It's Aly's Birthday Week!

In exactly eight days from today, Aly will be turning seven. I'm excited! We're all excited! She actually started her birthday countdown on March 1st. Heehee!
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The coming week will definitely be a busy one for me. First, there's exam week so we will be spending most afternoons brushing up on Aly's past lessons. Then, I also have to prepare for Aly's birthday thing with her classmates on Friday afternoon. Lastly, I also have to pack our stuff for our Hongkong trip next Saturday. All these on top of my usual household chores like grocery, laundry, ironing, cooking, etc., etc. Hoooboy!
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For Aly's birthday celebration with her classmates, my real plan was to bake rainbow cupcakes, but I changed my mind and told Richard that I will just order cake instead. Unfortunately, Aly wants to have her rainbow cupcakes. It's going to be difficult with exam week and all, but I thought if the cupcake becomes a hit with the mommies, baka maging business pa! Hehe! I still don't know how I'll do it though.
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For the lootbags, I'm going to drag my husband to Chinatown tomorrow whether he likes it or not. I'm looking for something simple and I promise not to work too hard on this because I want to have enough energy by the end of the week for Hong Kong!
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Ah, yes...Hong Kong...In lieu of the big party in Manila that we had originally planned for Aly's birthday, we decided to go on a trip instead. You see, planning a party from overseas was very difficult for me. I tried laying the ground work during our trip in December. But here in Bangkok, just thinking about the party gave me anxiety attacks. I never thought that party planning would give me nightmares, but this one did. Plus, when Richard and I saw how much a big party would cost, we decided to look for other options. Sigh...if only we had an unlimited budget...Anyway, so that's how we ended up with our Hongkong trip. We promised Aly that instead of a big party back home, we will go to Disneyland instead.
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The free Mickey toy that came with our booking.
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aAly checking the ticket if it has her name on it. Haha!
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See you on my birthday, Mickey + Minnie!
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Exciting days ahead! Wish me luck!

Hong Kong - Macau: Disneyland!

Aaahh...Disney...I think I speak for the entire family when I say that going here was the highlight of our Hong Kong trip. Friends who have been there all said the same thing: kids and adults alike will surely have a great time at Disney. And they were right! Mom, dad, my siblings...we all had a great time! Aly, most especially, had a blast! She kept saying: "Mommy, Disneyland is my favorite. I like it better than Ocean Park."
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Hong Kong Disney is located at Lantau Island, by the way, and here are some of the shots that I took on our way there.
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Our tour guide, Mr. Lee said that there are only three ports in Asia: Singapore, Shanghai and this one, in Hong Kong.
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aCan you spot Mickey on the road sign?
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aHong Kong's islands are connected by majestic bridges such as this.
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Touchdown at Disney! Here we are walking to the entrance (it was a long walk from the parking lot, mind you.)
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aAly pointed this out to me. Walang kaduda-duda, nasa Disney na nga kami.
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Yey for Disney!
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aExcited Aly.
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aBy the fountain at the gate.
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Aly and her ticket :)
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Can't hide our excitement. Heehee!
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aWe're going in!
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Main street, USA.
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Aly and her Minnie Mouse Jelly.
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Tomorrowland.
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aOur first ride: Orbitron. Don't let the photos fool you. It wasn't a scary ride at all.
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Our next ride was Space Mountain. Now THIS was a scary, thrilling, adrenaline-pumping, scream-your-lungs-out ride. It was also Aly's first rollercoaster ride ever! Remember when we were in Ocean Park, she was not allowed to ride the Mine Train? Well she passed the height limit for Space Mountain and she was mighty proud! I have to say my little girl showed zero fear...
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...or did she? Hehe! Parang syang tulala. Well, anyway, it was her first rollercoaster ride ever and it was memorable for all of us.
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aAfter Space Mountain, our next ride was the Madhatter's Tea Cup. I did not enjoy this ride. Nahilo ako, but I was happy with the photos that I took. Take a look.
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Capturing the joy on my little girl's face was priceless!
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After the dizzying Teacup ride, the parade was well on its way. Kaya pala bigla nawala yung mga tao. We didn't get a front-seat view so best-effort na lang all these photos that I took.
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Poor daddy Richard had to carry Aly throughout the parade. And it wasn't easy because our girl is pretty heavy!
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But this, made it all worthwhile.
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For some reason, watching the parade and seeing all the characters in real life made me feel so overwhelmed. I almost cried! Haha!
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The costumes are so beautifully made!
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aThe finale.
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aWhen the parade ended, we made our way to It's a Small World.

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aThe map described it as "the happiest cruise that ever sailed". It had dolls from different nations dancing and singing "It's a Small World". It was my favorite ride because it was so wholesome and it really makes you feel relaxed and happy.

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Plus, of course, it was another showcase of creative genius. Ahluvit!
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The Philippines was represented. Yay!
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aIce cream break muna. I had vanilla and green tea. Vanilla was good (as always), but green tea had a bitter aftertaste.
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Fantasyland. Good thing the lines were not that long so we were able to take a photo with...
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a...Mickey...
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Aly got a hug from Mickey. Awww...
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...and Goofy. Sayang wala si Minnie.
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Carousel ride.
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After Aly's Carousel ride, we went to Adventureland and we rode on the Jungle River Cruise. No photos here because we were told that it was going to be a wet ride. From there, we were supposed to line up in front of the castle so that Yan can meet Cinderella Belle. But it started raining so we had to run for cover.
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This was her one and only photo with a princess.
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aThankfully, it stopped raining so we headed back to Tomorrowland to take more photos.
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Have you met the strongest little girl in the world?
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aMick couldn't resist trying the Mickey Mouse ice cream.
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We also tried the 3-D theater, complete with wind and water effect -- it was awesome! Then we also waited for the fireworks display. Too bad it was raining that time so I wasn't able to take photos as well.
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The rain was a bummer. Thankfully it happened during the late afternoon so we pretty much had enough time to go around. Overall, the trip was super fun! We all felt like kids again and it was a great adventure for our family.