Rosero and Layug Nuptials: A Star Wars Wedding

February 20, 2010
Among the many events that we so looked forward to attending, Rej and Oneal's wedding is one of them.  They are our good friends from Star Wars Philippines and Patrick and I are fortunate to be part of their romance from the moment they met at one of our Star Wars events.  Their wedding was highly anticipated because, naturally, it will be Star Wars inspired! :D  Guests were encouraged to wear their costumes to the wedding and to the reception!!

Patrick and I considered getting costumes for the kids but we thought they might be too uncomfortable and end up being fussy throughout the night.  So, we just scoured the malls for our formal wear.  Patrick ended up buying another barong shirt and since Dana, Dylan and I had no formal wear (we don't usually go to formal events LOL) we really had to invest in these clothes.  

Dana and I also went to Hot Nails Spa along Hemady Street in Quezon City where we splurged on foot spa services hahaha  Dana enjoyed being pampered so much that she wanted to return immediately and she couldn't stop talking about it :) 

Dana had her hair in two separate braids but you can't really see it here :P  Dylan kept playing with his tie, I think he felt suffocated hahaha

All in all, I think we cleaned up good!

I have to say, their choice to hold both the ceremony and the venue at Fernwood Gardens was a good one. The St. Francis Chapel was small and intimate which made the ceremony more solemn and meaningful.  It also helped that the priest was a bit upbeat so it didn't seem too tight and boring for everyone else hehe I also adored the Star Wars-inspired attire of all the participants in the wedding ceremony :) The way they fused the Star Wars design into the traditional barong was genius!!  Here are some pictures taken at the wedding procession.  Admire and be awed!

Left: Oneal with his parents
Right:  The Bride, Rej
Bottom Left: Dante (his barong has an imprint of R2D2)

Bottom Right:  Paul (look closely at his shirt and it's got the imprint of C3PO)

Other pictures can be found here.

While waiting for the actual start of the reception program, here we are waiting at our table.  When the kids got bored, we walked around the venue and found some parrots and we couldn't resist taking pictures :)

That's when we spotted the Battalion of Stormtroopers lining up for the Wedding March :)Here they are! Dylan loved seeing them but didn't really want to stay near them, even for a picture haha It's a bit hard to take a photo of Darth Vader because he's black!! So forgive the blurry effect hehehe


Until now, I still don't know who is the Stormtrooper with Dana :) But thanks for the Photo Op ! :)

So, we were also lucky that Rej and Oneal were waiting for their turn and we got a chance to take a picture with the lovely bride :)

Aids and Macy were also gracious enough to pose with the kids :)



It was unfortunate though that Dana got locked in the bathroom (it was the first time she went by herself).  She also ended up throwing up as the night wore on.  It was probably from fatigue and heat because her "Family Day" was held during that same day.  We didn't finish the program but at least we were there for the wedding ceremony :)

To our friends, Rej and Oneal.  Congratulations! and May the Force be with you, Always! :D

Dana's Family Day in School

February 20, 2010

I posted an entry about Dana having an ongoing school fair in school.  As part of the week-long celebration, the final day of the fair, there was a family day which was participated in by the whole school.  The kids were required to wear shirts to show which team they belong to.  Dana's grade level was supposed to wear yellow.  We also bought Dylan a yellow shirt because members of the family attending the event were encouraged to wear the same color shirt too.

As you can see they both look good!

I'm proud to say that Dana was active in participating in the games.  She volunteered to participate in the sack race and here she is!  Unfortunately, in her excitement a few hops from the starting line, she fell. Here's the video, if you want to see it.

Still, she got up and still went on.  Go Dana!

After that, her classmates all went to her and asked her how she was.  They're a tight-knit group of friends :)




During breaks or when it became too hot outside, we all sought refuge inside Dana's classroom hehehe It was airconditioned and the perfect place to rest.  Dylan occupied himself with reading the books in their reading nook.  It was a good chance for us to see how he likes being in a classroom setting.  It was nice! but maybe it was because Dana's teacher has such a rapport with kids :)



It sure was a tiring but enjoyable day!

Face of Betrayal by Lis Wiehl with April Henry

It’s always a bright day when you have something to read – even better when you receive a complimentary book from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. This time I got to review and offer my own honest opinions on the book, Face of Betrayal by Lis Wiehl with April Henry.

I’m a fan of thrillers so it’s nice having to start a new series by a new author.  The Face of Betrayal has 3 feminine protagonists working together to solve crimes.  Their present case involves the sudden disappearance of 17-year old US Senate page Katie Converse.  To me, it was something similar like James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club series but it can stand on its own.  What’s nice about the book is that having 3 separate protagonists provides 3 different perspectives on the crime and how they all contribute with solving the puzzle.  Each also has her own personal demons, some obvious and some hinted at, which may be future topics in the succeeding books.

It’s pretty simple how the usual suspects are presented in the book but I was kind of hoping for more serious twists and turns. It was a fast read though because the chapters are short although you have to pay some attention to the dates to get with the story better. 

All in all, it was a good and fast read.  It would be fun to know how the 3 friends fare in the succeeding books.

Dana's School Fair

February 15, 2010

One of the things that I most remember when I think about my days in school during elementary is the school fair.  I often look forward to the rides, the food and the days of no classes like any normal child :)  This is Dana's first school fair and she's as excited as I was :) There's nothing more exciting than knowing that you'll see your child perform in public and you just want to show your support :)  I know they've worked hard at their dance number and they can't wait to show off to parents, teachers and other school mates.

Dana's school fair was a week long affair.  There were rides (a ferris wheel and a dinosaur ride) and booths with food, games and prizes.  The first day, the kids paraded around the school and even outside where they walked along the streets :) Dana complained of being tired from the heat but she was so happy she said it was like going on a field trip hahha aaah the simple joys of youth! :D  Look at the picture and you'll see Dana trying to look cool haha  They're waiting for their turn in the program.  Admittedly, they've gotten quite restless as the day wore on :)

To pass the time, the kids just played around, had a few drinks to quench their thirst, explored the booths and basically tried to keep quiet and behaved.  

Here are Dana and Dylan, of course, they're wearing matching shirts hahaha and Dylan, naturally, is making his dinosaur faces :)  It's quite funny that when we bought these shirts we didn't know at that time that Dana will be needing a yellow shirt.  They both love watching Spongebob Squarepants so we immediately bought these shirts for them when we saw them at the mall :D

Here's Dana's dance video.

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....