New Zealand, W-O-W!

December found us, Mickey, Andre, Julian and Aleea taking our yearly holiday to the South Island of New Zealand. W-O-W! It was simply unbelievable! The scenery was truly stunning and breathtaking. The first few days were full of 'oohs' and 'ahhs', until we realized our whole trip was going to be the same, just one beautiful land and waterscape after another. From the Fiordlands to the glaciers, the mountains and waterfalls... We drove around the entire island in a camper van, our home away from home for 10 days. We slept by creeks, lakes, mountains... just awesome! The kids did amazingly well, despite there being no electronics of any sort. Books, games and window-gazing did the trick. If you want to go back to the basics and spend tons of time with family in a truly majestic setting, then NZ is it. Please view the video below as we share our experiences with you. Happy New Year!!!

All we want for Christmas...

Funny how completely different these two are. Julian is very specific as to what he wants from Santa (Andre and I suspect that as a 9 year old, he already knows that Santa does not actually exist, but he's just not telling that he knows for fear he stops getting gifts for Christmas :-) ) while Aleea wants absolutely.... nothing. We have asked her several times what she wanted and she's said time and time again, "I don't really want anything Mom". True enough when I asked them to write what they wanted for Christmas, here are the results...

How the kids have grown...

Happy Holidays!

Taking this opportunity to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you, our family and friends. Please check in after the New Year for new vacation pix and stories. Enjoy the holidays everyone! 

J Mad at A Slideshow

I never realized how many 'Julian Mad at Aleea' pictures I had in our photo library until I started sorting through it. It is just so hilarious sometimes to see these two interact (exasperating at other times!), as these pictures will prove. Aleea has this habit of trying to always want to kiss and hug her brother manong Julian, usually at the most inopportune times (like when he's concentrating on reading). As a result, big bro gets mad and then... see for yourselves.... enjoy the slideshow!

Summer in Oz (click to enlarge)

Exploring Canberra & Sydney

Yes! Spring is finally upon us! People are out and about in their camis, shorts and flip-flops. Thank you Lord! I certainly have had enough of the cold. Spring is just simply stunning in Canberra. They had the yearly flower festival 'Floriade' which lasts all of one month. The kids were off for school for 2 weeks, and put them in 2 camps: horse rding camp for a week, and U.S. History camp the other week. They certainly learned a lot in these classes. We drove the 3 hour trek to Sydney and stayed at Darling Harbour. This area is wonderful for kids and I highly recommend this area as a base when you visit, as it's self-contained. You can walk from your hotel to 3 different museums, Sydney Aquarium, Powerhouse and Maritime Museum, IMAX theatre, the Convention Center, a shopping mall, an arcade, tons of restaurants and bars, and of course, the beautiful harbour where one can just sit and bask in the sun (sunscreen highly recommended). Also caught a Gary V. concert w/ the kids - they truly had a blast and was so interested in finding out more about pinoy talents. Back in Canberra we did some exploring, going on a bush walk in Cotter dam, enjoying a rock climbing place by the house and visiting the nice parks nearby. Now it's back to school and work... ahhh, such is life I suppose. Till next posting, everyone have a wonderful week!