~~ MARIA'S BIG BIRTHDAY BASH PT1 ~~

It was the biggest event since my 40th when last Saturday we threw a surprise birthday party for Maria after a few weeks of intensive planning :-)
Right to the end we thought she would accidently find out, however all went according to plan and soon enough we having a great party just like back in the days of old.
Was certainly a much enjoyed night and it was terrific to catch up with some of the old gang again.
Of course there was an abundance of food left and a second part was held on the Sunday :-)

Rosie finds a very comfy chair in daughter Michelle.

Dickie and Alex get stuck into the quality beverages :-)

Birthday girl and hubby Jason.

Maria and Devone!

The BIG moment of surprise as Maria walks in!

Rika and Lita with Tin Tin.

Brigette always looking awesome.

Devone utilises mums brief lack of attention to grab a snack.

Peek-A-Boo

One of the more suspect presents!

Oooooooooh no she ain't :-)

Rajin attempts to catch a ball.

Now this was the most serious look all day!

Actually Rosie had a pretty serious look going on here to.

Getting ready as the party time fast approaches.

Yeah none of these were in order, but hey, you get that don't ya.

More photos coming later in the week as we celebrate the birthday of one awesome lady.

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~~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIL SIS MARIA ~~

Last night, two weeks worth of planning came together in a wonderful surprise party for our lil sister Maria.

Despite worries that she would find out, right until the day, all went off without a hitch and everyone had a great time.

PHOTOS- Coming all this week! Come back!

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Howdee one and all,

It has indeed been a long time since I last posted to this group.

Much has been happening in life and this has consumed much of the time I have had for blog site work. I am still in the middle of it, but need a bit of a distraction to ensure it does not drive me totally Eastlakes crazy.

Just recently returned from the beautiful Philippines for the second year running. This was our fifth trip and saw us travel on down to Bicol for a few days. Photographs from that trip will feature heavily here for a while as I share a lot of what we saw.

Our society, the 'Philippine Railway Historical Society' is busy legally changing where we send our help to. Previously this was to another railway group in Manila who were going to use it to restore old railway rollingstock and set up a museum.

Since my return however, the board has unanimously voted for my proposal to instead send donations to a Philippine charity set up to help the poor kids in Manila. This charity, which provides food, clothing, medical, dental, schooling and emloyment help has done so much for so many and we feel our help will make more of a difference in these peoples lives than our previous reason for being.

More details of the change and the charity will be forthcoming when we finalise it all.

Of course the usual work of the society continues, the magazine, the membership, the research - however on top of this I am trying to do a railfans guide to the Philippines.

Apart from this, I am just enjoying a far quieter life with the very few in the community that can really be trusted and, by very few, I mean VERY FEW.

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>>> CECILE'S BIG BIRTHDAY KARAOKE NIGHT <<<

What better a way to celebrate the awesome Cecil's birthday than with heaps of the finest Filo food and hours worth of karaoke entertainment.

Cecile Jun Ning and myself during the karaoke singing.

Something we never thought we would see was the sight of MrX actually singing karaoke. Despite years of saying no, we finally convinced him to agree last night.

He didnt want to stop - thus making his steady transformation into the Filipino community a little step further ahead.

Someone with Ning!

Lena, Vangi, Cory, ?, Ning and Jun having a great time.

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>>> MARIA'S NOBLE STEAD TO THE PHILIPPINES <<<

PAL RP-3335 arrives at Sydney Airport from Melbourne. Soon enough it will be enroute to Manila.

~~ TIN TIN'S CHRISTENING ~~

January 3rd 2010