Another date was set for Apols (with the Mommy bloggers) who will be leaving in a few weeks! We set the time of meeting from 5 to 7:30PM but we ended up going home around 10:30PM. LOL! It was a fun evening of never-ending chikahan and tawanan. I felt young again! LOL!
It was amazing to hear such love stories of the two Mommies who are now my idols! Wuhoo! Way to go Mommies! I won't mention their names anymore since it was highly confidential! LOL! I was able to hear a lot of tsismis as well which I didn't even know existed before. It just proves how much I was out of the loop (as always).
Anyway from Big Chill to National Sports Grill to Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, I've gained a lot of insights (from Paid Blogging to Mommyhood to being a wife) from you Mommies. I hope to see you again next time! (*wink*) And oh, Jacqui, thanks again for the ride! :)
For more stories, check out the following post of Apols, Thea, Joy, Aggie, Jody, Kelly. And looking forward to Jacqui and Apple's posts! ;) Send my kisses to super behaved Austin.
Our fourth day started very early. We woke up around 6:30AM to prepare for mass at the Monastery of the Transfiguration. Bukidnon is actually known for this church. We were friends with the monks here ever since I was a kid so we won't miss hearing mass here every time we visit.
I just love hearing mass at the Monastery. Mass is so solemn probably because that it was built on top of the hill. You cannot hear anything except for the sound of the birds and the wind. Very relaxing.
The Altar
I was also glad that the Mass was celebrated in English. We didn't plan on bringing Alex because it was way to early for her, but she woke up early too! Maybe because she knew that it was her birthday and she needed to go to mass. LOL! She got bored in the middle of the mass so we had to take her out just to avoid distracting the people there. I didn't want the Priest to be distracted either. Anyway, right after mass we made sure that we took some photos...
The Spectacular view from the Church
That's the church at the back
The church inside...
with my Mom and my MIL
Alex was so in the mood! LOL!
If you happen to be in Bukidnon, don't ever miss hearing mass at the Monastery. They only have one mass every Sunday and it's around 8 in the morning.
Now, for the highlight of our trip - Alex's 2nd birthday party! It started around 3PM and all I can say is that it was a blast! :) For more stories check out the following...
Party Details
The Party
Thanks for looking! (*wink*)
Is going to be a working week for me. Although I really wanted to take a time off and reflect. I'm thinking of taking the Friday off. We planned to go somewhere quiet and some place we can relax. It's just near though. No need to take a plane or a boat. It's just a way to go away from the busyness of the city. Although of course I would want to go somewhere far and experience North Padre Island rentals. But I guess not this time.
Our third day (Saturday) was one of the busiest of all the days while we were in Malaybalay City. It was the day of the Street Dancing of Bukidnon's Kaamulan Festival. You see, I was born in Malaybalay and grew up there but ever since we transfered to Manila I haven't been able to experience Kaamulan Festival anymore.
The street dancing was wonderful! It started too early though around 7AM so Alex wasn't able to watch it. We left her with my brother who was still sleeping. Anyway our house was just 5 minutes away from the main highway so in case Alex would need me, I can just run. LOL! How I miss the life in the province were everything is so near.
The Kaamulan Festival used to be celebrated on Septembers but (I think) due to the rains on September they transferred it to March which is good because we were able to watch it, after such a long time. So it's like hitting two birds with one stone when we went home to Malaybalay, celebrating Alex's 2nd birthday and at the same time seeing the Kaamulan Festival. :)
Hubby did a great job in taking some photos during the parade. He was lucky because he was able to join the official photographers there. LOL! Sometimes he would even go to the middle of the street just to take some photos. I will just let the photos speak...
We got a good spot too. We were at the place where supposed to be the Mayors are. LOL! But since they were not present we were able to take their seats.
It was a fun morning indeed! There were 8 floats who entered the contest. I'm proud to say that my Tita was one of the judges. Hehe! I can't remember exactly who won though but if I were her it would be hard to choose because all the floats and the dances were nice!
As soon as I heard about the dangers of lead I've been cautious of it especially on choosing the right toys for Alex. And I just found out that not only toys have lead but also other devices such as defribillator. I recently read that there has been Defibrillator Lead Recall. On October, 15, 2007, Medtronic Inc. announced it was recalling its Sprint Fidelis leads from the worldwide market due to a risk of fracture, which can potentially cause a defibrillator to either fail or deliver unnecessary shocks. This is an issue that should be addressed properly and an issue that people should take seriously.
I got too busy on some stuff that I wasn't able to post this. But it doesn't mean that I don't appreciate it because I really do and these awards made me want to blog more! Thank you so much ladies! (*wink*)
Thank you Jona for the Nice Matters Award!
Thanks to Jona, Eds, and Jesse for the Blogging Forever Friends Award!
Thanks to Abie for the Fab Blog Awards!
And from Jona for the Peace and Glamorous Award! Thanks sis!
And look what I got from Jacqui, Thea, and Joy!
Thank you so much ladies! So sweet of you! A big hug to you too! :)
As Hubby and I were talking about investment I also did a little research on what would be the best way to invest nowadays. I've read that investing in silver is a good way. Especially now that there are companies were you can purchase silver or other precious metals. One company that offers this kind of service is Monex Deposit Company or MDC. The sell silver and other metals that can be personally delivered. They can also provide a safe storage for you in at an independent bank or depository. What's nice about this company is that for over 30 years they have been America's sliver and precious metals investment leader.
I was so relieved when we finally docked to CDO and saw my Dad, Tito, and brother. The weather was still cloudy so I guess we made the right decision of getting out of the plane and taking the boat instead. Although it was a bit wavy around 2AM but at least we were safe and we will definitely make it to Alex's 2nd birthday party!
Our next agenda would be White Water Rafting! It was scheduled on Thursday but since the plane couldn't land, we moved it to Friday instead. I was having second thoughts if we would push through with it though because the weather was still bad. The guide then explained that the weather is perfect for rafting! Not to mention that it would be more challenging for us too!
You see, I've been going to and from Cagayan De Oro for several years now but I haven't tried rafting until this day. Hubby was so excited!
Getting ready to raft!
During summer it would be completely different. It would be too hot and the flow of the river is slower. So we were lucky that the weather cooperated with us. :) Here are more photos before and during our adventure!
That's me at the back! LOL!
Our Graduation Jump
After 3 hours of rafting (take note: everybody was required to row the raft especially during the rapids!) we were so tired but happy of course! It was one adventure we would never forget. Hubby and my sister even wanted to try the "advance" course but we didn't have time anymore. Hopefully next time when we fly back to CDO again. :)
To know more about CDO's White Water Rafting, check out their website.
After another adventurous yet successful travel to Mindanao I'm now planning again for our next travel. :) I used to have a goal that we will travel to one city in the Philippines and 1 out of town country every year. But I realized from last year's travels that it was budget consuming! So now, I don't know if we will still be able to accomplish that plan.
The United States is a nice place to go to especially that my Mom's petition is going to be granted this year. I even want to go to Florida and visit Disney World. Orlando Hotels are available anyway so we won't have problems with the accommodations. They have easy-to-use features and travel guides that would make our next Orlando trip a breeze! Oh, I can't wait for that! All I need is a visa.