LA Trip - Day 2

Day 2 - LAS VEGAS

We left Keswick at 9am. We had lunch at In-n-Out Burger (Basrtow branch). Totoo ang chismis, masarap ang burger nila :)

There was an outlet along the way, but we didn't have time to stop and shop.

Outlet stores

Mostly desert views along the way

We arrived around 2pm. There were a lot of people at the lobby, luckily, my relatives are VIP members and we went to the VIP lounge. There's coffee, soda, fruits, cookies and chocolates. No complains here :)

MGM Grand VIP Lounge

We can see Hooters and the airport from our room.

LA trip 2018

It's our family's first trip to the US (all of us together).

We arrived at the airport around 2pm at the Terminal 3. Cathay Pacific was overbooked so they offered us a deal to ride PAL instead. It will be a direct flight (no more HK stop over which was supposed to be 4 hours) and we will be compensated. It was a really good deal for us. The only drawback was we had to wait for a long time at Terminal 2. There's not a lot of good food choices there.

We left 9pm (Manila time) and arrived in LA at 820pm (LA Time). Flight was more than 14 hours. The kids did good. They enjoyed the ride. They would watch a movie and sometimes sleep. The food was okay and the staff were friendly. The only issue I had was that the monitor panel on my seat was not working. Over all, it was a good flight for us.

The IOs were kinda scary. Maybe because we're with kids, there were not a lot of questions asked. I was holding my breath the entire time he was asking questions. After the IO gave us our passports, that's the only time I was able to breathe properly.

The moment we exited, Tito Nong and Tita Alice were there to greet us. It was probably around 10pm when we arrived at their house. Their house is huge! Few moments after, Tito Cel and Tita Alice as well as Richard arrived to greet us.

We couldn't sleep and Alec asked to go to the kitchen around 2am.

Alec @ 6mos

Alec is now 6 mos. Time flies really fast. I still remember the mixed emotions I had when I found out we were pregnant again. I was nervous because Basty just turned 1, few months ago, meaning he will be 2 when I give birth and I'm not sure if I can handle another baby. Well, it wasn't easy, but I have no regrets. I'm sure Eric feels the same way too. Alec brings so much joy to me and of course to Eric. I can see how Eric somehow relaxes after a tiring day at the sight of Alec's smile and coos.

Happy Mother's day!

Credits: You are so beautiful kit (march 2008) by Doro (Doreen Stolz). Wordart by Bnbharty

“You’ll never fully appreciate your mother until you become a mother yourself”

Lagi ko itong naririnig, pero na realize ko lang sya talaga nung naging mommy na rin ako. Naisip ko lahat ng mga nagawa ng mom ko for me (sa family namin). Nung bata pa ako, there were many things na iniisip ko na bakit ganito ang mga decisions ng mom ko…pero now I know why…sobrang kapakanan namin lagi ang iniisip nya. She sacrificed a lot for us. Dati sinasabi din nya na instead na bumili sya ng damit for herself, para sa amin na lang ang binibili nya, di ko man lang na appreciate yun noon…feeling ko kasi dati responsibility naman nya na gawin iyon. But now, ganun na rin ako, pag nag mall ako, most often than not, para sa baby ko ang na shop ko, not for myself or hubby.

I have a lot to be thankful to my mom...sabi nga nila, kahit anong gawin mo, you'll never be able to repay all the things na ginawa ng mom mo for you. Until now, she's always there for me. She's taking care of my son. I can only imagine how hard it is for one to become a new mother without her own mom by her side. My mom stayed with me few days bago pa ako manganak...asa hospital sya the entire time na andun ako.

I know I have given her lots of heartaches...I'm sorry for all those times.

If I would be asked to give 1 word that would best fit her, that would be GIVING. She's always there for her family (our relatives). When a relative goes to her for help, as long as she can, she won't hesitate to help. That's why when she got sick, all of those people she helped showed up. They were all there to show gratitude.

In our family, we're not really expressive of our feelings. We normally don't say I love you or express how much thankful we are or how much we value each other. Here, I want to say I love you mama! You mean so much to me!