Third Weekend in L.A. - part 1

Recovering from a 3-day weekend is tough. But recovering from a 3-day weekend spent with my family is tougher. It’s hard enough having to wake up to a buzzing alarm clock, especially if you feel you’ve barely had enough sleep. But what’s worse is waking up after spending three very enjoyable and relaxing days and knowing it’s back to the real world! But I shouldn’t complain. That’s life. Today is Monday. I have to think positive! I can at least spend today relieving an awesome weekend and looking forward to the next one.

Our weekend actually kicked off last Thursday night. We (the 8 J’s and the 2 Marc/k’s) had another backyard barbecue (this time we had beef ribs, steak, tossed salad, grilled corn, and a bottle of Riesling). Aside from just getting together and having a good meal, that night was our family’s way of celebrating Mother’s Day. We are doing it 2 weeks early since on May 14th, my mom and dad will be on a plane flying back to Manila. And since we wanted to make sure we got to celebrate with mom, we decided to do it ahead of schedule. Right before we had frozen cream puffs for dessert, my brothers, sisters and I headed inside to prepare a homemade card and our gifts (we got my mom a 4-piece Mikasa serving set with a really lovely Hibiscus-pattern).

I could tell my mom was really happy with the gift and as I read the card aloud, I could tell she was extra touched with the beautiful things we wrote for her. At least I hope so! Mark, Marc, and Jojo captured the moment with lots of pictures (which I will post eventually).

Friday was another very special day for me. Probably one of my top ten most favorite days of all time. How could it not have been so special? After all, we all spent the day in the happiest place on earth – Disneyland! I know it may sound corny to some people, going to Disneyland with your whole family, especially at our age. But it’s hard to explain how my family really does enjoy each other’s company even if we do have different interests and personalities. And yes, we’ve all been there before (except for dad), but this time it was extra special cause it was our first time to be there all together.

We did the “family” stuff like the Tiki Room, It’s a Small World, the Monorail, the Haunted House, watched the 3-D show “ Honey, I Shrunk the Audience”, etc. Surprisingly we were able to convince my dad to try Indiana Jones’ Adventure -- which he kinda/sorta enjoyed but found a bit unnerving too. The rest of the braver souls did the usual -- Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Railroad, Space Mountain, etc. But my favorite part of the day was watching the Disney Parade and later on the Disney Fireworks (all to celebrate the park's 50th Anniversary). I think my family agrees, especially since some of us got quite emotional at this point -- right, Mom? :)

I totally believe that everyone still has an inner child - no matter how old, cynical or indifferent one becomes. And sharing a part of that Disney magic is just one wonderful way of drawing that inner child out. It was amazing because everyone seemed equally enthralled by the parade, the music, the costumes, the firework displays, and just being there -- it didn’t seem to matter if you were six or sixty. We went home very tired but all very happy too.

More on our weekend soon.