It has taken us our lifetimes to come to terms that we may never know the real birthdates of our parents, because they go by the Lunar calendar. In addition, who knows what happened to record-keeping when moving from country to country back in the day?
Last Thanksgiving, Larry and I determined that we should probably just acquiesce to the fact that our mom's 90th birthday was approaching at the end of 2024 (despite her CA driver's license stating her year of birth as "1935"). SIDE NOTE: Sian did do some google research and confirmed her lunar year accuracy.
We decided that a reunion with our cousins (on my dad's side) would be a good way to celebrate...because: 1) She is always verbalizing that she wants us all to gather, 2) She needs an audience , 3) Larry & I cannot do this alone.
We put the word out, and surprisingly EVERYONE agreed to come! Last week we celebrated with 38 people (+ an au pair, and "Uncle Hey Hey") in Las Vegas at a McMansion/Compound we rented through TotalMax Homes (We booked the "D&D Mansion").
Larry, Dee Dee, Barry & I decided to drive so that we could ensure we had enough supplies, etc. (plus a group had visited Italy earlier in the year, and pre-purchased wine which was shipped to Larry and had to be driven out!). Below is a collage of our (Barry & I) road trip there. Surprisingly we traveled on some roads we had not been on and saw sights in places we had not stopped at previously:
We had the house starting on Sunday, 11/24 and people started trickling in soon after check-in. Bryan and Sian flew with the Birthday Girl:
Here is the WELCOME sign that Barry created!
As soon as we arrived, we got right down to work!
I asked Bryan to manage Monday night's dinner 😋
...and others stayed busy while dinner was being prepared...
Beautiful charcuterie by Nancy & Others!
Finally done cooking (NOTE: Sian made us Tiramisu for dessert)! 👏
Chef is satisfied, and so is #1 customer.
After dinner, some participated in Vanessa's whiskey tasting, then KARAOKE...and some had the energy to take Melanie (Christine's Au Pair) out on the town!
TUESDAY:
In the morning a bunch of us decided to explore Red Rocks Canyon. Barry & I thought we had been before, but ends up we had visited Valley of Fire. We were VERY impressed with Red Rocks and will definitely want to come back for some hiking!
The rest of the Wang's arrived that afternoon, so we started into the first of many activities orchestrated by Vanessa, planner extraordinaire! The best part about this White Elephant was that it was $0 gift exchange, so everyone had to bring something from home they no longer wanted/needed.
Birthday Dinner!
After dinner Sian presented Lao with her Birthday Cake!
WEDNESDAY:
Wednesday was an open day for hanging out...we had some golfers, pickle ballers, and folks just hanging around the "compound"...BTW, practically every morning Vanessa took a van full of kids to Walmart since they were on Central Time...and of course there is always more "stuff" to buy!
Nancy treated us to an amazing dinner - smoked brisket courtesy of Snake River Farms, Michael's BBQ steaks, and Johnny on the WOK again!
After dinner activities included fun chats, Dance Party and...cooking for the next day!?!?
Happy Thanksgiving!!! Two turkeys were prepared...there was much pre-discussion about this! Unbeknownst to me, Nancy does not make her own turkey for thanksgiving, so she kept saying she "doesn't know anything about it". We asked Uncle Hey Hey to help us buy one. He got it "ahead of time", but got a fresh one, which is good...but we were all paranoid about it being kept too long, so we ended up with 2 turkeys (so the fresh one could start brining right away)...which was not a bad idea for 40 people anyways!
I always love having Barry smoke a turkey - his smoked turkey is THE BEST! Plus it makes for yummy Shi-Fan the next day. We tried to rent a smoker to have a "smoke-off" during the reunion, but could not get a hold of one, so we drove our old smoker out, and left it there 😂 ...time for a new one anyways!
After Mom/Lao prepped her sticky rice, it was time for another Lichon surprise event - taking Lao to a casino for her birthday and gambling!
Others visited some casinos...
...and some of us just hung out at the house.
More dinner prep!
Crafts for the kids!
Family Photos!
Champagne!
Finally...time to eat!
After dinner chit chats...
FRIDAY:
No "day after smoked turkey" is complete without Shi Fan 😋. It is our last full day together and we have had quite a week. A group of heads off to The Venetian to visit with Wes & Nora and ride the Gondolas.
It really is amazing how much energy Vanessa has...later she takes the tweens to the Arcade!
Meanwhile, we did not start the pool heat up until it was too late, so the Chung Boys soaked in a polar plunge jacuzzi after a REAL Polar Plunge!
I swear this is the very last birthday to be celebrated, LOL! Today is Helen's 4th birthday, and she is celebrated with FLAMINGO's!
Sian made Butter Mochi...and for the adults, Barry served up Margaritas!
More Family photo combos...
The Sphere (U2) was a hit for the evening...
While our kids went out for a nice dinner at Cassia
...and a group of us stayed at home to work on the "Family Tree"!
SATURDAY:
All good things must come to an end, and Saturday was our last day together.
ADDENDUM: Some final shots of our time together:
ADDENDUM TO THE ADDENDUM:
THE END
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