Life is here!, is our city's slogan that every Dabawenyo is very proud to say. Living in Davao for over two decades, I have witnessed through my naked eyes how our city has boomed in terms of economics, education, and tourism. And talking about tourism, the first thing that often enters our minds are the tourist destinations that are nice to visit. If ever you would ask my two cents, I would definitely recommend the places listed below.

Here, I have compiled a list of 9 best places my family and I have visited:

1. Davao Eden Garden and Nature Park Resort

I clearly remember when I first explored this place. I got nervous while traveling way up the hill as the road was very steep. But when we got there, my nervousness vanished right away as I was calmed down by the cold breeze gently kissing my skin, tall pine trees dancing with the wind, and the sweet smell of the different flowers. Some of the things that I cherished the most were the horseback riding, botanical garden tour,  early-morning trekking, and mouth-watering foods. Click to learn more. 

2. Seagull Mountain Resort in Buda

Seagull is located in Marilog District, known as little Baguio of Davao, which is a perfect destination for your family this coming summer season.  I absolutely enjoyed watching and hearing the waterfalls as the water pounded the rocks. One thing I couldn't forget about Seagull was when we were terribly shaking while taking a dip in the ice-cold swimming pool. Click to learn more.

3. Japanese Tunnel Family Resort

If you opt for historical sites, you may want to consider Japanese tunnel in your trip when in Davao. I literally went inside the tunnel and discovered replicas of Golde Budha, Japanese soldiers, golden bars, and the cage where the Filipino soldiers got imprisoned during World War II.  My fur stood upon hearing the story of the tour guide of how the Filipino soldiers died there. But there's more than the tunnel that the resort has to offer.  They have a hotel, restaurant, and swimming pool too where you can indulge after your tunnel adventure. Click to learn more here.

4. Malagos Garden resort

5. Villa de Mercedes Resort

Situated at 535 feet above sea level, you will be delightfully greeted by the hypnotic view of Davao Gulf and Davao city that instantly eases away your stress and worries caused by working so hard and meeting numerous responsibilities from home. I was fascinated by the view of their infinity pool as if connected to the sea, the picture-perfect landscape, and most of all the serenity of the place that can help soothe your body and mind. Everything was really amazing! Click to learn more here.

6. Crocodile Park

7. Rancho Palos Verdes Sports and Country Club Resort

8. Paradise Island

If you want to go further the boundary of Davao city and look for a great beach to escape to, I would highly recommend Paradise Island (it's already part of Davao del Norte, at least still Davao,  lol...) for it boasts its fine white sand and clear blue water. A trip to Paradise is never complete without trying their numerous water sports activities such as snorkeling, kayaking, banana boat riding, island hopping,  and most of all scuba diving. Click to learn more.

9. Camp Holiday Beach Resort

It's safe to say that I've been to more than 10 places in Davao but I just failed to document them due to my super hectic schedule (hehe), but I promise to add more to this list as soon as I go into an adventure again as you know I am an adventurous gal with itchy feet who constantly craves for travel. Well, thanks for reading.

From a mother and teacher instinct, I knew,  Chesska would receive this award.  By the way, rain has been pouring all morning while writing this blog post.

Over the weekend, during the card-giving day, I personally went to school to get Chesska's card and had a chance to talk to the teacher regarding Chesska's performance in class. Well, I heard the same feedback as the previous gradings like she said that Chesska was not answering in oral recitation. But on the other side,  she stressed that Chesska started to mingle already with her other classmates. In other words, her socialization skill has improved.

So, a couple of days ago, she greeted me with this certificate stating she ranks second in the third grading period. I forgetfully mentioned to you previously that Chesska also placed second in the second grading period. Meaning, she maintains her rank in the 3rd Grading. Although I haven't paid much attention to her since her younger sister was born, she continued to excel in her academic performance. I adore my husband ( as my substitute) for being patient in teaching Chesska almost every day.  The credit goes to......no other than - my awesome husband!

I actually digressed from the original plan. We have long planned to go in Samal because Chesska's birthday falls on Saturday -  would have been a perfect day -  and her favorite outdoor activity is no other than - swimming all day. However,  I was a little skeptical traveling across the city with a 4-month-old baby,  which is not convenient at all. So we ended up celebrating at home with simple snacks prepared for children and adults as well. In spite of the simpleness, the celebration was still a BLAST!

Before I share photos, let's take a look at Chesska's past birthdays from first to fourth - and spot the difference.

Dora-themed 1st Birthday

2nd Birthday at KFC with Angelina Ballerina theme

Frozen-themed 3rd Birthday

4th Birthday with Sophia theme

Fifth Birthday

Chesska's friends from the neighborhood

Chesska and her ninang

Simple meals prepared for dinner for our relatives

Ronan's relatives

I apologize for not writing very often. I am so busy ever since I gave birth to my second child. But don't worry, I'll try my best to make up this year.

By the way, how's your New Year? Ours was celebrated as normal as regular and quiet days due to firecracker ban here in Davao city. Aside from that, my brother and his family already went back to Bukidnon after their Christmas vacation here so I didn't have a sing-along buddy anymore(hehe).  So we just slept early and when the clock struck 12:00 midnight, I just got up quickly and peeked through the window to see what our neighbors were doing. Some of them were beeping the horn of their cars while some of them were hitting their pans and cans to shoo away bad fortunes.

Now as we kick off 2017, I would like to begin my blog with my random memories during last year. Here we go!

1. January - Chesska's 4th Birthday

This was the simplest birthday celebration ever yet the most memorable one.

2. February - My Birthday

3. March - Nothing Special

Nine days left before Christmas, and we're pretty excited! Seems like it just happened yesterday, didn't it? While you are all catching up with the Christmas sales anywhere, I also would like to catch up this post, which should have been published a couple weeks ago (Sorry I am crazy busy!). This lovely and colorful activity is called Christmas Sensory Bin, which is connected with graphing and sorting Christmas activity.


Here's what we used for this activity.

• 1 kg rice
• food colors (green and red)
• alcohol
• Christmas decors

Here's what you need to do.

Divide the rice equally and put them into separate bins to color. Then wet the rice with alcohol and mix the food color. (Sorry I did not take pictures.) Why alcohol? So the rice will easily dry up. Let the rice dry for 20-30 minutes, and you are ready to go. Put some Christmas decors as desired.

When my child feels bored, sensory play always comes to the rescue. It's great to keep my child busy for hours. Likewise, it helps soothe an anxious and frustrated child. While playing, I named the Christmas decors and asked her to count the number of balls, bells, candy canes, and stars.

She added some animals and buried them into the colored rice. I just let her imagination play.

I hope you'll try this at home. I can assure you it is perfectly enjoyable for your kids. Merry Christmas!

I am glad to present to you our Halloween-themed sensory play of the month, in line with this coming holiday. Since my 3-year old is scared of monsters or "momo" in our dialect, in which I used to scare her every time she misbehaves or disobeys (I must admit it was totally wrong , don't copy that), I came up with this Halloween sensory play to turn his scary thoughts into fun memories. Moreover, sensory play will encourage children to make use of their senses and bring out creativity in them. So I put together all the ideas found online and I incorporated mine too.


Materials needed for the Halloween Sensory Play:

1. large bin
2. black gelatin (2 packs)
3. orange balloons as jack-o-lanterns (3 pieces) idea from teachingmama.org
4. tissue papers cut into rectangular strips
5. DIY bats
6. cotton
7. spiders
8. some scary halloween design (thebestdecor.com)
9. sand

I used black gelatin instead of black beans since the former is less expensive than the latter. The fact that gelatin is edible, it is safe to use with children in case they accidentally swallow it. I also put tissue papers in rectangular strips to add more glow to the sensory bin.



I filled the balloons with sand to stay them in place and tried to draw scary faces but I didn't achieve what I wanted to (I am terrible at drawing...). I also cut out bats and pasted them on the side of the plastic bin.

I also put spider with cotton on it.


My 3-year old was curios of what's inside the balloon. She kept squeezing and shaking it.


She also loved to slice, dig, and bury creepy-crawlies which practices her fine motor skills.




I hope you will find this activity engaging and fun for your preschoolers.
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P.S. Images are edited at picmonkey.com