May nakapagsabi sa akin noon na kapag bibisita sa unang pagkakataon sa isang simbahan, humiling daw ng tatlong mithi. Hindi ko alam kung gaano kalaganap ang paniniwalang ito sa Pilipinas. Ngunit totoo man ito o hindi, nakagawian ko na rin na sa tuwing makakabisita sa isang simbahan sa unang pagkakataon, humihiling ako ng tatlong espesyal na mithi.

Kaya naman laking tuwa ko noong mabiyayaan kami ng Diyos ng pagkakataong makapaglibot muli sa Europa noong 2006. Nakasama namin ng aking ina, ang aking asawa’t anak sa unang pagkakataon. Nagawa naming bumisita sa simbahan sa bawa’t bansang napuntahan namin. Parang Bisita Iglesia pero cross country! Ito ang aming mga napuntahan:

St. Peter’s Cathedral - Trier, Germany

St. Etienne Cathedral - Metz, France

St. Etienne Cathedral - Metz, France (ulit!)

Notre Dame Cathedral a.k.a. Cathedral of Our Lady of Luxembourg - Luxembourg, Luxembourg

St. Jan Church (church on the left with red tower) and Basilica of St. Servatius (center building)

St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral/The Emperor’s Cathedral (Der Kaiserdom) - Frankfurt, Germany

Ang aking asawa at ang 18 buwang gulang na si Abby, nagtitirik ng kandila.

Nakakatuwang isipin na bago pa man natin maiparating sa Diyos ang ating mga minimithi ay alam na niya kung ano ang mga ito.  At kahit maaari tayong magdasal kahit saan at kahit ano mang oras, iba pa rin ang pagdarasal sa loog ng simbahan.  Mas ramdam, hindi ba? :)  Dalangin kong ibigay na ng Diyos ang tinuturing kong mga pinakamahala kong mga mithiin.  Hangad kong pati ang iyong pinakamimithi ay ibigay Niya na rin.

May isa pa akong lahok sa LP DITO. Maligayang Huwebes!

I’m happy to be posting fresh photos for this week’s photo hunt theme.  Photos I haven’t posted in any one of my 3 blogs!  Weeee!

These pics were taken at one of the more colorful places in California…Universal Studios!  It was a typical hot summer that one just sweats quite effortlessly.  Eeeew!  No need for ‘em diet pills, I tell you! 

The last time I was in Universal Studios was 2003.  And it’s amazing how there’s just something new everytime I visit.  Take the Simpsons Ride for instance.  It’s a simulated coaster ride, which, if my memory serves me right, replaced the old Back to the Future ride.

We loved every minute of this ride.  And here’s another colorful pic for you…

The Adventure of Curious George is a waterpark of sorts, which we kinda avoided, hot as it was.  We didn’t bring extra clothes, save for extra shirts.  We didn’t plan on buying new clothes at Universal because of the outrageous prices.

I have colorful kisses here, my other Photo Hunt entry.  Visit other photo hunters here.

Noong nakaraang Linggo, nagliwaliw ang aming pamilya sa Irving at Dallas (na naman!).  Isa sa aming pinasyalan ang isa sa mga sikat na destinasyon ng mga turista sa Irving, ang Mustangs of Las Colinas.  Ito ang pinakamalaking sculptures ng mga kabayo (mustangs) sa buong mundo, binubuo ng siyam na kabayong gawa sa bronze.  Hindi ako nagaksaya ng panahon at nagkuha ako ng napakaraming litrato.  Narito ang larawan ng aking mga paboritong kuhanan ang aking mag-ama kasama ang Mustangs ng Las Colinas.

Last weekend, we found ourselves in Irving and Dallas once again.  One of the tourist attractions we visited was the Mustangs of Las Colinas.  It is the biggest equestrian sculptures in the world…9 bronze sculptures of mustangs running across a granite stream.  I didn’t waste any time and took lots of pictures.  Here are pics of my favorite subjects, Hubby and Abby, with the mustangs of Las Colinas…and then some.

Ang isa ko pang lahok sa LP ay pagliliwaliw naman sa Palisades Park sa Santa Monica, California.

Happy Huwebes!

Our trip to California last month was both Abby’s and my first plane ride after moving to Texas. On our trip to Austin from the Philippines, Abby insisted on sitting on my lap during take off and landing, much to the dismay of Continental’s flight attendants. I’m just glad that was no longer the case. She sat by the window and asked, “Are we there yet?” every 5 minutes. Her portable  DVD player kept her entertained for the most part of the trip. Thank God for direct flights! Hee hee.

A few minutes before boarding

Prim and proper and excited

I may have spoken too soon!

It felt good to be up in the air again.  I hope the next time won’t take another year to come around!

Hungry?  Share a meal with me here, my other WS entry.

Have a wonderful week!

This is Santa Monica Beach.  We were there two weeks ago.  :)  Coming from Austin where we are surrounded by, well, grass, we welcomed the beautiful view of the beach with open arms.  Hee hee. Not too far from the shore, there’s a stretch of nice houses.  I bet thoses houses are worth gazillions of dollars, specially since it’s almost Malibu already.  I won’t mind having a vacation house by the beach.  I guess it’s the Cancerian in me.  It doesn’t have to be in Malibu.  I’ll gladly take one that’s on the Outer Banks.  Hush.  It’s free to dream!

Hulyo 2006 nang pinalad kaming makapunta ng Guimaras noong magbakasyon sa Iloilo ang aming pamilya.  Nakita namin ang kagandahan ng isla bago nito sinapit ang isang matinding ”oil spill” ilang linggo (o buwan?) matapos kaming bumisita.

It was in July 2006 when our family was blessed to have been given the chance for a short vacation in Ilolo and also visit the beautiful island of Guimaras.  Not too long after our visit to the island, an oil spill left its waters unsuitable for swimming.

Heto si Abby, nagaabang ng alon… (Here’s Abby, waiting for the waves…)

Ayan na!  Ay, natakot yata!…  :D  (Here it comes!  Oops, she got scared!)

Sinong may sabing kailangan ng mamahaling laruan  na pang-beach?  Bote lang mineral water, ok na! (Who said one needs expensive toys for the beach when an empty water bottle will do the trick?)

Tawa pa lang ni Abby, sulit na ang biyahe! ;)  (Abby had a lot of fun making the trip well worth it!)

Tayo na sa Ternate Cavite, ang isa ko pang lahok. (I have another entry HERE).

When we went to Kuala Lumpur in 2005, we made sure that all 5 kids in our entourage had loads of fun.  One of the first places we visited was Cosmo’s World Theme Park.  It is the largest indoor theme park in Malaysia and is one of the Berjara Times Square’s main attractions.  Just how big is it exactly?  133,000 square feet big! ;) 

Cosmo’s World is divided into two main themed areas, the Galaxy Station which caters mainly to teenagers and adults, and the Fantasy Garden, which caters to the younger ones.  It is at the Galaxy Station where the adrenaline pumping rides can be found.  I remember that my brother, Edward, lost his PDA (personal digital assistant) because of that one ride where he and my hubby were upside down a couple of times.  :D Tsk tsk.  We spent most of our time at the Fantasy Garden.

It’s just too bad that when we made that trip to Malaysia, I wasn’t blogging yet.  That means, I didn’t quite take photos at every stop and turn like I do now.  Hee hee.  Anyway, here’s what I was able to dig up from my photo archives…

Here we are at the Fantasy Garden.

A train passes under the giant apple.  Those three seemingly lost kids are my nephew and nieces, Macy, Jad and Kylah. 

Macy and Jad enjoying a train ride. Abby is asleep on my Mom’s shoulder.

My sister-in-law, Claire, with daughter Kylah doing some sand art.

Here we are again. :)  Abby wasn’t walking yet at that time.

The following photos were taken using the still function of my Mom’s videocam.

Abby only got to enjoy the train ride after a short nap.

I love the interiors of this theme park.  How many people will it take to finish a doughnut that big?

The Fantasy Garden is filled with so much color and shapes.

See what I mean?

 There were two other theme parks that we visited during our 5-day holiday in Malaysia.  They’re next on my “regular” blogging agenda.  Hee hee.