hi my name is ryan...

This past weekend, John and I were able to take a mini trip to see his brother Paul's documentary entitled Hi My Name Is Ryan, which debuted at CineVegas, a film festival held annually in Las Vegas. The whole experience, for us, was both enjoyable and unforgettable. From the unique, creative, heartwarming, and inspiring film, to seeing Paul and Amy on the red carpet, to the celebrity sightings, to the after-party put on by the filmmakers and executive producer (Paul and his cousins) - held in a penthouse suite at the Palms. The place was exuding excitement and energy. It was such a fun experience to be able to view the documentary along with many of Ryan's family members and friends who appeared in the film. I think they all loved it. We went to both showings, and I loved being there for the Q&A afterwards. It was great to hear all the positive feedback and praise from the other viewers. The entire time I was just beaming with pride to have such a cool and talented brother-in-law. I know that Paul and Stephen have worked really hard on this documentary, which has been almost two years in the making, and I hope so bad that the film gets picked up by one of the buyers who attended the premiere.

Just a few highlights from our incredibly fun and amazing weekend...


Some of the film's cast and crew members

Paul on the red carpet

Paul and Stephen (the filmmakers), with Michael (the executive producer) in the middle...all three cousins

Paul and my beautiful sister-in-law Amy

Some of Ryan's friends and fellow band members from the film

John and I also managed to get an "unofficial" red carpet shot while no one was looking

And some of our celebrity sightings...

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson...notice how he's sort of smiling for our picture :)

Dennis Hopper and some random fan

Robin Leach

and finally last, but certainly not least...

Morgan Spurlock from the documentary Super Size Me. We didn't actually get a picture of him, but he walked right past us as we were sitting at McDonald's in the food court...pretty much stuffing our own faces with french fries. Needless to say, we felt pretty ridiculous sitting there at McDonald's of all places.