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2014 - A Year of Family Milestones and Accomplishments
As we come to the end of 2014, this family reflects on the many accomplishments and successes achieved throughout the year. It was definitely a
milestone year that this family will remember as 2014 brought special celebrations such as Carole's 50th Birthday which she celebrated on
a Carnival Cruiseship with family and friends. Mama Pearlie also had a milestone birthday as she turned 75 this year and it was also
a year of celebrating 50 years of love as her and Papa Rollie celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary with an intimate celebration with the
family and a few of their closest friends. This year was also a celebration of an addition to the family with a Baby Shower as cousins Jay and
Honeylette were blessed with their first child Kal. It was also a milestone year for Kiana as she finished the cosmetology program at the
Euphoria Institute of Beauty Arts and Sciences. Not only did she finish but she finished with high honors as she received the Lawrence E. Brown
Leadership Award and a $5,000 scholarship. At her graduation she was recognized for being on the Honor Society and received an Outstanding
Attendance Award and was also one of the Valedictorians of her class. Other celebrations also occurred during the year. Even though they were
not milestone events, the family still took the time to celebrate everyone's special day such as Richelle and Patrick's Birthday Weekend,
Ron's Birthday Weekend, Nico's Birthday Surprises, Kiana's Sugar Factory Birthday and Nevaeh's Big Hero 6 Birthday Party.
To celebrate these milestone events and accomplishments, the family took time to live it up a bit as they not only celebrated with a party
but took special trips to commemorate their special events and to create more family memories. For Carole's 50th Birthday, not only did they
take a cruise to Mexico but she also celebrated on the Las Vegas Strip staying at the Trump International Hotel. For Mama Pearlie's 75th Birthday
and her and Papa Rollie's 50th Wedding Anniversary, they took a Hawaii Five-O Honeymoon, island hopping from Maui to Oahu. Throughout the year
many other family trips were also taken aside from the weekend trips back and forth from San Diego to Las Vegas. During Spring Break Ron, Carole
and the girls went to Lake Havasu in Arizona where they stayed at the London Bridge Resort. During the Summer they also took their annual
staycation out at Lake Las Vegas and like every Summer, Nevaeh spent her Summer Break down in her hometown of San Diego. At the end of Summer
the whole family along with some close family friends went camping at the Sweetwater Summit Campground before the school year started. And
for Thanksgiving Ron, Carole and the kids spent the holiday up in the mountains at the Resort on Mount Charleston.
Aside from the celebrations and trips, the family
also took part this year in their annual family activities
such as supporting their hometown sports teams. Ron,
Richelle and Patrick again attended this year's San
Diego Chargers home opener game at Qualcomm Stadium
as they played the Seattle Seahawks. Ron and Nico also
watched the Lakers basketball team as they usually play
one pre-season game in Las Vegas. Team Poblete was also
active this year as they continued to walk for a cause
participating in this year's Making Strides Against
Breast Cancer and Las Vegas Heart Walk 5K events. Casa
de Poblete in Las Vegas also hosted many televised sporting
event parties such as Super Bowl XLVIII, Pacquiao vs
Bradley 2 Fight and the Monday Night Football 2014 Season
Opener. But when not hanging out at home, once again
the family had many outings throughout the year watching
concerts and shows every chance they got. This year's
list of concerts and shows include Disney on Ice Rockin'
Ever After, The Jacksons Live, March Concerts and Shows
which include PANDA!, Miley Cyrus in Concert, Il Divo
with Lea Solonga, Recycled Percussions, Pacquiao vs
Bradley 2 Weigh-In Event, Southern California's C2C
Celebration, May Concerts including Phillip Phillips,
One Republic, and Backstreet Boys, June Concerts that
featured Lionel Richie, The Jets, New Kids on the Block,
Legends in Concert show, Cirque du Soleil's Zarkana,
comedians Dave Coulier (Uncle Joey from Full House)
and Carrot Top, Purple Reign - The Prince Tribute Show,
Tommy Wind Magic Show, Island Heat Dinner Show and Pin
Up. It's all these outings and activities that help
make happy memories to reflect on in years to come.
Scroll down below for all the blog entries, photos and
video montages from this year 2014.
The year 2014 as a whole was a success as the economy seems to be making a steady recovery from the Great Recession of past years.
The unemployment rate has gone down, real estate and construction is on the rise and gas prices continue to tumble. This family is so
fortunate that we all continue to be employed, have a roof over our heads, still remain in good health and that we are all strong and active
in serving our Lord God. We don't know what is in store for all of us for the year 2015. We can only hope and pray that God will continue to
shower his blessings upon all of us in this new year just as he did throughout 2014. From the Poblete Family, may 2015 bring you and yours
much success, good health and happiness.
Posted on December 31, 2014
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Hawaii Five-O Honeymoon
At the end of October after celebrating their 50th year
wedding anniversary with their family and close friends
(See blog entry "Celebrating 50 Years of Love" below),
Papa Rollie and Mama Pearlie took off on their Hawaii
Five-O Honeymoon. How appropriate visiting the 50th
State to join the United States on their 50th year anniversary.
But on this trip they weren't traveling alone. Instead
Richelle accompanied them along with friends Dante and
Sanlie Quidez. So they all packed their bags and flew
out of San Diego's Lindberg Field for the Hawaiian Island.
Their first stop was the island of Maui for a few days
of relaxing and sightseeing. They checked in at the
Outrigger Aina Nalu condos in Lahaina which were two-bedroom
units that included a full kitchen with dishwasher,
built-in microwave, refrigerator, ceramic cook top and
oven, cookware, tableware and washer/dryer. While on
Maui they drove themselves around but to adventure out
and learn more about the island, they booked a tour
with Discover Hawaii Tours which took them on the Road
to Hana. Their tour guide was a wealth of information
as he drove and shared so much about the different beaches
and the history of Maui.  The
tour provided spectacular scenic views as they passed
by both the Puohokamoa and Wailua Falls and gorgeous
ocean scenery stops and lookouts along the way. They
also stopped at the tropical black sand and white sand
beaches and visited Pa'ia Town and Beach which is the
starting point for an adventure on the Road to Hana.
The reason why the Hana Highway was originally built
was for the daily commute of sugarcane workers from
Paia to Hana Town. In the 19th century, Hana was a bustling
town riding the wave of the sugar cane industry. Today,
Hana Bay and Hana Highway are the most remote, rural
towns on Maui. The tour also passed through the back
country along the deserted terrain of Highway 31.
After their stay on the island of Maui, they flew to
the island of Oahu. Although Oahu is more populated
and touristy than all the other more remote islands,
Mama Pearlie always enjoys visiting Oahu being the tourist
that she is. They checked in at the Aston Waikiki Beach
Hotel which was right across the street from Waikiki
Beach. It was a nice location which was at the end of
the Strip right by the Waikiki Pier, also known as the
Waikiki Wall. The pier separates Kuhio Ponds which is
a make-shift pool of seawater created by the man-made
concrete sea walls and Queen Kapiolani Beach. Every
morning for breakfast the Aston Waikiki provided them
a cooler to pack malasadas, breads, pasteries and somen
noodles to take across the street to have breakfast
on the beach.After their stay on the island of Maui,
they flew to the island of Oahu. Although Oahu is more
populated and touristy than all the other more remote
islands, Mama Pearlie always enjoys visiting Oahu being
the tourist that she is. They checked in at the Aston
Waikiki Beach Hotel which was right across the street
from Waikiki Beach. It was a nice location which was
at the end of the Strip right by the Waikiki Pier, also
known as the Waikiki Wall. The pier separates Kuhio
Ponds which is a make-shift pool of seawater created
by the man-made concreate sea walls and Queen Kapiolani
Beach. Every morning for breakfast the Aston Waikiki
provided them a cooler to pack malasadas, breads, pasteries
and somen noodles to take across the street to enjoy
breakfast on the beach.
While on Oahu, they made reservations to attend a
luau at Paradise Cove where they got to experience Hawaiian
rituals and traditions like spear throwing and the Hukilau
which is a way of fishing by casting the net from shore
and then pulling it back. They also participated in
the Imu Ceremony which is traditionally held at the
beginning of a luau before the dinner is served. The
ceremony consists of removing the layers of cloth and
leaves from the imu (pit oven) to expose the cooked
pork. During dinner there was a stage where traditional
Hawaiian dances were performed and of course Mama Pearlie
joined the dancers when they asked for volunteers to
come up on stage. Also during their stay on Oahu when
not relaxing at the beach, they toured around the island
visiting sights like Hanauma Bay, Pali Lookout, Valley
of the Temples Memorial Park, North Shore, and the Dole
Plantation. Click
here to see photos of all the sights of the Hawaii
or watch it all in the video
montage on YouTube. What better way than to celebrate
50 years of marriage on the Hawaiian Islands. It really
gives new meaning to the phrase "Hawaii Five-O".
Posted on December 15, 2014
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Thankgiving Getaway at The Resort on Mount Charleston
This year for the Thanksgiving holiday, Ron and Carole
didn't feel like cooking a turkey or hosting family
and friends over at the house. Instead they wanted to
getaway for some rest and relaxation and decided to
make a reservation at The Resort on Mount Charleston
where they had stayed for Thanksgiving two years ago.
(See blog entry "Thanksgiving Holiday at Mt. Charleston"
that was posted on November 28, 2012.) Family friends
Ron and Mayette Sioson asked what were the family's
plans for the Thanksgiving holiday and after it was
finally decided, the family invited them to get away
from the city and join them to enjoy the crisp mountain
air of the Spring Mountain Range and Toiyabe National
Forest on Mount Charleston which was only a 30 minute
drive from downtown Las Vegas. And just like the family
did two years ago, they also made reservations to have
their Thanksgiving Turkey Feast at the resort's annual
Thanksgiving Day Buffet event.
Everyone arrived at the resort on Wednesday afternoon,
the day before Thanksgiving. Since this year's Thanksgiving
Getaway included both families, Ron made reservations
to book the resort's Presidential Suite so that they
would have more room to hang out together instead of
trying to hang out in one of the resort's standard rooms.
The Presidential Suite included a separate bedroom and
a large living area both with flat panel televisions,
a kitchenette that included a small refrigerator, wine
refrigerator, stove, oven, sink and microwave, fireplace
and a private balcony with mountain views. Since the
suite had all the amenities you can ask for, Ron and
Carole brought extra food and drinks for the families
to have if anyone was hungry or thirsty during their
stay. But when dinner rolled around, everyone wanted
to have a hot meal cooked and served tableside at the
"A Cut Above Restaurant" which is the resort's in-house
restaurant. After dinner everyone hung out for awhile
around the large fireplace that was in the hotel's lobby
and then proceeded back to the suite to bake cookies
and relax and watch movies.
After the night's rest, Thanksgiving morning came and
everyone slowly got up at their convenience. Ron and
Nico headed outside early to fly their new drone and
took photos and videos of the resort from up above.
Carole and the girls prepared breakfast in the suite
and the Sioson Family joined them and watched the Macy's
Thanksgiving Parade on TV. Everyone hung out for awhile
until it got close to check out time when everyone started
to pack and load up their cars. The Thanksgiving Day
lunch was scheduled for 1PM so the families had a little
more that an hour and a half until then. So they spent
it enjoying the outdoors and the surrounding mountain
views while sipping coffee by the large pond in front
of the hotel. When lunchtime came, they proceeded to
the dining room and took their seats at the table that
was reserved for them. The Thanksgiving Day Buffet was
abundant which included different salads and fruits,
a carving station with an oven roasted whole turkey
and Bourbon honey glazed ham, stuffing, green bean casserole,
roasted garlic mashed potatoes, cornbread, vegetables,
and a whole array of desserts. It was definitely a great
Thanksgiving feast and the best part of all, no one
had to clean up and wash dishes after. Check
out all the photos from this Thanksgiving Getaway
to Mount Charleston or
watch the video montage on YouTube. There is so
much to be thankful for and for these two families,
they were thankful for the quality time spent with the
family and with each other.
Posted on December 5, 2014 | Read
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Cirque du Soleil's Zarkana
Ron and Carole's 24th Wedding Anniversary fell on the
the 24th of this month of November and with both Nevaeh's
Birthday Party and Kiana's Graduation and Reception
events planned (See "Nevaeh's Big Hero 6 Birthday Party"
and "Kiana Graduation Ceremony and Reception" blog entry
below.), they really didn't have any big plans for themselves
to celebrate except to maybe go out to dinner. While
watching TV on the night before their anniversary, a
commercial came on advertising that Cirque du Soleil's
Zarkana which was the headliner act at the Aria Resort
and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip was offering a 2 for
1 Discount for Nevada locals to see the show. Since
Zarkana was one of the Cirque shows they have not seen
yet, instead of eating out at some fine dining restaurant,
they decided to call and get tickets to see the show
for that night.
A few hours later they got dressed and headed over to
the Aria Resort to pick up their tickets at Will Call.
Since the show wasn't going to start for another hour
or so, they strolled around the Aria and decided to
get a quick bite to eat at Jean Philippe Patiserrie.
They ordered a Berry Souffle-Style Crepe and sat there
and people watched as visitors and tourists walked by.
Then they proceeded to the Zarkana Theater to watch
the visually stunning modern acrobatic spectacular.
Like all Cirque shows, Zarkana was set in a world where
physical ability meets with the extraordinary. The show
follows the character Zark in a quest to regain his
powers and the love of his life in an abandoned theatre
populated by a motley collection of off-the-wall characters
and incomparable acrobats. The show was a spellbinding
extravaganza with acts that left Ron and Carole and
the rest of the audience breathless. Click
here to see all the photos or watch the short video
montage on YouTube of this great show and a great
night of celebrating their wedding anniversary.
Posted on November 27, 2014
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Kiana Graduation Ceremony and Reception
Kiana had finished the Cosmetology program at the Euphoria
Institute of Beauty Arts and Sciences back in August
when she had her Clock Out Ceremony on her last day
of school. (See blog entry "Kiana Lei's Euphoria Institute
Experience" below.) Since then she had prepped and studied
for the State of Nevada Board Exams to get her Cosmetologist
License. Within a week prior to the school's scheduled
graduation ceremony, she had taken the test and passed
and is now a full-fledged licensed Cosmetologist. The
only thing left to do was to participate in the graduation
ceremony to officially receive her Cosmetology diploma.
The graduation was held in the Grand Ballroom of the
Suncoast Hotel & Casino and the whole family including
Papa Rollie, Mama Pearlie, Richelle and Patrick who
came from San Diego attended. It was a special night
and somewhat of a reunion for Kiana and her classmates
and instructors who after spending an entire year together
haven't seen each other in several months. Wearing white
caps and gowns, the Class of 2014 consisted of students
from both the Summerlin Campus and the Henderson Campus
where Kiana attended.
Before the ceremony started, the graduating class all
lined up in the hallway outside of the ballroom while
family and friends were asked to take their seats so
that the ceremony could begin. To start the processional
march of the graduates, a solo violinist entered the
ballroom playing the Pomp and Circumstance Graduation
Marching Song on the violin while marching to the front
of the ballroom. He was followed by the students as
they walked in one by one to their seats while family
and friends cheered them on. After the whole class entered
and took their seats, a few speeches were given followed
by the presentation of awards which Kiana was recognized
for being on the Honor Society and receiving an Outstanding
Attendance Award and also one of the Valedictorians
of their class. Then one by one the students were called
up to receive their diplomas. After the last student
received their diploma the faculty presented to everyone
the "Graduating Class of 2014". After all the hugging,
congratulating and picture taking that followed after
the ceremony, the family departed for Casa de Poblete
where a small reception was planned to celebrate Kiana's
achievements with her family and especially her friends
who could not come to witness the ceremony due to a
limited number of tickets the school provided. Most
of Kiana's close friends arrived, refreshments were
served and the rest of the night was spent hanging out
with the graduate. Click
here to see all the photos or watch
the YouTube video from Kiana's Graduation. Congratulations
Kiana for graduating and receiving all the awards and
scholarships that were awarded to you. Job well done
and wish you all the best and success as you start your
Cosmetology career. We're so proud of you!
Posted on November 21, 2014
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Nevaeh's Big Hero 6 Birthday Party
For Nevaeh's 9th Birthday she wanted to watch Disney's much anticipated new computer animated film "Big Hero 6" but it wasn't scheduled
to premiere in theaters until a week after her actual birthday. So the following week Ron and Carole worked with the management at the
Regal Fiesta Henderson Movie Theater on their showtime schedule for the movie Big Hero 6 and arranged to hold her birthday party at the
theater's Party Room for her and 20 or so of her friends before the movie started. The Party Room was pre-decorated with banners and
streamers and also included tables, chairs and a small kitchenette. The kids as well as their parents got to enjoy a small lunch
before their scheduled 2PM showing of Big Hero 6. As soon as 2PM rolled around, the kids all lined up and was escorted into the
theater by the usher who was pushing a cart filled with Movie Zap Packs that included popcorn, fruit snacks and a drink.
As they entered the dark theater, the previews had already started and Nevaeh and her friends occupied the first two rows that was
reserved for her party. As the kids took their seats, each one of them were given their own individual Movie Zap Pack and as soon as
everyone was settled, the movie Big Hero 6 began. The film tells the story of a young robotics prodigy named Hiro Hamada, who forms a
superhero team to combat a masked villain responsible for the death of Hiro's older brother. Throughout the movie, the kids were
well-behaved and attentive. Big sister Kiana and Nicole also watched the movie and the kids along with some of the parents who
accommpanied their younger children while the rest of the parents stayed in the Party Room eating and socializing as they waited
for the kids.
When the movie ended, the kids were ushered back to the Party Room where everyone gathered to sing Happy Birthday and watch her
blow the candle on her cake. Afterwards each of her friends were treated to a Big Hero 6 cupcake that was lovingly made by her
Auntie Imelda for her and her friends. The cupcakes were a big hit as some of the kids devoured theirs while some tried to save their
cupcake to take home. Shortly after, some of the parents arrived to pick up their kids and other families left while a few stayed
behind to watch her open her gifts while the Party Room was being cleaned up. Check out all the photos from Nevaeh's party at the movie theater or
watch the video montage on YouTube of all the fun festivities.
As the marketing poster in the theater hallway stated, "Birthdays are better at the theaters!"
Posted on November 11, 2014 | Read
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Team Poblete at the 2014 Making Strides Against
Breast Cancer and Las Vegas Heart Walk 5K Events
For the past several years now the family has participated
as "Team Poblete" in several charitable walks to support
and bring awareness to different causes and organizations,
particularly the American Cancer Society and the American
Heart Association. Earlier this year they participated
in the "INC World Wide Walk" for those affected by Typhoon
Haiyan which broke several records in the Guinness World
Records. In the past several weeks Team Poblete participated
in two more 5K events. The first was this year's "Making
Strides Against Breast Cancer" walk. This was the third
year participating and the family has committed to continue
to participate every year to remember Carole's sister
Timi who had lost her battle with breast cancer last
year.
This year's walk started and finished at the Red Rock
Casino Resort Spa and the course ran through the new
Downtown Summerlin which is a new 1.6 million-square-foot
shopping, dining and entertainment complex. Ron, Carole,
Nico, Kiana, and Nevaeh participated this year along
with family friend Rene Diaz who took the place of wife
Junen who also joined Team Poblete at last year's walk
but could not participate this year. Also on the team
was Brownie, Rene and Junen's pet dog who also participated
with the family at last year's event. The family even
bumped into co-workers from work along the course who
were also there. It was a great turn out and even Nico
and Rene who participated this year for the first time
kept mentioning throughout the walk that they could
not believe how many thousands of people were out there
walking. Check out how many people were actually there
from all the photos of
the Breast Cancer Walk or watch the YouTube
video montage and see for yourself.
The second 5K event Team Poblete participated in was
this year's "Las Vegas Heart Walk 5K" which was sponsored
by the American Heart Association. The event took place
in Downtown Las Vegas where the start and finish line
was at the Fremont Street Experience. This event was
also participated by thousands of people and Team Poblete
was joined by family friends Aleck and Micaela who were
also on the course supporting the cause through their
employers. It was another beautiful Fall day and the
weather was perfect for taking a 3.1 mile walk outdoors.
Click
here to see photos from this year's Heart Walk or
watch the video
montage on YouTube. Although the walk events are
over, donations for both the American Cancer Society
and the American Heart Association can still be made
on the Team
Poblete webpage.
Posted on November 10, 2014
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Lakers vs. Kings at the MGM Grand Las Vegas
Before the start of the NBA season, the Los Angeles
Lakers usually stops in Las Vegas to play one preseason
game. Two years ago Ron and Nico watched the Lakers
play the Sacramento Kings at the Thomas & Mack Center
at UNLV. This year's preseason game against the Kings
was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena at the MGM Grand
Hotel and Casino. Ron got tickets and took Nico and
friend Kyle to watch the game which happened to be the
preseason finale. The arrived early to watch the teams
warm up and to get a closer look at all the NBA stars
in person.
Because it was the last game of the preseason, most of the regular Laker starters such as Kobe Bryant took a break from playing
to rest up for the season opener. Ed Davis, Wesley Johnson, Robert Sacre, Ronnie Price and Wayne Ellington started for the Lakers.
New Laker player Jeremy Lin was also present and played off the bench. The Kings starting line up consisted of Jason Thompson, Rudy
Gay, DeMarcus Cousins, Darren Collison and Ben McLemore. As the game started the Lakers controlled the game at the beginning and lead
26 to 22 at the end of the 1st quarter. The second quarter we pretty even and Sacramento pulled ahead 49 to 48. Between time outs and
breaks, the crowd was entertained by the famous Laker Girls cheerleading squad as they performed several dance routines throughout the game.
After half time the Lakers came back and took the lead
bringing the score to 76 to 64 at the end of the 3rd
quarter. But the Kings did not give up and out scored
the Lakers in the 4th quarter and tied the game with
a Ray McCallum jumper bringing the score to 91 to 91
with only 10 seconds left on the clock. After Jeremy
Lin drew a foul, Nik Stauskas had the chance to bring
the Kings ahead but missed the shooting foul. On the
next play Laker Jeremy Lin was fouled and missed 1 of
2 free throw shots bringing the score to 92 to 91 Lakers.
With only 3 seconds left in the game, the King's Reggie
Evans misses a jumper but Ray McCallum rebounds the
ball with 1 second left and scores 2 points. The Kings
win 93 to 92. Click
here to see all the photos from this preseason game
or
watch the YouTube video montage. Although the Lakers
lost, it was an exciting game all the way to the end.
It was also a fun night bumping into other friends/Laker
fans.
Posted on October 27, 2014 | Read
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Celebrating 50 Years of Love
Fifty years ago a young sailor in the United States
Navy and a young exchange nurse from the Philippines
met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, fell in love and
got married on October 20, 1964. The two were blessed
with two children and later blessed with 3 grandchildren.
That couple happens to be Papa Rollie and Mama Pearlie.
October 20th of this year marks their 50th wedding anniversary.
And although it would have been nice to celebrate 50
years of love with a big event or even renew their vows
in front of all their family and friends, the two decided
to celebrate by taking a long Hawaiian vacation and
just hold a small intimate celebration. So on the Saturday
before their actual wedding anniversary and before they
were to leave for their trip to Hawaii, they
invited fifty of their closest friends and family and
held a small party that was held in a
private banquet room on the second floor of Tom Ham's
Lighthouse on Harbor Island.
Ron, Carole and the kids drove down for the day from
Las Vegas to attend the celebration and the rest of
the honored guests were some of their inaanaks (godsons
and goddaugthers) and their closest friends who they
have shared many years of friendship. It was a beautiful
sunny day and the venue provided a spectacularly picturesque
backdrop of the San Diego Bay, the downtown skyline
and Coronado Island. The room had a golden 50th theme
as Richelle coordinated the decor from the golden table
settings to the commemorative 50th anniversary sparkling
cider bottles to give away and the golden array of desserts.
As the guests arrived for the celebration luncheon,
appetizers were provided and everyone socialized and
enjoyed the spectacular views before taking their seats.
After a prayer was lead by minister Lito Balada, the
waiters at Tom Ham's took everyone's lunch orders. The
menu choices were either the Little Gem Chicken Caesar
Salad, Fish and Chips, Crab BLT, Lobster Roll, or the
Tom Ham's Burger. It was a hard choice because everything
on the menu was outstanding.
After lunch the rest of the celebration was spent
with answering trivia questions about the celebrants,
taking more photos and socializing with one another.
Check
out all the photos from this intimate get-together
or watch
the YouTube video montage of this golden celebration.
It was a happy time, especially for Papa Rollie and
Mama Pearlie who just wanted to spend this day surrounded
by the people they love and cherish. Thank you to those
who attended and Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary Papa
Rollie and Mama Pearlie. Aloha and have a great time
in the Hawaiian Islands!
Posted on October 20, 2014 | Read
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Team Poblete - Walking for a Cause
It's that time of the year when the family puts on their
walking shoes to walk for a good cause. Because the
month of October is National Breast Cancer Awareness
Month, Team Poblete has for the third year in a row
registered to participate in the "Making Strides for
Breast Cancer 5K Walk" in Las Vegas sponsored by American
Cancer Society. The walk will start and end at the Red
Rock Casino Resort and Spa on Sunday, October 26. After
losing Carole's sister Timi last year to breast cancer,
she as well as the rest of the family have committed
to participate in the breast cancer walk every year
to raise funds and awareness of this deadly disease
and to walk in memory of Timi.
Team Poblete has also registered to participate in the
"2014 Las Vegas Heart Walk" sponsored by the American
Heart Association which will be held on Saturday, November
8 in Downtown Las Vegas on Fremont Street. This charity
is also close to the family's heart as Papa Rollie himself
was diagnosed with congestive heart disease and had
also had a triple bypass and aorta valve replacement
surgery for his own heart. If you would like to support
Team Poblete by either donating or participating in
these charitable walks, please visit
our "Team Poblete" website for links to the donation
or registration webpages for both events. "The smallest
act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intension."
-Oscar Wilde
Posted on October 8, 2014 | Read
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San Diego Chargers 2014 Home Opener
The day had finally come for the Poblete Family annual
tradition of attending the first home game of the San
Diego Chargers football season. This was the 5th season
in attendance, the first being the 2010 home season
opener game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. After
a disappointing lost on the road to the Arizona Cardinals,
the Chargers were back on their own home turf to host
last year's Super Bowl Champions, the Seattle Seahawks.
This was a game where it was hard to predict a Chargers
win because not only was the Seahawks last year's Super
Bowl Champs but this year's team was a very solid team
who had beaten the Green Bay Packers 36 to 16 the week
before.
Ron, Richelle and Patrick attended this year's home
opener along with family friend and Seahawks Fans Liezl
and her two sons Matthew and Kai. This year's game was
dubbed "White Hot Sunday" where everyone was encouraged
to wear their white Chargers jerseys. Although the Chargers
probably didn't plan it, Mother Nature made it one of
the hottest days of the summer as temperatures were
way over 100 degrees and the humidity was at least 100%.
On the field the thermometer reached 110 degrees. Everyone
is attendance were given "White Hot Sunday" cardboard
signs which folded into fans. It was definitely the
best giveaway for this particular day as those fans
kept waving throughout the game to keep everyone cool.
Although it was a Chargers home game, Seahawk Fans were
greatly represented. In fact, View Level Section 25
where Ron, Richelle and the rest were seated was surrounded
by Seahawk Fans who actually traveled to San Diego from
Seattle. As the game started the Chargers got on the
board first scoring a field goal but Seattle answer
back with a touchdown to take the lead in the first
quarter. The second quarter however was all Chargers
as Antonio Gates scored two touchdowns and a field goal
attempt by Nick Novak went through the uprights. Seattle
was only able to score a touchdown which brought the
score at the half to 17 to 14 Chargers. After half time
each team scored a touchdown in the third quarter and
in the forth quarter, the Chargers defense kept the
Seahawks from scoring and yet another field goal attempt
by Nick Novak was good which brought the score to 30
to 21 with the Chargers winning as the clock ran down
to zero. Click
here to see all the photos from this "White Hot
Sunday" game or watch
the video montage of the hightlights on YouTube.
What an awesome win beating last year's Super Bowl Champions.
Posted on September 26, 2014 | Read
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Monday Night Football 2014 Season Opener
This year was the second year in a row that the San
Diego Chargers started their season opener prime time
on Monday Night Football. Their first game and also
home opener last year was at Qualcomm Stadium where
they played the Houston Texans. This year the Chargers
were on the road as they traveled to Arizona to play
the Cardinals. Since it was on Monday Night, what better
way to open the season than with family and friends
at Casa de Poblete. Since barbequing was planned for
the make shift tailgate party for the game, the original
plans were to watch the game in the backyard on the
family's 12 foot high jumbo video screen but due to
the rainy and windy weather on this Monday night, the
game was instead viewed in the family/game room's 100
inch projector screen.
Cousins Jay and Honeylette came over to watch the game along with their baby son Kal. Since it was Kal's
first NFL season, the family bought him his very first Chargers jersey. Although it was a 12 month size
jersey, it seem to fit him just right for only being only 3 months old. Family friends Ken, Kyle and Kyle's
little sister Emma also joined the Monday Night Football festivities. As the football game played on, the
Arizona Cardinals lead 6 to 3 at the half. But in the third quarter the San Diego Chargers pulled ahead by
making two touchdowns which put them in the lead 17 to 6. However the Cardinals scored two touchdowns in the
4th quarter leading 18 to 17. With a little over 2 minutes left on the clock, the Chargers had one last
chance to take the game but due to some mistakes and dropped catches, time ran out and the Chargers started
the season with a lost. But despite the lost it was a fun night with family, friends, food and football.
Check out all the photos
or watch the video montage
on YouTube of this Season Opener game on Monday Night Football.
Posted on September 15, 2014 | Read
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Nevaeh's Summer Vacation 2014
Another school had ended and like every summer it was
time for the Poblete kids to spent their summer break
down in San Diego. However once again for the second
year in a row, it was only Nevaeh who was able to spend
her summer down in their hometown of San Diego because
her siblings were older now and had school and jobs
to attend to. But she didn't mind going solo for it
was her opportunity to be with her family and closest
friends who she hasn't had the chance to spend time
with throughout the year and most especially spending
time with the family dog Arnold.
Aside from spending time with her grandparents, uncles,
aunts and friends going on food adventures, swimming
at the pool and making trips for frozen yogurt, this
year's highlights of her summer vacation was going to
the South Bay Drive-In Movie to watch Transformers -
Age of Extinction. She also attended at Hawaiian Luau
at the Crown Plaza Hanalei Hotel with her grandparents.
She also spent Independance Day watching the July 4th
Fireworks at the Olympic Training Center and also went
on a family camping trip. (Scroll down to blog entry
"Family Camping at Sweetwater Summit" below.)
Click
here to see all the photos from her summer break
or watch
the video montage on YouTube. Like all summer vacation,
they all have to end and Nevaeh eventually returned
back home to Las Vegas for the start of the new school
year. But at least like every year, she can look forward
to going back next summer when the school year ends.
Posted on September 5, 2014 | Read
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ALS Ice Bucket Challege
Recently there has been an outpouring (or rather "ice" pouring) of support from people all over the world who have participated in the Ice Bucket Challenge and made
donations to support the fight against ALS. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," is a progressive
neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal
cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die,
the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of
the disease may become totally paralyzed.
To participate in the ALS Ice Bucket Challage, one must
be nominated by someone who has also taken the challenge
of pouring ice cold water over themselves and the one
nominated has up to 24 hours to accept the challenge.
Kiana was nominated by family friend Dereck Cui and
accepted the challenge which you can see by clicking
here to watch the video (or clicking on her photo
above). Ron was also nominated by good friend Freddy
Jones and also recorded his unique challenge on video
which you can watch
on YouTube (or click on his photo to the right).
Donations were also made on behalf of the family. If
you haven't been challenge but would like to donate
to the cause, simply go to www.alsa.org/donate to send
your donations to support the fight against this disease.
Posted on August 25, 2014 | Read
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Family Camping at Sweetwater Summit
Nevaeh had spent most of her summer break vacationing
in San Diego. Because the school year was just around
the corner, it was time for her to return back to Las
Vegas to get ready for the school year. So since it
was going to be her last weekend at her hometown with
all her family and friends, everyone made plans to squeeze
in a last minute overnight camping trip for the whole
family and also invited the Torres and Jones families
who have always gone camping with the family in past
years. Since it was a last minute plan, they decided
not to go too far and made reservations at the Sweetwater
Summit Campgrounds where they have camped in the past.
Sweetwater Summit is just east of Bonita overlooking
the Sweetwater Reservoir and only a 5-10 minute drive
from the family home in Eastlake. But the camp sites
where they usually reserve at were all booked, but while
making the reservations they noticed that the campground
was much larger now and there was a whole new expanded
area of the campground that they have never camped at
before. So they finalized their reservations and reserved
sites 148-150.
So on that Friday morning when Carole got off from working
the night shift, Ron, Carole, and Kiana packed up all
the camping gear in the family Volkswagon Eurovan and
headed off on their 5 hour trip down to San Diego. They
arrived around 1PM and picked up Papa Rollie, Mama Pearlie
and Nevaeh who already had their Winnebago Rialta Motorhome
packed up and ready to go. So they all took off for
the Sweetwater Summit Campground and arrived just in
time for the 2PM check-in. As they found their campsites
they went ahead and set up camp, starting first with
setting up their canopies to provide shade since the
trees at these newly expanded sites were not as mature
as the trees in the older part of the campground. The
weather conditions were nice but it was a bit breezy
as they had to find rocks and tie down the tents and
canopies. However the winds died down and the rest of
the day and night was perfect for camping out in the
great outdoors.
After setting up camp, the rest of the afternoon was
spent basically relaxing and catching up with Nevaeh
on her what she had done during her summer vacation.
Ron, Carole, Nevaeh and Papa Rollie also did a little
hike around to check out the rest of the campground
and to see the views of the lake. Soon after the rest
of the gang arrived since they all had to work with
Richelle and Patrick arriving first followed by the
Torres and Jones families. The rest of the night was
spent barbequing, eating, and hanging out and talking
story around the campfire until everybody retired to
their sleeping quarters after 1AM or so. The following
morning everyone woke up at different times. The first
of course to wake up was Mama Pearlie who naturally
wakes up at 5AM and continued her regular routine of
making breakfast. The younger kids woke up next since
they were the first ones to sleep the night before.
The rest eventually woke up and joined the rest for
breakfast. After breakfast the kids spent some time
and cooled off at the water park which was right next
to the entrance of the campground while the rest of
the adults just relaxed until it was time to check out
for the day. Click here to see all the photos
from this overnight camping trip or watch
the video montage on YouTube of all the family fun
at the Sweetwater Summit Campground.
Posted on August 23, 2014 | Read
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Kiana Lei's Euphoria Institute Experience
Before graduating from high school last year, Kiana
had already made up her mind to pursue a career in Cosmetology.
It wasn't quite the career path one would think she
would pursue considering that she had graduated from
high school with an Advanced Honors Diploma, was awarded
as a High Honors Graduate and a Liberty Classical Scholar,
and was a candidate for the Millennium Scholarship.
But she, like her brother who were always told by their
parents that they should pursue a career that they are
interested in and something they would enjoy doing on
a daily basis. By doing so they were told their chances
of succeeding would be great because they would easily
excel in that field because they had a passion for it.
So after doing some research and talking to others in
the Cosmetology field, she decided to enroll at the
Euphoria Institute of Beauty Arts and Sciences.
After taking a well deserved Summer Break off after
her high school graduation, her life was about to change
as she was about to embark on a year long journey through
Beauty College. She was excited to jump in and learn
all the essential techniques in haircutting and styling,
hair design, color design, perm design, ladies and men's
sculture, skin, and nails. As a Cosmetology student,
she was also about to learn a great deal about customer
service and communications. Aside from classroom work,
the students also had hands-on training in the school's
full service salon where students, under the supervision
of a licensed professional instructor, provide spa and
salon services to the public. This was the part of the
course Kiana really enjoyed because it gave her the
chance to interact and meet with clients and work with
her co-Cosmetology students on the salon floor. Throughout
the year she continued to remain on the Honor Society
and was pretty popular with the clients that came to
the salon.
So after a long year of hard work and prepping for the
State Board Exam for her to get Cosmetology license,
Kiana's last day at the beauty school finally came.
It was a bittersweet day as she finally finished the
entire course but also knew she would have to leave
her family of students and instructors whom she developed
friendships with and supported her this past year. As
she would have to do every day of the school year, she
would clocked in and out to make sure she had put in
the required hours at the school. On her last day she
was scheduled to clock out at 1:50 PM. Prior to her
Clock Out Ceremony, some of the students had decorated
the hallway that lead to the time clock with posters,
streamers and baloons. Ron, Carole, Nico and about a
dozen of Kiana's closest family friends arrived to witness
her last minutes at the school. As 1:50 PM rolled around,
her fellow students lined the hallway while banging
on the walls and cheered her on as she and her fellow
classmate Dani (who was also scheduled to clock out)
pass through the hallway of streamers and swiped their
ID cards on the time clock for the very last time. Afterwards
it was hugs and tears all around as her Euphoria Family
congratulated her and Dani. (Click
here to see the video of the entire Clock Out Ceremony.)
In the middle of all the celebrating, there was a quick
interuption and big surprise from one of the School
Administrators as Kiana was awarded this year's Lawrence
E. Brown Leadership Award and was presented a $5,000
scholarship check which is only awarded to 10 students
throughout all the Euphoria Institute school campuses.
To receive the scholarship, Kiana had to apply and write
an essay on what sets her apart and makes her an ideal
recipient for the leadership award and how it will change
her life. They also asked if she did any community service
or volunteer work. Throughout the year she also had
to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 and be recommended
by her instructor. A Scholarship Committee reviews the
scholarship applications and selects the finalists and
Kiana happened to be selected. Afterwards Kiana was
also awarded another certificate for being on the Honor
Society and also recieved a Perfect Attendance pin.
Before finally leaving the school, Kiana had to clear
out her locker and then walked out the school doors
to begin her career in Cosmetology. Check
out all the photos from Kiana's time spent at the
Euphoria Institute or watch
it all on the video montage on YouTube. Congratulation
Kiana Lei on finishing beauty college and a Job Well
Done! The State Board Exams are next, followed by her
actual Graduation Ceremony which is scheduled for this
November.
Posted on July 25, 2014 | Read
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Lake Las Vegas Summer Staycation
For the past five years now, the family has stayed out
at Lake Las Vegas at least once a year during the Summer
and have even had family New Years Eve celebrations
at the Mediterranean-styled resort that surrounds a
320-acre artificial lake. Although the resort is only
a 15-20 minute drive away from Casa de Poblete, being
out there seems like you are in a whole different country.
Lake Las Vegas is the perfect getaway destination and
is definitely an oasis out in the middle of the desert
with its stunning vistas and breathtaking scenery on
the water. The European-style village that sits along
the lakeside shore with it's old-world Mediterranean
theme with cobblestone streets offers plenty of shops
and restaurants which you can walk to from any of the
resort's hotels.
Like past Summers when the kids would spend their Summer
Vacations from school down in their hometown of San
Diego, Ron and Carole would book a weekend at the resort
for some rest and relaxation. This year they booked
a room at the Viera at the MonteLago Village Resort.
Only Nevaeh went away for the Summer while her two older
brother and sister were stuck in town because of school
and work. However Kiana did get the chance to spend
a day at the resort to hang out by the lake and at the
pool. That happen to be Ron and Carole's plans as well
for their weekend staycation as they took walks along
the lake, relaxed at the pool, read a book and enjoying
the panoramic views of the lake and mountains. They
also did not have to go too far to find a place to eat
because there were plenty of restaurants at The MonteLago
Village and they also brought their own groceries for
the weekend because their room also included a full
kitchenette.
This year's Lake Las Vegas Staycation was taken during
the July 4th Weekend. But instead of fireworks on the
4th of July, this year the resort scheduled their fireworks
display on Saturday, the 5th of July. Like every Independence
Day celebration at Lake Las Vegas, the resort provided
live entertainment, food vendors, and family activities
throughout the day before the big fireworks display
over the lake at night. There are always exciting events
held at Lake Las Vegas and on any given saturday from
April through October, live bands are scheduled to play
outdoors at the lake from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. unless
otherwise noted. These are free concerts and are open
to the public. If you have never stayed or visited Lake
Las Vegas, click
here to see all the photos or watch
the YouTube video montage of this year's Lake Las
Vegas Summer Staycation. It's a great desert destination
for some rest and relaxation and is only 20 miles from
the Las Vegas Strip. If you're looking for a slower
and leisurely pace unlike the fast and lively pace of
the Strip, consider a stay or visit out to Lake Las
Vegas. This family does every year.
Posted on July 25, 2014 | Read
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June 2014 Concerts
Like the last month of May, June was another month of
concert going for the family. This time it was a month
of going back in time as all the music acts they saw
were all artist from the 80s and even earlier. The first
of this month's series of concerts was Lionel Richie's
"All the Hits, All Night Long" American Tour concert
that made a stop in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Events
Center. Ron, Carole, Jay and Honeylette attended the
concert which took them back, not only to the 80s but
even back to the 70s when Lionel Richie first started
out as Lead Singer of the R&B band the Commodores. As
the title of his tour says (All the Hits, All Night
Long), throughout the 90 minute concert Lionel Richie
practically sang all of his hit songs as well as hits
from the Commodores. And being the great entertainer
that he is, in between songs he would entertain the
audience with a short story as he introduced the next
song. And of course the word "Outrangous" was said throughout
the night which was a phrase he made famous when he
hosted the American Music Awards.
The second show for the month was seeing the "Legends
in Concert" show at the Flamingo Hotel. Jun and Lisa
were in town for the weekend and Ron was able to get
tickets as they and Carole and Nevaeh went to see this
celebrity tribute show. The show features a live band
with celebrity impersonators actually singing (not lip-syncing)
and performing to entertain the audience. The celebrities
line up changes every night but fortunately on this
night they were able to see Cher, Tina Turner, Michael
Jackson and Elvis. Legends in Concert is a very entertaining
show that's great for the whole family. Not only do
these performers look like the celebraties they portray
but that sing, dance and talk just like them too.
The last concert of the month that the family got to
see was the Wolfgramm Family band The Jets, composed
of brothers and sisters who specialized in pop, R&B,
and dance music back in the 80s. It was actually back
in 1987 when Ron and Richelle first saw The Jets perform
live at the Del Mar Fair in San Diego. And since Richelle
was in town for the weekend and The Jets had scheduled
a concert that same weekend, they took the opportunity
to go back in time and see them perform live once again
27 years later. Carole and Patrick also came along and
the four of them went to the Cannery Casino and Hotel
where the Islands of the Pacific Cultural Festival was
being held. All the other music acts for the festival
were done outside but The Jets performed at The Club
which was the casino's indoor concert venue. As The
Jets took to the 
stage, most of the original members were present. Missing
was one of the sisters, Elizabeth Wolfgramm who could
not make it that evening. The group performed all their
big hits such as "Crush On You", "You Got It All", "Cross
My Broken Heart", "Rocket 2 U", "Make It Real" and "Sendin'
All My Love" as well songs from their latest albums
and covers of other popular songs. After the concert
they got the opportunity to meet all the members of
the band. Check
out all the concert photos from this month of June
or you can watch
the YouTube video montage accompanied by music. "Music is a world within
itself with a language we all understand." - Stevie
Wonder
Posted on June 30, 2014 | Read
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Superhero Baby Shower
Next month cousin Jay and wife Honeylette will be expecting
their first child. So this month Kiana and the choir
of the Henderson congregation where Honeylette sings
at church as a choirmember held a Baby Shower at Casa
de Poblete. Because Jay is a big Superman fan and their
baby boy's name will be Kal Logan (Kal short for Kal-El,
Superman's original name as a child from the planet
Kypton and Logan the real name of the X-Men mutant Wolverine),
the Baby Shower had a Superhero theme. Superhero decor
was bought and guests were asked to wear their favorite
Superhero shirt or costume. Batman, Wonder Woman, Green
Lantern, Flash, Wolverine, Thundercat and of course
a few Supermen all made appearances at the party. Even
the desserts that were made had a Superman theme, hence
they were dubbed "Super Cupcakes".
It was a potluck party full of Superhero food such as
pizza, chicken strips, pancit, lumpia, kalua pig, macaroni
salad and much more. After everyone ate, guests at the
party participated in a few Baby Shower games. The first
game was "Guess What's in the Bag" which had a few baby
items in it. The second game was "Match the Baby Socks"
and the third one was the "Pregnant Lady Race" where
everyone had to drop a ping pong ball into a cup while
carrying a big balloon in their shirt as if they were
pregnant. Afterwards it was time to open all the gifts
from everyone. The rest of the party was spent socializing
with one another and giving the soon-to-be-parents baby
advice. Click
here to see all the Baby Shower photos or watch
the YouTube video montage. Jay and Honeylette would
like to thank everyone who attended the Superhero Baby
Shower festivities. Baby Kal is expected to arrive around
July 26th. Stay tuned for Baby Announcement to come.
Posted on June 26, 2014 | Read
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Kiana's Sugar Factory Birthday
Kiana Lei turned 19 years old this month. And instead
of having a big party with all friends and family, this
year she just wanted to have a nice intimate evening
out with her ohana (family). So on the evening of her
birthday, the family headed out for dinner at the restaurant
of the birthday girl's choice. She choose to go to the
Sugar Factory which is a restaurant but also a candy
store that has sugary treats and unique gift ideas.
Las Vegas has two Sugar Factory locations. One on the
Las Vegas Strip at the Paris Hotel and the other at
Town Square where the family decided to go. At this
Town Square location, once you walk in you can't miss
the wall candy that practically takes one side of the
restaurant offering everything from gumballs, lollypops,
gummy bears and chocolate covered nuts. However the
Paris Hotel location has a much larger candy store and
both the store and restaurant are open 24 hours a day.
The Sugar Factory restaurant is an American Brasserie
(Brasserie is a type of French restaurant with a relaxed
setting, which serves single dishes and other meals.
The word brasserie is also French for "brewery"). Aside
from the food, this brasserie is famous for it's signature
candy drinks such as their Jolly Rancher martinis, Lollypop
Passion goblets garnished with lollypops, and the White
Gummi which is a fruity cocktail with gummy worms inside,
just to name a few. The family however wasn't there
to drink but instead to eat from their selection of
appetizers, sandwices, pasta and desserts. The birthday
girl ordered the Sugar Factory Club Sandwich, while
Carole and Nevaeh shared a pizza. Ron ordered the Fettuccini
Alfredo while Nico who wasn't that hungry went straight
for dessert and ordered Crêpes. Since the waiter knew
they were there celebrating Kiana's birthday, after
dinner he brought out a complimentary ice cre am sundae
with a candle for the birthday girl. The rest of the
evening was spent bonding with one another and talking
about past happy moments while making new ones. And
of course the night couldn't end without picking out
everyone's favorite candy. Check
out all the photos from Kiana's Sugar Factory Birthday
or click
here to the video montage on YouTube. Happy 19th
Birthday Kiana Lei!
Posted on June 13, 2014 | Read
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Musical Month of May Concerts
This past month of May seemed to be a month full of music
as the family practically attended concerts almost every
weekend. The first one being the INConcert during the
Countdown to the Centennial celebration in Ontario, California.
(See blog entry "Behind
the Scenes at Southern California's C2C Celebration"
below.) The next one was the Phillip Phillips concert
at the Mandalay Beach at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. Season
Eleven's American Idol winner Phillip Phillip's concert
was just one in a series of outdoor concerts for the Summer
at the Mandalay Bay Beach which is the hotel's world-famous
aquatic playground featuring 2,700 tons of real sand and
a 1.6 million gallon wave pool. The performers stage sits
just off to the side of the wave pool and seating is (standing
or sitting room only) in the sand or in the water situated
right in front of the stage. It was a beautiful warm evening
and perfect weather for an outdoor concert. Ron, Carole
and the girls brought their beach towels and picked a
spot on the make-shift sandy beach. At times Nevaeh and
Ron would watch the concert from the wave pool as the
American Idol star performed his hit songs such as "Gone,
Gone, Gone", "Home", and "Raging Fire" as well as covers
of songs such as Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and Eminem's
"Lose Yourself".
The following week, golfer Tiger Woods held his annual
"Tiger Jam" benefit concert again in Las Vegas for the
college-access programs of the Tiger Woods Foundation.
It was the 16th year holding the star-studded weekend
event that raised nearly $1 million. The concert was
held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center which was headlined
by American pop rock band One Republic. Ron, Carole,
Nico and Nevaeh attended the concert which was opened
by The All-American Rejects who did an acoustic set
of their hit songs like "Gives You Hell", "Move Along"
and "Dirty Little Secret". Afterwards One Republic took
the stage singing their hit songs "Good Life", "Secrets",
"Stop and Stare", "Apologize", and sang some of their
top hits from their latest studio album, "Native", including
"If I Lose Myself", "Feel Again" and "Counting Stars."
The last concert they saw for the month was at the Axis
Theater at the Planet Hollywood Hotel where the 90's
boy band Backstreet Boys was scheduled to perform. The
group was on their year long tour "In a World Like This"
which held shows all over Asia, Europe and North America.
Luckily Ron was able to get tickets for the band's scheduled
concert in Las Vegas where he took Carole and Nevaeh.
Kiana was suppose to attend but had to back out last
minute to perform a dance at another event. Before the
Backstreet Boys took the stage, the concert was opened
by Canadian and French singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne
who performed her hits songs such as "Hello Kitty",
"Sk8ter Boi", "Girlfriend" and "Complicated". Then after
a short stage change and set up, BSB took the stage
as the audience of mostly 30 - 40+ year old women were
screaming as if they were 15 year old girls. All original
members A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter, Kevin
Richardson, and Brian Littrell were present and sang
most of their hit songs from when the group started
back in 1993 as well as songs from their most recent
album "In a World Like This". When that album was released
last year (2013), it marked their 20th anniversary as
a group. The group also performed an acoustic set of
a few of their songs to show that they not only can
sing and dance but they knew how to play musical instruments
as well. Click
here to see all the concert photos from this month
of May or watch
the YouTube video of the photos accompanied by music.
As quoted by the famous Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter
and guitarist, "One good thing about music, when it
hits you, you feel no pain." -Bob Marley
Posted on June 3, 2014 | Read
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Nico's Birthday Surprises
This year Nico turned 22 years old. Being the adult
that he is now and also an entreprenuer running his
own video production business NGP Studio (visit his
website at http://www.poblete.com/ngpstudio),
Nico had no specific birthday plans except to work.
In fact he had scheduled to shoot two separate weddings
ceremonies and receptions on his actual birthday. Not
wanting to make a big deal to celebrate his birthday,
his best friends Matt and Gilbert and his sister Kiana
made sure his birthday this year would go unnoticed
by surprising him.
The first surprise was a midnight seranade of the "Happy
Birthday" song by his best friends Matt and Gilbert
who came over to Casa de Poblete right before the midnight
hour with candles and gifts. Just as the clock struck
12:00, the two accompanied by Kiana walked into Nico's
bedroom while he was asleep with candles lit (and not
your average birthday candles either but religious themed
candles?) and woke up the Birthday Boy with their unfinished
rendition of "Happy Birthday to You..." And the gifts
they brought were not your average gifts as well but
bare necessities that they thought Nico would need (such
as Candy, Baby Lotion, and Clorox Bleach?) that they
bought last minute at Smith grocery store down the street.
Afterwards the three best friends hung out in Nico's
bedroom reminiscing about growing up together and realizing
that they are now considered as adults. The three rarely
hang out as much these days as Nico keeps pretty busy
with finishing film school at the Art Institute and
also working part-time as a Visual Communications Assistant
at the City of Henderson, as well as keeping busy with
his clients for his video production business NGP Studio.
Matt who will be leaving soon for the U.S. Air Force
has been keeping busy working in the meantime. Gilbert
who fortunately was in town to be with Nico on his birthday
has been away in Sacramento, California these past few
months pursuing the Ministry. Despite all of their busy
schedules and the different paths they have taken, these
three will always have their memories of their pre-teen,
high school and college years together to remember.
Click
here to see a YouTube video of how Matt and Gilbert's
birthday surprise played out during that midnight
surprise.
Nico's second surprise was an actual birthday party
that his sister Kiana had planned. Because Nico was
busy on his actual birthday (which was a Friday) filming
the two weddings he had scheduled, he was also busy
during the entire weekend working at his other part-time
job at the Vdara Hotel & Spa on the Las Vegas Strip
where he works as a Food-Runner. So Kiana called/texted
all his close friends and told them to not make any
plans with him on both Saturday and Sunday evenings
which was his only free time he had and to all come
to Casa de Poblete on Sunday evening to surprise him
when he gets home from work. So as instructed,
everyone came over by 7PM and parked down the street
in order for Nico to not be suspicious. Also to throw
him off, the family told him that they would be going
out to dinner when he arrived  home for his birthday
since there was no time during the weekend. Having no
clue of what was about to happen as he opened the door,
everyone gathered in the living room to successfully
greet him with a big "Surprise!" The rest of the evening
was spent in the backyard barbequing and playing Mafia
all night long. Check
out all the photos from Nico's Surprise Party or
watch the video
montage of all the photos on YouTube. Thank you
to all our family and friends who came over to celebrate
with him and made his birthday this year special!
Posted on May 30, 2014 | Read
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Behind the Scenes at Southern California's C2C Celebration
The "Countdown to the Centennial" (or C2C for short) is
a series of commemorative activities in anticipation of
and preparation for the INC’s 100th anniversary of re-establishment
of the Church of Christ on July 27, 2014. For the past
100 years, the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) has
received God’s love, guidance, and abundant blessings,
allowing the Church to span the globe, and to continue
to hold on firmly to the teachings of God found only in
the Bible. The District of Southern California where the
family worships in the local congregations of South San
Diego and Henderson, Nevada where they are regionally
administered, was scheduled to hold their C2C Celebration
on May 10, 2014 at the Citizen's Bank Arena in Ontario,
California. The event was to showcase the "INConcert"
which is a live entertaining showcase of original Christian
music.
For Kiana, Ron and Richelle, their involvement with
this big momentous event was both in front and behind
the scenes. Kiana who tried out as a dancer was selected
along with the other 800 total performers and was picked
to perform in 3 segments of the concert. The first appearance
as a flag performer for the grand opening number of
"In the Shelter of His Wings". Then a Hawaiian dance
performance for "Now is the Time to Shine", and lastly
the grand finale of "It's Gonna Be the Centennial".
For 5 weekends straight, she had to travel to Southern
California for all the extra dance practices and dress
rehearsals.
While Kiana attended all the practice sessions, Ron
and Richelle attended many pre-production meetings both
in person and online via WebEx for INCTV. Richelle was
involved with the Coverage Crew that was to cover all
the pre-event festivities before the concert while Ron
was involved with the Live Coverage Crew who were responsible
to capture the concert via live feed to the arena as
well as live streaming on the Internet. They both too
had to attend all the dress rehearsals every weekend
as well to familiarize themselves with the flow of the
concert and plan for the coverage. The day before and
the actual day of the event, they were 
all none stop busy from early morning until late at
night. Like all big District events it's expected that
they are usually the first and last to leave the venue
because of their duties and responsibilities, especially
for Ron and Richelle who are usually involved with both
the set up and tear down of equipment and the downloading
and compiling of all the media footage at the end of
the event. But it's a small sacrifice for the success
of the event and for God's glory. About 11,000 attended
from all over the district (Southern California, Nevada,
Arizona, Utah, and Mexico). Overall it was an amazing
event and celebration. Click
here to see some behind the scene photos at Citizen's
Bank Arena or watch
the YouTube video montage of all the photos.
Posted on May 15, 2014 | Read
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Ron's Birthday Weekend
For Ron's Birthday Weekend, he was quite busy as he
has been every weekend for the past few weeks traveling
down to Southern California for rehearsals and meetings
for the upcoming "Countdown to the Centennial" event
scheduled for this month. (As mentioned in the blog
entry above.) On this birthday weekend both he and Kiana
were scheduled to be in Anaheim on that Saturday. Kiana
who will be performing as a dancer had an extra dance
practice session while Ron had his monthly INCTV Meeting
at the District Office. Later that afternoon they traveled
back down to their hometown of San Diego to join Carole
and Nevaeh who were dropped off there the night before
to visit family. They also went down to meet with some
of Ron's closest friends as Richelle contacted them
all and invited them for dinner at Papa Rollie and Mama
Pearlie's house for dinner to celebrate Ron's Birthday.
You can always count on these group of friends to get
together at any given time and at the very last minute
to come together and spend good times with one another.
And it does not have to a  special
occasion either. But since it was Ron's Birthday, Elmer,
Marites and their girls Chelsea and Briana, Junior and
Daisy along with their son's Josh, Jason and Jonathon,
Tracy (minus Lei who was out of town on business) and
their sons Kaleb and Kaden, Celia and sister in law
Diane, and Rob and Cynthia all came to celebrate. It
was a night of socializing, eating and watching the
Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Marcos Maidana WBA & WBC Welterweight
Championship Fight that Papa Rollie ordered through
Pay-Per-View. (Mayweather was declared the winner by
Majority Decision.)
The next day on Ron's actual birthday, he was too busy
to celebrate because he had spent the whole day at the
Citizen's Bank Arena in Ontario, California for the
Countdown to the Centennial rehearsals and technical
crew meetings. But the next day he did celebrate with
Carole and the kids with dinner at Lucille's Barbeque
Restaurant. Family friend (and new adopted son to the
famliy) Kyle also joined the family as the ordered the
"Backyard Family Feast". Their dinner consisted of one
rack of baby back ribs,a plateful of beef ribs and two
half BBQ chickens, plus side orders of corn on the cob,
roasted garlic mashed potatoes, hoestring fries and
served with a half dozen homemade biscuits with apple
butter. It was definitely too much food to devour that
entire evening so they took the rest home for leftovers
for the rest of the week. Check
out all the photos from Ron's Birthday Weekend or
watch
the YouTube video montage of all the photos. This
birthday marks the Countdown to his Half a Centennial
Birthday Celebration next year. So the months to come
will be a year of celebrating!
Posted on May 12, 2014 | Read
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Spring Break at Lake Havasu
It was that time of the year when the kids get their Spring Break week off from school and Ron and Carole would schedule time off from work to enjoy some quality
family time together. This year it was only Nevaeh who had the week off while Nico and Kiana's schools were still in session. For this year's Spring Break vacation,
the family decided to head out to the London Bridge Resort at Lake Havasu in Arizona. Ron had purchased a vacation package for the resort about a year and a half ago
but had never scheduled a reservation there because of their busy schedules. So since they knew for sure they would be taking time off this year for Spring Break,
the reservations were made for a 3 days/ 2 nights stay which also included a hot breakfast every morning. Although Kiana did not have that week off for Spring Break,
she decided to take a few days off from school to join their mini vacation while Nico stayed behind because of school and work. So with their bags packed, Ron, Carole
and the girls got in the car for a road trip that took them from the state of Nevada to California and to the state of Arizona. Unlike their usual 5 hour drives down
to their hometown of San Diego, this road trip only lasted about 2 and a half hours.
Once they arrived at Lake Havasu City they proceeded straight to the London Bridge Resort. The resort was named after the world-famous London Bridge which was the
actual bridge that formerly spanned the River Thames in London, England, until it was dismantled in 1967 (hence "London Bridge is falling down") to make way for a
new one. The original bridge was purchased in 1968 by Robert P. McCulloch, the city’s founder and shipped from  England 10,000 miles away to Lake Havasu City brick
by brick and reconstructed and completed in 1971. Beneath the bridge and adjacent to the resort is a quaint English village with specialty shops, boat tours and
eateries. The waterfront resort and the bridge spans the man-made Bridgewater Channel that connects the island to Lake Havasu City. The London Bridge Resort is also
home to the world’s only replica of England’s legendary Gold Stage Coach, where it rests regally in the lobby of the hotel. Built in 1762, the 24-foot-long gilded
carriage has carried every British Monarch since King George III to their coronation at Westminster Abbey.
The accomodations at the resort were nice as the family was placed in a one bedroom suite that included a kitchen. There were restaurants right in the hotel and
eateries out in the village but having the kitchen was nice to have since Carole prepared their own food and drinks for their 3 day stay. The hotel also had
ammenities like a small market/gift shop, fitness room, business center, 3 sparkling pools (including a 94-foot Waterslide) and jacuzzi, on-site marina and boat dock
and an executive 9-hole golf course. Throughout the resort were spectacular views of world-famous London Bridge, Bridgewater Channel, Lake Havasu, and Colorado River
to enjoy. Lake Havasu is a popular Spring Break destination for many college kids and at time could be a rowdy and crowded place and not suitable for families. Luckily
for them the timing was  perfect for a family vacation because all the Spring Break kids were back in school. So throughout their stay they got to relax, swim and
catch some sun at the pools, go on a paddle boat ride up and down the Bridgewater Channel canal, do some shopping in the village and enjoyed long walks along the
beautiful waterfront. Click here to see all the photos from this Spring Break vacation at Lake Havasu or check out the YouTube video montage of all the photos. This was the family's first
visit and stay at Lake Havasu City, Arizona and because they had such a good time, it definitely won't be their last.
Posted on April 23, 2014
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Pacquiao vs Bradley 2 Fight Night at Casa de Poblete
Fight Night had finally come and as past fights, the pay-per-view rematch against Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao and Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley was ordered
at Casa de Poblete. Not really planning for a big gathering, the family invited a few friends over while the rest who usually come over during past fights had
followed up to see if the fight was going to be available again to watch. It was the usual potluck hang out with everyone eating, socialize and watching the
undercard fights before the main event with the usual menu of pizza, chicken and other finger food snacks. Due to the windy conditions outside, for this fight
the big 12 foot high jumbo screen was not set up in the backyard (which probably bummed out the neighbors who would usually sneak a glance over the fence or from
their second story rooms to watch the fight). Instead everyone gathered around in the family/game room as the 100 inch projection screen was lowered for the
main event.
With everyone planted on their viewing spot, ring announcer Michael Buffer came on the screen to first introduce the national anthems. American Idol contestant and
San Diego's own Jessica Sanchez sang the National Anthem of the Philippines while R&B singer Ashanti sang the American National Anthem. Then the fighters were
introduced and made their way to the ring. Once the first bell sounded to start the fight, the excitement rose round after round as Pacquiao and Bradley went
toe to toe in what seemed to be a very close fight. With every punch thrown and connecting the sounds from everyone watching were heard as if they were the ones
getting punched. The highlight of the fight was when the cameras caught Manny's mother Dionisia Pacquiao (Mommy D) all caught up in the excitement appearing to
be doing some type of voodooism towards Bradley (which she was actually praying and throwing punches in the air as if to show her son how to beat Bradley).
After 12 rounds and no knock outs, Manny Pacquiao recaptured the WBO welterweight
title via a unanimous 12-round decision over Timothy
Bradley. Check out all the
photos from the Pacquiao Bradley 2 viewing party
or watch the YouTube video
montage of all the photos.
Posted on April 22, 2014 | Read
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Pacquiao vs Bradley 2 Weigh-In Event
The long awaited rematch of Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao
and Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley had finally come.
Undefeated two-division world champion Bradley would
defend his WBO welterweight title after taking the title
from Pacquiao during their first meeting in June 2012
which turned out to be one of the most controversial
boxing matches in the sport of boxing. The rematch fight
was scheduled to take place at the MGM Grand Garden
Arena in Las Vegas. This would also be Pacquiao’s first
fight in the U.S. since 2012, which was an unforgottable
fight as Manny got knocked out in the 6th round by Juan
Manual Marquez. His last fight back in November 2013
against Brandon Rios was held in Macau, China. Not being
able to attend a Pacquiao Weigh-In event in almost 2
years, Ron, Nico and the gang along with all the rest
Pacquiao fans were excited to head over to the MGM Grand
to witness this fight's official weigh-in.
So Ron and Nico met up with friends Matt, Gilbert and
Kyle at the MGM Grand about 9AM that morning and a crowd
had already started lining up. Unlike past fights where
Pacquiao's opponents were either Mexican or Puerto Rican
with their fans coming out in full force, the fans of
Bradley who were in attendance were definitely out numbered
by all the Pacquiao fans who were mostly Filipinos.
As the hours passed by, the crowd grew larger and larger.
While waiting for the doors to open, Gilbert who brought
his famous Manny Pacquiao mask paraded around as fans
wanted to take a photo with him while Matt got the chance
to pre-qualify for the Tecate Dragon Punch Contest to
win tickets to the actual fight. As 1PM hour arrived,
the doors to the Grand Garden Arena were finally opened
and the crowd race inside to grab a place to sit.
Once inside it was the usual fan fare of lights and
resident DJ for Top Rank Boxing Justin Hoffman playing
music to hype up the crowd. Since Matt qualified for
the Dragon Punch Contest, he along with the other 5
contestants gathered off to the side of the main stage
and the announcer introduced each one of them. Matt
was first to punch the punching bag and set the high
score to beat to win the freenfight tickets. One by
one each contestant got their chance to try and beat
Matt's score. Even former boxer Julio Cesar Chavez tried
but they all failed making Matt the winner of the two
free tickets to the fight. Shortly after the contest
the undercard fighters took to the stage for their official
weigh-in. Then HBO went live at 3PM to broadcast the
main event fighters weigh-in. Both Pacquiao and Bradley
along with their entourages took to the stage and the
crowd went wild, majority of the crowd chatting for
Pacquiao. Pacquiao who's record was 55 Wins and 5 loses
with 38 KO went first and tipped the scales at an even
145 pounds. Bradley who's record was 
31 wins and 0 loses with 12 KO weighed in at 145.5 pounds.
During the final stare down, the crowd again went wild
cheering for Manny Pacquiao while Timothy Bradley got
booed whenever he appeared on the big screen. Click
here to see more photos from this weigh-in event
or check
out the YouTube video montage of all the photos.
Both fighters have unfinished business and this rematch
fight will give them the opportunity to settle an old
score. This fight should be very satisfying for all
boxing fans.
Posted on April 20, 2014 | Read
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March Concerts and Shows
One of the benefits of living in Las Vegas is that it is considered the "Live Entertainment Capital of the World". This city has plenty
of entertainment and Ron and Carole have taken full advantage of this since leaving their hometown of San Diego to move to Las Vegas.
They have taken the whole family to many shows and concerts on the Las Vegas Strip which was one of the reasons why they decided to
relocate to Las Vegas. Because of their own interest and passion for arts and culture they wanted to continue to raised their kids to
broaden and appreciate all kinds of arts, music, film, theater and history and to discovery their own talents within them. And what
better way to provide such knowledge then to have them experience it live in person than watching and listening to it on television
or on the radio.
So for this past month of March, the family was able to see a few shows and concerts that came to town. The first show they
got to see was "PANDA!" at the Palazzo Las Vegas Hotel which features high-flying acrobatics from artists of the China National
Acrobatic Troupe, sensational Masters from the Shaolin Temple, birthplace of Kung Fu, stirring music and beautiful dance. It was
a great story and production with awesome performances, elegant costumes and fantastic special effects. Amidst a backdrop of sensational
imagery featuring a massive state of the art multilayered LED wall, the production takes the audience to a mythical realm of Far
Eastern folklore. The PANDA! show was very entertaining and worth watching if you get the chance. With all the panda like characters
mixed in with the other performers, it was like watching Kung Fu Panda and Cirque du Soliel in one show.
Child actress and recording artist turned Pop music's provocateur Miley Cyrus also came to Las Vegas and Ron and Carole were able to get
tickets for her concert. However this was no G Rated Hannah Montana-type concert but rather a very controversal concert tour called the
"Bangerz Tour". Not really interested to see the concert, Ron and Carole opted out to watch the twerking and tongue-wagging Miley Cyrus
and gave the tickets to Nico and Kiana to watch the show with their friends. Although parents across the country have claimed that the
"Bangerz Tour" was too profane for kids, Nico and Kiana were old enough to watch it on their own along with their friends Natalie, Ken and Micaela.
And because they were all fans of her music, they had to see for themselves the artistic and crazy direction this once upon a time young country child TV actress has taken
to become this controversial Pop Star. And what was their reaction when asked about the concert afterwards? The one world that seem to
summarize it all was "Weird". Although they was still big fans of her music, they said the concert was basically Miley Cyrus singing
her songs partially dressed and making several sexual poses while wearing sexual bondage and dancing on stage with a cast of furry
friends and cartoon characters.
Because the Miley Cyrus's Bangerz Tour was too much for Ron and Carole, they went ahead and got tickets to watch something alot less
controversial and something they could appreciate more. So since the English multinational operatic pop vocal group "Il Divo"
was scheduled to make a stop in Las Vegas on their "Il Divo - A Musical Affair" tour, they were able to get tickets to their concert
which was held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Since the kids had other plans, Ron and Carole brought friends Lylbeth, Ely, Khit and
their two older kids Marial and Elijah. It was also a special treat because Il Divo's special guest on their North American tour was
the Tony Award winning Filipina singer and actress Lea Salonga who has been in many Broadway shows and was the voice of several Disney
soundtracks. The concert was indeed a musical affair as the group along with Lea Salonga performed all the great Broadway songs
from such musicals as Phantom of the Opera, Evita, Les Misérables and West Side Story just to name a few. It was a great night of
music as well as a great month of concerts and shows. Check out the rest of the photos or watch the
YouTube video montage from all these great shows that came to the "Live Entertainment
Capital of the World", Las Vegas.
Posted on March 31, 2014 | Read
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Richelle and Patrick's Birthday Weekend
This month Richelle and Patrick celebrated another birthday. They both had no big plans to go anywhere to celebrate so the rest of the
family and extended family from out of town came to them for their birthday weekend. The first to arrive in San Diego were family friends
Alain, Lesley and their daughter Riley from Long Beach and Leizl and her two sons Mathew and Kai from Los Angeles who arrived Friday Night.
Then on Saturday morning everyone headed over to Papa Rollie and Mama Pearlie's house for breakfast and were joined by Ron and Eliza who
stopped by with boxes of gourmet donuts from The Donut Bar before heading back to Sacramento. Family friend Celia also arrived with more
desserts as she brought over a Fresh Fruit Strudel from Hans and Harry's Bakery. It was a full morning of eating desserts and Mama
Pearlie's famous Filipino breakfast (also known and dubbed as "Mamasilog") and hanging out watching movies in the family room. Shortly
after noontime, Ron, Carole, Nico, Kiana, and Nevaeh arrived from Las Vegas to join the weekend celebration and also John, Ivy their
daughter Piper who battled the Saturday morning traffic coming from Los Angeles arrived shortly after.
As always this family celebrates special occasions with food. So with everyone now in town, the plans for the weekend was of course more
eating. Richelle made dinner reservations to eat and hang out at Ramen Yamadaya in Clairemont Mesa. As they arrived, friends Junior and
Daisy and their sons Josh, Jason, and Jonathan were already there reserving the back part of the restaurant which was reserve for their
group of 25 or so. Another friend Gladys shortly joined the group as everyone ordered from the menu of various ramen and other Japanese
cuisine and hung out catching up and socializing. Afterwards the group all ended up heading to Mission Valley for dessert at Yogurtland.
The next day after Sunday worship services, the gang continued the celebration and headed for lunch at Fuddruckers World's Greatest
Hamburgers in Chula Vista. This time they were joined by cynthia, Tyler, Julie, Jun and Lisa and sons Justin and Jake. The Valenton's
also joined the celebration as Mark, Cynthia, Vernon, Jomie and their son Camden came along for the hamburger eating celebration. Shortly
after the Buenavista's showed up as Harmony and Jewell arrive with their kids Jasmine, Hayden and Hudson. It was a fun afternoon of
celebrating, eating, bonding and laughing with the family and Richelle and Patrick's closes friends. Click here to see more photos from this night with
from their birthday weekend or check out the YouTube video montage of all the festivities. The celebrants
felt so blessed and loved from everyone's presence, especially from those who came from out of town and took the time to travel down to
San Diego to spend the weekend celebrating with them. Special thanks to them and to everyone else who sent their birthday greetings via
text, phone calls and social media post throughout the weekend!
Posted on March 26, 2014
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Latest "Ron vs. Food" Adventures
Ron's food blog site has been recently updated with his latest "Ron vs. Food" adventures. Read all about them has he ventured out locally
to try Las Vegas' new Filipino restaurant "Full House BBQ - House of Manila Cuisine" and also traveled down to Ensenada, Mexico to eat at
the Mariscos "La Guerrerense" Seafood Cart and also to the island of Oahu to the must-visit breakfast spots on the island and also the
North Shore shrimp trucks. Also added are some "Ron vs. Food" recipes for you to try such as his Hawaiian-Style Furikake Chicken and also
his Cajun-Style Spicy Shrimp Recipe (similar to The Boiling Crab and Hot n' Juicy's recipe).
If you're hungry to try out some new places to dine or need suggestions on where to go eat, visit the "Ron vs. Food" blog site at
http://www.poblete.com/ronvsfood. "Bon Appetit!"
Posted on March 3, 2014 | Read
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The Jacksons Live at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas
The American popular music family group The Jacksons has been a household name in the Poblete Family for years. Growing up Ron, Carole and Richelle listened to the Jackson Five
since the 70's and even watched their Saturday morning cartoons back in the day. And in their teen years they watched the Jacksons careers sky rocket, especially Michael's as he
persued his own solo career. The next generation Poblete kids also grew up listening to The Jacksons music as it often played from time to time in the house or in
the car. Nico and Kiana also grew up watched all the music and concert videos during the MTV music video years. And even before and after Michael's death, even Nevaeh
got to know of the King of Pop's music as she also listened to his music growing up. So when Ron found out that The Jacksons were going to have a 2-month residency stay
headlining their own concert show at the Planet Hollywood Las Vegas Resort, he managed to get tickets to go watch them for Carole's Birthday.
RockTellz & CockTails presented the full-on live concert
show, with hit songs and intimate personal stories from
the original Jackson Five members Tito, Jackie, Marlon
and Jermaine minus their late brother Michael who unfortunately
died back in 2009. But his memory and legacy lived on
through his brothers as they performed all the Jackson
hits included a few of Michaels hit songs. In between
songs the brothers talked about their upbringing in
the Jackson household from their humble beginnings in
Gary, Indiana up to their days in Motown. Barry Gordy
was even featured in the show as he also talked about
the Jackson Five through the large video screen. Their
mother Katherine Jackson was also feature on the video
screen talking about raising their nine children and
was even present that night in the audience along with
their Father Joseph Jackson.
Song after song this one-of-a-kind live show was full
of high-energy as the four brothers (who were all now
over the age of 50) backed by a full live band danced
and performed just like they did during their younger
years. Check
out the rest of the photos from this night with
legendary music group or watch
the YouTube video montage. Or if you happen to be
in Las Vegas between February 20 – April 27, go see
the show for yourself at the Planet Hollywood Resort.
It's a must see show, especially if you are a big Jacksons
Fan!
Posted on February 26, 2014
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Carole's 50th Birthday Weekend
This year is a milestone year as Carole celebrates her big 50th Birthday. Not wanting to have a big celebration unlike her other big milestone birthdays in the past,
this year she choose to have a more intimate celebration with just her and her loved ones. So to kick it off, she and the family and a few close friends went on a
2-day cruise to Mexico early in the month (See blog entry "All Aboard the Carnival Cruise Ship Imagination" below). Then on the actual day of her birthday the
celebrating continued with Ron and the kids with dinner at Fogo de Chao Brazilian Steakhouse. Not new to churrascaria restaurants which is a place where meat is
cooked Churrasco style and where Passadores (meat waiters) come to your table with knives and a skewer, on which are speared various kinds of meat, the family made
sure to come hungry as they have dined at other similar restaurants like Texas de Brazil in Las Vegas and Rei do Gado in San Diego. This was however the first time
dining at Fogo de Chao. Like the other restaurants the meats kept coming and coming and by the end of the night as their satisfying stomachs couldn't take any more
they flipped the card over to the red side to let the Passadores know not to serve their table anymore. For dessert the waiter brought out a complimentary Brazilian
Style Flan with a candle on it for the birthday celebrant to enjoy.
To continue the celebration, the following day Ron booked a suite at the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas for a weekend of rest and relaxation. It was also
another resort hotel to cross off Carole's list as she continues to accomplishes her goal to stay overnight at each of the big hotel resorts on the Las Vegas Strip.
The Trump Hotel Las Vegas is a 64-story five star luxury hotel, condominium, and timeshare located on Fashion Show Drive near Las Vegas Boulevard and named for
famed real estate developer Donald Trump. The studio suite that they checked into was on the 53 floor and had breathtaking views of the Strip from its large
floor-to-ceiling windows. The suite also included a European style kitchen, living area with loveseat seating, a flat-screen LCD HDTV, Italian Marble baths with
twin sinks, a spa tub and the bathroom also included a high-tech, in-mirror, plasma television.
After relaxing that afternoon in their suite, they got ready for a night out on the Strip as Ron also got tickets for that night to see The Jacksons at the
Planet Hollywood Las Vegas Hotel Resort. After having dinner at the Spice Market Buffet they proceeded up to the Planet Hollywood showroom where
RockTellz & CockTails presented a full-on concert, high-energy, one-of-a-kind live show, with hit songs and intimate personal stories with music’s highest-selling
groups of all time, The Jacksons. The show took the audience on an interactive, unforgettable journey through their historic lives and influential musical career.
The Jacksons who had nine number-one hits and 14 top-10 hits, including “ABC,” “I Want You Back” and “I’ll Be There,” performed all their hit songs including
solo hits by their late brother, the King of Pop Michael Jackson. It was a great night seeing and listening to this legendary musical group perform live.
(More details, photos and video in the previous blog entry "The Jacksons Live at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas" above.)
The following day Nico, Kiana, and Nevaeh joined them at the Trump Hotel to spend some quality time with their Birthday Mom and to enjoy all the amenities that
the hotel had to offer. Among the services and amenities, the Trump Hotel offered 24-hour concierge service, 4 pm late check out, The Trump signature store and
gift shop, World-class dining at DJT Restaurant and Bar, poolside cafe and bar the H2(EAU), 24-hour private In-Suite Dining, and award-winning spa, salon and
fitness center. But what the kids wanted to take advantage of the most was the sparkling swimming pool and sundeck with private cabanas where they stayed swimming
and relaxing all afternoon long.
Click here to see the rest of the photos from Carole's Birthday Weekend or watch the watch the YouTube video montage. As quoted by Victor Hugo..."Forty is the old age of
youth; fifty is the youth of old age." Happy 50th Birthday Carole!
Posted on February 26, 2014
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Super Bowl XLVIII Hang Out at Casa de Poblete
No the San Diego Chargers didn't make it to the Super
Bowl this year but that's no excuse to not to get together
with family and friends and watch the big game on the
big screen. So the family invited a few friends over
and those who accepted the invite were Ron and Carole's
inaanaks Ronald and Eliza who were visiting from Sacramento.
Ronald's sister Cheryl came along as well as other friends
Ken and Micala, Ron and Mayette with their kids Jonah
and Gaby, and also Ely and Khit with their daughter
Danica. Ron grilled his Korean BBQ Short Ribs and baked
his Seafood Salmon Casserole while Nico and Ken grilled
some steaks and vegetables. The rest of the Super Bowl
Feast consisted of Raising Canes Chicken Fingers, salads
and vegetable trays, homemade spinach dip, nachos, and
desserts including cheese rolls that were bought the
day before at Portos in Southern California.
As far as the game, the Seattle Seahawks dominated as everyone watched the football game on the family's 100" video projector screen. At halftime the Seahawak led
14 to 0. The Half Time Show which was performed by singer/songwriter Bruno Mars was one of the best Half Time Shows ever. As the third quarter started the Seahawks
continued to dominate only letting the Broncos put up 8 points on the board. By the end of the game the Seattle Seahawks defeated (murdered) the Denver Broncos 43 to 8.
Check out all the photos of this year's Super Bowl XLVIII Hang Out at Casa de Poblete or watch the YouTube video montage. It was a good game (if you were rooting
for Seattle) with a lot of good food that was shared with good company.
Posted on February 13, 2014
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Turistas en Ensenada, Mexico
After leaving the Port of Long Beach for their 2-day
family cruise aboard the Carnival Cruise Ship Imagination
the day before (See blog entry "All Aboard the Carnival
Cruise Ship Imagination" below), the ship finally arrived
at Puerto Ensenada (Port of Ensenada) the next morning
at the crack of dawn. Before disembarking the ship for
a day of sightseeing and shopping, the gang took advantage
of the morning hours to either do a morning workout
at the fitness center or sleeping in from the late night
fun watching shows and eating pizza and ice cream at
midnight the night before. Once everyone was up they
all had breakfast together at one of the ship's dining
rooms. After their hearty breakfast the gang gathered
their things and proceeded to disembark the cruise ship.
And so they all set off on foot for their excursions
through the streets Ensenada.
The first stop on their walking tour was at the Terra
Peninsular Community Center and Gallery. Family friend
Celia who came along on the cruise also worked for this
environmental conservation organization and had arranged
for the gang to meet with one of the Community Center's
coordinators Horacio González Moncada. He spoke briefly
to the group regarding the organization's conservation
efforts to protect the natural ecosystems and wildlife
of the Baja California Peninsula. He also took the group
through the gallery that was showcasing a photographic
exhibition on the beautiful scenery and wildlife of
Baja California. Afterwards Horacio accompanied the
gang on their walking tour through the streets of Ensenada
pointing out the best places to visit. Their next stop
was at Cafe Kaffa which was a coffee shop right by the
community center. Aside from the fancy coffee drinks
with the impressive coffee art that appeared on top
of their drinks, the gang also took advantage of the
cafe's free Wifi to check their email and post pictures
on their social media sites. After finishing up their
coffee and posting  that
last photo on Facebook and Instagram, Horacio continued
guiding the group on their walking tour passing all
the street vendors and street food carts. One of the
food carts highly recommended was the La Guerrerense
mariscos or seafood cart. La Guerrerense was a pretty
famous street food cart that has been featured on a
lot of television food shows such as "No Reservations
with Anthony Bourdain". With fishing accounting for
a large part of the economy and more than 90 species
of fish are commercially fished in Ensenada, the seafood
at this cart was pretty fresh. The tostadas with chopped
fish ceviche and also the crab salad also served on
a tostada were very delicious. The seafood cocktail
which had raw clams, oysters, and octopus was also quite
tasty.
As they continued on their walking tour they stopped
at several street vendor carts and stores that sold
an assortment of Mexican rugs, carpets and blankets
with different designs, Mexican clothes for men and
women, potteries and assorted wooden handicrafts, Mexican
ceramics and the regular touristy trinkets and souvenirs
like refridgerator magnets, t-shirts, shot glasses and
more. After a few hours on their excursion through Ensenada
learning about the area, food tasting and shopping,
it was time to get back to the ship before it sailed
away for the voyage back to the United States. Click
here to see the rest of the photosof these tourists
in Ensenada, Mexico or click
here to watch the YouTube video montage. "Muchas
gracias a Celia y Horacio para organizar los tours durante
su visita a Ensenada."
Posted on February 10, 2014
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All Aboard the Carnival Cruise Ship Imagination
This month for Carole's big 50th Birthday, she was
asked how she wanted to celebrate it. Not wanting to
have a big party with all the fanfare, she originally
wanted to have some bonding time with all her sisters
and sister-in-laws. So Ron offered to take them all
on a cruise but due to scheduling problems and other
reasons, not everyone could sail on the date they have
booked. So instead of a sister cruise it was decided
to make it more of a family cruise. So the kids Nico,
Kiana and Nevaeh skipped school for two days to kick
off their Mom's birthday celebration. Carole's younger
brother Rob along with wife Cynthia and son Tyler, as
well Richelle and Patrick took time off too to join
their voyage. Close family friends Celia and also Ron,
who was also celebrating his birthday this month along
with wife Mayette also decided to come along. This wasn't
the first cruise taken by Ron, Carole, Richelle and
Patrick but for everyone else it was their first cruise
ship experience ever. As you can imagine there was so
much excitement leading up to the day the ship was to
set sail.
The Carnival Cruise Ship Imagination was scheduled to
set sail on a Thursday for a 2-day excursion down to
Ensenada, Mexico. Ron, Carole and the kids along with
Ron and Mayette drove down that early morning from Las
Vegas while the rest drove up from San Diego and met
up at the cruise ship terminal at the Port of Long Beach,
California. They all arrived and got process early so
they could board the ship early to find their cabins
and get their luggages situated. The Lido Deck had already
started serving hamburgers, hot dogs and even roast
beef at the grill as well as a Mongolian Wok station
while the buffet was serving pizza, sandwiches and desserts
such cakes, cookies and ice cream. As soon as everyone
got settled in their cabins, it was time to start their
voyage of non-stop eating. And non-stop eating is what
was planned as the ship's Lido Buffet served breakfast,
lunch and dinner throughout  the
day as well as a 24-hour pizzeria, sandwich and ice
cream stations for those midnight snack or 2 a.m. cravings.
Signature dining was also offered in the main dining
rooms where everyone selects a four-course meal from
the special menu of culinary delights including lobster
on the second night of their voyage. It was on that
second night during dinner when their server and some
of the dining staff brought out two slices of cake with
candles lit for both Carole and Ron to blow out while
they all sang "Happy Birthday".
The Carnival Imagination has a passenger capacity of
2056 with an onboard crew of 920 to server your every
need. Aside from the dining experiences, the ship offered
alot of onboard experiences like entertainment such
as full stage production shows, comedy clubs, live music,
karaoke bars, dance clubs and a casino. The gang took
advantage of watching the "Welcome Aboard" show on the
first night after dinner which was a variety show that
entertained and introduced the passengers to some of
the different acts on the cruise. On the second night
they watched a musical production which was based on
the rock and roll hits of the 80s. Aside from the indoor
entertainment, the ship also offered outdoor activities
with all the pools and jacuzzis on board and activities
such as table tennis and miniture golf. The ship also
had an outdoor jogging track with great views of the
ocean or scenery at port as well as a full spa and fitness
center which had all the latest equipment. While on
the ship the gang took advantage of most of the ship's
ammenities including hanging out playing games at the
arcade. Nevaeh and Tyler especially took advantage of
the Carnival Water Works which was the ship's waterpark
as they splish and splashed through all the spiralling
waterslides despite the cooler weather. Check
out all the photos of all the fun they had or click
here to view the YouTube video montage of their
experiences on the Carnival Cruise Ship Imagination.
It's a fantastic voyage that will be remembered for
years to come.
Posted on February 10, 2014
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Disney on Ice Rockin' Ever After
Disney and Pixar animated movies are often played over and over again in the Poblete household, especially if the movie's story involves a
princess or a female heroine. They are often watched by both Kiana and Nevaeh who up to now can never get tired of watching them,
over and over and over and over again. So when all the TV and radio advertisements aired that Disney on Ice was coming to town,
the two Poblete princesses kept mentioning non-stop that they wanted to go see the show. Surprisingly not only did Kiana and Nevaeh want
to see the show but even their Mom expressed a lot of enthusiasm that she too wanted to see Disney on Ice.
So with tickets in hand Ron, Carole, Kiana and Nevaeh headed to UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center where the Disney on Ice "Rockin' Ever After"
ice skating show was scheduled to be for a 5-day engagement. Wearing their Disney attire, Kiana in her Ariel shirt from the movie "The Little Mermaid"
and Nevaeh in her Rapunzel shirt and hair piece from the movie "Tangled", they sat in their seats as they waiting for the show to begin. Once the
house lights dimmed, Mickey and Minni Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck took to the ice and welcomed everybody to the show. It was a musical
showcase that featured most of the Disney songs and characters from the movies "The Little Mermaid", "Tangled", "Brave" and "Beauty and the Beast".
It was a spectacular show with breathtaking ice skating performances and a big treat to see all the animated Disney characters come to life.
Click here to see all the photos or watch the YouTube video montage of this Disney magical or musical night on ice.
Posted on January 18, 2014
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Las Vegas Strip New Years Fireworks
This year instead of joining the rest of the family in bringing in the new year 2014, Ron, Carole and the kids were stuck in Las Vegas
due to their work schedules having to work on New Years Eve. So to make the best of it, they made plans to bring in the new
year watching the fireworks go off at midnight on the Las Vegas Strip. But instead of hanging out in the cold weather on Las Vegas
Blvd with all the wild and crazy people, they choose to watch the fireworks display from a far but close enough distance and
decided to park up on the top floor of the McCarran International Airport parking structure.
The view from on top the parking structure was perfect as they were able to have a unobstructed view of the entire Las Vegas Strip.
They arrived there a little early some time after 10:30PM to pick out a good spot. Earlier in the day they had put the word out of their plans
to watch the fireworks from there and invited some friends to come along. Family friend Kyle along with his brothers and cousin as well
as the Tejada Family responded to the invitation and met up on the top floor of the parking structure where the family was parked. To pass
the time since they had an hour or so to wait until midnight, they played games such as the board game "Battle of the Sexes" and
"Heads Up" using an iPhone app. They also brought some snacks and hot chocolate to keep them warm while they waited out in the cold air.
As midnight approached, more people started to arrive as they too had the same idea to watch the fireworks from that vantage point.
With cameras all set up, Ron and Nico started shooting the big fireworks display as they were simultaneously being set off on top of the
MGM Grand, Planet Hollywood, Aria, Caesars Palace, Treasure Island, Venetian, and Stratosphere hotels.
Check out all the photos of that New Years Eve night atop the McCarran Airport parking structure or
click here to view the YouTube
video montage of the spectacular fireworks show on the Las Vegas Strip.
Posted on January 4, 2014
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Happy New Year 2014
Bringing in the new year with family and friends is an annual tradition for this family. This year the family gathered at
Papa Rollie and Mama Pearlie's home in San Diego and the Navarro, Almazan, Dela Rosa, Carlos and Delos Santos families
joined in on the festivities. Unfortunately Ron, Carole and the kids could not come down this year to celebrate with everyone
due to their work schedules and with New Year's falling in the middle of the week. Like every New Year's gathering it was
a night a socializing and a lot of picture taking and of course eating throughout the night. There was plenty of food and desserts
as well as joy and laughter in the air as the midnight hour approached.
Click here to see all the photos from this year's gathering or watch the YouTube video montage
of all the festivities. Happy New Year 2014 to all from the Poblete Family!
Posted on January 3, 2014
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