have their Mabuhay Miles YFlyer cards already…

Happy to note that they’ve got their miles from our recent US trip with a bonus of 3000 miles since we booked during the travel expo. Their miles are possible for a round-trip HK getaway! I hope the husband is reading this! lol! But I would probably pass that up since we are saving for another great trip. As for me and the husband, our miles are getting bigger. Thanks to credit card points! I am even wishing our miles can be converted to round-trip air travel to Europe. Wish! if our ultimate plan of going to Europe by 2012 pushes through, I would probably go nuts calling all those stores with 08 numbers! Know what are those? Yes, designer bag shops!!!! Woohoo! Gotta save real hard for that trip!

The above photo was taken during one of our stops on our road trips. This was in Hoover Dam. It was a tourist attraction once known as Boulder Dam, that is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado Rover. It is actually a state line between Arizona and Nevada. This was just about few days after we landed in Los Angeles and look how much weight we gained already just looking at our picture. That made me think to buy diet pills then. But instead of looking for one in Las Vegas as we were headed there after this stop, we ended up eating mostly buffet in Vegas hotels. So don’t ask how much weight did we gain from the trip ok?

No, this was not taken using a security camera, lol! The husband took this shot. I wasn’t actually lucky with slot machines. I have never been lucky with it ever since I was playing with it. I like playing the roulette better especially the digital one where in you bet using a touch screen monitor. In there, you cannot see how much others are betting unlike the open roulette. There was one night in Las Vegas that I was lucky with it. I actually won a total of $150! Yey, that made me buy a long champ bag in the store! lol!

Nope, we are not in a beauty care products to look for the best wrinkle cream on the above picture, since a friend is asking me to get one that prevents premature aging. But we were in Jean Philippe Patisserie inside the newest hotel in Las Vegas, Aria. They have sumptuous and good-looking desserts available so of course, we didn’t take any chances but try out what they have to offer. Oh, it didn’t fail us. Though a slice of a cake would cost you around Php 500-600, yes just a slice, it was worth it though. We love the breads too!

Let me jump off my story about our US vacation with one of my favorite shows among the Theme Parks we have been to. We went to 4 Theme Parks. Universal Studios in Los Angeles, Disneyland in Anaheim, Sea World in San Diego and Lego Land in Carlsbad. My kids do remember clearly about Shamu, the adorable whale from San Diego. It was one of their favorites. As for me, aside from the show of Shamu, my favorite also in Sea World San Diego was the Pet’s Rule show. It was an amazing show of animals, from dogs, cats, pigs, birds, ducks. I have never seen like it before. The show was actually very witty and entertaining. Example was like the a golden retriever dog preparing their canine cuisine for a dinner date with a poodle dog. Amazing how those animals were trained to be able to do great tricks.

I am pretty sure the trainors are like providing dog gourmet treats. I wouldn’t be surprised if their dog breakfast would be a bunch of new york steaks or even some fillet mignons? lol!

It wasn’t only the dogs who performed. There were cats, a pig, some ducks and birds who were part of the show. Look at some of the pictures we took…

Went to 4 theme parks this week. We went to Universal Studios, Disneyland, Sea World and Legoland. It was all fun. Though we didn’t bring the kids in Universal Studios so it was just a date for me and the husband. We drove on our own going there so it was also a great experience. We loved riding on those scary rides. Anyway, it was safe and heard that these theme parks are even deploying their staff for some bpi training. My favorites, Jurassic Park in Universal Studios and Indiana Jones in Disneyland. We failed to ride the Atlantis in Sea World as we didn’t have much time. Legoland was all fun too especially the miniature of the US cities. Their roller coaster ride called accelerator was also much fun. Will blog more about these theme parks individually once I downloaded the thousands pictures we’ve got.

You may call them my fashionable jet setter kids…

Left Manila last May 13 at 10pm and we safely arrived in Los Angeles Airport at 8pm, May 13 (LA time). Purposely, I had the girls wore skirts so it would be a lot easier when they need to go to the lavatory. You know how tight it is to be in there. Asked them to wear those easy slip on shoes as well so it was also easy to remove their shoes during check-ups/screening in the airport. Notice that I also wore a dress instead.  It was indeed a breeze to move around and to manage the kids with their wardrobe.  I just brought with me some leggings for them to wear whenever they feel cold.  I think we would make it  a habit when travelling.

I’m officially done packing our stuff for the trip.  I had to finish still some pending emails to answer and I also cleaned up my mess in my home office.  I told the maids to polish my office furniture also my while I am gone.  I also told them to clean up all kitchen cabinets.  It would be a lot of work for them as well as I told them to do general cleaning.

Whew! We are finally leaving! I almost can’t believe it! Have waited for this so long really. We are all excited.

It’s going to be an exciting 24 days!!!

This is the itinerary that my beloved sister-in-law emailed to us:  

May 13 ( Thursday)-  Airport Pick-up

May 14 (FRIDAY)-  REST DAY and Old Town Temecula

May15 ( SATURDAY)-  PROMENADE MALL/Lake Elsinore Mall

May 16(SUNDAY)-  Departure for Grand Canyon. Check-in Marriott

May 17(Monday)- Leave Grand Canyon. Departure for Las Vegas. Check-in Paris

May18(Tuesday)- LAS VEGAS BABY!

May 19 ( Wednesday)- Leave Las Vegas…Drive to RENO

May 20( Thursday)- RENO. Then Departure for San Francisco. Check-in Marriott

May 21 ( Friday)-  Leave SFO. Back to RENO.

May22 ( Saturday)- Lake Tahoe

May23 (Sunday)- GO HOME TO TEMECULA

May 24 ( Monday)- Rest day/ Temecula Wineries

May 25 ( Tuesday)- Disneyland. Check-in Marriott

May 26 (Wednesday)- Go to Los Angeles. Queen of the angels Cathedral, Griffith Park, The Grove and Beverly Hills (Rodeo Drive), Hollywood

May 27( Thursday)- Free day ( Lyn’s Grad Banquet)

May 28 ( Friday)- LEGOLAND

May 29 (Saturday)- Seaworld ( San Diego)- Bring three cars to pick-up Erick at the airport

May 30 ( Sunday)- Lyn’s GRADUATION CEREMONY

May 31 ( Monday)-Shopping At CABAZON BABY!!!!!! Yipeee!!!! Memorial Day SALE!

June 1 (Tuesday)- Jody’s BDAY!  ;)

June 2 ( Wednesday)- Universal Studios

June 3 ( Thursday)- Last Minute Shopping

June 4 (Friday) – Rest

June 5 (Saturday) – Departure for Manila

Yeah, looks like an amazing race trip for us as we road trip from one city to another.  But I’m sure it would all be fun.  I just pray that the kids would really be healthy all throughout the trip.

And did you notice that I will be celebrating my birthday there?  So happy, so excited.  

1 more sleep and off we go!

I completed already the things we need to buy from the drugstore to bring for our trip. Yes, we are now fully equipped with vitamins, medicines for the kids and me the husband. Would you imagine, I even bought sleep pills as well? Talking about being so OC! I bought also lozenges, even moisturizers for me and the kids, sunblock and lip balm. We were advised that it is getting humid already in Cali and so the wind becomes different as well so we should really be prepared. Guess, we are truly fully equipped now.

Glad that I have accomplished already some of the errands that I still have to do based on what I have posted before. Done with pedia check-up for the kids.  They are now boosted with flu vaccines, done also in having my hair cut/color and the some paper works for the new acquisition has finally been completed. I just need to buy the “pasalubongs” for the relatives then we can already start packing our bags. I also recently bought a box cutter which we can bring along since we are pretty sure that we would be coming home with boxes instead for items we will shop there. I’m sure it would be a great help. Apparently, I am hoping that our stuff can fit in 3 luggage that we would bring. I hoping to practice my packing expertise

As we are bound for Las Vegas in two weeks time, I can’t help but really get excited. I have been thinking to watch a Cirque de Soleil show but I haven’t checked on the available shows possible while we are there. We are staying in Paris Hotel this time. I hope we can quickly go down as well to the casinos to try some slot machines On the other hand, I saw this Las Vegas Limo Service available in the strip. It’s going to be cool to try one of those Las Vegas Limos. Wouldn’t it be nice to move around the strip riding a Las Vegas Limo? That would be so fabulous. They have different packages to offer as well and you can even create your own package. The packages comes with complimentary ice, water and soft drinks and even a choice of audio CD’s and DVD’s available from their library. They have the All About the Kids package that includes a Mini Grand Prix, South End Games, North End Games, All Strip Game Package, Fun, History and Science-a trip to the Lled Children’s Discovery Museum and my favorite Chocolate in the Garden with Marshmallows. It is a trip to Ethel’s Chocolate Factory. We are all excited for this grand vacation as a family!

I am already preparing the wardrobe for our upcoming trip and been looking for sale items already especially for kids in ON website. Yeah, it is online shopping for me again. In fact, no plans of bringing to much stuff in our luggage and just planning to just have all the stuff that I would buy online to be delivered straight to our destination.  I am sure it is a better option since online shopping is also called green shopping this time. Consumers can actually use less energy and reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 35 percent compared to shopping at retail stores. See, I am even helping the environment! lol!

Even if we haven’t gone yet for our major vacation this year, we are already planning for our Orlando vacation next year maybe? I hope we could really push through this time. We are also looking to go to New York or Canada so we could visit our other relatives there. We would have wanted to do it all together this may but I just can’t afford to travel just with the two girls since the husband cannot take a longer break from work. Anyway, there would always be a next time. For the meantime, we are so looking forward for our trip to the West Coast on May.

I’m overly excited!!! It’s actually an understatement.  But i just love that my SIL is doing a preparation already for our upcoming arrival in the US.  In fact, she did some bookings already in hotels where we would stay.  Although, we won’t be able to include an Outer Banks vacation this time since we are just going to stay in the West for our total of 24-days stay in the US, we are still pretty much excited about the trip. Itinerary includes Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Reno, SFO, Lake Tahoe, San Diego and hopefully to even include Yosemite if we can still squeeze that in.  It’s one challenging amazing race for us but definitely an enjoyable road trip.  Can’t wait. We can’t really wait!

We rented a self-driven car on our 3rd day.  We got it for only $45 for 24-hour rental!  Yeah, cheap!  We enjoyed the day just hopping from one mall to the other.  Our first destination was Guam Premier Outlets.  It wasn’t that big and not too many stores to really enjoy but got really nice stuff from Nine West, BCBG and Ross.  We ended up getting a small balikbayan box on our way back to Manila since I hoarded about 5 sets of bedsheets.  I was very happy to have found nice bedsheet sets in Guam for our King Size bed, which were only from $16-25, for a 4-pc set.  What I like most is that these sheets are at 300 thread count and can even accommodate a 17″ mattress.  I usually find it hard to get nice sheets here since we pretty have a think mattress and most of the local manufacturers can only accommodate up to 8″.  I even got a 450 thread count for just $25.  Those were really steal.  

The kids were very cooperative during our stay in Guam.  As they say, it’s getting easier each trip.  Thank goodness, they can be coached on what to do.  I thought I would even need those wrinkle creams to battle my stress during the trip.  But no, I didn’t need any since I also don’t want to fall prey on those creams that claim 100% benefit.  I would have wanted to check also on youthology scam before buying any.

We also went to Micronesia Mall, Tumon Sands, Tumon Plaza and K-Mart.  We also went to Two Lover’s Point, the highest point in the island of Guam. We had nice pictures from here.  We went back to our hotel almost 10pm already.  (yes, sinulit ang car rental).  We just ate in one of the restaurants in Micronesia Mall which I actually forgot already.  

All of us were literally dead tired for the whole day so we just capped the night easily.

I know this has been a long overdue post about our trip to Guam last November. Nevertheless, here it is…

It was our first time in Guam. Thanks to Mabuhay Miles promo again last year that we were able to claim 3 roundtrip tickets to Guam. Actually thanks to HSBC Mabuhay Miles credit card. It was so worth it to spend using that credit card. Proof? Our HK trip last September for the whole family were all miles redeemed so as this trip to Guam. We only got a paying ticket for Bianca.

We decided to choose this island for our destination last november. We didn’t regret it. We had a great time. It was family bonding again. And as me and Dicky who took care of the kids for 4 days, i didn’t need any of those ephedra diet pills since I pretty lose about 5lbs in that quick span of time

We left Manila for late flight of 10pm. We were in the airport by 7pm. Again, since it’s Philippine Airlines, it was just a breeze in check-in counters. Guam is ahead of Manila’s time for 2 hours. It was just a quick 4hour flight so we technically arrived Guam at 4am. Upon landing in Guam International Airport, we went straight to the taxi bay to get our ride to Westin Hotel. Our driver was Filipino so we felt at ease. Our room in Westin were already reserved the day before so we were allowed to check-in right away. We were happy with the size of the room. A typical deluxe room for a 5-star hotel. There’s a veranda overlooking the beach and the whole stretch of Tumon Sands. We decided to rest and sleep first before we made our first day adventures.

The next day, we woke up almost 1030am already. We decided to go out and check out Tumon Sands Plaza and DFS Galleria. (yes, shopping right away ;P). Since it was close to lunch time, we took our brunch in Outrigger Hotel. We went to the Underwater World within Tumon Sands Plaza. The place is pretty small. Manila Ocean Park is actually bigger than this. Nevertheless, we still want the kids to see it. Afterwards, we went back to our hotel after strolling around the nearby mall and going to DFS Galleria. We changed to our swimming attires and we were off to the beach afterwards.

Westin Hotel is beachfront.  Guam beach is beautiful. They kids didn’t want to stay in the sands so we let them stay in the pool instead. But we also tried the kayak and then we stayed in the pool area until sunset.

We went back to our hotel room almost 7pm already. We cleaned up the kids and they were snoozing as early as 8pm. Dicky just grabbed a take-out food from a nearby restaurant. We were both tired as well so we just ended the night early.

Day 2 coming up…

Some of our pictures from Day 1…

No, I didn’t get those boots of the kids from Stuart Weitzman, but I want something there for myself Although I have enough boots already, which in fact I barely use. I am reserving those to use for our upcoming trips.  Got those booties from Zara.  Glad those were on sale The kids are complete with their gears with their matching jackets. Although it is not exactly winter when we go to the US, we still would like to wear our wardrobes for picture purpose!  Lol! Anyway, their spring season is cold enough for us! And as an OC mom as I am, I am already preparing for the kids outfit by then!  Can’t wait!  Can’t really wait!

We are already preparing for our itinerary for our upcoming trip! Thanks to my SIL. I am getting super excited. In fact, there are more to see this time versus the last time we were there. We are even looking for a vacation property management which we can avail for some home exchange program. We need such to manage our accommodations since we are travelling to different areas: Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Reno, Sacramento and San Francisco. I have read about 3rd Home, which is a premier vacation property management and home exchange website. In fact, their site is appropriate for our requirement since they do have some of the most popular destinations for vacation rentals from their owners located at Miami, Florida, Palm Springs, California, and Nantucket Massachusetts. They even have beach villas in Mexico and mansions on Miami Beach. They even have upscale lofts in France and log homes in Colorado. I got excited learning about all of these. We would definitely look into those places as well in the future. The program allow members to exchange their second homes with other luxurious vacation houses and even enjoy exclusive access to some of the most desirable resorts and private destinations in the world. It is perfect for those who wants to experience a different getaway experience. I read also that they strive to create the finest, luxury, second home exchange program in the whole world.  Now, let me review more their site and plan ahead for our next vacation destinations!

after back to back events last weekend and extending till Monday of this week. You see, my job calls for me to work for like 24/7. After managing our events, also need to answer tons of emails and work on number of paperworks to finish upcoming events. Not to mention, back to back meetings along the way. Ok, please don’t get me wrong as I am not complaining at all. In fact, this shouldn’t be so hard at all if you love what you do

I’m busy as a bee again as I am preparing a number of weddings out of Manila. Looks like this year is a very good year for us. We have a number of destination weddings. In fact, we recently had one last weekend in Poro Point, La Union. We heart the place so much that I wanted to go back there with my family. The location makes me feel like I’m in one of those beautiful resorts of Riviera Maya. It would be a dream come true to manage a wedding in one of the Karisma Hotels. But our event last weekend was close to what we could expect from Karisma concept: day beach beds, ocean view, infinity pool, superb and first-class service and of course delightful gourment menu. Well, who knows, we might be able to plan an event there

The husband and I would have a planning session before the year ends for our goals in the coming year. I always look forward to it as we also plan for our travel budget for the year. Next year would definitely be a trip to the US. As much as I would like to include a Europe trip, I think that plan should take a back seat until 2012.

Nevertheless, I still can’t help but dream about going to Europe sometime. It is one of my ultimate travel destinations I wish to go to on this lifetime. I wish to go to popular cities in Europe like Paris, Rome, and London. I was browsing a blog of a friend who recently went to Europe. I took a lot of notes on the places she recommends to visit. Now, I can’t help but browse some more. I found out about a site that gives information and reviews about different Restaurants in UK. The site is very informative for a tourist like me who would like to plan for a European trip. Since you do not want to waste money and time in dining in a non-sense restaurant or even bars/pubs, checking the popular and favorite Restaurants London from the site would be quite helpful. A review by patrons are being given on each shop or restaurant. It is also easy to navigate since a map is actually provided so you won’t get lost as well in finding the restaurants or Pubs London. If you love shopping, you can also check the site for a complete list of stores to watch out based on what you are looking for. A schedule of activities on a particular place is also updated in the site. I definitely have bookmarked the site.

Now, planning for a Europe trip has never been this easy because of tremendous resources you can find online. I hope the dream would come true in the coming years.

We are back from Guam since this morning but I am still in denial that vacation is finally over. We had a grand time in Guam! It was a perfect get-away for me, the husband and the two kids. We love Guam! We love our hotel, the Westin Resort Guam. We love the beach, the pool and the outlet shopping! Would love to go back there since it’s a short plane ride from Manila. In fact, a budget for a trip to Boracay in an upscale resort is almost the same with a get-away in Guam. So why not right?

I have yet to upload our pictures and make a detailed story of the trip. For the meantime, I need to freshen up as I have a party to attend to tonight. Our association is having a suppliers’ party and I still need to get those business gifts I ordered last week. I am hoping the cards are done since I still have to write on those.

Hope to post some pictures tomorrow.