Staycations..

This year, we did not have a summer vacation.  Sad right?  I guess we were all so busy and we're saving up for the house renovation, so no trip which involved riding airplanes.

However, despite this minor setback, summer still meant time to bask in the sun.  It's that time of the year when we don't hide from the sun.  So in lieu of a summer vacation, we opted for short staycations at hotels or resorts in Davao City.

Last week we've been to Park Inn at SM Lanang.  My good friend is part of the Sales Team there.  We were able to book a room at their gift certificate rate at Php3,200.  Their gift certificate book and buy promo is until June 2013 only, so I guess if you want to have a last summer hurray, it's good to get one now.  The room rate includes breakfast buffet (heavenly breakfast!) for 2 at the RBG.  The room is big enough to accommodate 3 adults and 2 kids. We were booked in a room with a kingsize bed.  And oh, the sofa converts into a bed, which is perfect for our family.  What I love about Park Inn is that everything is so convenient.  It's just walking distance to SM Lanang, with a covered walkway at that.  So we had our dinner at SM Lanang, at Mesa (I love Mesa!) to be exact.  The kids had fun swimming in the pool.  I think I had fun basking in the sun and reading Inferno by the pool.  It was a good weekend to unwind, relax and unwinde, in preparation for my super hectic week the Monday after.

So last week, I had a hearing, a minimum of 1 in a day.  At a given day, I had 3.  So I was just too stressed out.  And stressed out means time away from everything again.  So last weekend, we went to Paradise Island at IGACOS (our go to place!).  We were initially booked at SEDA since the twins' were scheduled to attend the 3rd birthday party of the son of a co-teacher.  However the pool was not available.  As explained to us, debris from the on-going construction would fall on the pool, hence, for safety reasons, it was closed (it's available now, though, per the e-mail which SEDA sent to me). The twins' were both looking forward to another weekend swimming (despite the fact that they swim everyday at the Country Club), and since we were all packed and ready to go, we just went to Paradise (thank heavens they had a room!).  What I really love about Paradise is it's accessibility and how it is so safe for kids.  The food is awesome too!  I love their paella.  If you're bringing kids along, book their premiere rooms.  The floor is not as slippery as the deluxe rooms, even the bathroom tiles are non-slippery. And the premiere room has more space, which means the kids can have fun and play inside the room.  It was not as relaxed as the one we had at Park Inn since everything had been done hurriedly, but it was still a good time to bond with the family.

So this weekend, we're going somewhere again.  I will let you know in another blog post.  This is the last weekend before school starts for the twins, and so it's going to be our last hurray for this summer.

What about you, where have you been this summer?

At Park Inn.  Basking in the sun.

Family picture by Park Inn's pool.

Reading Inferno.  In all honesty, I can't understand the uproar.

The sand at Paradise. I love my slippers coz they don't match!

The mandatory play at the playground of Paradise.  It's always good to be a kid!

What I wore at Paradise, one of the many I Love Koi swimwear which I have.
(I collect high waist ones!)