Pahabol Summer Getaway

Our pahabol summer getaway was so much fun because we spent it with dearest friends and my sister. I am glad that our little Lucas enjoyed his first trip at the beach. Sure, there were challenging times (our son is after all, just 22 months old and is bound not to behave himself 100%) but as my husband says, he wouldn't have it any other way.

Welcome to Kalibo! We got the 7AM flight. Little boy was amazed that we were riding the big plane. He was just a little bit scared when we took off. After a few minutes, he asked for "dodo" and fell asleep.

Lucas enjoying his popsicle. Dungis dungis. Right: We weren't able to check in immediately. While waiting for the 2PM check-in, my boys decided to swim in the pool. Astoria' s pool is really nice.

"Swide, daddy! Swide!"

Little boy got tired with all that "swiding". By dinner time he was still sleeping. JJ and my sister decided to get takeouts from Deco's (the Original La Paz Batchoy) and Jonah's fruitshakes. After dinner, we decided to call it a night. We were all up  by 4AM given our 7AM flight and we all needed the sleep.

DAY 2: 

Stroll before breakfast

After breakfast, we again decided to have a stroll by the beach. We encouraged Lucas to walk for as long he wanted. But I was always near him as there were lots of broken glass by the beach :(

Swimming with Mommy. Lucas was saying "akkkk!" each time he'd taste the water. He enjoyed the beach but he had more fun in the swimming pool.

Daddy was building a "sand train" for Lucas.

Lucas loves playing with the sand. Probably thinking, "Why is Mommy letting me play with dirt?Hmm, might as well enjoy the moment before i hear her crazed 'Nooooo! Lucas!'".

We had dinner at Hawaiian Barbecue and frappes at Starbucks

Lucas enjoyed dancing to the tunes played  by the solo performer in a restaurant near Astoria. By the musician's smile, I'd say he was delighted with his audience too.

DAY 3:

Our day began with a boat trip around the island. Pics were taken while we're waiting for everyone to finish breakfast.

At Puka Beach. While this pic has all the makings of a "posed" candid shot, it really is not. This is just us convincing our son to move near us so we can have a decent family picture.

Family Picture. This is the best that we can do, given the circumstances :)

He loved chocolate popsicles

Group lunch at Hawaiian Barbecue

My son is notoriously a picky-eater but he eats a lot and with no complaints whenever we eat out. Go figure.

Beach scene

Night swim with Mommy. Daddy stayed out of the pool to be the photographer for the night.

DAY 4:

Our flight to Manila is at 2:45 PM. As we were set to leave the island by 11AM, we took one last stroll after having breakfast. It was a rainy morning. The gloomy day mirrors how we feel about leaving the island.

Looking back, I knew I was sad to leave because I had a nice time with my boys. From these pics, I do hope the hubby had fun too...

Still "swiding", until the last minute...

Bye Kalibo! Hopefully, we'd be back again soon :)

~*~

As much as I loved the trip because I was with my family, I was disappointed with a couple of things.

1. There were lots of broken glass and cigarette butts by the beach. I wonder what happened to the daily cleaning thing these days?

2. The algae. Enough said.

3. JJ and I had minor tummy troubles our whole stay. The culprit is probably the purified water we brought from a sari sari store. It's Natural Springs. Wonder what they put in there???? Good thing Lucas had his rotavirus shots and was not at all affected.

4. Most heartbreaking of all was when we snorkeled near Crocodile Island. The marine life was probably just 20% of what I saw when I snorkeled in 2006! That was just 4 years! I wonder what my son will see when he's old enough to snorkel :(

A few days after our trip, I read an entry entitled "Bora-cry" from Anton's website. I do hope that something can be done to save the island.

Random pics

We had several road trips the past weeks. My Aunt and cousin are here in the country for a short visit. The first week, we all trooped to Pampanga for a get-together.

L: The little boy just woke up and was not in the mood yet.

R: All dressed-up. Lucas having breakfast at NLEX.

My boys with our free coffee c/o HSBC.

Lucas: On one of his trips with Lolo G (who takes him everywhere!)

Date night with hubby. Chicken a la Kiev for me and American Grilled Pork Chops for him :)

Chocolate Kiss take-out from Momsy and Popsy (proof that parents never cease to spoil their children ;-) ). Just y-u-m-m-y. Not in the picture: Blueberry Cheesecake. It was gone before I thought of taking a pic.

Thanks to a Sesame Street episode, he often pretend that he's angry...

Mommy: Why are you angry Lucas?

Lucas: *growls*

Mommy: Oh no, you are angry...

Lucas: *giggles*

On our way home from Popsy's and Momsy's...

~*~

It will be Lucas' first beach trip this weekend. I will try my best to post pictures soon :-)

And He Bites it Again

Rafa got his fifth French Open title last night. He defeated Robin Soderling in three straight sets (6-4, 6-2, 6-4). After the victory, he regained the No.1 spot in Men's Tennis.

Bacolod Trip

Officially, Bacolod is now my favorite project site. I still love you Dumaguete, but you have to come second from now on :)

After 6 years of working in my company, I was finally able to visit our Northern Negros project.  Just a little warning, I won't mention what we did for work in this post. But that doesn't mean that we didn't work hard while on site :)

Day 1 began with an 8:40 AM flight to Bacolod. We immediately proceeded to our site in Murcia upon arrival and the first day of work began. We had Guimaras mangoes as dessert after lunch and boy, were they delicious. Just divine! Dinner was at Aboy's. We had mostly seafood. Oysters, grilled tuna belly, garlic scallops, squid and fish sinigang (I cannot exactly say what kind of fish but it was great. They used this bean to make sinigang sour. I just forgot the exact name of the bean). We stayed at L'Fisher Hotel, across the street from Bacolod's famous Calea. After dinner, Pam and I dropped by Calea for coffee and to sample their famous cakes. And we weren't disappointed. After the first bite, Pam and I were instantly thinking how we're gonna bring home cakes :)

Imported Chocolate Cake and Strawberry Cheesecake

Day 2. We were on our way to the site by 8:30 AM. The breakfast at the hotel was okay. It is your usual fried rice/fried egg/tocino or tapa or danggit kind of meal. But since it's free, no complaints there. We had lunch at the Pataan Resort. The water fall made our stay relaxing. I guess the sound of running water does that to you.

We had dinner at a Japanese Restaurant, Kaisei, near our hotel. The Japanese consultant enjoyed the food saying he was quite suprised that the restaurant is "almost" authentic. I enjoyed the food (tempura, sashimi, soba, etc.) and it was also cheap. Our bill was a little over 2k (5 pax). Not bad! After dinner, we again trooped to Calea for coffee and cake. This time we tried the Apple and Caramel Cheesecake, Chocolate Cake again and the Cathedral. We went back to the hotel with smiling faces :)

On our last day, we just stayed in Bacolod to finish our tasks. Lunch was at Sweet Greens. Food was okay but again, not something I'd go back for. After the meetings, our colleagues brought us to a place they call RUINS.

Ruins was a mansion built by Don Mariano Lacson for his first wife. It was a grand place considering it was built several decades ago. The materials they used (based from what the guide says) were all first class, which is probably why the structure stood the test of time and weather.

After Ruins, we again dropped by Calea for snacks and to buy cakes to bring home to Manila. I decided to buy in slices so we can try the other cake flavors.

The trip was tiring but fun :) I am also happy that we were able to accomplish all the tasks we set out to complete.

The next morning, I gingerly opened the cake box:

What's in the box? Imported Chocolate Cake, White Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce, Blueberry Cheesecake, Tiramusa Cheesecake, Apple and Caramel Cheesecake and Chocolate Cheesecake. The verdict? JJ loved the White Cheesecake and I am still a fan of the Imported Chocolate Cake. The other flavors were yummy too :) Will definitely bring home cakes again when I go back to Bacolod.

Happy 30th!

Happy 30th Anniversary Popsy and Momsy :)

I hope you had a great time at Taal Vista. Thank you for re-scheduling the celebration so I can join the party :)

Love you both. Cheers to 30 more years together.