Merry Christmas 2012

It has been The Family's tradition to spend the whole day of Dec. 24 with
The Husband's family and the Christmas Noche Buena with mine.

We had a sumptuous lunch at Chef Jessie at the Rockwell Club. I had
Rib Eye steak and The Husband had his Lamb Chop.  The kids spent
the whole afternoon at the arcade games.

We ended the afternoon attending the anticipated Christmas mass.

Excited for the Noche Buena and gift-giving, my son had his time
count-down until 12 midnight for the gift-giving and opening.

It was another joyous Christmas for my kid and a stronger bonding
for The Family.

Thank you God for all the love and blessings...

Astoria Plaza Suite, Ortigas - A Father's Day Plunge

It was our 2nd year of celebrating Father's Day @Astoria Plaza Suite
last June 15-17.

What we love here is the homey and relaxed feeling of just staying in the hotel 

with the full-serviced amenities - kid and a lap pool, gym, SPA services and

free shuttle going to nearby commercial hubs. 

Father and Son had a taste of their buffet breakfast for a buy 1 take 1 offer 

of PHP400++.

And what my son really enjoyed - a plunge on the kiddie pool where he 

overcame his fear of dipping into the water.  This was so memorable to him

because he got the confidence to float by himself.

Maybe by next summer, I will enroll him to swimming class. 

Our 1-bedroom accommodation...

 

 

 

 

Resorts World Manila - A Lucky Chinese New Year for me

Relax, Shop, Dine, Enjoy and Play - all rolled into one where The Family can really
enjoy - Resorts World Manila.

It was last January 22-23 when The Family decided to experience RW Manila
in time for its Chinese New Year celebration.  As expected, series of entertainment
graced the event and was really jam-packed. 

Not to describe & criticize in detail the RW Manila but having been in RW Sentosa
Singapore where the famous Universal Studio is one of its main attractions,
can't help but somehow compare.  RW Manila still has a lot more to improve
on to stand up to the renowned RW - in terms of outside & building interior,
parking lot, number of luxury shops and restos, and gaming attractions for kids. 

Relax - It has the all-suite luxury hotels of Maxims Tower and Mariott Hotel but
we ended up to its budget Remington Hotel. Remington is good for those who
will just have few hours of sleep-over like us who stayed out most of the night
for the celebration and tried playing in its Casino.

Shop - A number of high-end shops like Bergamo, Bvlgari, Anne Klein, Paris
Hilton located at the Ground floor of Newport Mall while others are the usual
- Giordano, Guess, Adidas, Bench in the 3rd floor where I bought a nice
blouse-shirt

Dine - With few fine dining restos, bars and cafe.  Its good there is McDonalds
for the kids and Starbucks, UCC, Coffee Bean and the likes of Crepes and Cream
that can fit the budget of The Family.

Enjoy - It has its Newport Performing Arts Theater where the Sounds of Music
was shown, the Bar 360 for musical acts and acrobatic performances and
of course watch movies in comfort and luxury at the Newport Cinemas. 
Next time, The Family will try to watch movie there.

Play - Of course, we didn't miss to try its Casino. It was Chinese New Year
so I tried my luck while in red shirt.  I was more than lucky that I won few
bucks.  All expense paid by my winnings and still had a little to share with
The Family.  For the kids, the Game Zoo was just launched but
we haven't tried it. 

For sure, there will always be The Family's 2nd, 3rd...nth time for this
one great place of fun, luck and enjoyment. 

The Family welcomes New Year 2012

My son embracing the New Year 2012 with a big smile.

It has been a tradition to the Santos Family that every New Year, the family
stays together - either out of the country or just stay in a hotel within the city.

This year, the family stayed in Makati Shangri-la hotel.  Luckily, the hotel's
Christmas decors were still up and we had photo-ops.  Below picture was
taken by my brother in-law. 

And what made it really exciting and a fun one was that kids now are really kids.
They enjoyed playing their gadgets and sharing their toys, dine out together, sing
and dance and shared their own stories.  

For the first night of bonding, we watched the last day Christmas Lights show in
Ayala Triangle Gardens.  This was our second year of watching the show.

 

When the kids were complete before the New Year's eve comes, they prepared

for the New Year's eve mass.  They were all so awesome on their outfits.

 

It was emphasized in the mass that there is no better way to welcome New Year

than to be with the family and pray together. 

The Father and Son striking a pose.

 

The kids watching the Fireworks show from our room's window view. 

Photo-ops with the New Year look of the hotel's lobby. Full of red lovely roses.

 

And this is me - taken by my husband.

New Year for me? - Let us count our blessings  and be thankful for all that

transpired, leave bad things behind, learn from mistakes, and face the

New Year with a positive vibes.

And as a family, looking for more and quality bonding time together - be in prayers

or in happy times. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Our family's Christmas 2011

Indeed, Christmas is about one great family bonding. It is centered on the birth
of Jesus Christ with the 3 Kings offering their gifts which gave the brightest
light and hope to mankind.

The Family joined my husband's family reunion on the 24th starting off with a
lunch at Chef Jessie @ Rockwell Club, the kids played together in the arcade,
chikahan over coffee then ending it with the anticipated Christmas mass.

 

 

We finally celebrated the Christmas eve with my family.  As usual, my son
Marty was the Santa Claus and facilitated the exchange of gifts. Of course,
we enjoyed the sumptuous Noche Buena that my mother prepared.

A Polka Dots Christmas party

 

This was the polka-dots Christmas party in my son's school.  Polka-dots came in 

different colors and sizes.  For girls, there were a lot of styles to choose from but
with my son, it was all out of stock or nothing at all. So the polka-dots were just
on the upper and lower part of his shirt and unnoticeable actually.

Food from Jollibee and of course Jollibee himself graced the party.

With Barney for the junior nursery.  Even my son was excited with Barney.
His Barney pillow is still his favorite since he was a baby and is still using it.