'Pinas Vacation Day 2 Part 1 aka Family Day-out

*I hope you don't mind if it took me a month and a half to post this ;P*

After a busy day 1, we started the second day of my quick vacation late. Instead of the planned early morning visit to Dad, we got there just an hour short of noon. Seeing his "new place" still makes me shake my head and think, "I'm sorry, Dad, I wasn't able to buy us our dream house yet. You so deserve better than this." Not a good way to start this post, eh? Fine, good vibes na :D

Here's a cute photo of Haley to cheer us up ;-)

I would've visited Dad every weekend if I were staying in the Philippines but I'm not so I made the most out of the hour or so that we were there. I talked to him like he was actually in front of me and I told him just how much I miss having him around. Looking at his picture brings me back to the day it was taken -- the first time I went home for a vacation last March. It's my sister's graduation and it's something that I wouldn't want to miss so I surprised my family by showing up at the exact moment she's delivering her Valedictory Speech. That day we're a complete, happy, proud family and I swear if I could stop time right at that moment, I would do it in a heartbeat. 

We all miss you, Daddy.

After visiting Dad, we all headed to our next stop: Seaside at Macapagal Blvd. I've always wanted to treat my family to a seafood feast so there's no better place than this. We bought the fresh seafood ourselves at the talipapa then had them cooked at Aling Tonya's Seafood Palutuan. I spent only about Php2000 for crabs, prawns, squid and salmon belly. Oh my, I am salivating again as I type! O_o

Butter Garlic Shrimp

Calamari

Halabos na Alimango

Sinigang na Salmon Belly

Tempura

Since we have kids with us, we also ordered Inihaw na Liempo but I didn't have time to take a photo of it  for it was swiped in an instant! Haha! All the dishes we ordered at Aling Tonya's were delectable that even my grandmother who's a picky-eater loved them. It's the tempura that I keep coming back here for but the salmon belly was the crowd favorite.

Here are a few snaps during lunch:

Mi familia.

Mi familia  in action. Haha!

Haley and her huge appetite never fails to amuse me. Yes, she can and she did eat on her own! :D

It is in moments like this that we miss Dad all the more.

One time while on Skype, Haley told me... "Ate nung andito pa si daddy, pumunta kaming MOA eh, nanood kami ng fireworks..." Hearing a little child reminisce of her father like that instantly made my eyes well up and I promised her right there that we'll all go to Mall of Asia when I go home. I'm not one to break promises so you know where we went next ;-)

The globe and the multi-cab shuttle service -- two things that scream MOA to me. LOL!

We only did a little shopping then off we headed home. Both the kids and the young-at-heart were tired but happy nonetheless. For me and Jhay though, there's no room to lounge around because we're running late for the day's last appointment -- Surprise Dinner with the School of Fish! That's up next ^^,

TGIF!

Very rarely do I get the chance to say this so indulge me...

I'm ecstatic because tomorrow is one of those few Saturdays that we are not reporting for work. The past 3 weeks have been really really stressful so I didn't have time to blog. I have a lot of stories piling up again! I've been aching to write so I swear this weekend I'm gonna make time for at least two posts :D

Another thing that made me happy today (or yesterday, technically) is that I've already booked my December flights! Yay! Airline tickets cost a fortune during holidays but what the heck, I am sooooo coming home for Christmas! As one station ID goes, Da Best ang Pasko ng Pilipino... di ba? :D Although truth be told I'm anxious cause it's the first Christmas that we don't have Dad with us anymore but I'll cross the bridge when I get there.

One more reason I am hyped is because J is visiting me again in 8 days! ^_^ He'll be staying here for a couple of weeks and we're spending 2 days in Malaysia. I've also booked our hotel an hour ago and by the looks of it, I might just lounge around all day and forget the rest of our activities (just like what happened when during our Indonesia trip). Haha! I'm crossing my fingers that we get to enjoy what KL has to offer. After all, it's a new country to explore, new memories to cherish and new adventure to share with all of you. Can hardly wait! ;-)

Okay, I know this post doesn't have even the tiniest sense of cohesion but maybe all I wanted to say is that I'm happy and thankful that it's Friday already. Whatever it is that you're doing this weekend, I hope you'll have an awesome time. And if not, I hope this can make you feel at least a wee bit better :D ---

My days get really rough  but one press on my phone does the trick. Every. Single. Time :-)

Have a rockin' weekend, y'all!