HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAMANTHA DREW!

So my girl turned 11 on Sunday the 24th. She had a dance performance that same night for Team Millenia Tots. If you didn't get a chance to go or get tickets, here she is: (She's the one with the grey scarf)

(If you still can't find her, she's the one that goes off at the end...heehee)
Posted by a proud parent - Chanda

Our Grandpa and Grandma - AMANG AND ENANG (Grandma Cion's Dad and Mom)



And on to....... Grandpa Pete and Grandma Cion

I finally found time to sit and post my first blog! In spite of juggling my busy life with four demanding aspects in my life - my three teenagers (Jessica, Carla, and Calvin) and my career, I'm here sitting, almost midnight, and actually creating something that is very special, not about me or my kids, but for the two most important people to all of us and the true reason for this family blog - GRANDPA PETE and GRANDMA CION. Enjoy these pictures and memories of them. We love and miss you both!
































I finally had a chance to gather these pictures from a box full of pictures Grandma Cion left behind. Enjoy these precious pictures of Grandpa and Grandma and the memories they have instilled in all of us.

I'll have more surprises yet to come (remember, I have the box)... Mher - the 4th sister, known as Auntie Mher or Mommy Mher.

How to post on this blog

Hello Valdez family this is Calvin Manosa.

I just wanted to inform all of you a really easy way how to start posting on our family blog!

First you are going to need the email and password from any of these people:

Antonio Valdez: antoniokey@gmail.com

Chanda Alicante: chanda@mycreativewedding.com

Calvin Manosa: Cmanosa@gmail.com

After you have received the E-mail and password click "sign in" on the top right-hand corner of the page.

The following page will look something like this:



Now from here enter the E-mail and the password it will take you to this page:



Now click new post and start writing your story.
Hope we'll all hear from you! (Mommy Mher)




(Click image to enlarge)

Alexa's and Sam's Birthday celebration! AND Family Reunion INFORMATION!

Alexa turned two yesterday! Since Sam and Alexa's birthdays are both in the month of August we decided to celebrate their birthdays together at Knott's Soak City Waterpark in Anaheim.

The kids enjoyed the day. It was such a nice day to be there. The sky was clear, the young kids had a blast and all the adults lounged under the shade with food and good conversation. We're missing Uncle Sar and our other cousins. I wish I knew that they were in town! I would have loved to have them be there with us.

While there, we decided to plan a family vacation for next year in Mexico. We want to have everyone try to save so that we can all be together! Isn't it sad that we only get together when someone passes? When was the last time we've all been together? Grandpa Pete's funeral? Let's all get together for a good occasion! Our first family REUNION in the summer of 2009!

I've been to Cancun/Rivera Maya/Playa Del Carmen three times now. It's beautiful there! By far Mexico is the best value. And I would recommend staying at the Palace Resorts.

They have many resorts around the Cancun/Rivera Maya area. If we are planning a Family Vacation, I think that the best palace to stay at would be the Moon Palace. Most resorts in the area are ALL-INCLUSIVE. Which means your meals and drinks (including alcohol) is included. There are also many other free items that the hotel offers in terms of tours, depending on the package that we pick. They best part about staying in the Palace Resorts is that they offer shuttles that go from your hotel lobby to other Palace Resort lobbys to enjoy the benefits of the other resorts (food, drinks and resort) in Cancun or Rivera Maya included in your costs. So we are not stuck to one resort! I always book through Costco for the Palace Resorts because they tend to be the cheapest. For example, this year they had a 5 day stay for $918.00 not including airfare. This special also included a free Cozumel tour and $125 Costco Cash! Airfare will vary from where you are traveling from. I just did a quick check on Expedia:
Roundtrip LAX to Cancun leaving June 27, 2009 and returning on June 31, 2009 non-stop ran about $582.
$918 + $582 = $1500 Your looking at trying to save at least this amount per person. Children 12 and under stay for free.
Since it will be too hard to try to collect money from all families that are interested in going. We will post what the final dates and hotel that we are choosing, and it will be each of the families responsibility to reserve and book flights.
Other ways to get a deal is to check Craig's List for people sharing their Palace Resort time share. They come in 7 days/8 nights increments. If I find a person willing to sell some weeks to us, I'll pass the information around. Leave me a comment on this posting if you have a specific week that you'd like to vote for and also if you are interested in coming. I would like to gauge how many people are interested.

ALSO!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JORDIS! WE LOVE AND MISS YOU!!!