To be satisfied is to be grateful.

Can't believe my last post was almost 4 months ago! I totally forgot this part of my world existed. It was a crazy couple of months but it definitely felt like heaven was showering us with so much blessings! It is overwhelming when it involves so much time to prepare but when E taught FHE lesson two weeks ago, all of us - mama, mom, E and I are just so full of thanksgiving to Heavenly Father with all He has blessed us with.

Some of the things that had happened during the previous months:

1. Mexico City trip. We celebrated our 4th year anniversary with a short trip to Mexico City. This wasn't even possible if I didn't become addicted to collecting miles. Haha. We didn't pay a penny for our plane tickets, just taxes! I don't think  I will ever go back to paying cash for my plane tickets. ;) Collecting miles is fun, but it's even better when you reap the rewards of free flights. If you wanna know more about travel hacking, start here. I've read countless blogs about it but I think this one is the easiest to understand.

2. Mothers arrive in SF! It's my mom's first time in the US and Emil's mom's last time here was more than 10 years ago. It was such a great timing to also find a place to move to as they arrived so we will have enough room at home. E's mom's petition has been pending for such a long time. It was a taxing process - both financially and mentally to get her here so we are so glad that it has come to an end and she got to see ate and Ethan after almost 13 years. That's a very long time not to see family!
3. We moved upstairs! House hunting in San Francisco is very difficult especially if you have very limited budget but we sure are glad that by the time moms came, the apartment upstairs became vacant and within the price range we set.

4. Got to visit D.C. for E's training and meet with friends.

5. Attended Kuya Osel's wedding in Spokane WA Temple. Mama's reunion with Tita Nina and Tita Cybel after not seeing the former for almost 3 years and the latter for 17 years! Again, not possible if I didn't have miles! :)

After reading previous blog posts, I remembered President Eyring's thoughts on the importance of keeping a journal. I may not have a paper kind of a journal but this little corner of the www will serve as such. I do feel the Lord's hands in my life more when I read the blessings (and even the trials) that we are fortunate to experience. It is a blessing to have what we need and want, and more importantly, to know where these gifts come from. It brings so much satisfaction especially in this world where we see other people's "things" better than ours through the not-so-helpful (sometimes) social media. When we realize that we are blessed, we become grateful; when we become grateful, we become satisfied.

Christmas 2015

Yosemite Valley, CA

We decided to spend the Labor Day weekend at Yosemite. After seeing the photos online, I was so excited to see the cliffs, mountains and the valley. When we got there, I didn't know that there was so many driving involved! The Airbnb place we rented was 1.5 hours from Yosemite Park, the entrance was 45 minute drive to a main site/hike, then from that, another one hour drive to get to another main site! When we got to our first destination which was the Glacier Point, we were so tired of driving so we decided to listen to the lecture. The park ranger said that Yosemite was as big as Rhode Island! No wonder we were driving all the time! I have only been driving (legally) for just one month so it was really a stretch for me. The roads were like the ones going to Baguio City - it was very narrow, zigzag, one side was the cliff and the other side were the mountains and, to top it off, if someone was really slow in front of you, there's no way to overtake so parang prusisyon kami which made E and I a little impatient. It was a 75/25 journey. 75% of the time we were driving, and 25% we were taking photos and site seeing. With all the complaints aside, the views were breathtaking. Getting in touch with nature after spending 24/7 in the city was a breath of fresh air. Here are some of the things I learned while on the trip:

1. Road trips are a great way to bond with family, friends or anybody we want to get closer to.

Growing up, papa would insist on going everywhere with all of us kids so at a young age, I was used to being on the road. We were dragged to Mindoro, Bicol, Laoag and almost all over Luzon. Okay I may be exaggerating a bit but you get the point. So for me a 6 hour drive to Baguio from Manila is normal. Emil on the other hand, hated long drives but this time, he was able to appreciate it so much more than our previous trips. We got away from our normal routines and got to talk to each other more about anything. Good thing we like the same music (except for John Mayer) or it would have been war of the worlds part 2! He even said the long drive was therapeutic. It really is! We joked, we laughed, we fought (mostly because of my driving. haha), we made up and everything else in between. Now it made me appreciate road trips more than I did when I was a kid.

2. Traveling makes us appreciate other people and other places that we are not usually accustomed to. 

Our Airbnb room was in North Fork, CA. It was a very small town which is what I am not usually fond of. It was even a little scary when we were driving at night because when looking at the side mirrors, we wouldn't see anything. It was pitch black. It looked like a scene from the Walking Dead. This is one of the reasons I would rather be in a crowded city. haha. We arrived at our room around 10 pm but were so hungry so we went to a bar in front of our room. I have to admit, it was a little scary for me just because I wasn't used to that kind of atmosphere. The bartender told us the kitchen was closed so they were only serving beers (yay! lucky for us Mormons! ;p) but gave us a coupon to use at a pizza place down the road which was still open. He was so helpful! Come the morning after, we went to the same bar to have breakfast. We were served by this lovely old man maybe in his late 70s. While eating, I was just observing the dynamics of the bar and saw how close everybody was! There were a lot of regulars and they were so close to the employees. Our Airbnb host told us that the bar has been there for ~100 years now. That was so impressive! A bar or any other establishments couldn't make it that long if not for the relationships people created over time. It was such a close knit community that my fear was replaced by my sincere admiration to them.

at Glacier Point

SNOW FIRST TIMERS

Two days ago, our youth, with some of the parents went to Soda Springs for a snow activity. It had been postponed too many times so we decided to push through it despite the rumors that there wasn't enough snow at Tahoe. It was a little over 3 hr drive from SF and because we trust Google maps so much, we decided to go on our own and just meet the rest of the ward at the venue.

 After 2 hrs., I decided to take a nap so I will be ready to play with our very active youth once we get to the venue. I don't know how long I was out when I heard Emil and Ate Lira say that I decided to take a nap when the view was already filled with snow so I woke up. Take note, I have seen snow before but neither have I seen it falling from the sky nor played with it so I excitedly woke up from my nap. Upon waking up, I saw a terrain covered with snow but it looked like it lead to nowhere. I was used with these kinds of roads because in the Philippines, some resorts were like it.

We decided to keep driving forward but the snow on the ground was getting thicker and thicker as we moved on. We even heard it scrape the bottom of our Camry! It was getting scarier and scarier so we decided to turn around. Emil managed to back up and we decided to just go back to the snow-free terrain. The sound of the hard ice damaging our car was just too much to handle. I was trying not to get nervous but I just can't help it! If you know me, I am the last person to get nervous at these kinds of moments but this was REALLY bad. Finally, we were just feet away from the ice-free ground when the left front tire slid off and got stuck on a deep hole almost near the cliff. Emil decided to floor the gas so we can get out of it as soon as possible but we couldn't move! We can even smell the tires burning so it added to our anxiety.

A  lady walking her dogs showed up from the end of the road and saw us in our predicament so she decided to help us. Imagine 3 ladies, two of which are Filipinos just 5 feet short, pushing a car. I can remember the image in my head and can't help but smile. To top it off, there was no signal so we could call the rest of the ward for help. We managed to rock the car and move it a few feet off the hole so we were kinda relieved but it wasn't anywhere near success. Even though we were making progress, the back of the car was nearing the cliff so we really needed to call the rest of the ward. Thanks to ate Lira's AT&T service, we got a hold of Seini to rescue us. Four of them came: Kuya Benny, Seini, Bishop Pineda and Bishop Jubinal. Upon their arrival, we looked somewhere in the car to attach a rope so they can just tow us but little did we know a Camry doesn't have any! It gets towed by lifting it and carrying one pair of wheels on the tow truck (minus points for Toyota). We then resorted to what we did before, rocking the car, flooring the gas and pushing the car again and again. We did a couple of pushing and we weren't going anywhere. We then decided to say a prayer.

Check out the video below. Around more than 10 times doing that, we managed to get the car off the hole. Thanks to our rescuers! This is indeed an experience to remember.

BACK FROM THE GRAVE!

It's been so long (4.5 months!) since I wrote here. I was kind of giving up on blogging until I opened one of the posts and it made me smile to remember all those memories that's why I've decided to keep this. I want to keep smiling as I remember the things we've done throughout the years.

What happened since I last posted:

1. 2nd Year Anniversary was spent in Las Vegas from May 9-12, 2014.

at Gordon Ramsay's BurGR

being tourists at Gondola ride

Bellagio Lobby

Christmas 2013

One of the best things for me during the Holidays is that we get to spend it not only with family but with my mom's relatives. Ever since I can remember, we have a reunion every year Christmas time and have a Kris Kringle. This does not only include my mom's siblings but even her cousins, her aunts and uncles. Now that I am much older, I realize how special this tradition is no matter the circumstances may be. It makes extended family much closer even when the family gets bigger and bigger. Even though life is tough, everybody still tries to be part of the reunion. I've already missed two Christmases with them when I was in Hawaii but I catch up through photos they post on Facebook and that's how I know that another member of the Omadto Family has been added. Aunts and Uncle marry but we still have this tradition and they bring their spouses to our reunion. This year was extra special because we got to go home and mama's older sister Tita Nina, who lives in Iloilo was able to come as well. I even brought Emil and mom for the first time and Emil even joined our Kris Kringle. He was so happy to be part of it and we've talked about doing the same thing when we will have our kids in the future. This is part of the reason why I love spending Christmas in the Philippines! It's the traditions that we have that makes life happier.

Part of the reunion was of course the food. We had plenty because we spent Christmas day here. After eating, we exchanged gifts which is one of the best part, games and Karaoke. What Filipino party doesn't have Karaoke right? We even have BIG prizes for those who hit certain scores! There was also a pool available so there was also a team swimming competition.

Another tradition has been added to the Kris Kringle. Every year we take a photo of our own families and extended families and see how much we've grown. If I am not mistaken, only a few family was not present at the reunion which is a record! Yay!

Reunion was held at a private resort at Pansol, Calamba, Laguna. Sometimes we travel to different provinces to have our reunion (both Summer and Christmas) but this time, we didn't go far.

Paz Family 2013 (complete!)

Amante Family 2013 (minus ate Rhea and Ethan)

Omadto Family 2013

(pink team: Tito Andy's family, mama's younger brother

blue team: Tita Nina's family, mama's older sister

red team: Paz Family

halo halo team: Tito Legie's family, mama's eldest brother)

1st and 2nd cousins (Omadto 3rd generation)

I am so blessed to have family and extended family like them. My mom and her cousins are close and even us cousins may it be first or second are close too! I am blessed to be part of such a happy family.

Happy 25th Anniversary to my fayrents!

I was so happy to give something back to my parents after their long suffering while nurturing us. hahaha. Emil and I gave them a trip to Thailand for their 25th anniversary and they came with our lola. It was my mama and lola's first time to be out of the country so the trip was extra special. They also met with their high school classmate Tita Cecil who also accommodated them while they were there (thank you po!). Mama really enjoyed being a tourist and said 'bitin ang shopping.' haha. Alam na natin kanino ako nagmana. Super mega over beyond grateful to have parents like them! Love you mafa! :)

Kualoa Ranch Saturdate

I've been working at the ranch for over a month now and this is the only time I get to go around with Emil since our schedules haven't been matching for a long time. During my days off, he will have most of his classes and when he doesn't work or doesn't have classes, I am at work! It was like this for almost a month so finally, I got to have a Saturday off..

We did Ocean Voyage where you ride a Catamaran and sail by the Kaneohe Bay and the Turtle Reef. Lucky enough, we got to see three turtles! We also did Jungle Expedition where you ride a Pitzgauer jeep and go up the mountains through the rough terrain which was very exciting and adventurous. The view up there was breath taking. Photos that we took did not give it any justice because we only used our phones. haha

By the way, we all got these tours for free. The ranch allows employees to have 7 free individual experience tours a month that they can share with families and friends after their introductory period of three months. I don't have this privilege yet since I've only been working there for a month so I asked one of my co-workers, Sylvana, to hook us up. The only down side about this is you have to stand by, meaning, you have to wait if the tour gets full and if it doesn't then you have a chance to be on it. The Jungle Expedition tour goes every 30 or 45 mins everyday so it wasn't very hard for us to get in one and we chose the earliest Ocean Voyage because I know people don't like to get up early so we got on that pretty easily. haha. They also ask you to check in half an hour before the tour and if you do, most likely you'll get on tours you like.

Picture taking while waiting for our tours to start.

on the Catamaran cruise

Chinaman's hat or Mokoli'i Island behind us

too bad we didn't get to take photos of the turtles because my phone died!

views while on the Jungle Expedition

Thailand in a month!

Nope, not us! My parents are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary and as a gift, Emil and I bought them tickets to Thailand next month when it is actually their anniversary. They got married November 18, 1988 and as my father said, "25 years na (silang) nakatiis sa isa't isa" lol. I think that's the secret to their marriage. It's full of humor! This is actually my mom's first out of the country trip since my naughty siblings are old enough to handle themselves (I hope!). My youngest sibling is now a first year high school student so I guess they are old enough to do so.

I was searching the web on things to do in Thailand and as I searched and searched, I just get more and more excited for them! Thailand has a really beautiful architecture. Parang baroque na asian style. Their traditional attire is so colorful as well! Even here in BYUH, for me they are always the best in costume as the details are so intricately put together. Here's some pictures to get you excited as well! (All photos are from my google searching. haha)

these floating vendors are so cool!

just look at those details!