2018 Calayan Adventure - Day 04 - A Birthday/Family Reunion Celebration and a Sunset Tour in Punta Magsidel

03 April 2018

Traveling to my Dad's hometown is actually pretty insane considering the distance, modes of transport and time required to reach it.  But we made the journey out of love, out of familial responsibility and of gratitude for the people we consider our own.

One of the reasons for this trip happened today - a celebration of birthdays for Uncle Angel, Auntie Biyang and my Dad...

2018 Calayan Adventure - Day 03 - Hiking to Sibang Cove

02 April 2018

Aaah!  Sibang Cove - pristine white sand, blue-green waters, relative isolation... you're worth the 40 minute, grueling hike....

This was where we decided to have our family pictorial to commemorate the reunion of the Paypon siblings. 

Food for the picnic was brought over by lampitaw, including relatives who weren't able to make the trek.

Happy to share our pictures with you! :)

2018 Calayan Adventure - Day 02 - Traveling to Calayan Island (Claveria to Calayan)

01 April 2018

Happy Easter everyone!  Today is the day we board the boat on our way to Calayan Island, my dad's hometown.  It's exciting because it's been 10 years since we were last there and the kids don't probably remember much about that trip, so this is like a new experience for them...

This post shows you our journey from Claveria to Calayan... Look out for more of the rest of the journey in the succeeding posts... :)

2018 Calayan Adventure: Day 01 - Traveling to Calayan Island (Manila-Tuguegarao-Claveria)

31 March 2018

Traveling to Calayan Island is a journey in itself.  This post covers the trip from Manila to Tuguegarao, then to Claveria.  We stayed overnight at a resort in Claveria because boats to Calayan only travel in the morning and at the very latest, noon.

The rest of the trip continues in the next posts :)

Dana's Recognition Day, 2018

26 March 2018

Photo by SCC

Today, it's Dana's turn at Recognition Day.  She received the "With Honors" award, among 6 other students in her grade level.  We're really proud of her!!

Actually, we've told her often that it's okay if she doesn't get an award, that what's important is that she LEARNS and UNDERSTANDS.  It's not about memorizing facts and details, though they are also important.  But, it's better if she takes the lessons to heart and remember them well for there's more studying and practical applications in the future :)

But, having an award sure does make you feel like you've accomplished something, doesn't it?  As long as she's happy and won't let it get into her head, it's fine :)

Congrats Dana!! :) We're proud of you! 

Dad's 70th birthday celebration at Marlo's Grille

23 March 2018

Today was my Dad's 70th birthday celebration.  A milestone event if there ever was one because this party brought our family together again, after a long, long time of being separated.  If only Allan were here, we'd have been complete. 

A big shout out to Lynne for putting everything together...

Dylan's Recognition Day, 2018

23 March 2018

We have reached that time of the year when school year 2017-2018 ends.  It's March 23 and today is Dylan's Recognition Day.

We have to commend their teachers for pushing the schedule for today.  Their Recognition Day was originally scheduled in April, after Holy Week.  Despite the short notice, they were able to pull off a worthy Recognition Day for the kids!

Dylan's Birthday in School

16 March 2018

This is actually the first time that Dylan is celebrating his birthday in school.  He was really looking forward to it and was actually crossing off dates in the calendar in anticipation.

In the end, it was a busy, tiring day for everyone but despite it, everyone was happy and well-fed :)

10 Reasons Why the Big Bad Wolf Books Event at the World Trade Center is Bad for Me (and my wallet)!

17 February 2018

What a fitting picture! I found that book at the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale at the World Trade Center.  You'll find over 2 Million books with 60% to 80% discounts.  The event runs from February 16 to 25 and they're open 24 hours!  Admission is FREE!

We went there around 8PM and we left at 2AM and we didn't even get to see all the books!! Check out our experience and we hope that you get to visit too :)

Looking at the Super Blue Blood Moon is Fascinating

31 January 2018


The Super Blue Blood Moon - sounds like a mouthful but it's a sight worth seeing since it rarely happens.  I only found out about it because Dana told us she had to take pictures of it for her Science class. 

Admittedly, these are hardly award-winning photos but still, we had fun on the roof :)