Tagaytay Meet Up with My Bestfriend

My bestfriend, Mhy, and I have been friends since college, so that's more or less 15 years of friendship. Sometime around 2005 or 2006, she decided to go to Singapore for work and we've seen each other less since then except for the infrequent trips home she made each year. We did have disagreements in that 15 years, most of them petty but we share some things which I think are cool - like we're both the eldest, we're both born on the month of January, even our kids share the same birth month and year of October 2010 and the best thing of all, my husband, Deck, and Mhy's husband, Bong, are friends with each other as well way before we were all married. And that makes meeting up all the more fun!

This year, Mhy decided to stay home for good. She arrived from Singapore earlier this month and it was only yesterday that we both found the time to meet up. They wanted to do a break-in of their brand new car and they decided to head to Tagaytay and who am I to say no?

My Bag of Beans all-time fave, Blueberry Cheesecake P195
and Bottomless Kapeng Barako P120

One quick family photo before our meal arrived

We chose to go to Bag of Beans as Mhy's family already had lunch and were dying for some desserts. Bag of Beans' Blueberry Cheesecake is the best especially if paired with bottomless Kapeng Barako that's why these two are my usual order whenever we visit Tagaytay.

Ethan, Mhy's son and Johan sat beside each other the entire time, played with Ethan's toys and shared a plate of Bag of Beans' Funny Face.

Funny Face P130

It's heartwarming to see these kids get along with each other. It has been my dream for Mhy's kids and my own kids to be friends and get along within themselves as Mhy and I have been to each other. Now, if there's something else that makes me happy aside from that, it's watching these two goof around and rekindle their own "relationship" with each other.

If they had a moment, Mhy and I made sure we had ours as well.

Taken during our escape to the comfort room to make the dads watch
over the boys

And then these two adorable little boys had their turn in front of the camera.

Melts my heart each time and I really, really hope they'd grow up to be very good friends like their moms and dads.

It was just a short trip but it's more than enough for all of us to meet and have a great time.

Cheers to friends!

Happy Weekend!

We're off to my favorite city today, Tagaytay!

Yes, I know, again. But, with this heat, who can ever say no to the little bit cooler climate of Tagaytay? We'll be meeting up with my bestfriend, Mhy, who flew in from Singapore last Wednesday and who'll be flying back tomorrow.

Time to unwind, relax and catch up with good friends, good food and good times.

See you later!

Christmas Get Together Part 2 - Paradizoo

It was already late when the magic show ended at the Residence Inn Zoo and everybody, most especially the kids, were already hungry so we decided to have lunch first before proceeding to Paradizoo. The promo included a shuttle ride from Residence Inn to Paradizoo but we thought it's best to just go there via our own vehicles right after we had lunch.

Bulalo

Chopsuey

Grilled Liempo

You cannot not have Bulalo when you're in Tagaytay. We knew that most of the popular restaurants were probably full, we decided to have lunch at one of the roadside eateries. It's a lot cheaper (Php 2450 for 10 people and 4 kids) and we get to enjoy the cool breeze of Tagaytay.

Right after we ate, we then proceeded to search for Paradizoo. It's a long drive, I tell ya.

Paradizoo is basically a huge farm. There were fewer animals here but they offer an array of activities - horseback riding, milk a goat, learn how caterpillars become butterflies, how you get honey from bees, ride a paragos, etc., etc.

The kids enjoyed the huge area where they ran around and chased each other while we, the parents, grew tired from all the walking and running after the kids. It was all worth it still seeing the smiles on our kids faces.

One of the best spots inside the property is the infinity pond. I've read about this in various blogs but I was surprised to see that it's just small. I thought it's bigger than it really is but still it was a perfect location for photo ops. 

Visiting Paradizoo was a great experience. It was definitely tiring but it was a refreshing change in scenery and the kids had a great time. The staff was even accommodating and provided us a short tour of the property even if we were not there for a field trip like the group that came before us.

This has been the best Christmas get together so far and I am really just grateful for the blessing of friendship more than anything else.

Christmas Get Together 2012 Part 1 - Residence Inn Zoo

It has been a tradition of our group to hold a get together every Christmas so we could give our presents to each other and to the kids. Since, we are all busy year-round, Christmas is the only time we could bond and catch up with each others lives.

It's been 10 years since we all graduated from college and our friendship kept on going stronger each year and our group even larger with the addition of the kids.

For 2012, we decided to ditch the annual MOA bowling event and went to Tagaytay instead. It's a refreshing change of scenery and all the kids enjoyed the trip, even the kids-at-heart. :)

First stop - Residence Inn Zoo

Since we came in three separate vehicles, we decided to meet up at Residence Inn Zoo. This is only a small zoo but there are enough animals, reptiles and birds to keep the kids busy. We availed the promo which included entrance to Residence Inn Zoo, Animal/Magic Show and entrance to Paradizoo. The promo is priced at Php 299 per adult and Php 249 per kid, 3 ft and above.

Johan loved the animals! He kept pointing at them, naming each one and even mimicking the sound that each animal makes.

Here are some of animals that can been seen inside the Residence Inn Zoo:

We toured the zoo for like 30 minutes then we went to the activity area for the animal/magic show. Johan cried when the snake came out of the basket and kept on pulling his dad saying, "Lesgo!" He just relaxed when the snake was put away and the magic show began. Every time a magic trick was completed, he clapped his hands and shouted, "More, more!"

"Ady, lesgo!"

Funny man!

Here he is finally enjoying the show

The show lasted for almost an hour and although there were a few lapses in grammar and diction by some of the talents, it was altogether a huge hit with the kids.

Next post: Part 2 of the Get Together - Paradizoo

A Short Trip to Picnic Grove, Tagaytay City

We went back to Tagaytay yesterday to celebrate my SIL's daughter's birthday. Six of us - hubby, me, MIL, FIL, SIL and her husband - plus 3 kids squeezed into the car and started the short trip to Tagaytay at around 9am. The morning was perfect for a picnic and the kids dozed off on the way.

We arrived at Picnic Grove around 10 in the morning, paid the entrance fee of 50.00 Php per head for adults (kids come in free) and searched for a cottage to rent. We decided it's best to rent the family cottage which comes for a fee of 300.00 PhP since we need the space with 3 active kids in tow.

The kids were already itching to run around the grass so as soon as we put our bags down, we were off.

Kite!

My son immensely enjoyed the wide open area

Johan with cousins Angel and Cristoffe

Sweet cousins - I hope they grow up this close