Maki-Lakwatsa samin

We are a small, young family. My husband and I work full time in demanding jobs and our kids are of the age when they ask why we are not always around.

And so we make it a point that in those few days that we don't have too much work, we go out. May it be a trip to the grocery, the nearest mall, the convenience store to buy ice cream, or to out-of-town mini-vacations, we make sure that our boys understand that the reason Mommy and Daddy are working so hard is so we can have enough resources to maximize the few times we are all together.


Our eldest son Gael, when he was just 1yo, enjoying the sands of Mindoro


2011 has been a good year for us, lakwatsa-wise. We went out of town in 9 out of 12 months last year. My husband and I seldom go on lakwatsas without our two boys in tow. Namimiss namin. In those few times that we did go on overnight (the most we can manage without the boys is overnight) just-us trips, we both kept wishing that the boys are with us so they can ride this or that, swim here or there, eat this and that. Plus, these lakwatsas give us the luxury of being able to take care of our boys sans the yayas. In those days that we are out of town, we treasure being the ones to bathe the boys, feed them, clean their ears, cut their nails, wash their pwet-pwets when they poop, run after them, etc. - things we seldom get to do for them because of our schedules.


our youngest son, Araw, when he was just still 3mos old, in one of his first out-of-town trips (Kamayan sa Palaisdaan, Bay, Laguna)

There are so many places we want to go to still - we want to go to Sagada, dive in Coron, go white-water rafting in CDO, visit HK Disneyland, etc, etc. But always when we plan our lakwatsas we ask if the boys would be safe there, if they would enjoy the activities, if we will be able to maximize our stay. The boys will be young for just a short while. Pretty soon, they'll plan lakwatsas on their own with their barkadas. And those places will be there forever, those can wait.

And so this blog. First of all, just to document our lakwatsas. But if in the midst of sharing the stories of our trips, we get to guide families with young children on making lakwatsa-plans of their own, then we are happy to be of small service. We are a middle class family and so most of our vacations are also budget-conscious trips. I will try to post here our itineraries, budget and photos of the places we've been to (Occidental Mindoro, Padre Burgos in Quezon, Los Banos, Liliw, Baguio, Batangas, Tagaytay, Subic, Legazpi, Cebu, Bohol, Puerto Princesa, et.al) and the places we're planning to visit. Will also post some lakwatsa ideas within Metro Manila.


Our latest family lakwatsa in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Our boys are now 6 and 3.


Kaya, tara na! Maki-lakwatsa samin!