Auld Lang Syne

A Prosperous and Blessed New Year ... from our family to yours ...!!!

Just Chillin' Out

We are set to welcome 2011 in the cold City of Pines! 

For the second straight year, our family trooped to Baguio to spend the holidays. Whereas we stayed from the 28th to the 30th last year, our schedule this year only permitted us to leave work yesterday, December 29. On our way, we decided to take a detour to visit and say a quick prayer of thanks at the Church of Our Lady of Manaog in Pangasinan.

Our Lady of Manaog

The drive was pleasant and relaxed all throughout the trip. We reached Baguio at around 1pm. HB and I took a nap and while we did, our girls got busy and hammed it up in front of the camera. With a tripod, they took shots as they roamed around the condo unit as well the clubhouse of Ridgewood Residences in Camp 7 in Kennon Road, which is our haven in this city.  

street kids, anyone?

After napping, we went to SM to purchase our supplies for the duration of our stay. We headed back to the condo shortly after we finished.

Earlier this afternoon, we headed out to PEZA and Camp John Hay to check out the export overruns. Disappointed with the wares, we drove to Burnham Park where HB and I watched some locals playing football.

wacky-ing it up inside the car

And to celebrate our wedding anniversary, we had dinner at the original Solibao Restaurant in Burnham Park. As HB and I found the Sinigang na Bagnet to be perfect for the cool clime during our last trip here in July, we ordered it once again for our girls to try.

our second take of Sinigang na Bagnet

This time, we partnered it with inihaw na pusit which was grilled to perfection as the squid meat remained soft and tasty. 

inihaw na pusit (grilled squid) served in an old-style Filipino pan

After dinner, we drove back to the condo for more bonding time. The fire place was set up and the girls roasted hot dogs.

my girls and their roasted hot dogs

Nothing tourist-y for us, just pure chillin' out ... we slept to our bodies' content, we ate when we felt like it, we watched dvd's, we sang videoke, and we drank spirits by the fire as our girls munched on roasted marshmallows and hot dogs. It is a perfect time for us and I sure hope there would be more in the next year to come.

Christmas in Our Home

On Christmas Eve, my girly girls can hardly wait for the clock to strike 12 so they could open their gifts. For the two younger girls, their much awaited gift is that from Santa. Yes, my girls still believe in Santa Claus and they wrote down their wish list as early as October. Even though their classmates told them that Santa was a myth, my girly girls have stuck to their belief so we all continue with the tradition.

And in line with tradition, our usual norm is to have dinner and drinks with HB's clan and go home at about 11 to finish our own preparations. By midnight, we all kiss and hug one another and we gather around our dining table for a quick prayer led by HB, greet Jesus a Happy Birthday and warm our tummies with our noche buena. Only then do we allow our girls to open their gifts. 

Amidst their excitement and shrieks of happiness, we are quite thankful for the wonderful blessings that continue to come our way. We've got such a small home but we are proud to say that it is filled with so much joy, laughter and chatter of our precious girly girls. Love truly abounds at Christmas.

Happy Birthday Princess Fiona!

The stress level has gone own dramatically ... all the Christmas gifts are wrapped and most were given out during the kid's school parties and our office parties ... the gifts for my side of the family were given out earlier while we are due to have dinner with HB's family in a while. And if I may say so, our party for my youngest daughter, Fiona, went well and was a hit with her close friends. I am so grateful for the parents of her classmates who took the time to bring their daughters to celebrate with us. I am quite thankful too for my brothers and sisters in-law who all exerted efforts to brave the traffic to party with us. We were deeply honored with their presence and it all made Fiona's day special.

To my princess Fiona, happy birthday sweet sweet child and may all your wishes come true! We love you so so much!!!