29/December/2016 - Dodong is Active!

Today was basically a lazy day.  Or at least we attempted to make it so.

After a late, slow morning, Sweetie and Grump decided to take Dodong with them as they went shopping, and then stopped at FOJ for lunch.

Dodong enjoys being in the car

I suppose Dodong wasn't excited about eating out, because he was very restless all through lunch.

Dodong resisting the highchair

He wiggled and squirmed all through the meal.  Poor Sweetie had a difficult time even eating her food!

During the afternoon Grump took the boys to see the movie Sing.  (GREAT movie, by the way!)  Then we made the decision to eat out again.  This time it was the whole family at the Pho Saigon restaurant.

And once again, Dodong fussed all through the meal!

Sweetie walking around with Dodong, trying to settle him down

Oh well ...... I suppose we should have realized that the little guy was NOT in a restaurant mood today.

Peace!

28/December/2016 - Back Home

Today we had to leave Jacksonville, and Grandma and Grandpa, and drive back home.

Up early, the two boys were already slipping back into all absorbing, gadget watching routine.

The boys and their electronic toys

The drive home was long, but uneventful, thank God!  We sorta stopped at an Olive Garden for lunch, (Dodong was asleep - we got our food "to go", then ate it in the car), and despite the heavier than normal traffic made it home at a reasonable hour.

The Christmas toys were still there, awaiting the boys.  Probably the coolest thing anyone got this year was this "Thomas the Train" racecourse given to Dodong by Big John, Grump's brother.

A Cool Toy

Our December adventure complete, we could go to bed with our hearts at ease.  

Peace!

27/December/2016 - Hanging out in JAX

We woke up in our motel room at a leisurely hour, ate a leisurely breakfast, did a little shopping at the Filipino store down the street, then went to meet Grandma and Grandpa for lunch.

Kuya, Sweetie, and Dodong near Grandma and Grandpa's Condo

Grandma had a blouse she wanted Sweetie to try on.  It fit perfectly, and looked great on her!

Sweetie trying on her new blouse

Whilst waiting for everyone else to show up for lunch, Grump couldn't resist taking a few "scenic pics".

The roses are still blooming in Jacksonville, Florida:

Other plants are doing fine too, like these poinsettias:

In the dining hall there was a massive Christmas tree:

For some reason, Dodong was particularly vocal during lunch.  Grump and Grandma had to take turns walking outside with him, in a vain attempt to settle him down.

Sweetie and a momentarily calm Dodong

Grandma and Grandpa live in a very pretty community, as these pics will attest to:

Back at the condo after lunch, Kuya recited some poetry for all of us.

Kuya reciting poetry at Grandma and Grandpa's condo

Now the main activity of the day began ...... SHOPPING!  Sweetie and Grandma were to go shopping  while the boys, (Grandpa, Grump, Kuya, and Dodong), hung out and did more boy friendly stuff.  But when we arrived at the shopping mall, Dodong had fallen asleep!

A Sleeping Dodong

So we made a quick change of plans.  Sweetie and Grandma still went shopping, (OF COURSE!), but now Grump stayed behind with Dodong in the car, while Grandpa and Kuya drove off in the other car to putter around Walmart.

Grandpa and Kuya came back in 45 minutes or so, by which time Dodong was awake.  So the boys all decided to go into the mall and get some yummy ice-cream.

Dodong feeding himself ice-cream

He succeeded!

Of course, Kuya loved his ice-cream too!

For dinner, we just had a quick snack at Panera's, (we were still mostly full from a HUGE lunch), then we parted ways with Grandma and Grandpa and went back to our hotel room.

Back at the hotel, we did a little reading, then went to bed early.

Grump reading to Dodong

Peace!

26/December/2016 - To Jax We Go!

Today we got up early, and Grump, Sweetie, Kuya, and Dodong all climbed into Sweetie's car and drove down to Jacksonville, Florida, to see Grandma and Grandpa.  (Lola stayed home, which, since there were no kiddies to watch, was a vacation for her.)

Traffic was a bit heavy, but tolerable, and we made it to Jacksonville without any bad incidents, (praise God!).  But when we got to Jax, we encountered a bit of a disappointment; the Jollibee restaurant that was supposed to be opening "soon" a couple months ago still isn't open yet.  Phooey!

An Unopened Jollibee

We checked into our hotel room on Mayport, (just down the street from Fleet Landing), and the boys immediately went into their old established behavior patterns:

Dodong and Kuya doing what they usually do

Do kids these days do anything besides play with their electronic gadgets?


Sweetie and Grump were happy the long drive was over.

Sweetie and Grump in our hotel room

Grandma and Grandpa stopped by the hotel for a quick visit ......

Grandma, Sweetie, Dodong, Grandpa, and Kuya

...... then we all went to the California Pizza Kitchen at St. John's Mall for a very yummy, very early dinner.

Grandpa, Kuya, Grandma, Dodong, and Sweetie at the California Pizza Kitchen

Kuya and Grandpa

Afterwards we walked around the mall a bit.

It was such a big Christmas tree, Grump couldn't get the top in the picture!

Fish pond at St. Johns Mall

Kuya at the fish pond

Soon we were tired, so it was back to the hotel room for an early bedtime.

Like Dodong's bandana?

Peace!

25/December/2016 - Christmas!!

Christmas day finally arrived!

Some of us were more eager to get out of bed than others.

Kuya attempting to get Sweetie out of bed

Dodong still snoozing

Santa showed up overnight, and ate the cookies we left for him:

The milk and cookies left for Santa were gone!

Squeak Elf went back to the North Pole with Santa, and won't be back until sometime after Thanksgiving next year.  We'll look forward to seeing the little guy again.


The kids got LOTS AND LOTS of gifts this year.  (Probably too many gifts, but they'll live through it.)

Look at all these gifts!

Lola watching over the gift opening

Which one to open first?

All the gifts are open!

Playing with the new toys

Kuya reading his minecraft books

After opening all the gifts, and giving each one a preliminary "play test", it was time to eat the gingerbread house we made yesterday.

Dodong was the gingerbread house demolition expert!

Then it was back into the teepee, (one of the gifts), to stress test the new toys some more:

Kuya and Dodong in the teepee

Dodong got a bouncy ball riding toy as one of his gifts.  It was a hit!

Dodong and his bouncy ball

He also enjoys some "soft" building blocks.  These blocks are made of a sponge-like material, and hopefully won't hurt as much when he throws them.  (Dodong LOVES to throw things!)

Dodong building with his new blocks

It was a busy, busy day, and by mid-afternoon some of us were very tired:

Lola and Dodong taking a nap

As things quieted down, we were able to return to our normal routines:

Sweetie playing Candy Crush Saga

We hope all of you had a Merry Christmas too!

Peace!