Family: Reunion with Uncle Bebot Tadeo and family

April 21, 2013

One of the best things about Facebook is that it's easy to reconnect with long lost family members.  Thanks to Facebook we were able to reconnect with JR, Patrick's cousin from his Dad's side of the family.  They used to be close when they were kids but time and distance eventually diminished their communication.  When they got to talking, they made plans to meet up and luckily enough, Patrick had an Isuzu DMax pickup truck to test drive so we all went to Gerona, Tarlac for a reunion!

Our first stop was breakfast at Jollibee.

Then, we went on our way.  The ride was smooth and comfortable (for a pickup).  I remember I used to hitch a ride with my boss who drove a Toyota Hilux and that was a bumpy ride.  The kids and I were pretty content which is good for a long drive :)

On the way we saw the Tollgate to TPLEX being built.

We arrived at Uncle Bebot's place in about 3 hours.  Dylan immediately refreshed himself at the pool hahaha Too bad we didn't bring swimsuits :)

Catching up by the pool.. So refreshing.. With Uncle Bebot and JR!

The kids having fun outdoors.  We all had such a good time that we were invited to come back and we sure will! :)

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

Cars: Axe Bikini Car Wash

October 27, 2012

You know I consider myself lucky that I get to enjoy the weirdest pleasures with my family.  This time, our adventure was courtesy of Axe Philippines and their promo "Axe Anarchy Island Bikini Car Wash".  If I remember correctly, Patrick joined their contest and he had to post a picture of his car that really needed a good wash.  Well, if you left Stanley outside on the street for a day, expect that he'll be covered in dust and grime immediately considering the volume of vehicles that pass by on a daily basis.  So, in short, his photo got him registered for the event and on that Saturday, we all trooped to Mall of Asia to attend the Axe Bikini Car Wash not with Stanley but with Viktor, the Volvo test unit that Patrick had for the weekend.

The Axe Girls

Shelter from the Intense Heat

With Viktor, the Volvo

There were two batches of cars to be washed based on how early you were at the event.  We were fortunate enough to be the first of the 2nd batch so that gave us time to watch how everything was supposed to go.  First, there were 10 car wash bays, 5 on each side.  Each car is assigned a number as they register and will go into their corresponding car wash bay.  Each car wash bay is also assigned two girls to wash the car in the bay.  It was really Patrick's day because one of the girls that was assigned to wash Viktor was his crush, Yassi Benitez :)

Here were some of the girls who were assigned to the other vehicles :)

The kids had a blast because they were inside the car while it was being washed which was a first for them.  :)  Needless to say, Patrick also enjoyed himself immensely from his vantage point in the car.  Meanwhile, I just took the opportunity to have our picture taken with the hosts of the event.

On our way out after the event, there were some props laid out near the exit and we just couldn't resist taking pictures with them :)

After this fun event, we went to SM Mall of Asia for dinner and we chanced upon the Shell Ferrari Lego exhibit and the kids got their picture taken there as well :)  All in all it was a really fun day!