Showing posts with label Seasonal Trips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seasonal Trips. Show all posts
a step back in time
located an hour away from where we are, we headed to see knights, pirates, kings, queens and everything rennaisance. Restrooms were labeled milady and milord. people were in costumes and spoke with that "english" accent. we watched actual glass being blown into nice, various shapes. i had my fill of celtic rings. we watched a jousting tournament, we failed to play chess in their BIG chessboard (this is where you are the actual game pieces). 
we experienced our very first elephant ride, had our first Turkey leg, watched a very entertaining acrobat show (although i won't say the acrobats in our regular "perya" aren't as good); we saw stuff from the movie Pirates of the Carribean, there was a big, red pirate ship with pirates of course ... ahoy matey!! and watched the Queen make her royal walk round the estate grounds.
...appreciating God's wondrous paradise...
strawberries everywhere
...appreciating God's wondrous paradise...
let it snow ... let it snow ... let it snow ...
... snow. a type of preciptitation in the form of white ice crystals ... to make it easy, it's frozen water falling from the sky, snowflakes have six sides and it is said that no two are ever alike. Snow comes during winter season, more so in northern areas (thankfully not so much in our place), it brings lots of fun things to do and more to experience...
the picture you see on top was our first ever FULL snow experience. We woke up early morning to get ready for work, heard the news that it snowed, looked through the window and this was what we saw ... BEAUTIFUL!! Of course we had to go outside and touch it, duh?!?! Lesson learned: they're really COLD haha, and they burn your hands, so use gloves when you touch them hahaha!! FULL snow I say, because just like rain, sometimes it just drizzles. With snow, it's called "flurries" and you wouldn't have enough to really paint as pretty a picture. We've had snow flurries the past days but this was when it really accumulated a few inches high.
There were things we needed to check off our list of things to do during winter time, and making our snow man was one of them. My boys had fun doing this right outside our apartment one snowy afternoon. We didn't have much snow, so our snowman was just as big as my little boy. He had a rudolph bell nose, reese's chocolate for his eyes, a cracker for his mouth, our cooking utensils for his arms with gloves, more chocolates for buttons, topped off with an elf hat and a scarf to keep him "warm" hahaha! it's hard work making a snowman, but i'll gladly do it again, it's fun! With whatever snow left, we just had to make our snow angels.
In the middle of winter, our friend brought us to a ski resort and we tried snow tubing, no skiing for me though. This is where you slide down a fairly high mountain slope using a tire tube. WOOOHOOOO, it happens fast and it's very fun. Be careful when you get to the bottom though, when you get up, be sure you're not standing on packed frozen ice or else you'll slip...like i did, haha!
Having snow is fun, but of course to have snow you would need super cold weather and that part is not so fun. I'm glad we live in an apartment because I'm sure snow plowing is not fun either. Snow gets to be very slippery when it gets frozen and icy so be extra careful when driving. They put salt to melt the snow on the roads. We haven't tried snow sledding yet, that we plan to this year since it's close to snowtime again. It's snowed in other parts of the US but none at our place yet. We're still at mid50s weather-wise, still wearing a sweater. But I've taken out my warm jackets out of the storage room ... it's getting colder and I'm just about ready, I think.
Kid snow sled $20-$40. warm jacket and snow pants $40-$80. Snow boots $60-$100. Playing outside with my boys and some friends on a nice snow day and rich, hot cocoa inside PRICELESS!! Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!
...appreciating God's wondrous paradise...
halloween 101 - things i learned
... halloween. it is celebrated anually on october 31, it includes activities as trick-or-treating, wearing costumes, carving jack-o-lanterns, haunted attractions, ghost stories, bonfires, watching horror films... coming from pinas, i've always celebrated this time of year without any costumes, no trick-or-treating and no pumpkins. all souls' day and all saints' day (nov 1-2) is mostly lighting candles for the dead, saying our prayers, offering and hearing mass, reuniting with distant relatives, painting mausoleums and of course spending a day or two in the cemetery. halloween is something i needed to learn, and here are the basics:
TRICK OR TREAT. this is where you dress up kids (and daddies) in costumes, they go knock from one door to another to get CANDY. I have to remind my son ... that though candy is good, chocolate is better ... and mommy likes BUTTERFINGER, so grab those, hehe! It's cold this time of year so choose costumes that still look good with long johns on and don't forget to bring glow sticks and a big bag for the goodies! be ready, some home owners dress up in costumes too ...
JACK-O-LANTERNS. first go visit a pumpkin patch, they would have different kinds of pumpkins for you, small ones, medium-sized ones and really big ones. get only what you can handle, they get to be really heavy. pick out and print an easy pattern, pin it to the front of your pumpkin, cut the top part out, take the seeds out and then start carving. when you're ready, get a candle, put it inside your pumpkin and voila, you've got a jack-o-lantern! btw, pumpkin patches can give you hayrides, ghost stories and other halloween activities your kids would love.
HALLOWEEN PARTIES. this time of year is not just for kids, they can also be fun for adults. you can wear costumes and have a party (just because!)... i'm not too sure of the idea of santa being in town on halloween though. what do you think? no doubt about it, halloween is fun but i also make it a point to celebrate it the old-fashioned pinoy way. i do my best to have a mass scheduled in the mausoleum of my parents, paint it once in a good while, keep it clean, and have it ready for visitors/relatives who would light their candles and say their prayers. It's good to have that pinoy part of me as a reminder that october 31-nov 2 is not just candies, pumpkins and costume parties...they can also be about prayers, families and getting together ... and both ways can be equally fun ....
** THIS IS IN MEMORY OF MY MOM AND DAD, I LOVE YOU BOTH! ... THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING, GOD BLESS YOUR SOULS! i'll always be daddy's little girl, and i never fail to go by mommy's life lessons to get me through every day ... I WILL BE MISSING YOU BOTH ALWAYS!
...appreciating God's wondrous paradise...
A is for apple
...apples. fruit of the apple tree, species in the rose family. the tree is small, they may reach a height from 10-39 ft, fruits fall to the ground when they mature. blossoms during springtime and fruits mature mostly in autumn. known to some as the "forbidden fruit" from the "garden of eden" or you've probably seen this fruit occupying that famous spot on fiesta food tables...the lechon's mouth!...
APOL or EPOL hehe? we've always seen apples in fruit stands back home (Pinas) and when we draw trees, we always draw red "apples" on them. but i've never seen an actual apple tree, and when I knew that we could actually do "apple picking" in the orchards here, i had to do it, i just had to....and to make the long story short, we did.
autumn of last year 2008, we went apple-picking in highland orchards, just a few miles from where we live. their place greets you with a play area for kids and a petting zoo. they have llamas, cows, ponies, goats (and mind you, goats are pets and not for kalderetas, so be nice to them, got it!) you have to go on a hayride (it's a truck ride with hay) to go to the orchards.
i was surprised to see shrubs. i was prepared to see something as big as a mango tree. but no, they were kinda small that my little boy can just literally reach for the fruits. it's amazing how many different kinds there are: green apples, golden apples, small red apples, big red apples. most have fallen to the ground coz you see the tree is not very sturdy, and when you pick fresh fruits, the tree shakes a lot and that makes the more mature apples fall, such a waste! you get to pay for a bag worth $8 or so, then you fill it up with any apple you want. we got three bags, ate 3 pieces and gave the rest to friends who baked apple pies, etc. i'm not a big eater of apples...we just wanted the experience, yah? and of course, now i know better when i draw "apple" trees :)
**My little boy had his own trip to the orchard this year (2009) as a school activity. They got to do the hayride, made a scarecrow, tasted apple cider, squeezed? the apples (or something like that) ... see i found a good school, they're training my son early to be the explorer that his mother wants him to be .... GO, GO, KULIT!!
...appreciating God's wondrous paradise...
a cheery cherry blossom day in DC
i patiently waited for april 4, 2009 and blocked my weekend because we will be going to Washington, DC, rain or shine! it was my dream to see the cherry blossoms in all it's splendor and that we did, oh, what a beauty! we had my hubby's sister with us, so i'm happy that her trip to visit us was worth it. i felt bad though coz she had to walk, walk, walk (and did i say walk, already?) the whole day through. museum after museum, from the capitol to the white house we walked, from 10:00am to 8:00pm!
but i'd do it again if you ask me to ... the whole city was a sight to see. there are flowers everywhere! the museums were free, you can go in wherever you want, depending on what your interests are. there's the smithsonian air and space museum, american indian museum, botanical garden, war memorials, art museums, libraries ... ooolala for the knowledge seeker, this is the place to be!
but ME? i am never much of that, i am someone who likes eye candy, that's why i'm bestfriends with my camera! and today in DC i got to SEE my favorite flower of all time--ORANGE TULIPS! and if i have to stop in front of the "who-knows-what-museum" just to bend down (really low) and take a good picture of it, i will...again and again and again!!! ...appreciating God's wondrous paradise...
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About Me
- pearl
- i am filipino, proud of my origin ... i have been blessed to be working in the US; i have my hubby and my little boy with me and every weekend (almost!) we try to do something interesting...whether it be in our town, a few miles away, more than a few miles, nearby states or (once or twice) even a plane ride away ....
my travel magnet collection
when the travel bug hits me...i go
my favorite travel buddies
home is where the heart is, miss u all
four parks, one world