phenomenal woman

it was the first time for the 2 younger ones to visit HK and although it was justine’s 3rd, it was still a new experience for her to be able to visit during christmas.  chris and i had an amazing time with the kids.  thankfully, none of the kids got lost and no tempers got lost, too.

the trip was wonderful, tiring but wonderful.  i never figured that walking kid-sized steps can make adults soooo
tired- doubly so!  i brought a stroller just in case one of the younger ones would
throw a fit and refuse to walk, but chris would not hear of pushing one
around. so we brought a stroller to hongkong and it stayed in the hotel
room the whole time.  the kids were amazingly cooperative and full of
energy, so there was no incident of having to carry around a 45 pound
toddler while rushing to board the mtr or strolling around the theme parks
or stuff like that.

before we left manila, chris and i already planned for it to be a
cultural trip for the kids’ sake, you know.  i wanted them to enjoy hk
for its sights first and then shopping can come later. 

when i was younger, i remember joining guided tours abroad and every guide would know that there are filipinos on board because they would ask to be taken to the giant shopping outlets (count me in among the guilty).   on the other hand, i have also committed to memory being in l.a. for the first time and being taken to a planetarium and astronomy museum by the husband of my tita lulu.  uncle vito was italian and as such he has that european lust for culture.

i want my kids to grow up with a natural curiousity about the world around them, and i believe constant travelling starting at a young age is the best way to lead them to it. so chris, you just have to work hard for the money eh, honey? kidding lang! tee-hee-hee!

for this year’s october break, we surprised everybody, including ourselves, when chris and i decided to take the kids out of town - with no yayas!   it was such an awesome bonding experience to discover how much fun can be had if you just throw yourself at it and go with the flow. 

Chris and i took the girls to boracay for an early summer treat.  they loved it! brie had to make a stop every now and then to play with the sand, and justine gamely took on the island’s many adventures.  chris and i simply just cherished the time spent with them.  after all, these are the kind of memories that make family relationships last the distance that will later separate us.

i was a bridesmaid again recently for the wedding of a very dear friend.  the ceremony was very lovely, one of the most touching that i have ever attended.  what made it extra special for me was that the bride, who is a fashion designer,  designed our gowns… (and so that is why i got my gown on the morning of the wedding day. ) in a huddle with the other bridesmaids before the procession, we were talking about how our respective gowns suited each of our personalities.   the invite read "cocktails, dinner and dancing…" and so chris and i looked forward to dance the night away…

we had a wedding in the family a few months back… chris’ lil sis had her own happy ending last april.  it took me a few months to post our photos, but it’s finally here.

aChris and i went to Bora to celebrate our ten years of being together.  We had a blast- solid!  i have posted our pics so anyone who fancies viewing them is most certainly invited to do so.  happy viewing!