We went to Gaylord Texan Hotel today for the ice exhibit. Josh really enjoyed the ice show today. He was more interested in their three level ice slides and the gingerbread family, so we waited and had our turn to slide. The atrium of the hotel is well decorated and had fun photographing a few of the decors especially the revolving Christmas tree. I have nothing but total admiration of the place. I love how festive it is and you can see everyone in there was just enjoying. They also have a river walk just like in San Antonio, Texas which I love. The exhibit is maintained a wintry nine degrees and they provided us with oversized parkas and it helped a lot to keep us warm. It was very crowded inside and thank God I manage to capture a few shots. We would have loved to stay longer, but Mike had other things needed to be done today, so after I took all the photos I wanted we left right away. Overall it was a wonderful time with my family. Take a peek!

No more guessing because it had been revealed what's inside the box. Even though there had been many attempts of Joshua trying to open his ultimate present, but thank God he waited until the 25th. Our Christmas Eve party started exactly at 12am. because we had an eager five year old boy. I don't think he can wait to open it on Christmas day. So we decided to do it a little early. Santa definitely knows best because we have gotten exactly what we wanted. Josh got his main present which is a Wii and also bought him tons of books. He enjoys bedtime stories and that was his simple wish. He also got an art set because he loves to draw and color and the rest is winter clothes. Mike always ends up getting gift cards or fragrances for me. He doesn't want me to return stuff. So I know he would hit stores like VS for gift cards, which I was right the whole time. He's been busy and he had a last minute shopping for other stuff as well.
My choice was the Canon Speedlite which we ordered two weeks before Christmas. Now I am happy because I finally got this baby. I can definitely use this on my trip to Pinas next year. Mike got clothes and winter gears from me because I know he needed it the most. On Christmas day we were with our relatives and had a joint Christmas feast. You can view the rest of the Christmas photos HERE.

I bet you all had a wonderful Christmas celebration; ours was also wonderful. I will have an update soon. My family is currently renovating our house. They know I will be visiting next year and so they decided to have a home makeover. The kitchen is a little outdated and I believe they might put in new kitchen fixtures. My mom loves to cook and she definitely deserves a new kitchen. I recommended Kohler faucets because they have a great selection. I like the simplicity yet elegant look on this and the price is pretty reasonable. This is absolutely affordable!

How is everyone doing? I just want to greet you all a very Merry Christmas. Hope you have a wonderful time with your family. Now I am off to visit our relatives. BEST WISHES!

There is this children's park nearby that is newly renovated and thought that was the perfect setting for our family photo shoot. The park was a great choice and it made my little guy happy. Joshua thought we're just playing, but little did he know that whole giggling and chasing were part of the plan yesterday. I am glad everything went great. I think I have enough photos for a new family photo book. I would love to order one early next year. I have plenty of photos to choose from and picked out a few favorites I want to share today. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I am glad I did all my shopping last week because as I drove by at the mall yesterday the entrance to the D-Galleria in Noel Road was jam-packed. Everyone was out shopping and I can't imagine the hassle of finding an underground parking. It's a PITA sometimes. We're definitely all set and so excited to celebrate Christmas. Oh well, we were finally able to visit the drive-thru holiday light park. My little guy also met Santa, so our Sunday night was quite festive. We enjoyed the displays and rides so much and had our turn to watch a ten minute light show choreographed to music at Holiday Magic Theater. That was such a wonderful show!

We're planning to go somewhere today and temperature just dropped to 24 degrees. Ah, talking about the process of dressing up. Honestly, it makes me lazy now. But I know this won't stop us from going. This week would be perfect to visit Joshua's cousins since he is on Christmas break. We will have a Christmas party by Tuesday at one of our relatives place and my sister-in-law just confirmed it last night. We don't normally see them often and party like this only happens during the holidays. So it's an important family event and everyone should be there.
It would be nice to bring some DVDs I bet everyone would enjoy watching some of these. I just checked what movies I have in my collection and realized I have not purchased new ones for awhile. I used to collect tons before, but haven't been able to keep up with the new movies lately. But they can still find some good ones in here too.

Moving along, Mike just called his friend to check his PC again. He is not thrilled with its performance lately and his computer is running sluggishly. It could be the system memory. Maybe he needs computer memory upgrade!

Every time Joshua comes home from school he would always check the presents under the tree. I added a few more presents the other day and he noticed the number of gifts went up and so he concluded Santa came by earlier. He has been excited all week because one of the gifts is a lot heavier than the rest and he keeps saying "What could this be" over and over again. It makes me smile when he is all over the presents and I know he can't wait to see what he is getting. He keeps saying he's been nice and so Santa will give him lots of presents. Anyway, I have already attached the gift tags I ordered and this is what it looks like. I am glad hubby loves it. Just want to display the finished product!

I have done nothing this week, but making sure I didn't miss anyone on my Christmas list. From our friends/relatives, Joshua's cousins, my family, down to his teacher, and even the school bus driver he-he. I always do my shopping a little early because I don't want to be in the middle of 'last minute shopping' frenzy. I admit I am very meticulous and make sure every little detail is perfect and organized. I love wrapping gifts and it's nice to be crafty when I have the chance. I decided to give away gift cards for those people that have helped Joshua in school. It's quicker that way and it's just a way of thanking and remembering his teacher. I think the progress we've seen in the past month is just beyond expected. In return, we want to surprise them with a little something. We've been blessed this year, so why not share. This is our official holiday cards in the year 2008!

On the other hand, I've heard Anoretix is the best fat burner. I certainly don't need this right now, but with the festivity coming up I should be careful!

I have wanted personalized gift tags for our presents this year, so I decided to order some online and this was the design I picked. It was fun finding personalized gifts and was so tempting to order different kinds of stuff, but settled with personalized gift tags, holiday cards, mug and calendar. I really love the personalized ornaments too, but decided to do it next year; plus our tree has tons of ornaments already. I haven't been blogging much lately and I love my free time spent with my family instead. It's a bit tiring to have the same routine and prefer it a little different sometimes. I just want to make a quick post today!

I promised Joshua we're going to decorate the Gingerbread House when he comes home from school. Since it's our first to decorate, so I just bought the kit and I guess it was the perfect choice. He was very excited when he saw I had everything ready on the table yesterday. He volunteered to decorate the window and the door. It looks a little funky, but I am proud of what he came up with. He also helped decorate the roof and the fence. He went overboard with the sprinkles he-he. We were tempted to munch our favorite candies like the jelly beans while decorating and realized we don't have enough left to embellish the house. Overall, it was fun decorating it and totally had a blast. It's been such a busy week for me and yesterday was no exception. I decided to shop a bit for Mike and thank God that's out of the way. I got some great deals too and was surprised I had to pay less than what was expected. Have a great weekend!

I've been busy shopping and wrapping presents. I only put small stuff under the tree as of now, so Joshua won't open his presents early. He is kind of snooper too and I always hide the bigger gifts for him to open on Christmas day. Other things I need to get are the Wii games. I have read the reviews first to make sure the games are appropriate for Josh. I might buy him three games and see if he would enjoy them. I know some of my presents came a bit early, but still hoping to open more on Christmas day. The stockings are already packed with goodies, so the rest of shopping will be done next week. Cards for friends and relatives had already been sent. Hoping for a long relaxation this coming weekend!
We've been out a lot too since Friday and got tons of photos to edit. I'm crazily uploading photos to my album as well. Feel free to browse!

Kids are always fascinated with these costumed characters, so I decided to make a special post of the photos I captured in the parade.
The clowns started goofing around an hour before the parade started and kids could take pictures with them. So while they're busy in the street I have also snapped a few shots. They were handing out goodies and my little guy was happy he got some. Josh was eager to see all of them. He really loves Curious George, but he was looking on the other side, so I didn't get a great shot of him. Later Santa's float arrived and everybody was waving at him. That was the end. This is all for now!

On the other hand, I am actually reading planting tips about Blackberry plants at Aaron's Nursery website. It's quite interesting though!





















Blackberry plants

Josh and I tried our best to get up early today to watch the parade. We brought along chairs, blankets and of course snacks. Besides, the cold weather we still went. I made sure we were dressed appropriately too. The children's parade was the most awaited event this week. We have talked about it all week and my little one was just thrilled about the event. I had already reviewed this year's line up a week before, so I know what we are going to watch from the costumed characters, bands, dance/thrill teams, giant inflatables, and equestrians. Last year we were not lucky enough to get a spot in the front, but this year was much better. I can't beat the people who came there as early as 6am and they sure got the front row of the sidewalk seating. We were on the second row and still very happy with what we got he-he, though I have wanted to sit front row. I still had a great spot for taking photos close up, but having a hard time with the group shots. The parade went great and we had a blast this year! Well, I will share another set of photos today. More photos later!

We recently bought new furniture in our Dining area. I felt like it was time to upgrade since some of them are quite old already. With the holiday coming up we're definitely expecting a few relatives to visit, so that makeover was necessary. What I really love one day is to have home theater seating. That would be an awesome project to achieve in the future.
On the other hand, I just finished decorating our living area. I just had to add a few decors to make it feel festive. It's a lot calmer today since Joshua is not around and didn't realize I am done. So spruce up your places before the big day!

Right after we set up our tree Joshua then grabbed his Santa suit and wanted mom to photograph him. I can't get enough of my little guy's charm. He is a little impatient at times and it drives me nuts, but having occasions like this and sees him smile is what really matters. We've done the same pictorial for two years now and I am glad his suit still fits him. Dad was making funny faces and that made him laughed so hard the whole time. My little Santa is rocking. Just want to share his photo!

I got Joshua's Christmas wish list and I think there's going to be a lucky five year old boy this coming Christmas. I am certain Santa is getting a Wii for Josh. We didn't really care much about this before since he is only five years old. It seems like he is so fascinated with this kind of thing. But I am sure the adults would enjoy it as well, so I guess we will buy it today. I have only one child to wrap presents for, so it's not that hard. I hope there will be a lot more surprises for him!
Anyway, our temperature dropped down to 39 degrees early this morning. Mike has been taking Joshua to the bus stop. Ah, I can't stand the cold and it makes me lazy. Again, I have a severe sore throat and I am not thrilled about it right now. I hate being sick and yeah, it is no fun at all. I miss those days that I can just put on whatever I want and I am good to go.
Oh yeah, least I forget you might want to check out Reid Supply for industrial clamps.

We were finally able to set up our tree yesterday afternoon. My little guy wanted it since Friday, but we were so busy with other activities. So yesterday was the perfect day. Joshua was very helpful and I think he is a little more cautious now than last year. He actually loves how our tree turned out and he keeps saying "oh, it's beautiful." I like it when he uses those cute expressions because the way he says it totally melts my heart. I found some cool ornaments the other day and they turned out my favorite this year. My arms were hurting afterwards because shaping the tree was sure a lot of work. But after seeing the finished product it is all worth it. Next I am going to tackle the presents, so more shopping in the next few days. Who doesn't love the cycle of the holiday season which is shop and wrap. Here are a few photos today!