Water color and play with the 'kins

The slide show is that of my 'kins (nieces and nephews) doing water color and playing in the fields at the height of an afternoon burning sun. So they played until the evening running around and spraying other kids with their water gun.

Aaaahhh, carefree children....






Link of the album: http://picasaweb.google.com/peterahon/June08Darat



Beautiful, handsome and naughty too...

Some of the shots here were taken by Grace or was it Emon, I forgot already who took and played with the camera, some are nice shots though, especially those close up of Isis. Some of the shots were taken when they bought fishballs. Ryla was missing in most of the scenes, she was too shy and aloof perhaps to play with her cousins.





Link of the album: http://picasaweb.google.com/peterahon/CuteKins


Note; Photos are reduced in size for faster upload so photos are not very clear.

Birthday Co-celebration of Ayen and Nom

I was very fortunate to be back in the country when Ayen and Nom celebrated their birthday (June 6, 2008). Jovie and Ryla were also present coming from Nueva Viscaya with a cousin who brought Raq's gift for tatay and nanay. It was not what I was expecting though. I was hoping for a cozy and intimate family gathering but it turned out to be a barangay (village) celebration. Not only our relatives came but also neighbors who in away our extended relatives.

Cousins and relatives were mobilized.

Scenes of the preparation of the food








The menfolks until late night had drinking with a videoke blaring ( the company that put together songs and videos is a Korean company - hello noraebangs {Korean singing bars}).

A pig was butchered. The meat was cooked in different ways igado, an Ilocano dish that is always present in any padaya/ram-rambak (celebrations)

A goat came in next for the kinilaw ( raw goat's meat seasoned with vinegar and spices), caldereta and the famous Ilocano cuisine papaitan (meat and innards cooked with bile or those liquified- digested almost to become excrement of the goat that makes the dish exotic and ma-pait/bitter).

The women folks came to prepare the veggies, clean the rice, prepare the utensils and later on wash the dishes.

An so we ate, had fun and parlor games.

I've heard again after so loooong time (felt so sentimental hearing the song I would hear when celebrating bdays in Ilocos as a kid) "pada-padakam a kumablaaw" (all gathered here to great you happy birthday). One of the highlights of the singing is the crowning and giving of flowers to the celebrators.

Click to listen to the song

(below are some of the lyrics of the song with my own translation)

padapadakam nga asiraragsat
all of us are so glad

a kumablaaw, mangipaduyakyak
to greet and wish you

ta nagtengan ti aldaw a panakayanak
for this is the day of your birth

panagtao a napnuwan gasat
your being full of fortune

balangat a naurnos
adorn is a wreath

dagiti sabsabong
of flowers

nga umay mi kenka
that we will come

isaad dita ulom
to crown you

The affair was ended with Ayen giving gifts to her well-wishers.

Oh the adults continued their videoke singing while I played with the rest of my 'kins - pamangkins (nieces and nephews) under the burning afternoon sun.

Enjoy the scenes:







Link to the album: http://picasaweb.google.com/peterahon/BdayOfAyenNom



Note; Photos are reduced in size/quality for faster uploading.

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Last Christmas Family Fotos (2007)

It took Cely ages to post these beautiful photos of our nieces and nephews taken during her 2007 Christmas holiday. Busy with her last year in class at least she made it to be part of her Nursing Class Graduation (we are happy for her - wrote an article about this in my other blog with this link http://twurl.nl/bmt30k ). These fotos are also posted in our friendster group.

Nom from left with daughter, Nanay (mom) with AmonRa and Tatay (dad) and Cely. Kids from left Emon, Isis and Andre. All the kids are children of Nom and Ce-an.

Amon-ra is crying while the rest are all focused to the camera.

These 'kins (pamangkin - nephews and nieces) are so challenging to contain, a crowd-management team is needed to hold their attention for the camera. So these "Kodak-moments" of them are indeed precious to click and snap their portrait. Watch their antics and other gimmicks. From left with ball is grace, ayen, yanna, isis, eman, vj (and cousin), andre and emon.

well the boys as usual are the more active and full of attention-getting devices.
I could just imagine shouts, coaching and bribing to tell to behave and keep still.



well boys will be boys...



and then one was gone, the other going


aha!, they went in front and closer to the camera


and few were left behind...




poignant... so where have all the others gone?
(sisters ayen and yana and cousins eman and isis)




...then, there were only two of them, still dreaming, wondering? ? ?
(cousins yanna and isis)




okey change costume, let's have a Mad-Hatters Party!
(sisters Yanna and Ayen)



Tita Cely and Yanna


VJ and his wide smile


Grace pouting smile


isis very cute smile


the pa-cute boy - Emon



Ayen with her hat



Vj with his basketball



Ayen climbing up the gate railing


Emon once again, okey you are cute....