Back Home to Manila

Today we go home. Feeling a bit sad because we have to go back home to work (hehehe), because we're going to miss the beauty of the Beach House and Cebu, because we're going to miss being out in the sun by the pool the whole day, because we go back to reality. At the same time though, feeling glad we're going home because I want my own bed to sleep in, because I need the airconditioning at the office (too expensive if the AC is on the whole day at home, hehehe), and because I need to give my poor, sunburnt skin a break.

{SHANGRI-LA BEACH}

The whole morning was spent at the Shang again. First up was the beach since the kids, especially Rogan, enjoyed it so much. However, the sand wasn't as pretty maybe because it rained hard early in the morning. The sand was a bit pebbl-y and stony, and to the kids' dismay, there was a lot of seaweed in the water and on the sad. Talk about utter grossness, judging from the looks on their faces! But while we were there, there was someone clearing up the seaweed-mess, so that the beach looked white and pristine again, and very clean. Of course Shangri-La had to "fix" this "mess".....they wanted a gleaming expanse of soft, powdery sand showing on their guests' pictures, to entice them to come back and bring other friends. The hotel probably conducted some market research that a pristine and white beach is better for their business.

We went to the little cove in the middle of the beach and we practically had it to ourselves the entire morning. To our delight, the kids discovered that there were a LOT of fish in the water, near the shore! Excitedly, Raine ran to Japa's backpack for the stale bread that he brought down from the room for purposes of feeding the fish. She ran back down to the water and distributed the bread to everyone. Even Ranger held his hand out for the bread.

As the kids threw small pieces of the bread in the water, they would oooh and aaah and shriek with delight as the fish literally jumped on the morsels of bread that were thrown their way. You could SEE their glistening, silver bodies shining in the sunlight as they wove and dove their way into the middle of the feeding frenzy!

Poor Ranger wasn't feeling well though, and he slept in my arms after all the excitement about the fish died down. The movement of the water probably helped him to doze off; I carried him to a lounge chair and covered him up with a towel. He slept through all our laughter, screaming and shouting, the poor baby. :(

We even had our own version of Baywatch as Rodney, Rondic and Boydee demonstrated their best David Hasselhoff ummm...physique and diving abilities. What a site! No photos of this highly-entertaining segment of our stay since those priceless photos are on Japa's camera. But it's SO going to be WORTH to see when I upload them! Hehehe.

{LONG DAY}

Checked out of Shang at 3 pm and went our merry way to the Beach House where we did our final packing, eating and surfing the internet :) I was able to browse some message boards and catch up on a bit of email. But scrapping? Sigh! Just a couple of layouts uploaded and that was it. Too much fun during vacation, I guess, hehehe. CT requirements were put on the backburner for a little bit while I enjoyed some time with the family. :)

We had dinner at an italian restaurant and dessert at a thai restaurant. How's that for international cuisine? Hehehehe. Poor Boydee and Bang were shuttling both mine and Dic's families to and from the airport since we only had a minivan and a Land Cruiser. No way were we going to be able to fit 20 people in those 2 vehicles!

When we got to the airport, it was to find out that our flights were delayed. Rondic's flight was delayed for an hour and I was praying that our later flight wasn't going to be delayed as much. It was delayed for only 20 minutes, thank goodness.

We finally left Cebu at 11 pm. Arrived in Manila a little bit past midnight. Thankfully, the kids cooperated and slept the entire way. Ranger was already asleep after dinner and didn't wake until we got to the house and had to change him. But he just rolled over and continued his journey to Dreamland.

It's a little bit past 1 am and here I am blogging! Hehehe.

{SCRAPS}

EGG PEEK-A-BOO
Journaling reads: The sun was shining so bright on Easter Day. When we laid you down amongst the plastic easter eggs for some pictures, you immediately covered your eyes with the biggest egg you could grab. We resorted to a game of peek-a-boo just so we could see your cute little face peeking amongst all the eggs.

Credits: kit - Country Love by Fabella Designs at Divine Digital; scalloped template - Fill A Paper Shaper by Katie the Scrapbook Lady at ACOT; round tag - Boutique Chic Elemental Scraps Mega Kit; chick Tearz - Hippity Hoppity by DeDe Smith; alpha - Frayed Fabric Alpha by Dani Mogstad; fonts - DB Teacher, KGD Saxon, Pea Johanna Script; Done for Lifts with a Twist

87-YEAR OLD SUNSHINE GIRL
My grandmother, looking fresh and glamorous during a sweltering day.

Journaling reads: Huge straw hat, huge sunglasses, make up and pearls are Lola Nene’s must-haves on the boat ride to the restaurant in the middle of the ocean. Our very own 87-year old glamorous Sunshine Girl.

Credits: kit - Springtime Heyday by Eve Recinella at Sweet Shoppe Designs; Date Brush - by Paula Duncan at SSD; photo filter - All that Pops by Holly McCaig; corner doodle - by Laura White (Princess Lala Designs)at Divine Digital; layered template, stitches - The Flower Shop 1 by Janet Phillips; font - Marketing Script

Ok, gotta get some shut-eye so we can make it to mass tomorrow morning!

TTFN!