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// morsels of life //

enjoying this so-called life -- li'l by li'l, bit by bit...

 

Balikbayan 2009

36 days of catching up with our family and friends in the Philippines. Best Christmas season we have ever experienced. Thank you for all the great memories. See you again on 2011! :)


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More photos here.

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Lori's Tu-TWO Birthday

Our baby girl is turning 2 tomorrow! Yipeee! :)

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We actually had a celebration last weekend in our place.

Lori wore a lady bug inspired tutu dress. So charming!

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Our friends came over to join us. Glad they enjoyed the food and treats.

We were hoping to hold the party at Carlton Gardens, but the Melbourne weather was really "stubborn"!

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That's why our house was jam-packed. But it was a happy party, afterall.


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Winston and I noticed that Lori is in her "terrible two's" stage already a week before her birthday. She often throws tantrums and always making demands.
But despite those things, she knows how to make amends by giving us sweet kisses and warm cuddles :)

Happy Birthday, my dearest baby girl.
I love you!

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Kenny's Birthday

Joined the Telan family to celebrate the 3rd birthday of their son, Kenny. The theme was Thomas the Train.
It was held in their house yesterday in Wyndham Vale, 45-minute travel from the city.

Lori had a great time dancing and playing with the kids.

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My daughter also met one of the big sisters in the group, Janelle. She just loves to cuddle and look after Lori during the party.

Janelle &amp; Lori

My super cute godson, Ethan loved the attention while everybody is watching him eat his cereals and "doing raspberries" (sticking his tounge out).

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It was an afternoon of chikahan and kulitan. The boys showed off their "talents" as they try to hit the right notes with the Magic Sing karaoke.

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Enjoyed the home-made food prepared by Beth, Kenny's mom.

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We all had a full tummy as we head home.

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Party at Daydreamers

Attended Alex Caday's (the little girl with eyeglasses) birthday yesterday at Daydreamers in Windsor.


They have a function area for parties and nice play space too.

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Lori experienced to slide down a tall chute with her dad.


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I also accompanied Lori and had a go on the slide. It was so much fun!
But after few attempts, I was too tired already as I had to carry her all the way up.

Lori also enjoyed "driving" mini cars on a mini race track.
Her hands were holding the steering wheel the whole time pretending that she's a good driver and totally in control, hehe.

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Fun times! :)

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Long Weekend in Ballarat

Ballarat is almost 2 hours drive from the city. I find the location very relaxing and perfect for a family getaway.
Stayed at Wyndham Resort with our pinoy friends.
The resort has one of the most grandest mansions in the region.
The place is truly a heritage. I liked the way they preserved the old but elegant structure of the houses. The rooms were cozy and nice.

For the two days, we enjoyed lots of fun activities and road trips.
Visited the Kryal Castle (which is 20-minute drive from Wyndham)...



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I had the chance to dress up as a "royal queen" for only 10 bucks, hahaha.

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The men played poker at night, while the ladies watched tagalog movies...


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Soaked ourselves in the warm pool...



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Photo ops at the lake...

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Played tennis, basketball and indoor golf.

A fun, chillax weekend! :)



View more photos on myFlickr.

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Catching Up

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Visited couple Eian and Gina yesterday at their cozy home in Bonbeach.
It was our first catch up eversince the sad moment last October when they lost their first born, Caleb.
Good to see them again and know that they're doing ok.
Looking forward to more meetings to make them feel that we're always here.

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Summer Lunch

Hosted a BBQ lunch at our place yesterday.
Our pinoy close friends came over to have pika-pika with us under the nice sunny weather.

Tonton cooked sausage barbeque and I made leche flan for dessert.

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The kids enjoyed running around the compound and played with Lori inside our apartment.


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At the gazebo area, we simply setup two long tables, had potluck food, chitchat with our guests... and voila! A fun summer get-together! :)

(Photos below courtesy of Joni Ibarra)

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at the gazebo

More photos on my Flickr.

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Farewell Dinner

Friday evening, I prepared a simple dinner for my good friends, Jo & Joni. It was also a despedida for Jo as she is moving to Perth this week due to job relocation.

It was January last year when I met Jo. It's been a wonderful thing to know a person like her.
Like me, she's also a homebody and loves to watch TV series.



from left: Jo, Joni & me

I will definitely miss her. But looking forward to visit her soon in Western Australia :)

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Geelong Adventure Park

Just got home from our day trip to Geelong Adventure Theme Park. The location is a 1.5 hour drive from the cbd. It is a perfect summer getaway for kids and kids at heart.




We had a blast despite of the weird weather today (sunny and windy). The place is full of water fun amenities and thrill-seeker attractions.


I experienced to have a go in the "Six Lane Aqua Racer" giant slides where Tammy and I raced bravely and overcame our acrophobia instantly. It was an awesome experience!


We also enjoyed the ride at River Torrent, went Go Karting, bounced ourselves in the Jumping Castle.


Lori really enjoyed the Bonito's Bay and Tiny Tots that feature splash pools and tipping water-filled buckets.



Had picnic and celebrated one of pinoy kids 10th birthday.


Summer fun day indeed!

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Ethan's Baptism

Attended Ethan's baptism this morning at St. Brigid's Church in Fitzroy. I was one of the godparents.

(photo courtesy of Cherry M.)

It was an exclusive gathering of Ariz & Roch's filipino friends. The priest who conducted the ceremony was also a pinoy.

Reception followed at Sante's restaurant (Crown Casino complex). We enjoyed the yummy buffet and almost three hours of chitchat with friends.

Lori had her first face paint... a cute ladybird bug on her cheek.
(photo courtesy of Cherry M.)

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Christmas '08


Our second Christmas in Melbourne.
Prepared pansit, beef morcon & leche flan for Noche Buena.
Attended a gathering with fellow pinoys few hours ago.

At home, Lori loved the opening of presents. As usual, she got cute toys & lovely dresses.

We're glad that Lori was amazed by Elmo.
I got a pretty night gown, parenting books & Ton got new shirts.


We thank the Lord for all the blessings this year.
MERRY CHRISTMAS! :)

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Baby Ethan

Sunday, we visited the couple Ariz & Roch and their first born, Ethan.

Roch & I almost have the same "birthing story" -- 20 hours of labor, same hospital and pain relievers rescue!

Well, I'm sure the new mom was strucked by baby love upon seeing her boy.
Ethan is so gorgeous.

Ohh, how I love the sight of newborn babies and how they sleep at peace.

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Young Jetsetter

When I was still pregnant with Lori, I've been thinking about her future career.
I didn't think of any specific ambition for her. For us, whatever she likes to achieve when she grow up, we will support her all the way.

However, we noticed that her recent plane trips have been so enjoyable for her. We're just wondering, will she be a future stewardess or a lady pilot? I prefer the latter :)

Anyway, while we were on our way back to Melbourne last weekend, an acquaintance from Women's hospital, happened to be one of the flight attendants in Virgin Blue. We were so surprised & happy to see each other again. Sandra was so fond of Lori that she asked me to take a picture of her and my baby girl. :)


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Werribee trip

Yesterday, my family and some of our pinoy friends went to Werribee Park which is located in the southern part of Victoria and 30-minute drive from the city.




The place is a vast estate which was originally owned by Chirnside family from Scotland who migrated to Australia in the mid 1800s. The property is approximately 300 hectares with farming land and zoo. The land extends to the Werribee River which is connected to the Port Phillip Bay.




The Mansion itself occupies around 10 hectares which includes a formal garden, a rose garden and lovely lawn area perfect for picnic and photo ops :)




The house was constructed on year 1877 and has classic style. The Italian flooring, the grand staircase and the rooms are typical European yet extravagant. But the ambiance inside the house was a bit gloomy particularly the smell (like an old "baul").






We also had the chance to have a guided tour up to the Mansion's tower. The view from the tower was impressive. The tour guide told us the history of the place and some stories about the Chirnsides. It was creepy and sad to know that one of the Chirnside brothers committed suicide when he was 77 :-(






Anyway, looking at the bright side, we had fun time walking around the park and exploring it. There were some sculpture works around the place which I think were basically made for the tourists/visitors. We had picnic near the rose garden. We left the park around 4pm 'cause it's starting to rain already.



Then before we went back to the city, we dropped by Telan's place (one of the pinoys) in Manor Lakes which is 10-minute away from the park. Dinner was served around 6pm and we had enough time to chat with our friends.



Lori was lethargic but still enjoyed observing the people and mingling with other kids. It was a very tiring yet enjoyable day!

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