a simple life (beaching around with the kids)

when i went home a few months ago, i was mostly at the beach or at the pool with my sisters' kids -- horsing around, getting drunk, feasting on whatever food we could bring (leftovers from the previous night's dinner), whatever our helps could cook or whatever we could order.

i never had so much fun in my life. it was the first time in nearly 20 years that i had a long break from work and stayed at home, bonding with family and friends. while it was not all fun because of the usual fights, petty jealousies, small misdemeanors and what have you among family members, i would still count it as one of the best vacations that i ever have.

we combed the far-flung areas of the visayan islands (as if!) in search for the least travelled places, but with the best beaches and swimming pools.

we rode the bancas, tricycles, buses, vans, speed boats, helicopters and planes.

actually, the kids did not mind even if we went to third-rate resorts with murky waters and rocky shores, they still had tons of fun.

                                      ah, kids!

even the months old seven eleven had his day under the sun (after a game of golf)!

i still can't believe how grown up some of them have become, even taller than me. gosh!
most of the time, we had the resort all to ourselves. a good thing since we were a noisy bunch. we also quarrelled a lot, even in public places.

we had dinner while riding a floating cottage, got drunk while having karaoke, fell asleep under the coconut trees with the sand as our bed. luvly!

one of us even helped spruce up the place.

    
on quiet evenings, with only the moon and the stars as company, we would hang out at the bamboo resto/bars, pissing the night away, dancing, singing.....

......flirting with other guests.

since we were all teen-agers (most of the time. oldies usually slept early), scenes like this one could not be avoided very late at night, when we were highly intoxicated. even during holy week. hahaha. these are the times when we set our feelings free, no matter what. no, i did not encourage them.

but mostly, it was wholesome fun with the whole family in tow. this shot was supposed to be about them jumping up and suspended in the air. but the fotog just lacked the skills to do it. so....

click! click! after a million attempts...finally! (two out of three is not bad)

i don't know why kids luv being buried under the sand. i hate it!

philippine party always equals karaoke. strangely, the bug did not bite me. i sing in other venues, though, and i never had any complaints so far.

i  miss the sun, sand and the fun already (sounds like a cheap ad for a tacky resort!). i wish i have tons of cash so that i could just hang out with them all the time without worrying where to get the money to pay the bills.

my sister and her family also went home from somewhere outside of the solar system to join us.

               oh, did i mention that we are a family of beaches?

                                      bet you probably know that by now!