Family Bonding in Subic Bay

February 12-14, 2010

We scheduled our first out of town trip to coincide with Patrick's birthday and Valentine's Day.  It also happened to be our 15th year and 3rd month anniversary but who's counting (really?!) hahaha  It also was kind of a treat for Dana as well because her grades went up this quarter :)  This time we really planned on staying 3 days and 2 nights because the trip was long and we wanted to savor the experience and we had a lot of planned activities too :)  We left Ate Mel and Ate Den at home because Ate Den had classes and can't afford to miss them, even though she wanted to come.  Ate Mel was her chaperone at home hehehe

Here we are having lunch at Kenny Roger's Roasters along the North Luzon Expressway.  After a dip in the pool, here are my babies resting in our room.  Actually, that's one of the perks of the Bayfront Subic Hotel.  Aside from the very affordable and large rooms that they have, they also have a very good Japanese-Korean restaurant and a pool.  When we looked around Subic for accommodations, other hotels didn't have the advantage of having a pool.  When you're with kids you need a pool to keep them occupied even if you have cable TV in your room.  :)

What's more these rooms are huge! You even have a veranda, although the beach is blocked by a building being constructed, but still you feel the breeze of the ocean.  That couch can be for an extra person, you know :) The room is cold enough anyway :)

For dinner, Patrick recommended eating the Meat Plus Cafe, a very popular Subic hangout for people who love fat, juicy steaks.  Although, a word of warning they can be quite costly at around P250 a pop :)  Patrick couldn't stop raving about his food but unfortunately for me, I didn't like what was served.  Though the service crew were helpful, especially since we arrived during peak hours, my steak was so bloody I'd have turned into a vampire just by eating it.  I had no choice since I've already sliced it and I was just so hungry by that time that I just let it go.  In all fairness, they were fat steaks but the veggies could've been tastier with more butter :D I love butter! :D  I don't want to risk another tasting so I doubt if I'll return there. After dinner, we took a walk on the beach.  Dylan hated the feel of the sand on his feet hahahaha

The next day, we scheduled a trip to Ocean Adventure.  Ticket prices were P500 per adult and P420 for kids under 12.  I knew that we would be spending much when we got there but we did spend around 3 hours in the Park because of all the different attractions that were scheduled so it was just worth it.  While waiting for our first sked, we spent time at the Aquarium.

It would have been less hectic if we had the place to ourselves but that's wishful thinking.  There were kids on their educational field trip when we got there.  It was a good thing that thanks to the advice of the people in Bayfront we came early.  The dolphin pens were great to look at because you can see the dolphins up close, just look at the pictures that Patrick took.  

The first stop on our itinerary was the Dolphin show at the Seaside Stadium which lasted around 30 minutes.  Unfortunately, the camera ran out of battery even though we charged it so we weren't able to take pictures of the dolphins while the show was on-going.

These were taken while we were running around the place.  We ended up near the Eco-Theater and the Adventure Beach.  All the other people were in their respective shows so there was no one about.

Here's a picture of Brandy, the Sea Lion.  He had a lot of tricks and part of the show involved volunteers from the audience.  He knows how to play dead, roll around on the floor, smile and talk, salute and march - all through positive reinforcement.  There were more attractions like the Walk on the Wild Side which was a showcase of snakes, bats, dogs, cats and birds.  The last show was called "Rap, Jump and Roll" which was a variety show featuring mascots, dancing, rapping and a trampoline-acrobatic performance.



After the hot day at the Ocean Adventure, we headed back to the hotel and changed to our swimsuits for a dip in the cool waters of the pool.  Oh, we had burgers at Wimpy's for lunch, I almost forgot! LOL


For dinner, we ate at the hotel restaurant and we had shabu-shabu!! There was also an ongoing valentine's dinner outside the hotel complete with a band and a buffet set up.  We preferred to be indoors where there's aircon hehehe but look at that scrumptious food!

The next morning after our buffet breakfast, we headed to the beach to walk off all that food! :D  The sun wasn't so hot, the water was calm and the kids enjoyed walking on the water :)  Here are a couple of videos :

Dana frolicking on the beach
Dylan's version of running on water

After getting wet, we went back to the hotel were we prepared for going home.  We had such a good time, such a relaxing time that we didn't want to go back to the hectic and crazy life of the city :)

A fun day at the FUN RANCH

Fun Ranch, Tiendesitas - February 06, 2010

We had a mission today and it was to find clothes fit for Oneal and Rej's wedding on the 20th.  It's an important wedding for us because, first, it was a privilege to be invited so there was no question of not going, nor were there any second thoughts at all when we received their invitation.

Since this was going to be the kids' first formal gathering, we knew we had to invest in good clothes.  We even considered having Star Wars costumes made for them, but it was going to be cutting it too close.  We did look at websites (as recommended by Oneal) so maybe one of these days the kids will have their own Star Wars costumes :)

Anyway, we first went to Greenhills but we couldn't find anything suitable.  We then decided to try going to Tiendesitas because we haven't gone there at all and we thought that the kids would like to have fun at the Fun Ranch which was just across it.  We first ate lunch at their Food Court where there was a lot of food choices to suit many discerning palates.  After that, we went around for a while - there were a lot of home furnishings, many pet stores ( a whole section dedicated to pets), native delicacies and even kalesa rides.  It was a good place to walk around if you don't mind the heat but there are a lot of bargains if you have the energy to explore the many nooks and crannies ;)

The Fun Ranch was a really big place.  We got all-you-can-ride tickets for the kids which they proceeded to use on the carousel, the bumper cars and the other different rides.  Unfortunately, we only had a mobile phone to take pictures with so you'll have to bear with us.  I think our rechargeable batteries need to be replaced LOL

The kids had fun riding these bumper boats!  If I were younger I probably would too hahaha  At least there weren't too many people that day so there was really no waiting time and the helpers were more lenient about the time the customers stayed in the boats :) or maybe it was just us because my kids were cute ! LOL

This was actually the first ride they lined up for but they all got dizzy including Ate Mel! LOL we needed to take a break, get in some air and just chill for a while before trying out any other rides.

At the end of the day, it was nice that we were all together having fun and making memories to last a lifetime....

Tripping at the Manila Zoo

When we asked the kids where they wanted to go during the weekend, they immediately answered, "Manila Zoooo!! Now, how can you say no to such an enthusiastic answer like that? Hahaha

So, while getting ready to go out, we were surprised when visitors arrived.  Dimples and Rhys came for a visit and what perfect timing!!  We all ended up going to Manila Zoo together and it was a great way to start the year  - with close family bonding.  It was really a spur of the moment thing otherwise we would have also invited Stevie, Toni and the kids with us.  It's been a long time since we saw these two and I am glad they dropped by :)

I just love this picture.  The elephant was moved to a new and improved area and I think he loves it!  He's more active, moving around his pen and the kids were so excited to see him eating his grass :)  They found the perfect position to watch him - near the fence! hahaha







For the first time in all the years that I've been going to the Manila Zoo, I saw some monkeys escaping from their cages.  First, there was one.  Then there were two.  Then there were three!  I don't really know where they went but I expect they've been jumping from tree to tree all over the zoo LOL

Here are Dimples and Rhys when we were taking a break, having a snack near the playground.  There were too many kids to really enjoy the slides so we just savored each other's company :)

To end this post, here's Dylan saying "Happy Holidays" :)

Disaster strikes in the New Year

This is not good.  What would you feel when you were coming home feeling all content and happy because you've just celebrated the New Year with your family and then all of a sudden, a commotion happens right in front of you as you're parking your car.

That's what happened on January  2.  We came home to people running around, shouting and screaming just across the street.  At first, we thought there were gang members rioting or neighbors fighting.  I then asked Patrick and the kids not to get out of the car in case we need to make a hasty exit from.  Then we started to hear people shouting, "Fire! Fire" and that made me nervous.  I automatically looked into the sky to see traces of smoke and sure enough, just across our car and the street, there was a blazing fire in one of the buildings.  By then, people were running around looking around for the fire trucks.  We immediately parked the car in the garage because we didn't want to hinder the passage of the fire trucks.  I learned from Patrick that fire trucks have every right to blast their way on the street and if you don't want to get out of the way, then good luck to your car! They've actually done it before too wow!

Patrick took some pictures of the commotion from the street and from our room in the house.  Here's a picture of the first fire truck making the scene. It's funny that there are a lot of people hitching a ride on the truck thinking they can help the firemen out.  But what firemen want is for them to leave them alone so they can do their job better because sometimes, these people simply get in the way and may end up getting hurt because they don't know what they're doing.

Here's a picture of the fire from our room.  It was really scary because I kept remembering that it was the same time last year that we were also in the middle of a scary fire.  Remember?  A tanker truck blew up in front of the house and for a while we couldn't get out because there's a huge wall of fire outside our gate. whew! really horrifying and even Dana still remembers that night..

The street across the house looked like a parking lot of fire trucks.  I pity the vehicles who got caught in the middle of this event because they got stuck in the middle of the fly-over and they couldn't back out.









The fire was put out after 30 minutes maybe but the firefighters stuck around for a lot longer than that.  It was really scary but it also made me thankful that it wasn't us and that there weren't any injured people in the accident.

Happy New Year - 2010!

December 30, 2009 - Mall of Asia

We decided to celebrate the New Year early by walking along the bayside at SM Mall of Asia.  We brought the kids their bike and scooter so they can have fun while there's hardly any people around.  It's fun to just watch the sunset and reflect on what has happened during the year and be hopeful of things to come.  It's just so peaceful and calm here, even with people walking by, you kind of sense that they're also deep in their thoughts about the year ending especially when looking at something like this.

Here are some pictures of that day:

Here are Dana and Dylan trying out their new Christmas gifts.  Since we didn't have space for them at home to play with these toys, we decided to drop by here near the bayside where they can play to their hearts' delight.  Don't you think it's obvious they're enjoying themselves??  That's what's important ;)

Having a silly moment there!

Still enjoying each other's company for 15 years :)

A Year in the Life: 2009

Here it is again.  A Year in the Life : 2009 , a look at our year's high and lows.. joys and sorrows.. This has been a very hectic year, filled with a lot of changes and activities.  Read on !

January - A new month, a new year.. and what a way to start the year than with meeting your father's mistress and their family!! Technically, she's no longer his mistress since my mom is dead, but still, never in a million years, right?! This is also our first time hiring a nanny which meant a major house redo to accommodate her.  Broken windows were replaced and major furniture shifting was undertaken.  Tiring, tiring, tiring!

February - A tough time because it's Mom's first death anniversary.. the first time I'm even (is it right to say) "celebrating" it.  Our nanny left the household, enough said.  We did have a Tadeo Triple Birthday celebration in honor of Patrick, Dimples and their mom who shared February as their birth month.  Oh and another milestone - my ten-year old bookcase gave way!! Needless to say, I had to replace it and I did!

March - This was a big month full of red-letter dates!! Dana's 5th and Dylan's 3rd birthdays!!!  Tita Flor comes home with Ferdie and Barb!! They came with Patrick's Dad cremated ashes to be buried with their mom in Loyola.  We bought Stanley, our first family car, a green 1996 Subaru Legacy!!!

April - Our room renovations were finally done.  My cousin, Ramil, undertook for us the renovating of our bedroom turning it from a storage room to a bedroom with an en suite bathroom.  We had fun buying the materials and watching the room change before our very eyes! :D We also spent time looking at preschools and we ended up enrolling Dana at Sta. Catalina College, our alma mater LOL  She did so well in her entrance exam, better than the kids who actually spent a year in school already.

May - the perfect time to go on our first family summer outing!! We went to Island Cove in Cavite and it was the first time we've ever gone on a trip in our very own car wahahaha  We had a great time there because there was so much to see and do.  Well worth the trip!  Stanley also took a longer drive to Dau, Pampanga where we met with Patrick's Uncle Dennis and his family after so many years of being apart.  While we were in Pampanga, we also stayed at the Lohas New Well-Being Spa and Hotel as our last trip for the summer.  quite an experience to stay in an authentic Korean sauna and eat authentic Korean food!

June - Dana is going to school already! That mad me so teary-eyed but she was well-prepared and didn't make a fuss when she started her first day.  It's hard though for her to wake up but I'm sure she'll adjust soon.  We also received our handmade quilts that my best friend Kat made!! they're really beautiful and we can't wait to use them :)


July - the only milestone during the month was we got to buy a new PC and printer to replace our old ones.  We got a good deal at PC Gilmore whose staff were so helpful and pleasant ( I highly recommend them).  We also got to change Stanley's tires in preparation for our upcoming trip to Enchanted Kingdom.

August - a fun-filled month starting with a free trip to Enchanted Kingdom courtesy of Patrick's job! :D  It was the first time for the kids to visit Enchanted Kingdom so you can understand how excited and enchanted they were hahaha It was also Den's 18th birthday for which she got a new laptop and we celebrated with a trip to Tagaytay and on to a trip to Enchanted Kingdom again. 

September - this was the fist time that Stanley broke down and in the NLEX of all places.  We went to visit Uncle Dennis in Pampanga and this time with Stevie and his family.  On our way home, we all felt something weird with Stanley, the steering wheel was very hard to control and there was a very strong 'wiggle'.  We had to be towed to a service station and had to take the trip home at 40km/hr.  very slowly but surely we got home after a staggering 6 hours on a normal 2 hour trip LOL  September was also the month when Patrick test drove a Honda City and took it with us to Subic to cover a media event.  The side mirrors were stolen the night before (what a nightmare!) and we ended up having to replace them the morning after.  It was also during this month that we were beset by Typhoon Ondoy, the worst storm ever to hit the Philippines, flooding most of Metro Manila, with a month's worth of rain being dumped in 6 hours.  Stevie and Dimples were in a worse condition having the muddy waters rising to 12 feet where they lived.

October - Yehey! Happy birthday to me and I treated myself to a new sound system for Stanley and a foot spa at my favorite salon hahaha When Ondoy hit, Stevie and Toni had to resked their kids' birthday celebration because the venue where the party was to be held was also flooded.  In the end, the party was delayed for about 2 weeks and was held at Jollibee. 

November - Patrick was excited to be test driving the new Subaru Legacy Station Wagon and for good reason.. it was a super duper really great car.. and I'm not saying that because I'm a fan of Subaru but really, honestly.. you are putting your money where it's worth!! test drive one today to find out why! Oh and Patrick and I celebrated 15 years of togertherness by having dinner at Bellini's in Cubao.  It's a great authentic Italian restaurant whose pasta is to die for!! Honestly!! ;)

December - jam-packed month!! Lola and Uncle Jimmy arrived for a 3-week vacation.  Dana performs at her school's Christmas presentation.  Our family and my sister's family spent a weekend in Clark.  Christmas gift giving!!! Oh and I almost forgot, Dylan needed to undergo speech therapy (I forgot to write about it)..

Whew!! writing about all these happenings in our life is tiring but fun as I look back and reminisce about all the places we've been to and all the things that we've done.  I hope the New Year brings us a lot more to remember :)

2009 Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!!  Itr's that time of year again when friends and family come together to celebrate a joyous occasion.  For this year, we made a lot of Christmas preparations because the kids are now able to undertake the decorating of the Christmas tree so we bought a new one including all the decorations.  We just made it very simple as you can see and we got a bargain with the tree when we bought it at the Dapitan arcade.  Imagine a 5ft tree for only P1,600.. other trees cost as much as P6K.  Even the balls were a steal! I was going crazy buying those things hahahaha  The Christmas lights we bought at SM because I don't want the fake ones that easily blow up and cause fires.

We were also able to buy a new bed for my Lola to use (which Den or Dylan will use later on) as well as a new sofa set as you can see here.  We went to Caloocan to buy these furniture because it's cheaper there and there are more options and more products to choose from.  We custom-made this sofa set based on dimensions of the doors hahaha

My father also paid a visit when he found out that Lola and Uncle Jimmy were here.  Here are some pictures of that "momentous" occasion hehehe

Christmas day was an exciting one for the kids.  They had a lot of gifts to open, courtesy of a lot of sales at the malls, factory outlets and flea markets :)

We prepared some pasta, fried chicken and ham for the "feast" but everyone was busy with their gifts (receiving and giving) to care about food hahaha

Lola and Uncle Jimmy left for the States on December 28.  We wanted to take them to the airport but there were a lot of the family going with them so we stayed behind.  I think it was a good idea to stay behind because I didn't want to get too emotional and you know when you see someone hurting, you feel hurt too and I didn't want my Lola to feel even more sad. 

Here are the pictures before they left :)

Another Trip to Clark

December 19 - Last December 5th, my Lola (grandmother) and Uncle Jimmy came to the Philippines for a 3-week Christmas vacation.  My Lola hasn't been to the PI since 1993 so this is a big deal for her.  She wanted to come back so she can see her great-grandkids Dana, Dylan, Den, Jianne, Justin and Sofia.  I believe that what also initiated her coming back was because my Mom couldn't make it and I guess it was in her honor that my grandma came back.

While they were here, the whole family was in a tizzy :) There was the bingo/family reunion during the fiesta.  She was able to visit her siblings in Cavite, was able to go to Baguio, and visit some of the sites here in the city.  She even got to see Avatar in IMAX hahaha good for her!

So, my sister Sharon and I planned to have a weekend get-away with her to catch up on stuff and to spend time with her too.  We planned it during the Christmas break so the kids will have no school.  So, we booked our rooms at the Lohas New Well-being Spa in Clark for the 19th and 20th.  We were all so excited!

Unfortunately, all the visits that Lola made plus the pollution and the climate took their toll on her and she ended up getting sick - almost pneumonia and some tummy ache too.  She wasn't able to go with us to Clark.. such a bummer.. We still ended up going because we didn't want to forfeit the deposit we made.  It was still fun though because we had my sister's family with us too.  Here is a slideshow of our swimming escapades :)  At that time, Sharon and Jowell were experiencing first hand the Korean Sauna, the Jimjilbang, so they weren't in the pictures.

For Dinner, we all went out and ate at the very popular A.C. Rumpa restaurant (short for Angeles City, Retired US Military Personnel Association) and had a blast eating their steak. But, unfortunately, we failed to take pictures because as soon as they served it, we dug in! LOL

As a Christmas treat, Den and I booked ourselves for a full body massage at the Hotel Spa too although I have to admit that the communication mix-up with the scheduling left me feeling frustrated and irritated.  The massage made up for it though :) All I can say is WOW! :D   

The next day, the kids all went back for a swim, naturally.  While they swam, we arranged to have a late check-out to really make the most of the trip.  I thought everything was okay until I received a call from the front desk that we were supposed to check out ASAP from the room.  It was my sister's room that was arranged to have a late check-out.  That was freaking terrible!! They were basically telling me to hurry up and get out of the room and I had kids to take care of and you can imagine cleaning up after them!! I was so mad I was like a bull charging at everyone!!  In the end, we had no choice but to hurry up but believe me, I was not taking this sitting down.. 

As we came to the front desk, I asked to speak with the manager but supposedly he was out.  I asked to speak with the Korean gal who appeared to be a higher-up but she supposedly did not speak English.  I ended up talking with the Filipino manager on the phone and I really complained about the lousy miscommunication mistakes that their staff keeps on repeating.  It was really horrible.  I really don't intend to go back there even if Patrick feels that they're still the best value in terms of accommodation in Clark.  I don't believe that sucky service should be patronized.   The manager tried to appease me but really, what else can you offer??

Anyway, after leaving the hotel, I asked Patrick to take us to the park so I can relax a little, all that massage for nought.  The kids and I had a great time running around hahaha My sister and her family, left ahead of us LOL probably scared of my tantrum hahaha Here are some pictures (slideshow)

We also found great picture moments there:

 

Finally, rounding out the trip with a dinner at Yellow Cab along the expressway.  It was a great meal to end an over-all great Christmas out-of-town trip.

Dana's First Christmas in School

December 2009 - This is Dana's first Christmas in her school.  It's a milestone that we as a family celebrated.  She was very excited because her class will be participating in the school's annual Christmas presentation and they have spent many hours rehearsing for it.  In fact, it's probably the first Tagalog song that Dana has ever sung! LOL

We printed a copy of the lyrics so she can practice at home.  We found a copy of the song, Kumukutikutitap and kept playing it at home and even in the car too.  While Dana was dancing and singing to it, Dylan will also jump in and sing and dance with her.. it was so funny and entertaining to watch LOL

Now, of course, as parents you know that you want to record your child's first dance on stage.  So, Patrick and I ended up borrowing my friend Idy's videocam for the event and we are ever so thankful to him for it (Thanks Idy!) This has actually led to a discussion about whether we should get one of our own (but that's a different story altogether hahaha)

In preparation, we also needed to buy Dana's costume consisting of a red shirt, a pair of white shorts, a Christmas hat that lights up and white gloves.  We ended up going to Divisoria, the source of all your goodies hehehe  On the day of the presentation, imagine my surprise when we couldn't find Dana's PE shoes that she was to wear for the dance.  We looked and looked and we couldn't find it anywhere!! We finally figured that since we performed a major clean-up at the house the last week, Dylan may have put the shoes in the trash bag that we filled with old shoes that were to be given away.  Man, those shoes were new and hardly been used!!   Dana ended up wearing a different pair of shoes..

Anyway... So armed with our videocam, our digicam and another digicam (in case of failure or batteries ending up dead for no reason) we headed to school...The video I have yet to rip from the DVD so here are some pictures instead..

 

The next day was their Christmas Party.  I was only planning to take a picture of her with her friends but their teacher played the Kumukutikutitap music and they all started lining up and dancing and I couldn't resist recording a video, so here it is:

 

Test driving the new 2010 Subaru Legacy Station Wagon

November 21, 2009 - One of the perks of Patrick's job at Top Gear Philippines is having the chance to test drive new cars and review them for the magazine.  His first test drive run was with a Honda City and he took that to Subic (on assignment too).  This November, he was able to bring home the new 2010 Subaru Legacy Station Wagon.  This car is like Stanley's junior sister, by almost 15 years. She's blue, she's big, she's wide (almost too wide to fit in the garage which wasn't exactly built for her girth) and she's so powerful just the hum of the engine is going to drive you nuts.

Naturally, the kids were excited to ride it in and we took it for a spin going to Greenhills where Patrick had to cover another event.  Here you can see just how long Sally (that's the name the kids gave the car) is relative to a Kia.

You can see how spacious it is inside, from the backseat and even in the cargo hold:

But, see, I don't know any of the specs of this awesome car and even if Patrick tells me, I still wouldn't understand.  All I know it's still AWD with its boxer engine (this I know because we have a Subaru Legacy too), the front seats have some sort of mechanized thingy that you can custom-fit to your body in 16 different ways and it's ultra-super fast given it's size.  It's size is deceptive, very much like you'd think it's heavy and slow but you'd probably end up with your mouth wide open when you challenge it to a race hahahaha At 100, the engine is barely whispering.  At 140, you sort of hear it speak.  At 200, there's a growl.. imagine it at its top speed! woohoo!! but of course, you can't drive it that fast here hehehe

IF we had the money, we'd buy it right here, right now.  It's such a great car and even tops at safety standards and what-have-yous.. Look at their smiling faces :

SALLY, we love you! :D