I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year celebration! Mine was a blast as Troy, Mica, Rinoa, and I spent the holidays with my brother and his family in Gig Harbor, WA where I also met the coolest group of Filipinos in the Pacific Northwest! Not only was I able to visit my family, but as you can see from the photos below, I got to hang out with these friendly and amazing Filipinos who love to party (No surprise there!) and their adorable but very restless kids who quickly became Rinoa’s new playmates. (Of course, Mica was bummed that there was no one in her age group. So sorry Mica!)

photo courtesy of Frenchy Dalumpines

photo courtesy of Jay Casiño

photo courtesy of Frenchy Dalumpines

photo courtesy of Frenchy Dalumpines

As a double bonus, my cousin Brit and his wife Sarah who live in Texas were able to drive up from Portland (where they were visiting family) to spend a Saturday with us. (And yes, Mica is taller than me now but just so you know, I’m overly slouching in the photo below – haha!)

photo courtesy of Jay Casiño

Here we are greeting the New Year with a small feast – after turning all the lights on in the house, hanging 12 grapes on the front door, and sprinkling coins by the front entrance.

photo courtesy of Jay Casiño

Nowadays, it’s extremely difficult to get my girls to pose with me for a decent photo – so I am extremely grateful for any snapshot my friends can take of us.

photo courtesy of Frenchy Dalumpines

photo courtesy of Frenchy Dalumpines

photo courtesy of Francis Mercado

And that’s my latest adventure. Now that I’m back home, I’m all fueled up for another year of life, love, and creativity. Expect lots of inspiring and exciting things from me this year.