Aina Sings at Renaissance

Last December 16, the Assumption Chorale performed at the lobby of the Renaissance Hotel in Makati (formerly New World Hotel). They were standing on the lobby's grand staircase and had a one-hour program filled with songs of Christmas. Aina has been with the Chorale for three years and now that she is a senior, this will be her last year with the group. They will have a concert in February 2008 and I will surely let you know about it.

Christmas Pictures Please. . .

Merry Christmas to my extremely busy cousins!

Here are some pictures of our simple Christmas Eve dinner:

table setting by Minotte

with Tito Stan, Tita Lou, and Mama Pila

Lola's 93rd Birthday

Well, if she's truly 93, sobrang she doesn't look it.

Lola's pics are my favorite things to post. . .

Presenting Robert Benjamin Rodrigo

Congratulations to Robbie and Jenny on the newest addition to their family:

Robert Benjamin R. Rodrigo
"Benj"
Birthdate: November 4, 2007
Weight: 6 lbs. 7 0z.
Length: 49 cms.

Halloween 2007

GUESS WHO???

Kenneth as Spongebob and Jorell as Patrick Star

Kevin with Tales from the Crypt guy

TICO

TICO ON PARADE AT OUR CHURCHES HALLOWEEN PARTY WITH HIS NEW FRIEND THE SHARK

TICO BEING SCARED OF SOME OF THE COSTUMES

SURPRISED AT THE TALKING STATUES AROUND THE GYM

HERE ARE THE LATEST PICS OF TICO AS REQUESTED BY ATE MINOTTE. HE IS TRYING ON HIS HALLOWEEN COSTUME HERE AS A DRAGON/DINOSAUR. PROBLEM IS THAT HE DOES NOT WANT TO TAKE OF THE COSTUME ANYMORE. HE LOVES PLAYING DRAGON.

Pau's 18th

Paupau celebrated her 18th birthday last Saturday, Oct 13th. It was very well attended by both family and friends. Kuya, Ched, Ate, Mon, Mikko, Sylvia, Ronald, Kat (& Xavier), Jashz and myself were the representatives for the Rodrigo clan. Tito Anthony was also there representing the Sun family. He drove down from Toronto with his girlfriend just to attend the party. The guests were asked to wear black or white or a combination of the two while Pau wore an aqua/blue cocktail dress. It looked really nice on her. Aside from the 18 candle ceremony, they also had the 18 rose ceremony where the tito's (and tito Anthony) participated by presenting Pau with a rose along with their wishes and prayers. Mikko was afraid they would also have to dance. They also showed the video of the greetings sent from Manila. Pau was surprised and touched by everyone’s wishes. Needless to say, there were a lot of tears shed between Pau, Nina and her friends while the speeches were being given.

Pau has turned out to be such a lovely young lady. Her friends seem to be good kids and loyal to her. She has such a pleasant personality and a good head on her shoulders…not to mention her unique laugh!

Renzo

Got some news from Tonito and Allee. Renzo just turned 6 years old last August 28, 2007. He is presently in Prep at Southridge (2nd Honors in the 1st quarter).

Ang Hirap Maging Single Parent

My mom said, "Ang hirap ng ginagawa mo--nanay at tatay sa mga anak mo." And I thought, this is precisely what I don't want to be.

It's hard to be a single parent kasi I always miss Ricky to help me out. Making decisions by myself is lonely and I kinda don't want to go on it alone because then, I know Ricky and I can grow apart.

But then he is doing well in Manila, with projects with his dad. And he will be home on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Of course, I am thankful that Yaya Syrel is here. We have come to depend on Maui more, also Nico.

To all you single parents out there, I know it's hard. But let's all try to be good single parents.

So I will share nalang our trip to Chuck E. Cheese's, where Maui works. Ang dami na niyang naipong tokens, so we splurged them on the kids' games and stuff:




Hi Papsi. We went to Chuck E last Sunday, care of Kuya Maui's tokens. Nagpa special roadshow pa sila ng 3:30pm for a Chucky appearance for the kids.

It was quite a happy day:

Rammy in Vancouver

Concerned that Rammy had 4 jobs in Canada, I asked him for an update. Here is his reply, with permission to post, of course:


Actually I have a full time job at Manila Cargo and a part-time job with Fedex. Well, if you consider that I do marketing, operations and newspaper editing for Manila Cargo, then maybe it counts as 3 jobs, hehe.

Ok naman kami dito so far. Between work, school and the never-ending call of household chores and errands, we somehow find time to do things, especially on weekends. Bills payment is a constant stress but is something that eventually works itself out one way or another, by the grace of God.

Chinggay works for BC Housing, a governement institution providing housing for the needy. They provide excellent benefits for employees and they have great hours (up to 430pm only) so, she gets to pick up the kids from school everyday.

Bianca goes to St. Anthony's in Vancouver and is in the 6th grade this year. Her school is about 15 mins from our place. In the short time she has been there, she has made a lot of friends already and she really enjoys going to school. She will start training for volleyball this month.

Paco goes to a Montessori pre-school in Richmond, about 5 mins from where we live. He loves going there to play with his classmates. He joined the Richmond soccer team and gets to play at least once a week with kids his age. They play 3 on 3 with no goalies, so basically they just run around and try to make a goal. Super kulit si Paco ngayon and he has so much energy, so its good that he gets to expend it there



We live in Richmond, about 10 mins from Vancouver International Airport and we are a stone's throw from the hospital, the grocery, the mall and the wharf where serve excellent fish and chips. We are also about half an hour away from the US border in Blaine, Washington.

We get to see and talk to Leo Sison a lot as our kids play together. He's been a big help to us, especially in helping us move. We were together at an Ateneo Alumni picnic last August here in Vancouver, the last event he organized as out-going president of the AAABC.

During the summer, we were able to visit a couple of places here in British Columbia namely Whistler and Victoria.



Whistler is a world-class ski resort about 2 hours from Vancouver and it is where the 2010 winter Olympics will be held. We spent 3 days there and were surpised to see it bustling with activities for kids and adults alike during the summer. Aside from the scenic gondola and open-chair lift to the peak of Whistler mountain, there were tons of stuff to do for the kids. The Adventure Zone had a trapeze, a trampoline, a mini-zipline.

Victoria is the capital of our province, where the Parliament building and the Butchard Gardens are. Its a 1.5 hour ferry ride from the mainland. We took our car on the ferry so we could drive around the city.



Its almost fall now and its starting to get cooler here. Next week, Chinggay and I are going on a dinner-cruise around Vancouver harbor. We got a free ticket so date kami, hehe.

Anyway, I have to cut this short now. Hope all is well with you, Ricky and the kids. Kamusta na ba si Boricky?

Best,

Rammy

Ang Kuwento ng Mga Alahas ni Imelda

Found this Probe TV video quite interesting--in a bad way.

Mara's 2007 CA visit

(Mara with Monica, Magu, and Selena)

Mara came over a couple of months ago to attend her friends' wedding in the Bay Area.

I hope she can send us more pics of the wedding and her school, Rosemont College in Philadelphia, where she is on a full-ride scholarship.

Way to go, Mara. We're so proud of you!

Ate

Broadway Lunch & Hillsborough Dinner

Enjoy the slide show, everyone!

Baguio 2007

We arrived in Manila on June 9, 2007. Our first out of town trip was Baguio. We stayed there for 3 days. Here are pictures of our Baguio trip.

VILMAR

I remember stopping here all the time with Lolo and Lola. The people there still know the Rodrigos. As soon as we arrived, there was a table ready, some drinks, and rice. Ulam na lang ang oorderin mo.

THE LION

Our landmark...meaning...Malapit na ang Baguio!

Kapit-Langit

The very same house we all stayed in when we went to Baguio. A lot of repairs needed now. The ceiling, the walls and bathrooms need repair. Needless to say it's still the same old Kapit-Langit we all grew to love. You can still smell the house, the pine scent and of course the horse poop...yuck! Sayang lang because Norton does not maintain the house and garden as well as his parents and grandparents.

Lolo and Lola's bedroom

The Girls' Room (attick)

The Boys' Room (attick)

The Living Room

Where we all stayed and hung out. Still cozy kahit luma na ang couch. I still remember the days when we played cards, inuman, asaran, takutan, and just being lazy in this living room.

This was the place where we played sungka.

The Small Kids' Table

The small table where the small kids eat. Buhay pa rin ang table and chairs. Nagamit pa ng kids ko after all these years...who would think na aabot pa sa kids natin.

The Dining Room

The dining room where we all gather around during breakfast, lunch, merienda and dinner. Still the same tablecloth. And those green plates too...still alive.

The winding staircase

I used to get so scared here kasi may multo daw!...hehehe

The pasilyo near Lolo and Lola's room

The Kitchen
The old refrigerator/freezer is still there even though it has not been working for years.

The Gate

The sign Kapit-Langit fell off one stormy day and was never put up again.

Remember my footprint? Pwede ba kunin ito when they sell Baguio? I would like to keep it as a remembrance.

At the Porch

Still the same Blue lounge chairs.

Parang posing natin before...in the front yard...riding our horses. This time it's our kids.

Baguio Country Club

John Hay

Dry Market

Burnham Park

Botanical Garden

The Wet Market