Thursday, December 24, 2009

Christmas Letter 2009

As we end the year 2009, our entire family has just arrived in Australia, where all of us are together for only the third time this year. That's the sort of year it's been for all of us. We look back and it seems to be a blur of events - lots of travel, lots of work, lots of things to do, but hardly ever completely together. So we are all looking forward to going around Oz, where we will be celebrating Christmas and New Year all together.

Here's a brief recap of how 2009 has been for each of us.

Kuya B
Our eldest, Bryan, has been in Singapore now for more than a year, working for Societe Generale. Dennis and Tessa had the chance to see him there once each, but Tyrone outdid both of us with two visits. He and cousin Alexi flew over during the summer, and then in December, Ty accompanied Tessa to support Bryan as he completed the Singapore 42K marathon. With a 42K marathon ticked off his list, Bryan has had a good year.

2010 figures to be even better for Bryan, as he starts the year with new responsibilities at SG and a move to a better apartment in Singapore. Dennis and Tessa are already wondering if the new flat will be the party place for all the twentysomethings in the Lion City.

Ty
Tyrone got his passport stamped a few times this year. Aside from his two trips to Singapore, his Beacon Grade 8 class went on a trip to China. The rest of his year is probably a blur of Dota and other computer games, as our fourteen-year-old seems to have focused on that and just good ol' teenage fun with his cousins.

This is a picture of Ty and all of us in Bohol, one of the few times we were all together this year. Combing through all the year's photos, we realize that Ty hardly ever has a solo shot. His sister Annika says that he's an "emo," which we looked up on Wikipedia as someone "particularly emotional, sensitive, shy, introverted, or angst-ridden." Hmmm. This is deja vu, as we seem to have gone through this ten years ago with Bryan! We're confident that 2010 will be a good one for Tyrone though, as he moves to high school, Grade 9 at the new Beacon Academy in Mamplasan.

Annika
This year was Annika's CISV year, as she accompanied other 11-year-olds to their summer camp in France. After that month away from home, she has become more and more outgoing, and recently joined a softball team. Between her ongoing CISV activities, her softball games and her sleepovers with her cousins, it's difficult to find quality time with our growing little girl, but Dennis and Tessa both like it that she never fails to leave for school without popping in to our bedroom to give us goodbye kisses.

It's been an activity-filled year for Annika, with trips to China with her lola and a trip to Hong Kong Disneyland with Athena as well. We both know that 2010 will be even more busy for her, as she enters Grade 6 at the Assumption.

Athens
It must be great when the highlight of your year is that you get a photo with Minnie Mouse. But 2009 has been more than that to Athena. Our four-year-old started kindergarten at the Assumption this year, looking great in her red plaid skirt. Like her siblings, she has a full schedule, with her own playmates and classmates. She's learning so many things every day, so it's been amazing to watch her grow up this year.

Dennis
For Dennis, the highlight of the year was our 15th Wedding Anniversary, which we celebrated at the Manila Ocean Park. This year there were few moments to just kick back and do nothing, as work has been very full as PhilWeb continues to expand. As a result, golf had to go as there are no longer any four-hour breaks in his schedule. On the good side, he has been able to keep up his Pilates and underwater hockey games, which allow him to de-stress.

Dennis is looking forward to 2010, having recently moved to new offices at Southgate Towers in Magallanes. The new digs have a new energy to it, not to mention a great sunset view every day.

Tessa
Tessa's year, as always, has been a whirlwind, with such diverse activities as scuba diving in Tubbataha with Tita Mary on the Oceana Maria Scuba to traipsing through Thailand with Tim Yap and a bevy of beauties to filming her QTV program, House Life, and guest judging on GMA's Celebrity Duets. Of course, also high on her list were her various charities, especially the Red Cross, for which she did a fabulous fundraiser starring designer Dennis Lustico.

Despite all the demands of her varied social calendar, Tessa did find a lot more time for the kids this year, taking them on various trips to Boracay, Camsur and even the brand new Misibis Bay Resort off Legaspi City. Her personal highlight for the year though is finishing the Ironman 70.3 Triathlon in Camsur, which entailed doing a 1.9k swim, 90k bike and 21k run in under eight hours. She finished with just minutes to spare and still garnered third place in her age category. Dennis says it is scary to think what she will do to top that in 2010.

Happy Holidays to all!