Fluffy & Teddy: Adventures in Japan

Fluffy and Teddy are Julia's favorite stuff dolls. They joined Julia and the family in their Japan Summer trip at Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and Kobe last May 2015. Enjoy the trip and the humor of Julia, Teddy and Fluffy. 

Julia visits "Museo ning Angeles"

Julia infront of the Museum of  Angeles City, Pampanga - July 28, 2012

Old photos of Angeles City

Sketches of Costumes of Filipino Soldiers

The diorama displays very detailed designs of dolls
with the costumes created by Patis Tesoro

A Filipino Wedding diorama

Tita Dina tells Julia about the diorama.

Harvesting palay diorama

A "kusina" or traditional kitchen diorama

Harvesting sugarcane diorama

The Church as seen from the museum

Tita Dina and Julia

Traidtional cooking tools at the Culinarium of the museum

Tita Dina organizes Cultural and Culinary Tours of the Province of Pampanga. A visit to the Museo ng Angeles is one of the highlights. If interested to join a Kapampangan tour, email: dina_maglalang@yahoo.com.

Moonlight Mystery: Julia's 2nd Pony Story

Julia wrote her second pony story for about five days. Before sleeping she writes her story on the bed. The story is seven pages long in her journal. The story has also drawings of the narrative per page.

Her second pony story is entitled, "Moonlight Mystery." Moonlight is one of the four the pony characters in her pony series. Enjoy!

Moonlight Mystery by Julia 

Julia plays the piano

Julia at the UST Conservatory of Music Recital Room

During the summer vacation 2012, we enrolled Julia at Crave School of Music at QC to learn how to play the piano. Three times a week for one hour for a total of 10 hours, she was taught how to read notes and play the piano properly by Teacher Rex, a faculty at UST. "Julia learns fast and she can read the musical notes correctly", commented her teacher.  Indeed she learned a lot. I bought a music book and she easily played the piano pieces by just reading the notes. So we extended her lessons for additional 10 hours.

Last June 1, 2012, Crave School of Music organized a Summer Recital at the UST Conservatory of Music. There were 26 performances by the students and teacher - voice, guitar, paino and violin. It was a marvel to watch and hear the guitar duo performance of two brothers who played "When you say nothing at all." Apple should have been part of the recital for guitar if she continued her lessons with Crave. Julia played three peices: "The Steam Shovel", "The Hotdog Stand", and "Old Macdonald."  Here is a video of her recital for the two pieces.



The Pony Treasure Hunt: A Short Story by Julia

Julia's write-up of her story

Julia, now seven years old, attempted to write a short story. With her little notebook and pencil, she painstakingly, wrote a story. Along with the story are images she also drew. Her first story is about a treasure hunt which was inspired from one of the books she read. The title of her story is "The Pony Treasure Hunt." Here is a powerpoint version of her story. We hope you'll enjoy reading her story.

We Enjoyed the Play - Isang Alamat

"Isang Alamat" is the stage play presented by the Miriam Child Study Center (CSC). Julia played the role of "ahas" or a snake, one of the bad characters in the story. "Isang Alamat" presents a legend on the origin of our national symbols - narra as national tree, anahaw as the national leaf, carabao as the national animal and the Philippine eagle as the national bird. These symbols were portrayed as heroes in the story together with Mang Jose who rescued Reyna Pinas, the queen of a kingdom called Pulopinas (representing the Philippines) from the bad ones portrayed by dark and fierce creatures like bats, snakes, hawks, gorillias, crocodiles and deadly plants.

It was a marvel to watch the kids from CSC dance, sing and act. Julia enjoyed performing during the play. She danced. She sang. She played with her classmates. All the parents were so proud with their lovely kids. It's an event that parents will cherish and the kids will remember and recall when they become adults.

The Kids' Summer Activities

During summer vacation, we make it a point that our kids will engage in a hobby or sports activity. These activities help them develop their skills, talents and creativity. They also meet new friends and make them socialize.

Geoffrey enrolled at Ateneo's Chess Clinic. I already taught Geof the basics of Chess but here he learned to play with kids of his age and sometimes younger. Geof received the "Sportmanship" award and a gold medal for topping the Chess puzzles for beginners. Geof knows the moves the chess pieces but he still has to learn the strategies of the game, particularly, aiming for the check mate.

Julia, on the otherhand, enrolled at the Ateneo's Swimming Lessons. The first day was a nightmare for Julia because her coach asked her to do the bubbles. Not yet trained on the bubbles, Julia drank some water and cried running to her mommy. Apple then taught Julia how to do the breathing. After that brief trauma, Julia enjoyed her swimming lessons with her new coach (not the day one coach) who is more systematic and patient. She learned quickly and developed her confidence in the water. She practices her swimming skills with Apple at Celebrity Place.

Oh yes, the kids also enjoyed biking at the UP Diliman Oval during Sundays. We tried to teach Geof to bike on two wheels. Geof was struggling in his bicycle without the training wheels. His uncles from Malabon also tried teaching him. He still needs to learn how to balance and stir the handle properly. Julia, on the otherhand, enjoys riding her new bike (our gift on her 5th birthday).