Being an Honorary Wisconsonite

So last week for Thanksgiving, we spent it for the first time with Paul's family in Wisconsin. It was a very interesting and fun experience. Usually for family holidays, we stay in town and celebrate it with Paul's immediate family or we'll visit my family in Hawaii. I give Paul a lot of credit because my family is HUGE. He is always bombarded by our culture and our eccentric personalities when we come together on my side, and there's not that many tall, white guys that are in our family; so he literally stands out. So it was my turn to be subjected meeting new people and learning new names. I was definitely the only full-blooded Filipino that I saw, but fortunately Saqi (my brother-in-law/Kathryn's husband) was there so I wasn't the only "brown" person. I am always surprised interacting with Paul's family. Every single one of them are warm and welcoming. Even before we got married, I had always felt like a part of the family; so I wasn't exactly nervous. It was just a formality to get to meet and greet everyone in person. I've heard so many stories about them all for so long (6 years) that I feel that I already know them. Luckily for me, Paul's family is not very huge. He has about 2 cousins (there's a couple half cousins that we haven't met, too) compared to my 60+ first cousins. I don't even know who all my cousins are.

We took the red eye on Tues...On a side note: My recommendation is not to fly Midwest Airlines again because they don't pre-assign seats together for travelers flying together, and that was annoying. When we got to the gate they gave us the only seats together which was in the emergency aisle, but the seats didn't recline. It was really horrible, and we did not sleep very much on that flight.

On the day, we visited Paul's Mom's cousin, Nick, and his family on the first night. We met their 2 cats, 2 dogs (including a gigantic greyhound), 2 kids, and we made pizzas. Their family was really fun to talk to, and we were lucky enough to get snow as well. It was falling pretty heavily. I took pictures and got to wipe the snow off the car. It was fun! I'm sure that the Wisconsinites dreaded the snowfall, but I never get to see it very much so for me, it was a real treat. Lucky for them, the snow didn't stick around. For the next few days, we had some really great sun. Of course the temperature average for the day was in the 30s-40s, but it was really nice.

So highlights of the trip: hung out with Grandma/Grandpa Beckman, Uncle Mark, Aunt Jan, Cousin Stacey, Cousin Jill, Great Aunt Janete, Great Grandma Perinovic, Aunt Pam, Aunt Sue, and all the pets! We took a ton of photos of the botanical gardens at the Domes. My favorite was the desert Dome. We had a taste of true Wisconsin cheese, custard, and beers. We visited Lambeau Stadium, and got some Green Bay Packer stuff. We talked to the family members and got the dirt on Mom and Dad Mendoza when they were growing up.

It was such a fun trip, and we miss it already. There was still so much to do and see. We have to visit a curling club. There's one next to where the Grandparents live. Aunt Janete will teach us how to make stain glass. And I would love to see the Dwells (interesting land formations) and the House on the Rock (a house filled with all sorts of nicknacks) We're planning another trip back. We could be there as soon as February if the men's and women's teams qualify for Club Nationals which will be held in Madison this year. Everyone cross your fingers.

It's kind of nice having a connection to the Midwest. I feel very honored to be a part of Paul's family, and I look forward to our next trip. Maybe we'll see more snow...

Honeymoon Details

Okay, so it's official, we are going to New Zealand for our honeymoon. We just bought our tickets and booked our tour. It's going to be 14 days long. We'll leave on Dec. 18th and we'll be back on Jan. 3rd. We are going during peak season so unfortunately, it's going to be a little more expensive than we budgeted for, but that's okay. It's our honeymoon!



I am extremely excited for this trip. We couldn't have a honeymoon at the same time as our wedding because we took the family out on an excursion to Kauai instead. It was their first time; so we thought that it would be better to spend time with the family and give a tour around the places we know and love. Plus, we didn't have enough time. We get about 2 weeks every year for Christmas vacation, and we thought that maybe that would be the perfect time for a honeymoon. So now, it's a reality!

We booked a trip through a program called "Contiki" and here's the website: http://contiki.com/ Basically, it's an affordable travel program for 18-35 year old travelers, and they provide tours with options for accommodations, travel, some meals, and customizable activities that you could add on. We thought that since we've never been to New Zealand or know how to navigate ourselves, that it would be a good idea to let someone else do all the work. Plus, we wanted to enjoy our vacation and each other. I didn't want stress of planning things out to ruin that experience.

Also, I have a friend who lives in Taupo who I am planning to visit. Her name is Sis and we're pen pals. We've traded pictures and stories about our lives, and it's been about 4 years since we've seen each other. I can't wait to give her a hug and an aloha.

Here are some of the highlights and photos of our itinerary:

http://contiki.com/tours/82-grand-adventurer-reverse-start-queenstown

We are staying an extra night in Auckland at the beginning of our trip, and we will spend a few extra nights in Taupo with Sis. I'll post some interesting facts and information about New Zealand as the trip gets closer.

Well, Kia ora, mates!

Guest Book by Mahalia Clemons

Mahalia asked me if there was anything she could help with the wedding even though she was all the way in Florida. I told her that the one thing that was stressing me out was the guest book. In my mind, I wanted more then a guest book with people signing their name and address. I wanted a yearbook style where people could add memories, advice, and miscellaneous information as well as feature photos of both Paul and me and our family and friends. People could learn more about us especially as a couple since there were a few who only knew one or the other. Also, we could get something personal and custom made. Mahalia took my idea and went light years with it. She created something so beautiful and special that it took my breath away. I couldn't believe it when I saw it. I am extremely grateful for all the work she has done, and I am posting a link so that everyone can see what I am talking about. The first section is the tradition part where people can sign their name and address, but at about page 20 is where you'll find the "yearbook" section.

My Guestbook

Enjoy!

After Wedding Glow

Okay, we've been married for almost a month now, and other than photos, I have not made any new blogs. I apologize. So many things have happened prior to the wedding, during the wedding, our after wedding vacationing, and there was one day of rest before I started work on the Comic Con Sizzle reel. The debut was this passed Saturday; so now I have a little bit of time to reminisce and relax. I am going to try my best to highlight certain things that stood out from my memories of the wedding. There's so much to remember, and I definitely want to share. Enjoy!

Wedding Photos-Alexis

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Wedding Photos-Donna Camera

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Tuesday before the Wedding

We moved into the beach house today...it was definitely an interesting experience. Well, first of all Schrader's made a boo boo, and was overbooked. They apologized profusely and put us in several beachhouses along the water and comped out first night which was pretty amazing since it ended up being 4 houses that were pretty cool. We do have to do some shuffling tomorrow again to move into our real accommodations, but it all worked out in the end. Schrader's Inn is quite a location. There's a HUGE steep driveway that leads to the beachhouses. You really want to make sure the car has good breaks. It is in the middle of Kaneohe with some great views of the ocean and river that runs alongside the beachhouse. It is definitely the atmosphere I wanted to give our guests, hometown Hawaii. It's not glamorous like Waikiki, but you kind of feel like sitting on the lanai with a mudslide or something.

We had an impromptu BBQ at the Kalihi house because relatives from my dad's side also arrived. It was a lot of fun eating outside in the drizzling rain and singing karaoke (inside) of course.

Well, that's all for now. I am really beat. There's still quite a lot to do!

The boys are going to pick up their tuxes. I have to start prepping the table center pieces. There's a bridal shower tomorrow at 5 pm - 10 pm. That's when we'll see everyone that arrived by Wed. We're going to have a really busy day!