1 Year Anniversary - Casa Laguna

We started our celebration of our one year of dating by visiting the Ritz Carlton, Laguna Niguel. I showed her some of the spots I would take wedding pictures. We didn't stay too long because we wanted to get to our final destination, which was Casa Laguna!

It was such a relaxing time, just lounging and hanging out. I forget how beautiful the Ritz Carlton is, when you get passed the starting at $500 a non-holiday room rate. The many times I shot weddings here, I never really got to enjoy the beauty of it.

We got to Casa Laguna as the sun was setting. It was such a cute and comfortable place. After we watched the sunset, we went to the lobby where they had all types of wine and cheese. I felt a little pretentious but it was fun. We got some sushi at San Shi Go, which had pretty good sushi for a good price.

The next morning they had breakfast for us. We got to choose what I wanted. I had Pumpkin Waffles and Tina had the Omelet. It was soooo good. I could get used to waking up to gourmet breakfasts.

We then went on a little walk to the beach and just had fun. We had a long day ahead of us with Thanksgiving lunch and dinner with the folks, so we soaked in all the relaxation before hand.

It only has been 1 year since we've started dating and can't believe we are 3 months married! I love my life and love my wife. I've been teased for celebrating 1 week, 2 week, 1 month, 2 month, etc... anniversaries, but I can't see myself not celebrating. Well here is our update.

Thanksgiving

November and Thanksgiving time is a special time not only because we're in the holiday season and the weather allows us to bust out our sweaters and coats but tomorrow, 11/21, is our one year anniversay since we started dating. Sam has something special planned for us, but I won't find out until tomorrow. On Sunday we'll also be going to Crystal Cove for a hike where we went this time last year and had one of our first of several very good vurnerable talks about our pasts, our pains and just looked out onto the view of the ocean and were so thankful that we found eachother.

I love Sam so very much....more and more with each passing day. He fills my life with so much fun, laughter and love. He is so sweet, attentive and hardworking.

Happy Thankgiving to all and to all a good night.

NewSong Initiation "Horsey Dance"

At the NewSong Retreat, I had to be initiated since I skipped out last year. I danced and boy did I dance. But after seeing this dude, I feel ashamed. He pretty much took my dance to another level.

Revisiting Laguna Beach

Today was our first time heading out to Laguna Beach after our wedding. We always thought that since it was so close now, that we would visit more often, but finally after two months, we took that drive on the 133.

We got to revisit our old spot we went to in our first week of dating, the beach side of The Laguna Hotel. It was so peaceful and relaxing. I can't believe that t has only been 11 months of dating but I feel like she's been with me longer. There was this older couple totally making out and I wondered if we would be like that when we grow older. Alright, I'll stop grossing you out.

Lately, I've been craving artistic expression. And like usual, photography usually brings that out of me. So we walked around Laguna looking at Art and taking pictures. Here is a sample of some pictures we took. Tina is starting to get the hang of photography.

Dinner with The Ceej and Family

Last night we had Caleb, Susan and CJ over for dinner. We cooked our own meat at the table and it was some goooood grubbin!

We had fun playing with The Ceej after dinner. His chubby little face and body are so cute! Sam and I want one or two or three one day but not just yet.The last picture is Sam's favorite!

Tina is officially 30

September 30, 1977: Ms. Tina Bouri Jeong entered this world in South Korea! Happy Birthday my wife! After an emotional and full Sunday, my parents came over to celebrate Tina's Birthday with her. It was so simple yet so sweet.

My parents came over with cake and presents. We had a little family service. We sang "Amazing Grace" and my dad shared about the sermon he heard at his church and we prayed. It was just sweet. Then they watched a DVD slideshow of our wedding day pictures. They were so excited and love it so much.

We also spent Saturday night with Tina's family. We went to the Fish House for dinner. It was fun until I bit into a scallop and there was a piece of metal in it. We later discovered that it was one of the brush hair from the grill cleaner. Uck.

But they were good. They took care of us as best as they can. They gave us all desert and coffee and comp'd my meal. Woo Hoo!

This weekend was so full and memorable. I thank God for just giving us life and allowing us to enjoy what He has created.

Happy Birthday Tina!

Tina's 30th Birthday Party

Last night, we celebrated Tina's 30th Birthday and did we ever celebrate! From Paparazzi to California Rolls to Candy Station, we hung out with good friends and had a great time. How fun was it to see friends come out and show their love for Tina. Lots of eating, drinking, dancing and just plan ole shooting the breeze.

Thanks to Karen for making the Magazine Covers, Kevin for being our "No Doubt" Gwen Stefani DJ, Andres and the Roaches for blowing up the balloons and Jimmy for bringing the drinks. Thanks to everyone who helped me set up and clean up! The night really brought a smile to Tina's face!

Even though Tina and I both didn't have our IDs on us, we still had a great time trying to talk our way into Yard House and Dave and Busters. Glad Fox Sports Grill hooked us up with our very own VIP section and a shout out to Tina by the DJ. Last night will go down in the Song's history book!

What a great time we had and look forward to many more, especially this Friday for the Korean Cultural Outing for our good friends, Daniel and Cassidy Roach. Be ready for some good BBQ and singing! Yeah!

Already 1 Month Anniversary

We celebrated our 10th month anniversary of our dating on the 21st and yesterday was our 1 month anniversary of our wedding. It incredible how fast time goes by. So much still to be done.

Jeremy Lum uploaded some picts that he took on our wedding day. It is fun to see how it looked... cuz I don't remember much of it. So here it is guys.

Settling In

As you may have noticed, we haven't updated our blog so I just wanted to give a quick update.
The honeymoon was great. Maybe Sam will share the adventures we had for the rest of the trip but I'd rather he share it than I.
Being back home is nice. We're still settling into our new place. We're both back at work. We've both been cooking a lot at home and we love it.
That's about it for now.

DAY TWO PM: Swimming and Dinner at the Bistro

In the afternoon of Day Two, the sun came out and we went swimming in the Grand Wailea Pools. It was like Maui's baby sister to Raging Waters. They had a rope to jump off of, ton's of water slides and my favorite, the Grotto with the bar! The pools were all connected by a channel that actually had a current. If you just floated on your back, it would actually move you to the other pools. They even had a pool with a miniature beach on it for the kids. So infants can swim and play in the beach without the dangers of a real ocean. If you have kids, it's a great place to go on vacation. You can even drop the kids off with a daycare person to watch your kids in the pool.

Then after swimming, we had dinner reservations at the Bistro. The only restaurant that allowed casual wear. It was real nice cuz it was right by the water with a beautiful view of the sunset. It was a nice romantic dinner for two. We even got Champagne for free because it was our honeymoon. Woo Hoo!

After the meal, we went for a drive. Grand Wailea was great and all, but everything was way overpriced. Our breakfast consisting of two bagels, two juice and a crossaint cost close to $40. Ouch. So you can imagine our joy when we found a Safeway about 15 minutes away. Sweet!

DAY TWO: Swimming in the Rain

I never wake up early, but on Day Two I did. I woke up to go walk along the beach in the morning and WOW! The Resort is just as beautiful. I've been to Wakiki before and the contrast is quite surprising. In Oahu, the tourist just pack the beaches, but here in Maui, and especially Wailea, it's just peaceful.

Then Tina and I had some breakfast and coffee and went on a walk. There is a path that connects the different resorts together and we wanted to check out the Fairmont. So we started walking. Within minutes, the dark cloud began to loom over us and it began to rain... actually it was a downpour.

Click on the video to see how we handled it.

Then we got to the Fairmont and had a little photo session. It was really fun taking pictures of each other. Here are some pics. (Side Note: These pix is unaltered in Photoshop).

This was all before 2 pm. The afternoon and evening is another post in itself. Stay tuned.

Honeymoon: Day One

Thanks to my brotha, I got to drive in my convertible up to the most luxurious hotel I've ever been to. And I've been to a lot.

Grand Wailea is amazing at night, and I can't wait to stroll out to the beach this morning and take in the beauty of Maui.

We arrived safely in Maui. The flight here just felt terribly long. Maybe because it is the excitement of it all or maybe it's because it was a five hour flight. I dunno. Well, I love this place.

Last time I was in Hawaii and came back home, I did not want to leave. That feeling is coming back. Hopefully, I won't just start living here. Maybe the hotel is hiring. Hmmmm...

Check out our slideshow on the right. I'll continue to update it regularly unless I'm having way too much fun!

Thanks Dan for this awesome gift. I love you man!

Are we there yet?

Nope, the journey has just begun for Sam and I as husband and wife. It's been so strange but nice waking up next to my HUSBAND! After our wedding, a 2nd reception and a day at Disneyland, I am sooooooo ready for MAUI! We'll be leaving later this week. Until then, there's lots to do. Wedding gifts and all the stuff I brought to move in are EVERYWHERE! I must get myself organized. The first three days of married life have been awesome. Sam made me COFFEE and breakfast in bed this morning. He put this blog together, and he's been taking such good care of me. I need to get some shut eye. Later all.

Day at Disneyland

Coming off an eventful second reception, here we are at Disneyland hanging out with the CAM/COMM peeps. It was a farewell, "hopefully temporarily", to Travis. Finally got to ride Finding Nemo ride and it wasn't too bad. I would not wait seven hours for it but 1 hour isn't bad.

Tony thought it was cute for us to wear bridal gear as we walked around Disney. Obviously, we weren't too happy.

Now that Tina and I went through the ritual, the Mickey Top Hat and Mini Tiara will be passed on to our next bridal couple, Dennis and Monique.

Bleeding Blue and Orange also played our first softball game of the Fall season. For a team that had only one practice, we didn't play too bad. Just had one bad inning. Oh, well maybe next time.

Maui in less than 48 hours! Woo hoo!

DAY ONE: The Day After

What a great wedding! And boy did my head hurt this morning. It's all those shots of Patron!

Tina and I woke up only to find ourselves getting ready for another reception. This time at the Cerritos Library. I got to dress up in traditional Korean Garb and bow to my parents, only to have them throw dates and nuts at me.

I never thought I could be so emotional but I was. And yes, it was pretty sissy. But I don't care, cuz I'm MARRIED to a wonderful woman.

Here is a highlight I cut in two hours for the second reception. Yes, the first day as husband and wife, I was behind a computer editing. Sad, huh. For those that didn't make it out, you were missed. And those, who feel left out... I wish I could've invited my whole list, but unfortunately with family and a small venue, I couldn't.

I'm hoping to have a party at our apartment, so hopefully everyone can come to that. Here's the highlight of the ceremony. Enjoy!



AND for kicks, check out samandtina.blogspot.com