Day 17: Photos of your most recent trip

Just last week, we went home to Tacloban to visit papa on his birthday and at the same time attend the baptism of my niece. (I will be posting the photos of the baptism in another blog ♥)

It was just a short trip and we had to come back to Cebu after a few days, but it was worth it.  Although I did not get to see friends, I got to spend time with my family which was what I was looking forward to.

Let me share a few photos taken on a lazy Sunday afternoon :)

Just outside our house

The mall is just one pedicab ride away, isn't that cool :)

Micah with the sun behind her...

Eating out on Sundays has always been a family tradition

Andre showing off his muscles just like Uncle Lucky

Always a Papa's girl at heart

Missing Cocoy and Althea

Micah with her funny antics :)

I could only count the times we are able to go home to Tacloban, so I make the most out of those few occasions that I am able to visit my family and luckily see my friends.  

Writing about this makes me homesick, but I am looking forward to my next trip back home.

Day 14: What was your most memorable vacation

I would consider every vacation to be memorable.  Whether it's going to my home town, heading out to the beach over the weekend or a quick trip somewhere new.  But one vacation that stands out so far was the weekend we spent at Badian. A friend invited us to stay over at their beach house so we decided to grab that chance to go on an adventure.

The best part of that weekend was when we went to Kawasan Falls.  We had to walk about a hundred or so meters to get there, but it was all worth it.  The place was soooo beautiful! 

Here are some photos of our weekend at Badian :)

The beach house which was built by the owner himself, literally!  With the help of his workers of course, lol!

It was low tide when we arrived so we just enjoyed playing in the sand :)

Sea shells by the sea shore :)

We had a little camp fire by the beach after dinner.

This little girl was up way past her bedtime :)

Day 2 in Badian started with a long walk to Kawasan falls

The souvenir shop we passed by on the way to the falls...

Are we there yet? 

This was the first falls.  The view was breath taking, but I almost lost my breath when our guide told me we had to climb up to get to the second falls, lol!

The water was crystal clear and really cold...

Thank you Lord for the gift of nature :)

At last after all the walking and climbing through steep terrain, we arrived at our destination.  

The water was so refreshing, and we had fun riding the bamboo raft :)

Sunset at Badian...

It was indeed a memorable weekend.  A much needed break from our usual routine.  I guess every once in a while, it helps to just stop and appreciate the beauty of the world around you.  

Take things slow, enjoy life and all that it has to offer. Make beautiful memories you can always look back to :) 

And the baby has arrived :)

Last March 28, 2013, we welcomed a new addition into our family.  Victoria Lumina Vertulfo-Atillo or Baby Yuna was born into this world, a few days before her father's birthday.

To my brother Lucky and my sister-in-law, China... you have been blessed to be parents.  This is a new chapter in your life, be prepared for sleepless nights, diaper changes and singing lullabies.  This also means looking forward to your baby's milestones and making so many happy memories that you would always look back to from time to time.

I won't promise you both that the road would be easy, it can be tough, it can be frustrating, stressful sometimes, but I can assure you that every time  you look into your child and see her smile or give you a hug,   you would know that all the sacrifices would be worth it.

" A Baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bank roll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten and the future worth living for". - Unknown

Insta-Friday: Siblings

It is a blessing to grow up with a sibling,  You would always have a play mate you can never get rid of, someone to talk to, to lean on, to laugh with over silly things.  You may get into fights once in a while, but you know that you would always have someone to watch your back.

My kids may have their share of sibling rivalry.  They may have their fights and arguments over little things, they don't always share common interests and are exact opposites, Andre being a home buddy and Micah always wanting to go outside and play, but they have always looked out for each other even at a young age.

I am proud of how Andre would always hold Micah's hand whenever they are in the play ground, helping her up the slide, or how Micah would always look for her Kuya Andre first thing when she wakes up.

To have a sibling, is to have a friend given by God.  To know that whatever happens, you would always have someone to be there and share life's ups and downs.  Andre and Micah may still be young, but I  think they know how blessed they are to have each other.

Blessed to have grown up with 3 brothers,

Being Realistic...

Today, I had lunch with my kids at school.  It's something I look forward to every now and then.  I find time to do it because it's what I would have wanted to do if circumstances were different.  I can't be in school on a regular basis so it's also the only time I could follow up with their teachers  on how my kids are doing in school, especially with Andre.  

I feel guilty sometimes, because I want to be  the  mom who stays in school for lunch.  I would want to be the mom who's always around during PTA meetings or the mom who hangs out with other moms everyday waiting for the kids to be dismissed.  It's what I think is ideal, but not realistic for moms who work like me....

So I would just be the realistic mom, who would devote as much quality time with my kids as possible, the mom who would never get tired of explaining to my kids why I need to work, the mom who would talk about my kids with pride, the mom who would always look forward to going home after a days work to bear hugs and kisses and never ending questions from two little kids who gives me enough reason to believe that my life has a purpose.

A Visit To St. James Amusement Park

Every once in a while, we skip our weekend visit to the malls and head out somewhere new.  So on Christmas day, we decided to go to an amusement park.  The St. James Amusement Park across Parkmall is still in operation and now has put up a mini-zoo or mini-farm as you may call it inside the park premises.

The kids were actually more thrilled with the animals rather than the park rides.

Cute baby sheeps and even a deer

The park also has a camel, a few ponies and two baby tigers, and an ostrich.

For one token, you get a chance to feed the baby sheep and deer.

The kids got the chance to ride a pony

Andre would not miss out on the disc hockey and Micah never too old for these baby rides, lol!

This was Micah's favorite event, jumping up and down on the trampoline!  I had fun watching her and got the chance to rest from all the walking around!

Micah posing in front of the farm entrance and the other photo  was taken with the intention of capturing the ostrich, but I guess it was camera-shy so it walked away :)

It was a fun-filled day!  Walking around the park can be tiring, but looking at the kids having a blast was enough for me to disregard the aching I felt on my foot, lol!  Andre enjoyed feeding the baby sheep and Micah loved jumping on the trampoline.  But the highlight would probably be seeing the baby tigers and the pony ride.  I would love to go back and hopefully muster up enough courage to ride the Black Ship and the Lantern Wheel, *wink*!

Special thanks to Uncle Cocoy and Auntie Thea for some of the photos here and for spending Christmas day with us.  Until our next weekend getaway!

Looking Back at Christmas

 It's the day after Christmas.  I look at our Christmas tree and I miss seeing all the gifts piled up waiting to be opened.  I honestly feel a little lazy today, but I still have to work.  Good thing I don't need to cook because of all the left overs from the Christmas dinner.  I think we might be eating ham for another day or two, lol!

We survived another Christmas away from home.  I always get so melodramatic during the holiday seasons because I really miss spending Christmas with my family.   I remember how I would help mama prepare for our Noche buena.  I would be the one in charge of peeling the potatoes and slicing them, shredding the chicken, grating the cheese and mixing the ingredients for the salad.  I miss Christmas dinners and gathering around to open our gifts.  I guess it's kind of weird hearing a 34 year old grown up ramble about memories of how it was spending Christmas at home.  I grew up in a close knit family, and I guess even if I am married with kids of my own, I would always have this feeling of wanting to come home for Christmas.

But since we moved to Cebu, we have been spending Christmas here and making traditions of our own.  We have our Christmas dinner on the 24th, and then attend the 10:00 pm Christmas eve mass.  When we get home, we gather around our Christmas tree for the kids to open their presents.  As much as I miss my family, Christmas will always be a wonderful season for us, most especially for our kids.  This is a season of remembering the blessings we have received the entire year and being able to share our blessings to others in our own little way.

So here's to all of you, whether you spent Christmas at home, away from home or at work... I hope that you had a good one this year and I hope that you get to spend it with those you love whether family or friends or work mates.  May that feeling of love, sharing and kindness we feel stay with us all through the year. ♥

Better Late Than Never

I want to keep up with the photos that I need to share on my blog  so I'm giving my "personal thoughts" and "thoughts on life and love" posts a rest for today and maybe come up with something in a day or two, *wink*.

For some reason, I can't do a "same day" post of the photos we took whenever we go somewhere nice.  But I make sure I get to post it one way or the other, so here goes...

These photos were taken at Mountain View Resort in Busay.  We never got to see all the attractions in the resort because we had to walk uphill, and the kids were getting tired, but we had fun all the same.

Just arrived and starting our uphill walk.

Andre still had the energy to run around, but halfway through our uphill climb, he was starting to complain that his feet were tire, lol! 

First stop, the sleeping guard.  Don't sleep on the job,tsk, tsk!

While Micah wanted to have her picture and take in the view, Andre was in a hurry to get to the top.

Taking a rest

The photographers chance to get his photo taken :)

The view overlooking the pool.

Andre wanted to go swimming so he had this "Can i swim mommy,please?" look n his face.

Hey Mickey, why are you stone cold?

Enjoying the view of the city.

Before heading to the car, we decided to check out their tree house with a mini hanging bridge, really cool!

It was a fun afternoon, and even if I looked like a vampire (according to Micah) in some of the photos since my eyes were red and sore because it got irritated from the contact lens I wore the previous night, It did not really matter.  We had a wonderful time and that's what counts.

PhotoMemories

Yesterday I decided to clean up my PC and delete some old files that were stored to free some memory space.  I stumbled on a folder with some of our old photos, and remembered that this was where I saved the photo collage that I intended to post here in my blog, which unfortunately I was not able to.  

Anyway, before I totally forget about it again, I am posting these photos here.  Although these were taken months back, they are still worth sharing.

I took pictures of Micah while Daddy was busy trying on some polo shirts.  Too bad, I should have taken his picture too, lol!

After running around IT park, we decided to grab something to eat, and headed for Krispy Kreme which was right across where we parked.

During our weekend outing in Moalboal.  

Looking at each of them brings back happy memories which is a really good way to start my day.  

Happy Monday everyone!