Family Trip to Island Cove (Part 2)

So, to continue, we had a restful night sleeping in our airconditioned "superior" room. We shared 2 single beds and an extra bed. Patrick and Dana in one and then the other 2 beds were close together so Dylan, Den and I shared those. The kids fell asleep immediately, especially since they're so pooped from all that walking around and all the excitement.

Here are the kids after waking up and a view from the balcony of our room looking into the courtyard below:


They also had WI-FI connection at the resort so we brought our laptop with us.


After checking out, we still headed to the Giant Chessboard for some photo opps :)


We headed back to the crocodile farm so the kids can have fun painting their canvass bags :) We paused at the playground too :) We took the electric tram to get there.


After that, it was lunchtime and we headed straight to the Fishing Village. Here you have a choice of huts. On land or on water. You can also fish and whatever you catch they can cook them for you. It's great! We decided on staying on the huts over water for the experience. Depending on the size of the hut, you have a minimum amount to consume for food and you can stay for up to 3 hours.


There were a lot of things that we didn't get to try, like the bikes, the actual fishing, the spa, the hotel pool (haha) We really want to go back and stay for a longer period of time. I just need to save again hahahaha

So thanks for reading through all these and leave a comment and let me know what you think :)

Family outing at Island Cove (Part 1)

May 02, 2009 - It's the day for our first out-of-town family trip and we've chosen Island Cove in Cavite, Philippines as our destination. You ask why, well, first, it's very near where we live, something like 1 hour to an hour and a half to get there. Second, their Family Fun Package is very affordable and with a lot of freebies. Third, we wanted a place that had a lot of things to do and offer so that the kids won't be bored. Island Cove has them :)

When we got there, we left our baggages and went straight to Animal Island :)

They have a petting zoo,

a butterfly garden,

a tiger sanctuary: THE DADDY
The YOUNGEST at 11 months
the BIGGEST SIBLING, at 3 years old

And the Mama Tiger who we weren't able to photograph because she kept peeing! LOL and believe me they can shower anyone at close range LOL

They also have a lot of birds: OSTRICHES, CASSOWARY, PEACOCKS


Then on to The Crocodile Farm and Monkey Island:


We fed the monkeys and crocodiles too! You have to throw the bananas to the monkeys. Dana tried her hand at it, and the banana fell in the water LOL but clever monkey was able to get it and eat it! LOL


Feeding the crocs was a major experience. You lower a chicken in the water and wait for them to bite. There were 4 crocs in the water and then the alpha male came. In one jump, he got the chicken, took it away to safety and in one gulp swallowed the chicken whole whew!! crazy!! There are a total of 167 crocodiles on the farm, segregated by their age and if they're salt-water or fresh-water crocodiles.


After the tour around the island, we went back to the hotel riding a horse-drawn carriage :)

We took a break for some refreshments and a bit of rest before heading to the Oceania Water Park.

They had two kiddie pools and slides and more adult pools. They also have a pool bar for refreshments. We all had fun, especially in the "jacuzzi" hahaha


Then we had dinner at the Sangley Point Bar and Grill. The food was great!! And then we took advantage of the free 30-minute coupon we had for Island Songs, the KTV Lounge in the Resort hahaha the kids had fun singing so we decided to extend for another hour. Time flies when you're singing and having a really good time!


After all these happenings, we had a great sleep in our airconditioned room. That in itself was a luxury because we didn't have A/C at home hahaha we all woke up late the next morning. but that's for Part 2 :)

DVD Review: The Read And Share™ Bible on DVD

I have found that the best way to see if DVD's for kids are any good is to test them on the kids. Well, I did. Believe me when I say that my kids are DVD addicts. They love watching them and when they like something they have a tendency to watch them repeatedly to the point that they know the soundtracks and dialogue by heart.

When I got this from Thomas Nelson, my kids were so glad to have a new DVD to watch and immediately asked if they can watch it. So we all sat down and started watching. As you can probably surmise, the DVD is a collection of thirteen stories from the Bible. The Stories include: The Beginning, Adam & Eve, The Flood, Abram, Isaac & Rebekah, Jacob & Esau, Rachel, Jacob & God, John the Baptist, Jesus is Born, Jesus is Tempted, Jesus Love Children, and One Lost Sheep. If you haven't told your kids about these stories, then this is a good starting point for you.

They were very much enraptured from the moment the first story came on. Because it's in English, it's easier to understand for them. The narration was subtle, just the right tone for storytelling for kids. The language was also pretty straightforward so kids won't be too overwhelmed if they were to watch the DVD by themselves.

The best part about it is that the stories themselves are very short and quick that works well for kids and their short attention spans. Before they even get bored a new one starts so that's good.

I consider the The Read And Share™ Bible on DVD (Vol. 1) a success because when the DVD was finished, my kids wanted to watch it all over again. :)