Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Long time coming



A few weeks ago , we received a call from my husband's cousin, Trixie, who lives in Iloilo. She was coming to Cagayan de Oro for a conference held near our home.

Despite the other offers of my sister-in-laws, we all decided to stay that it would more convenient or her to stay at our house.

Yesterday at exactly 9:30am, she arrived at Cagayan de Oro's Lumbia Airport. Much to our surprise, she brought her two adorable daughters namely Max and Jorge.

It has been around 10 years since we last saw each other, 10 years since she last came to Cagayan de Oro. The ride from the airport to the house was filled with kumustahans, chikahans and quick updates on our family lives.

Upon arriving home, i hurriedly woke my daughters up to welcome our guest. As usual, it took a bit of convincing for them to get up , they greeted their tita with groggy smiles. We quickly settled in for brunch.

Conversation easily picked up. Stories started to flow naturally. My children were amazed to know that their Tita Trixie was already a prosecutor at the young age of 32. I could easily recall the last time i saw them, She hasn't changed much but Jorge, her eldest daughter, was barely a year old! Now, she's taking the responsibility of being the ate to her younger sister, Max.

I hurriedly let my daughters take a bath so that Trixie and i could have a more private talk without the prying ears of my daughters. My sister-in-laws and i planned a quick lunch at Bigby's Cafe to jump start the introductions and re-aquaint them with my husband's family.

That afternoon, only my husband's siblings were present. Conversation flowed and chitchat was in the air. It was a lovely lunch. We were even surprised by the presence of their youngest cousin, Baby Ethan, Carla's 6months old son.

At around 5 in the afternoon we went back to Xavier Clubhouse to let Max and Jorge swim. In the middle of all the excitement, something happened that made m heart skip a bit. Max, the gutsy one, went for the slide. Unfortunately, she slipped and hit her head at the bottom of the pool. Trixie and i almost jumped into the pool if Max didn't pop her head and started to laugh. Whew ! That was a close one.

After which, we quickly went to Lola Titit's house because the Boromeo side of the family prepared a welcoming dinner for them. Upon arrival, swarms of uncles, aunties, lolas and lolos started to gather around the most awaited guests. Introductions flew around and the kids had to pay respects to everyone (mano).

After which, we all gathered around the pica-pica table where the choco fountain was flowing. Pictures were taken and laughter and conversation just floated around the room. None stop kimustahans and stories filled the air.

Dinner was served after all the buzz has settled down. Prayer was lead by the family valedictorian, Anthony Lumicao. Dinner time was more calm. Although there was still quite a conversation but their attention was already divided by the food.

After dinner, Nestor Lumicao, the host, called everyone to the terrace at the back of the house. Turns out, they hired a dance instructor to lead us in ballroom dancing. The older generation of relatives were the first to the floor. We started out with basic ballroom steps while my children and their cousins were taking pictures and videos of us.

I guess they saw us having so much fun because little by little, they started to dance with us. We boogied, cha-cha-ed, and swinged all night long. One of the highlights of the night was when my mother in law took the floor with the dance instructor. They danced the tango and they were a sight to behold.

My mother-in-law looked so graceful and at home while she twirled and tango-ed. They took center stage. Even the relatives that were just inside the house gathered at the window to look at Mama.

Not long after, the other guests started to leave. We didn't realize that it was already 11 in the evening. Trixie still had her conference the next day. So, we called it a night.

Upon arriving at the house, we were all so exhausted that the house quickly became silent.

It was an reunion long time coming indeed.

Enjoy reading this as i have enjoyed recounting and writing this.
Stay happy !

Sunday, March 29, 2009

overnight at pryce plaza


Sleeping out with friends was an experienced that worth remembering specially, the events that had happened in the course of your stay. We were five,but then we shared one bed in one room,
we kept on sharing our life stories, of course with so loud voice of laughters, sometimes silence follows until we slept. during the morning we prepared ourselves for breakfast so we went to the restaurant, we enjoyed the beautiful scenic of the hotel since the location of the hotel is on top of the mountain. its so amazing.We really had  happy moments.....