Fall Foilage

I'm feeling a bit under the weather, the change of seasons will do that to you. Just a quick post before I go off to bed and sleep for the next 12 hours. Fe Lyn and I took my mother in law to Lake Tahoe today, and I was specifically looking for Fall Foilage, beautiful colors. Check out this photo below that Fe Lyn took while we were driving, aren't the colors awesome. Good Night!

Monday Happenings

Hey All, Happy Monday to ya'll. I'm in the mood to type/write, so have patience. Just wanted to write about some of the current events and provide my humble opinion, just my 2 cents.

- I am really disappointed in the Heene family for staging the Balloon escapade with their 6 year old. In faking this escapade, while the world watch and our hearts and prayers went out to the young boy who we had thought was hovering thousands of feet in the air, captivating our attention, our emotions, he was merely hiding out some place until the family could figure out a way to show that he was indeed safe. I feel sorry for the young boys who the parents have now shown, how to lie to the entire world and get away with it, if only for a little while. What a way to be a role model.



- I'm now 2-2 in match play in my Tennis League. I'm really enjoying playing this game again, and I feel like I'm improving and getting better with each game. There is still a lot to work on, but that's just the fun part. I've met a lot of nice people on my team as well as those I play again and I am looking forward to finishing our season.

- I miss the time playing with Father Elmo and Father Benjie during their stay with us. They are not only the one of the nicest people you'll ever meet, but they have the same passion and desire to play tennis as I do. It was really wonderful having them around, and I hope they've had a nice and safe flight back to the Philippines. Hope they come back soon.



- My mother in law is coming this week and I am very excited to see her. While she's only going to be with us for a few days, at least we will get to spend some time with her.


- We also want to go apple picking, there seems to be so many farms in the El Dorado area, but we don't know which one is the best. If you recommend one, please leave a comment as well. thanks.

That's it for now, I hope everyone enjoys their week!

Father Elmo/Benjie in Tahoe

After Los Angeles, we brought both Father Elmo and Father Benjie to Lake Tahoe. You've seen many pictures on this blog already about Lake Tahoe, but it seems we never get tired of the beauty. It's especially true if you're there in person where you the back drop of the lake, against the Mountains is a sight to see. Here are some of my favorites.




In this picture, you see Father Elmo on top of a wall near side the road, well on the other side (his left) is about 100 ft drop into the Lake. It was actually quite scary, but Father Elmo sure wasn't scared, obviously he had some faith and support from the higher ups to to speak :)



You were probably wondering why Father Benjie looked a bit cold in the first picture above? Well, there was actually Snow in the mountain area, here is Fe Lyn taking a picture of Father Benjie who is making a snow Angel, how fitting!




My favorite. Don't jump Father!

Around Los Angeles

It's no secret that I tell people I don't like Los Angeles. It's too crowded, too many people, too many cars, takes too long to get anywhere. Perhaps you think I'm impatient, and maybe I am a little, that I am always in a hurry to get things done or go somewhere, you're probably right. But you must agree that taking 40 minutes to get to the grocery, or 2 hours sitting on highway 5 to get to an Angels game is just a tad too long.

But Los Angeles is not without it's gems, how could it not have some? It's THE home of the Stars, where glitz and glamour collide and all the pretty people get together to make riches beyond most of our wildest dreams. And, so we decided to stop by a couple of places before we headed up to Northern California, just 2 stops, enough to get our taste of LA and head back to our normal everyday lives.

But even before we did that, we stopped by to see our little tyke nephew Jay Carlos Villaflor. Isn't he just handsome? In about 15 years, he's going to be breaking hearts all over CA. Book it!



We then stopped by to see our Aunt Esther, who is in rehab trying to get better. It had been a while since we saw her, so it was good to say hello and wish her the best on her road to recovery. Here's Andrew, pushing her down the hallway at her rehab center, looks like she's enjoying it!



Our next stop was Rodeo Drive..



Can you find Fe Lyn in this lineup? hard to tell!




Our last stop was the Hollywood sign shown here with Father Benjie.

Advantage Canada!

I joined a Tennis League here in Roseville. It's been about 15 to 20 years since I've played serious tennis, playing in a tournament in Cleveland OH where I grew up. So while still trying to find a day job, I decided it might be a good idea to get in better shape.

It's only been 3 weeks but it's felt really good getting back into Tennis. I didn't realize how much I missed the game and being competitive again. I'm playing against guys who are my level or better so it's really challenging. If you're in Sacramento, and play tennis give me a hollar, I would love to play. Check out this video below, here I am playing Tennis with Father Benjie, Father Elmo and Reynald Dano who are all very good.

Annual Navalian Fiesta

Wow, it's been too long since I've blogged. No excuses! This past weekend we drove down to Los Angeles for the Annual Navalian Fiesta. It's a gathering, a fiesta, a party, a celebration for persons/people who are from Naval Leyte in the Philippines. There is a Church Mass given typically by a Priest from the local Diocese in Naval and then food and dancing afterwards.

But this Organization is not just about getting together and talking about old times, they raise funds/money to help out their home town, whether it is donating new computers, books, fire engine's, whatever is needed in their home town. It's about giving back to the home they miss and the loved ones that are still there.

So it's always a pleasure to join in and celebrate the generosity of this Organization and to see people who you may only see once a year.

This year's affair, Father Benjie and Father Elmo celebrated Mass. Below is a picture with both them with Andrew:



I really like this solemn picture of Father Elmo during the Mass.




Mother Mary..



These are the officers of the organization, the leaders who are remarkably giving and kind. In the works right now is a Medical Mission back to Naval in 2011. If you're interested in contributing or volunteering, please email me and I will get you in touch with one of the officers.



Well, afterwards there was a LOT of dancing.. check out these moves.







There was a very special moment during the evening, my wife Fe Lyn met her Piano Teacher for the first time in over 25+ years. Fe Lyn had grown up learning Piano from her and it was just now that they've had a chance to see each other, it was a very touching moment.



As the night dwindled down, we took one last group Photo.