Julio's Cartoon

Army Birthday

Dad and Mom outdid themselves once again! We had yet another super cool birthday party. We, Julio and Diego, turned 10 and 7, respectively this year and had an Army-themed party! Man, it just keeps getting better and better! Thanks Dad and Mom!

Okay, so first off we sent out these awesome invites to the recruits requesting them to wear their cammos and be ready for some real action. Our friends (and us) could hardly wait for the day to come. In the real sense of a military "top secret" operation, Dad and Mom would not tell us any of the details-- everything was supposed to be a "surprise attack"! It was torture (another military word, get it?)!

Then "D-Day" came! It was time to shine our boots and report to camp! Once there, the Recruit Officer (Tita Chiqui!) cammo painted our faces and ordered us to do some warm up exercises. Whew! we did our jumping jacks and push ups tough! Our Drill Sergeant was Ninang Sheila, she was so strict!

Then our first mission for the day was handed to us- Air Force Academy! We were all required to design and make the highest/farthest-flying fighter plane for the Air Force. We had to test-fly our prototypes (aka paper airplanes) one by one- the three best flying planes were awarded merits and prizes.

On to the next mission and next and next... we had a lot which included hot grenade, pin the medal on the soldier, drill sergeant commands and military ranking drill. Fun but challenging all the way!

And then just when we thought we were all going to rest, we were called to do some more missions:

Marine Field Training - This was our favorite! It was a test of our strength, endurance and even flexibility. We ran, we crawled, we rolled, we jumped and even needed to throw a grenade to a target. We hurdled like real soldiers on training. Hah!


Missing in Action and Rescue Missions - "No soldiers left behind!" This was our battle cry when we were tasked to locate and gather comrades- toy soldiers which were strategically scattered all over the camp by Drill Sergeant Ninang Sheila. Then we also had to rescue and apply first aid to an injured comrade.

Tug-Of-War - Ooh, what would a military exercise be without this ultimate test of muscles and grits! But ofcourse, we enjoyed this manly activity too!


It was really a party worthy of a Purple Heart! And our cake says it all! And to our Dad and Mom and Ninang Sheila and Tita Chiqui big big salute for giving us an eventful birthday party! Top honors go to you all!






Birthday boys with Dad and Mom all smiles after the party.

Owl in the City

We spotted an owl in his "daytime nap" on one of the trees in our village. An owl in the city- what a sight! If we keep the environment greener, we surely will get to see more and more of our animal friends getting closer to us. Now, that will be really neat!

Halloween 2009- War Heroes

We were soldiers in Halloween 2009! We got our uniforms from a real army store- now, we think that that is coolness!











With friends, neighbors and cousin Joshua, who was the third man in our battalion.

Santi Left Us Sans Tree

Typhoon Santi came after Ondoy. Unlike Ondoy, Santi was no rainy experience but a very windy one. It was just too much for our old Dear Tree in the park- it did not hold up was uprooted. That tree have seen worst and have weathered storms and typhoons in the past- guess Maybe it was not only Santi- but all those other typhoons that our Dear Tree weathered in the past. We thank Dear Tree for all those shady years. We will miss you.

Diego puts it perfectly: "The park will never be the same again without that tree."

Good news is there is a new tree planted on where Dear Tree once stood. And one day in the future it will remind us of Dear Tree.