Hubby and I went on a cruise for our 10th anniversary trip. This was the trip we wanted to take for our honeymoon but couldn’t afford. Ten years later, it is even better than I thought it would be.

Not only did we visit some incredible places, but we were able to spend uninterrupted quality time together, so rare when you have kids. We flew to Barcelona and stayed at a beautiful hotel right on Las Ramblas. Although it was a bit cold, the streets were still filled with locals and tourists until late into the night.

We boarded our ship, the Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas by taking a shuttle bus right at the end of Las Ramblas. Our cruise included stops in Palermo Sicily, then on to Athens and Rhodes Greece, Alexandria, Egypt and finally to Valleta on the island of Malta.

Egypt was the most surprising as it was a really great experience for us. Yes, it’s dirty and there are lots of people harassing you to buy something at all the pyramids, but at the same time, it was so enchanting. The people were friendly and welcoming, the pyramids more majestic than I even imagined and there was a feeling that I had there that makes me want to go back.

I chose this itinerary because I thought this was a great way to check off Egypt and the pyramids from my bucket list without expending too much time and energy. But I found that I really enjoyed this country and felt spending 2 days there just didn’t do it justice. I look forward to going back and exploring the Luxor area, spending time on the beaches of Alexandria and the Red Sea, and most of all, I’d like to stay in Cairo to see the pyramids of Giza again with my girls.

Rhodes was a beautiful Greek island that both hubby and I would like to go back to with the girls. It’s a small enough island you could probably circle in a day. We took a cab to a beautiful little town of Lindos that was perched on a hill overlooking a small sandy beach cove. The town was so compact, houses one next to the other and at the top of the hill, was an acropolis. The food was fantastic and the beer went down really well.

By the time we got to Malta, we’d been away from home for nearly 2 weeks. So we were tired and looking forward to being home. Once we got to Malta and cruised around, we found that there were so many things we’d like to go back to do again. Malta is a small island so close to Turkey and Italy that it has a bit of each culture in their cuisine. It’s also so British that it has the red telephone booths and mail boxes around and the streets and architecture would make you think you were in Britain.

As much as I worried so much about leaving the girls for a 2 weeks, this was such a great treat to ourselves. It was a trip we both really enjoyed. I’m now thinking of what our 20th anniversary trip will be. Antartica? Tanzania? Iceland? There are so many places I’d like to see.

Each morning when I wake, I think of how lucky I am to have one more day. My first thoughts tend to be of the blessings in my life and how thankful I am for them.

I wake up in a warm bed, in a warm comfortable house with my husband and my girls are healthy and safe down the hall. How can I ask for much more when there are so many people with far less.

I think about how inconsequential everything else is compared to my health and well-being. Because without my health and well-being, I cannot be a good wife or nurturing mother, let alone a positive contributor to everyone else around me. It’s like the airline safety announcement, “put your oxygen mask on first before assisting others”. I can’t be of any use to anyone else if I’m not taking care of myself first.

Those thoughts just make it a bit easier to drag myself out of my warm comfy oh so wonderful bed and get dressed to workout. It’s dark, the owl is still hooting and if I don’t go down to the garage and workout now, it’s not going to happen later either. Working out first thing in the morning is the only way for me to get it done for the day. I’ve got way too many excuses to workout after work or at night.

Seems like my cousins are all getting into this destination wedding craze. First one was a few years ago, a Tuscan wedding in a villa in the outskirts of San Gimignano, Italy. My cousin, a designer, studied in Milan married a wine merchant and so they chose a place that melded their two lives.

The villa itself was beautiful, almost the entire family was able to stay there as the place had several converted buildings and accommodated most of the 40+ family members. This made it really easy for us to hangout and party together as everyone gathered at the end of the day around large dining room table eating, drinking and telling old family stories.

Most recently we attended another cousin’s wedding in the Loire Valley in France. My cousin is a jewelry designer who married a Frenchman from Bordeaux. They got married at the Chateau du Challain and our girls were the flower girls. The girls were thrilled to be part of this princess-like wedding complete with castle and horse-drawn carriage. The fireworks at the end of the night were spectacular and such a great ending to a beautiful day. This was such a great wedding the photographer’s work was featured here.

My older daughter spent her 8th birthday at the base of the Eiffel Tower. How cool is that?! We had a picnic in the gardens in front of the Eiffel Tower and the girls had a great time running around playing tag and watching the light show on the Eiffel Tower.

We rented an apartment right across from the Eiffel Tower. The view never got old. No matter how often we would look out and see it, the Eiffel Tower was still as amazing and mesmerizing. Each time the girls looked outside, they’d say, “Hello Eiffel!”

Our apartment was beautiful and luxuriously equipped. We rented the apartment from Paris Perfect and it’s the only way to experience Paris. A perfectly located apartment, fully equipped with everything you need including free wi-fi in the most sought-after neighborhood beats out a room in any swanky hotel.

Each morning, we would go outside to the local patisserie and get our fresh rolls and breads. We would head “home” after a long day exploring and take a nap before heading out again for dinner around the neighborhood.

The girls let us experience Paris a whole different way than if we had gone without them. In addition to the famous sights, we stopped at parks to let them play, ate more often (not a bad thing), had some coffee and crepes while they rode the carousel and ate more ice cream in the few days we were there than I would in a year. We even took a walking tour of Il Saint Louie with a local guide who deconstructed Hunchback of Notre Dame to include the girls in the tour.

One of the highlights of Paris was renting out bicycles and riding them throughout the city. These bike rental stations are found all throughout the city and you can rent them for a few minutes or hours. It was a fun way to spend the afternoon as we took them for a ride to get a good overall view of the city.

Experiencing Paris with the girls was fantastic. Can we go again please? (whining)

We headed to the Bear Valley area to go camping for a weekend. Over 30 campers converged in a clearing among large pines next to the shore of Lake Union. Although the days were warm, the nights were very cool and the lake water cold.

We’ve camped here many times but it’s been a while since we’ve gone camping as my cousins and I have been busy growing our families. During the lapse in time we just thought it was too difficult bringing our little babies camping. Well, now they’ve grown a bit and we don’t have to watch over them as closely. It’s time to go camping again.

My cousin has a boat and he is our ferry to take camping gear from the ramp to the camp site about a quarter of a mile away. The rest of us try and lug what we can over the trails to the clearing. It’s not that far but the amount of stuff we bring on these camping trips makes you wonder just how long we plan on staying. Each family fills their SUVs full of stuff to provide comfort and convenience to the outdoors and most importantly supply food to ever hungry campers.

There is no running water, no toilets, no showers, no bbq pits, nothing. We have to set up camp and prepare for all the necessities. It’s really quite a production. We set up the toilet tent, lay out our showers to start warming in the sun, put up the tent with blow up mattresses, set up the lines for our towels to dry, the kitchen area complete with camping stoves, bbq pit created, wood gathered for campfires and fishing lines readied in the water.

All well worth the effort once camp is set up, a cold beer in one hand and the other is your face with food. It seems that camping brings out the hunger in everyone. In the morning breakfast is such a production cooking eggs, bacon, pancakes and bulad, that’s dried fish for you non-Filipinos. Once we’re done with clean up from breakfast, we have enough time to go off on a walk for the nearest swimming hole. Then back to the campsite for lunch. Another walk or siesta after lunch. The more energetic get in canoes or kayaks and paddle around the lake. Catching fish is in the day’s agenda but that’s rather frustrating as this last trip got us 3 little fish, not enough for dinner.

After dinner, sitting around the campfire is both relaxing and dangerous as the kids like to play too close to the fire. Drawn to the light like bugs, you have to pull them away before someone gets hurt. Sitting around long enough makes you hungry again. This time for some Cup o’Noodles which goes really well with the rum cokes that have been going around all evening.

We’ve all decided that camping trips are really more about eating than anything else. All we do is eat and take breaks in between for other activities. That being said, I’ve decided we can’t go camping too often. It’s bad for my health.

10 year’s ago I got married to a wonderful man. I know it sounds so cliche, but really, he is a great guy and he’s gotten better as we’ve grown older. He’s intelligent, funny, adventurous, kind, compassionate, a great dad and a really awesome friend.

I think back to the day we got married and everything was so simple then. There was just the two of us and our modest home. Ten years later, we’ve got 2 kids, bigger house, bigger debt, and bigger issues. The great thing is that we’ve learned to communicate effectively and stay committed to each other at the same time we have a great time and laugh and enjoy each other’s part in our lives.

I’m very lucky that the guy I married still loves me and thinks I’m beautiful albeit I’ve kept some poundage from the two kiddos, I like to nag and remind him to do the dishes before going to bed, that I’m his alarm clock on the weekends and I like to cut his video game playing time short.

As I reflect on how he’s affected me in the 10 years we’ve been married, I think I made out with the better bargain because he’s made me a better person.

This year my college class is celebrated our 15th reunion year. Yikes.

I know it sounds strange that I’d actually celebrate my college reunion. Typically, people celebrate their high school reunions. I went to Simmons College in Boston MA. Simmons College is a women’s college in Boston’s Back Bay.

I developed such great relationships at my school. Perhaps it was because there was more opportunity to really meet other women and develop friendships because we didn’t have the constant distraction of boys around us. I don’t know. But I know that I wasn’t alone. So many other women in the years ahead of us and the years behind us shared that same unique bonding experience.

We love going back for reunion and reconnecting with everyone. We usually go back and stay at the dorms, eat at Bartol Hall (cafeteria) and hang out for late night chats like we did back in college. There’s a special bond that we all share and such a comfortable relationship that doesn’t take much to nurture. Most of us don’t communicate much in the interim, but when we go back for reunion year, it’s like no time had passed.

My college roommate and I went back (we lived together 3 of the 4 years in college!) and we shared the same dorm room. We could have had our own rooms, but why fight it, it was fun sharing a room again. We talked until late at night, laughed and shared stories, and met up with our friends for drinks and coffees.

I’m so glad I went to a women’s college. I’m so lucky to have met so many wonderful women who are still a part of my life today. Women who will continue to be a part of my life for many years into the future.

This is year will rank as one of my best travel years. Just got back from Cancun and will be gearing up for a trip to Boston to visit my college friends in June. Then in late summer, the family and extended family will be travelling to France for a wedding. In November, hubby and I will be going on a cruise in the Mediterranean to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. The best part of it all, is that all this travel is for fun. Not work related, not one bit.

My personal goal would be to have some travel planned once a quarter. There’s enough time in between trips to bust my butt working and at the same time, have something to look forward to in a few short weeks. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy (but that would be very nice) just somewhere to go to get away from the mundane of everyday life.

Weekend road trips, camping, long weekends somewhere and week-long vacations all qualify as a trip. 2010’s planned trips definitely meets and exceeds my travel expectations for the year. woot!

For spring break we went to Cancun. No, not the crazy paryting part of Cancun, but the more family friendly area closer to Playa Del Carmen. Beautiful resort with loads of swimming pools and beautiful sandy beaches. We went with 3 other couples some of whom had children the same ages as ours. It really was a wonderful week long vacation. Very relaxing and entertaining for all of us.

What made my vacation one of the best ever is that I had a chance to do what I really wanted to do (for the most part). Not only did I have lots of pool time, quality time with my children, fun times with my friends, quiet time with my hubby, but I also had some quality time at the gym for myself. Yes, the gym during my vacation. Each morning I would get up early, get to the gym for a good cardio session and hang out at the spa area before getting showered and dressed (into a clean bathing suit) for the rest of the day. It felt fantastic!

The rest of the day was spent by the pool or the beach. Sipping my fruity beverage and eating poolside food without a care in the world for the calories I was consuming. It was as though I was in spa retreat with my family and friends. Thinking back now makes me want to do it all over again.

My kids are at an age now where traveling with them is so awesome!

They walk on their own, they can carry (some) things, they know when they need to go potty, know when to hold it and best of all, they’re pretty good at keeping themselves entertained.

Keeping my kids comfy is key for a good travel experience. I always make sure that we have some food on hand in case someone gets hungry. We take time between flights to give them some running around to get rid of any excess energy. We keep them entertained with their toys, activities and iPods throughout long flights. And most importantly, we make sure they take naps or get some quiet time when they’re getting tired.

Of course, children’s entertainment these days is a far cry from what we had when we were young. Now my kids have books, activity books and iPods. The iPods are probably the best in entertainment for traveling with kids. They’re small and hold music, movies and games. Sharing your laptop with your children is another option, just pop in a movie, have them share some headphones and you’re all set. Ah, and now, with the iPad, we’ll that’s a whole other dimension

On our recent trip, we travelled 10 hours in one day. That didn’t include the time before the flight left and the time it took for us to get our bags and catch a cab home. The kids were awesome on the 2 flights and the short layover in Philly. The layover gave us enough time to stretch our legs as we ran to grab some dinner and head over to our next gate for the 6 hour flight home.

The key to happy traveling kids would be to always stay in tune with their needs. Know when they’re getting tired, bored, hungry or restless. Figure out how to address these issues before they become major meltdowns. As parents, we all know how to take care of a child that’s hungry, tired or bored. To avoid the ordeal, be cognizant of your child’s needs and address them before it’s too late. Kids are pretty simple if you’re paying attention to them.