A Day in the Life

It's the Season to be jolly

December 25, 2012

As it is every year, we spent Christmas Eve with the Aguilos-Escalante brood in Project 4, Quezon City. Nothing beats being with family, with people who appreciate you and welcome you with open arms. There was good food, great company, special gifts and lots of love! (Photo by Tita Gigi)

Despite coming home in the wee hours of the 25th, all of us managed to be up and about to open our presents. Because there were a lot of gifts. I thought it best to just put all the pictures in a collage :) That way, you can view them all in one glance ;)

It's nice to see the happiness in my kids' faces when they open their gifts and appreciate whatever is inside, regardless of the price. The value is in the thought that people remembered them and cared for them enough to go out, buy and wrap gifts for them.

Merry Christmas!

Kids: Dana's First Holy Communion

December 08, 2012

It is a blessed day today. Not only is it the Immaculate Conception, but it is also Lolo Angel's birthday and it is also Dana's First Holy Communion celebration. The Sacrament of Holy Communion is one of the most important Catholic sacraments because it is through this religious practice that we become one with God. Also, it is something that is regularly affirmed not like the Sacrament of Baptism, Confirmation or Last Rites, where it only happens once.

The culmination of Dana's Holy Communion rites happened after much preparation for the students, the teachers and the parents. Everyone was enjoined to purify themselves through Confession and Recollection to be prepared to receive the Holy Communion at the appointed time. As parents, it is our responsibility to make sure that kids understand the sanctity and the value of Holy Communion.

Kids: A Night of Rama Hari

December 05, 2012

Dana and I were very lucky to be able to attend "Rama Hari" a Ballet Philippines presentation at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Rama Hari is based on the Indian epic, the Ramayana. Alice Reyes choreographs, Ryan Cayabyab sets the music, Bienvenido LUmbrera sets the libretto. There are two sets of major characters - those that will narrate through music and those that will interpret through dance. Our close friend, Kalila Aguilos will be playing the musical voice of Sita, Rama's love interest in the play.

You can see from Dana's face prior to the start of the show how excited she is :)

We really had no idea what to expect when we first arrived. Having no prior knowledge of the previous stagings of the musical, we were innocents and were just anxious to watch and enjoy the program. We weren't disappointed. The music was engaging and evocative. It's a plus for us that the actors we saw that night weren't celebrities like Karylle and Christian Bautista (who were also playing on alternate dates). We weren't star struck and so we were able to totally get into it with the music, with the dance and the whole atmosphere of the show. Kalila, of course, goes without saying is a pro and is a joy to watch on stage and I'm not saying that because she's a friend but because it's the Plain and Stark Truth :) Her partner, OJ Mariano had a commanding presence on stage and you can't help but focus on him when it's his turn.

The dancers we saw for that night's show were Richardson Yadao (Rama) and Katherine Trofeo (Sita). They were both brilliant on stage and we were just mesmerized by their performance.

After the show, we were able to have a chance at autograph signing and picture taking with the lead cast. Forgive the blurry pictures, taken only with a camera phone hehe

Kalila Aguilos, Sita (Music)

OJ Mariano, Rama (Music)

Katherine Trofeo, Sita (Dance)

Robert Sena, as Ravana

Richardson Yadao, as Rama (Dance)

Family: Jops & Gabz Wedding

December 04, 2012

It's always a privilege for us to be invited to weddings of friends and family members. This December, it was my cousin's Joan to get married to Gabz and their wedding was held at the Shrine of St. Therese. It was our first time to step into this Church and they picked a great one :D Here are photos of the Paypon side of the Bride, excluding Gabz :)

Gabz, The Groom

Jops, The Lovely Bride

Cathz, Matron of Honor

The Parents of the Bride

Here are the newly-weds on their way out of the Church and getting a running start to their New Life.

With every wedding ceremony, there's usually some idle time as people are busy setting things up. So, we kept the kids occupied with having their picture taken haha It's rare to see them all dolled up :)

The reception was held at The Pergola, just across the World Trade Center near Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City. Dana really enjoyed her first Virgin Mojito and if she had her way, she'd probably be drinking that the whole evening. :)

I couldn't resist taking a picture of Tracy with the Blood Red Sky behind her.

It was an enjoyable event, so thanks to Jops and Gabz and Congratulations!! :D

Cars: Toyota 86 for the long weekend

November 30 - December 04, 2012

One of the most memorable test drives that Patrick has ever brought home in the four years that he's been test driving cars is THE Toyota 86. During this week, he will have the Toyota 86, which we've fondly nicknamed Kratos (from God of War), to test drive and our first stop was at the Manila Auto Salon at the SMX of the Mall of Asia. Of course, before heading out, we all had to have our picture taken with Kratos haha

So guess what we first saw at the Manila Auto Salon? A red Toyota 86 at the Top Gear Philippines booth hahaha

After browsing through all the nice cars at the show, we were ready to go home. We still couldn't stop ourselves from taking pictures haha The car was a real Beauty and Beast !! :D Granted, the kids were comfortable in the back seat, although of course, they preferred to be able to see outside, but they liked it when Patrick "drifted" the car LOL As a passenger, I felt that the car really handled well and though it is a sports car, the suspension didn't make me dizzy.

It felt good to be driving around in it since we all saw how people reacted to the car. Some pointed it out. Some wanted to take pictures of it. There was even a time when at the traffic light, a jeepney driver had a conversation with Patrick about it. It surprised us when the driver thanked us for taking the time to talking to him about the car!!

I'm sure if we had money, Patrick wouldn't need any prompting to buy the Toyota 86! :D The kids would probably love it too :D

Kids: Kimmy's birthday at Kidzville, The Podium

November 17, 2012

Today is Kimmy's 1st birthday and we've been invited to attend. Den and Tracy spent the night here so that they can attend the party with us. The kids were already excited because they know they can play in the playroom for an indefinite period of time :) Den and Tracy spent the night and apparently Dylan wanted to camp out with them. Look at that smile while crawling all over Dylan :D

So, at the party, the kids participated in the games although, at one point, Dylan became overwhelmed and simply returned to his seat :)

We had fun because there was a lot of food choices. Ruthie really did a great job with the planning and she knew what the kids and adults would want to eat. There was a corn dog stand, a french fries stand, a taco stand and there was a separate group of main course for adults and kids.

After the kids had their fun, eating and playing, we went to SM Megamall, but first, some picture taking opps at Cinderella's carriage just outside of the Podium.

We had dinner at Amici because Den was craving some good food. I guess she was deprived LOL The kids shared a serving of spaghetti, Patrick had the lasagna, I forgot what Den ordered, and I had a spicy pasta (which was a first for me!). It was our first time to eat here and there were a lot of people but we were able to find seats immediately. The wait was considerable but the food was delicious!