Day 2 at Hacienda Solange

Al fresco breakfast with the whole family!

Swimming with the nephews and nieces!

Family photo.

Birthday Celebration - Day 2

The next day, E, AC and JU woke up at 5:30AM to bike.

Breakfast was at the Areva Pavilion. Failed to take pictures of the whole group, by the time I got to bring out my camera, everyone else were either swimming or going back to sleep.

Birthday Celebration

What is the perfect way to celebrate a life milestone of turning 40?

It is first, thanking God for the many wonderful blessings, for a life well-lived, and for the amazing people who have been part of my life.

Second, it is spending time with these amazing people.

I thought of gathering the most important people in my life for a weekend in Antipolo. I chose MMLDC (www.mmldc.org) for obvious reasons, but also because of its proximity to the city (travel of less than two hours). Besides, I'm sure that most of my guests have not been to this place yet. It also offered a lot of activities -- there's swimming, jogging or walking, tour of the aviary and the duck pond, a gym and a gameroom.

Everything started with a Holy Mass officiated by Father Catalino, who we found out celebrates his birthday four days ahead of me. And thus we learned that April 30 (two days after my birthday) is the Feast of St. Catherine, that is why he was named Catalino. He continues to say that I should have been named "Catherine". Don't be surprised if you hear some people call me by the name "Catherine".



We had dinner after the Holy Mass at the open-air Areva Pavilion:

My family and E's family:

My high school barkada and their hubbies:
My college barkada and their families: There was no program that evening, but my nephews and niece prepared messages for me.

What is a birthday without a cake, but honestly, I forgot to get one! Good thing my sister T and college barkada SC brought one each:-)

Subic April 2010

We went back to Subic last weekend (to avail of the second stay of my twice a year privilege of using the Company staffhouse). This time, Dad, and my brother and his family were with us. We started our Subic vacation with lunch at Teriyaki Boy. Shopping at the newly opened Puregold was next in the agenda. A refreshing change from the crowds in Royal Subic, Puregold had wider aisles too. Although they didn't have Havaianas, they had FitFlops and Ipanema, and a wide array of factory overruns of popular brands such as Polo Ralph Lauren and Abercrombie and Fitch. We bought the usual snacks for the weekend, plus some to take home.

We had a relaxing afternoon doing what we felt like doing, which included internet surfing, reading, sleeping, taking walks, playing with Baby S at the playground and biking before everyone got hungry for dinner. Since Mom was going to treat, we let her choose the dinner place. Her choice was our favorite Indian restaurant Rama Mahal.

The next day, we enjoyed breakfast cooked by Mom (yup, she can cook!) and enjoyed our airconditioned rooms until it was time for lunch. We tried the Korean BBQ Chicken. Their spicy chicken is so good!

Pico de Loro, Hamilo Coast

Our dear friends JV and DV invited us to Pico de Loro and wow, the place is beautiful! I'm really not a beach person but I loved the place. The sea had a calming effect, and the mountains as backdrop to the water was just perfect. I spent most of the time just staring at the scenery. The kids , as well as the adults enjoyed the water, at the beach and at the pool. The food was also good! It was the perfect place for family and friends to bond.

Thanks so much Mr and Mrs V! We had an amazing time!