i ♥ my family

it was my maternal grandmother's birthday yesterday. it was fun although there were only a few of us like my grandfather, my mother, my sister, three cousins, and the other cousin's girlfriend. we had cake, roast chicken, sopas, and other dishes. it was a simple celebration but i saw that my grandmother was really happy. my cousin Anne was supposed to come with us too if she had stayed in Manila instead of going back to San Fernando but she did say that she'll come back on Wednesday until Saturday. so whoppee. i miss my cousins and us hanging out together. it's been years since we gathered in one room with all of us COMPLETE. it's so hard to have a reunion these days. everyone's so busy (i wouldn't want to think that they no longer care).

i remember when i was in grade school, all of us (my mother's sisters and their families) went on a road trip from Nueva Ecija to Baguio then to Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur. we had such a blast. we had several stop-overs. on the way up to Baguio we stopped at a La Union beach and had lunch there. in Vigan, we stayed in a hotel and night-swam until it was too cold to stay in the pool. we saw the historical places, Fort Ilocandia, and of course, the Marcos's place including his famous mausoleum. in Baguio, we went to see the different tourist spots and had lunches at the Burnham Park. i miss those days!

on weekends (sometimes the whole summer), my sister and i would pack our bags when we get home from school and then my aunt and uncle would pick us up to take us on a four hour trip to Nueva Ecija. we'd take a vacation at the house there and those were such fun times. we'd visit my aunt and go swimming the whole day until night at a resort. sometimes my cousins and i would just hang out at home and pester each other since there's not much to do in the province compared to the city. although my two guy cousins bugged me a lot (they called me tomboy), i still love being with them.

so anyway, these are of yesterday...

here are pictures!

my sister, me, and my cousin Zeniel. we love him to pieces!

a bunch of pictures from my phone. my grandmother doesn't look her age at all, i tell you.

yay for family :) i love my family. i love being around them. they make me feel that life is worth living (cheesiness aside).