward picture/fail picture #4.

Clearly some of us were more enthused about the museum than others.

3. Gold & Silver Pawn Shop

We went to see the Pawn Stars shop from the History Channel in Downtown Las Vegas. It looked so different from what it looks like on TV and the guys from the show were definitely not there. 

We took a picture outside, but we weren't all ready and there were a lot of other people trying to take pictures too. So here's awkward picture/photo fail #5.

There was a photobooth inside here too. It only took us 100 times to finally get a picture with everyone smiling and/or not blurry, so this wasn't a photo fail!

             

4. The Lotus of Siam

We also went to eat at a Thai restaurant called the Lotus of Siam. We wanted to go because Anthony Bourdain went there and also because of all the Yelp reviews. Like I would love to go to every single place Anthony Bourdain has ever eaten at...that is my goal one day. It was suuuuper shady and scary looking from the outside, but it was really nice inside. The food was sooo good. I don't know if it was because we were all starving because we ate lunch at 2pm or if the food was just that delicious, but either way, I would definitely go there again. Delicious and worth the shadiness x10.

5. The yarders.

And finally, it wouldn't be Vegas without someone getting drunk. This time the winner was... Kent! He found out they sealed canned wine (what?) and decided to buy one, and then he downed his yarder like a champ, so he could beat the rest of us. Fortunately for Kent, the rest of us got brain freeze. Unfortunately/fortunately for him, it got him drunk. But yay for Kent!

It was a fun little trip, and was definitely full of cousin bonding. We ate good food, saw good things both on and off the Strip, took a bunch of bad pictures, and got a ton of free donuts at Dunkin Donuts. 

No complaints, but we definitely do need to work on our picture taking skills.

A Curse and a Blessing

The Fountain of Youth Is Right Here

This is Aunt Cherie. Today she's dressed like this while drinking hot chocolate.

She kind of looks like a mix between a 12 year old and a cowboy. So, she's basically a 12 year old cowboy. Which would make it seem a little creepy if she wore this next to Uncle Yvan in public because he doesn't look like he's 12. But really, she's actually wayyy older than 12. Like by a lot.

Like a lot of other people in the world, especially a lot of Asians, she can pass for a lot younger. I've been asked before if I was 12. The other day someone asked if I was 16. It's definitely flattering, but can also be annoying sometimes.

The best parts of looking younger than you are:

1. You look younger than everyone else your age. So when they look old and wrinkly, you still look good.
2. You can still order off the kid's menu without looking like a weirdo.
3. You can pretend your kids are your siblings.
4. You make other people jealous by your youthfulness.
5. You can still shop in the juniors department.

The worst parts of looking younger than you are:

1. You always get carded. ALWAYS. And will continue to be carded for the rest of your life.
2. When you go into expensive stores, salespeople ignore you.
3. People think your ID is fake and that you aren't really you. But you really are you.
4. People are totally be jealous of your youthfulness.
5. You honestly look really weird when you try to dress more maturely.

There's pros and cons to looking young. It would be nice to look my actual age, but then again I don't want to look old and wrinkly when it's time for me to look old and wrinkly. 

The Lemonade Lesson

A Lesson From A Wise (Almost) 5 Year Old

This is Kaia aka Princess Kika. She's very happy. She LOVES lemonade. So now she's very happy because she sees that I have lemonade. 

"Can I have some of your lemonade?" 

But for some odd reason, she doesn't like lemons. This is her face when she realizes there's a lemon slice in my lemonade.

"Oh nevermind,  I don't like lemons."

One minute later, "Actually, can I have some please? Mm it's really good!"

While drinking the lemonade, she shares a few things that some of us may not have known (looking at you, Kurtis).

1. "Jackie, all lemonade has lemons in it right? That's what makes it lemonade!"  

2. "Pink lemonade is made from strawwwberries. That's what makes it pink." 

And last but not least,

3. "I love to eat ice. It's so yummy and cold!"

Mind. Blown. Yes Kurtis, pink lemonade really is made with strawberries.

Why Burritos Are Dangerous

A Graduation with Flatulation

Today Kent transitioned from grad school student, to grad school graduate. Hallelujah & Congratulations! The ceremony was on the USS Midway, which was pretty awesome. Everyone (except me) got sunburned. Not so awesome. Also not so awesome: the smoke layer in the sky from all the wildfires in San Diego :( 

All of the graduates made a little speech, and it was nice to see all of their families so proud and happy for them. We are proud of you Kent! 

Let's take a moment to appreciate the unplanned color coordination going on. 

But, obviously Princess Kika is wayy more stylish than all of us combined. 

Those sunglasses + that pose = adorable. 

PS. We need to buy Sydney some sunglasses.

PPS. Rare photo of Trisha wearing a color that's not black!

Sorry Kevin, the Princess is tired of taking pictures now.

"Let me go Kevin! Save me Jackie!"- Princess Kika

Back to the ceremony: The ceremony was great but got a little bit boring, up until the point when the lady sitting in front of me decided to fart really loudly. During the middle of the ceremony. Right in front of our faces. Like seriously lady??? Trisha's reaction was like...

She tried to play it cool as if she didn't let out a massive fart, but we all heard it. The people sitting behind us heard it. The people in the back row probably even heard it, but if they didn't, they definitely saw us trying so hard not to laugh. At least we were nice and didn't call her out on it. Maybe she just ate a giant burrito right before the ceremony and just couldn't help herself. 

So the moral of this story is probably this: Even after a scary week of wildfires, a little graduation ceremony can really boost your spirits and make you laugh, especially if there are farting old ladies involved. Also, don't eat burritos before you attend a graduation. 

Where's My Scrapbook?

The Scrapbook Story aka The Beginning 

This scrapbook was started 6 years ago by a family member (*cough cough) as a 16th birthday present to commemorate my life from birth to age 16, but it has yet to be finished.

Page 1. Me as a cute baby (I looked like a boy!)

Hooray- some finished pages! I still look like a boy but with long hair. 

I also am a very cute bunny in the bottom right corner.

Lonely pictures and pages still waiting to be used. 

 At this point, it would literally take forever to get it done, and get it updated all the way up to age 22 (ooh ooh!). It would definitely be impossible to get it to age 23, since nobody likes you when you're 23, so I'm pretty positive nobody will finish it for me, or help me finish it. 

So instead, I'm making my own virtual "scrapbook" from here on out of all the random mishmash things in my life. Way easier, less time consuming, and hopefully way more fun to do. Sorry scrapbook...You're not getting finished any time soon, but maybe when I'm 50??