ang family ko!

mahirap man ang buhay basta buo ang pamilya ko wala na akong mahihiling pa... masaya ako kapag magkakasama kami. ang hubby ko, elmer, sakit talaga sya sa ulo, pero may mga good points naman sya as husband, father of our kids- JB and Joy, and as my friend.

makukulit mga kids namin pero mahal na mahal namin sila. nandito ang ilang pictures ng family mula sa birthdays hanggang pa-posing-posing lang

photo-taken after JB's nursery grad ceremony

this was taken during Shineridge School's Book Month Celebration (JB won the Best in Costume), JB was still in Kinder here

Joy with her big brother JB. Joy was still less than a week old here.

Joy and JB in Macalelon, Quezon. This photo was taken infront of my mother-in-law's carinderia. She's the one behind the counter, with the kids are Dianne and her husband - Zaldy.

Elmer and Joy infront of Macalelon's Catholic church. The photo was taken after Dianne's wedding ceremony.

Dad and Joy posing with her Dad's elder sis- Tita Jocelyn with her daughter Patricia. This photo was also taken infront of the church.

 

JB, Joy and her godmothers (ninangs) Thina and Olai infront of the DIWA lounge.

Joy's first ride (taken at Glorietta)

JB and Joy with her ninang Eva (at DIWA)

Joy was really exhausted here, this was taken as soon as we got home after her 1st "pasyal" sa DIWA

mommy! me crocodile! tsaka tiger ba yun?!

yeeps! down the aeta's trail there's this place where you can skip from one cement post (made to look like tree stumps) to another and in between those stumps were lots of baby crocs! yiiipes! talaga! some kids went through and although i did felt the urge to join them, i didn't dare 'coz of JB! he might follow and what if he fell down to those 'hungry' baby crocs?! well!

after that we reached the small man-made lake where the bigger crocodiles seem to plaster every space! girl! should you by accident (wag naman!) fall into that lake ABSOLUTELY your lunch, history, tugged from every tendon down to the thinnest myelastin sheet!

JB was really a bit afraid of walking on the metal pathwalk/bridge across the crocodile lake. he saw how the chicken thrown at the crocodiles were snapped out of sight in a sec!

i also took a picture of JB in front of one of the buses after seeing the crocs.

Next >>> Tiger Safari!

i can say that aside from the Ocean Adventure portion of the field trip this was one of the most exciting phase.

parents, kids, yayas, grandparents alike were all electrified during the Tiger Safari! Nothing beats a REALLY CLOSE ENCOUNTER with big games! heheheee

the photo of JB and mom was taken inside the Safari jeep, he was a really scared here and so quiet, he scarcely utterred a word

that was the tiger that jumped on the rooftop of the Safari jeep we were in. it was after the chicken leg thrown by a guide. in the photo it was chewing on the chicken leg just above our heads!

here, JB was really quiet and di sya naglilikot at sobra syang nakadikit sa akin and his hands were clammy! hehehe!

Aeta's trail!

mula sa den ng mga tiger, bumalik ang bus sa junction, then tumuloy kami sa Aeta's Trail.

isang, dating bomb shelter/tunnel ng dating US base na ginawang, maliit na museum ng iba't ibang itlog ng mga ibon ang una naming pinuntahan. me mga nakahalo pa nga na live reptiles at amphibians.

namangha si JB sa malalaking itlog lalo na sa ostrich egg at pati na rin sa iba pang itlog na nandoon.

nagpose rin sya sa isang caricature ni mickey mouse malapit sa exit ng museum.

mula sa "egg" museum tumuloy na kami sa aeta's trail doon nagpakita ng short performance ang ilang aeta (di ko na masyadong matandaaan, pero i think tungkol ang sinayaw sa "sayaw ng tutubi at about a monkey (ata).

yong sinundan naming trail ay patungo pala sa mga crocodiles.

JB in Subic's Zoobic Safari

the tour guide escorted our bus first to the tiger dens.

we were asked to make a single file and to look after the kids and to remind them not to taunt or stick their hands nor get too near the tiger's cages. the tour guide told us that the tigers are cranky sometimes and they also piss at unsuspecting visitors (ooooppsss!) so he told us to always be on guard! er?!

the tigers were really huge at such a short distance, really menacing even if they were behind those bars, i was a bit apprehensive. they are naturally strong and wild and at will they can destroy strong bars! erg!

my son was a bit hesitant in joining this short tour! i cajoled him into joining, i don't want him to miss this small adventure (i know he'll cherish, in a way, one day).

i took a picture of JB infront of the tigers' dens.

next stop was the junction (this is where every group/bus gets to take their turns at the various safari spots, there's also a mini zoo and a fastfood restaurant there, and some tigers, they were actually bathing them when we first got there (before we were ushered to the tiger's dens). we were asked to pass by one adult tiger (really HUGE) he was chained to a post but still his presence was menacing that some kids and adults were afraid to pass by it. but i just had to have my son pass by it (i know he'll remember it and will cherish the experience even if he won't do it again). JB don't want to pass by the tiger but of course i again cajoled him and in the process he had a scratch on his right cheek, a bougainvillea thorn did it, 'coz of trying to pass as far from the tiger as he could! so much for the protective mother! hehehe

ang 1st field trip ni JB sa Zoobic Safari ng Subic

ang aga naming gumising!

wala pang alas-3 ng madaling araw (19 December 2006, Tuesday) tumayo na ko at ipinagpatuloy ang paghahanda ng mga baon namin ni JB para sa field trip ng school nila sa Subic. pagdating ko galing work the other night kunting pahinga at dinner then sinimulan ko nang inihanda ang mga kakailanganin ng 1stborn ko. mga chichirya like pringles and cheese puffs, iced tea, purified water, caps for the 2 of us, extra clothes (just in case he'll get too excited and get all sweaty and dirty, at i also heard they may have some swimming kaya...). haay naku! if you've seen how much we took with us matatawa ka! para kaming magbabakasyon ng 3 days! well a mom's just gotta take some precautions (or mga "just in case") di ba? mga what if's > ka-linya lahat yan! hehehe

so groggy me, fried some chicken legs and breasts, some hotdogs, and packed some steamed rice, them mixed some dipping sauce. i was alarmed afterwards kasi magpo-4AM na! at rendezvous time is at 4AM! Lagot! so, ginising ko agad si Jb and let him shake off his "inaaantok pa" phase in about 5 minutes then i dragged him to his bath.

we almost didn't make it! the rendezvous place was changed! my son of course did not let it sink in my tired brain when i got home the night before. well, fortunately the seats were assigned if not we would have been given aisle seats!

i let JB have the window seat 'coz i thought he'll enjoy the trip more while looking at the passing scenery.

well of course the bus was full of gradeschoolers and their moms, dads, yayas, and some teachers. there were about 7 airconditioned tourist buses in the convoy to Subic. at 1st the kids were all excited they were trying to see who can stand longer while the bus is running, lots of endless chatter, like where is this and that, yaddi, yaddi, yadda!

the convoy stopped at a watering hole a compound with mini-grocery, fastfood huts, and comfort rooms for travellers. small huts are there for free where the travellers can eat their meal or baon. after almost an hour, we went on to Subic, this time everybody in the bus were wide awake, everybody was excited to reach Subic!

upon arriving in Subic, the tour guides were fetched then we went straight to the Zoobic Safari.

haaay! empanada!

isa sa mga na-miss ko talaga ay ang empanada!

sorry sa kung sino mang makakabasa pero talagang nangangasim ako at naglalaway pag naaalala ko kung gaano kasarap ang empanada!

kaya sa unang hapon namin sa Solsona noong 24 December 2006, namasyal kami ni hubby, our kids, JB and Joy, sa town plaza. so stroll kami doon, dito, kaso nag-jam ang film. hassle nga! GUSTONG-gusto ko pa namang makakuha ng maraming pictures sa bakasyon namin doon. me slide at swing kaya syempre, nag-slide at nag-swing din ang aming panganay, gusto rin sana ni Joy noon kaso nilagnat nga sya bago kami dumating doon kaya di sya tumodo ng laro.

then lakad kami papunta sa town center. me empanada stand! at me mga luto na! ano pa?! syempre di na ko nagpatumpik-tumpik, bumili kami ng 3 piraso at puro special pa (me longanisa na me itlog pa) syempre kasama da sa take-out ang suka ti Ilocos (naimas kabsat!).

i got this empanada photo online i have yet to search from what website this was from

nagustuhan ng hubby ko at panganay yong empanada, pero siguro di pa masyadong magaling kaya ayaw noon ni Joy.

at bumili pa kami ng softdrink doon sa bakery nina Lola Lita (Guillermo, better half ni Lolo Manning Guillermo).

kumakain kami ng empanada at sumisipsip ng softdrink (chuckie kay JB at Joy) habang naglalakad pauwi. doon kami kay aunty Pilar tumuloy, nire-rent nya ang bahay nina Mrs. Cayetano doon sa abagatan ilang hakbang lang mula sa Central School.

medyo madilim na nong makauwi kami. ok lang at least nakakain kami ng empanada!

unang trip ng mga kids namin sa Ilocos

hindi masyadong planado, pero excited pa rin kami (me, my husband, our kids -JB (7 yrs. old son) and Joy (2 yrs. old daughter), plus the yaya).

we started our trip from our small house in Dasmariñas, Cavite. we started early 'coz we're supposed to board the bus (maria de leon) at its main station which is just behind the UST.

I saw to it na we got out of the house at 3pm just in case na ma-traffic. sus! super traffic that evening! pano 23 December 2006 kasi! lahat gusto makalabas ng Metro tapos me function pa sa PICC that time kaya super congested ang daan pa-Sampaloc thru Roxas-Lawton-Quiapo!
sayang lang ang reservations namin and my cousin (lanie) went ahead 'coz its hard to get a seat during the peak season.

fortunately we know somebody who works at de leon and that was Rene (aka negro) but out of respect i just can't call him that, the man is ok naman. he was able to secure 3 seats for us on an aircon bus to Laoag, which is ok we can board a jeep naman to Solsona. fortunately the jeepney terminal to Solsona was a stone's throw from the de leon bus station.

during the trip our kids are a bit cranky and excited. our bunso, was really with fever and she threw up on us(specially me!) throughout the trip until we reach La Union (past midnight). JB kept on asking if Ilocos is near na. hay! nakakapagod sumagot 'coz he kept on asking the same question throughout the trip!

while the bus we were in was rolling into the La Union station, we saw Lanie inside the bus to Solsona and she was waving. Her bus was about to roll out of the station, then. so i called her and asked if maybe we can transfer to her bus in Laoag, that is if our bus can catch up to her bus!

maliwanag na when we arrived in Laoag, and Lanie's bus was nowhere to be seen, so we decided to take the jeepney to Solsona instead. all groggy, we walked the few meters to the jeepney station and had to travel for at least an hour before we reached Solsona.

this is the road to Solsona's town proper (the highway) ganda no?

i really missed the "scent" of the air/wind in Ilocos more so in Solsona. the air is so crisp and fresh, i relish even the thought. i love looking at the fields, rivers, rice canals, pasagad, kariton, hay naku! i miss the place na naman!