Ibyang
Ibyang

Cherished Memories

Sunday Snippets =)

Morning: Dedication of Baby David Gabriel. Congratulations to parents Jonathan and Pam and welcome to the Christian World David!

Lunchtime: Celebration of David’s dedication and the never ending and noisy chitcat of our group.

Afternoon: Surprise roadtrip to Blue Mountains!!!!

Just so we can have hot chocolate and cake at

Thank God for friends and surprise roadtrips!

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Snowy Mountains – Epilogue

An entry I made on my Ibyang Doodles site:

Monday, August 11, 2008

After The Snowy Adventure

If only I could capture a certain moment in my hands and just enjoy watching it again and again, I would capture my Snowy Mountains trip.

The trip was one of the most perfect travels I’ve had. A shared travel with my husband and friends, it was planned but we managed to make it spontaneous, it was full of laughter (a pure celebration of good times), the weather was beautiful (sunny and windy during the roadtrip…then snowfalls all throughout our stay in the Snowy Mountains), safe and sound travel, spur-of-the-moment stopovers…it was sooo much fun. I dreaded going back home to our normal lives.

It was beautiful while it lasted.

Posted by Ibyang Sanchez at 10:26 AM
And now let me just say thank you to our wonderful friends: Jojo, Jackie and godson Caleb; Jore, Pam, baby David, Mamita and Jenny, for the lovely company all thruout the trip. It was fun and fabulous!!!! Until now our laughter resonates so loudly it still very vivid in my head (and heart!).
And thank you to my husband, whom I’ve waited for so long just so I could experience a LOVEly winter adventure. In The coldness that the Snowy Mountains weather has brought me, you have been my source of warmth . This is my 3rd winter as a migrant in Australia and I’ve been putting off going to Snowy Mountains for the past two years, just because I want to experience it with the husband. Just like any other shared experience with him, it was all worth the wait.
Each Snowy Mountains memory will never be forgotten.
From the preparation:
To the more than 6-hour roadtrip:
To arriving at Alpine Village and waking up to the morning greeting of snow:
To enjoying then snowfalls at Perisher Blue:
To finally having our last stopover on the way home:

Some things you need to know:

  • That Australia’s winter is from June to August. You usually hear Aussies say “Christmas in July” or “Christmas in August” because when the other side of the world is experiencing the hottest of days, we are experiencings the opposite.
  • Not all of the states in Australia has winter. We are such a big continent that the other half doesn’t have winter.
  • During roadtrips, you will see endless landscapes of Australia. This is such a beautiful country, it’s so mesmerizing. And expect animals crossing the street!!!–and kangaroos skipping infront of your vehicle (gasp!).

One amazing thing I learned:

That when snowflakes fall on you, it is indeed star-shapped! I thought it was only true on TV/movies that I see…but it looked like star crystals. If only it won’t melt, I could’ve kept it.

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Roadtrip!!!! (Our Wonderful Visit to Port Stephens)

When was the last time you’ve been on a ROADTRIP???

Snippets of our roadtrip to Port Stephens (Hunter and Central Coast Area of New South Wales) last Saturday.

Early morning drive to Port Stephens…..

The view that welcomed us in Nelson Bay…

The bluest skies and water at Nelson Bay…

And lots of ferry boats too…

As we’re about to get on a cruise…

to see cute and loveable dolphins!!!!!

Fun moments at Shoal Bay….

Jump shots are now a staple in our every trip hehehe.

Mesmerized by the Sand Dunes in Anna Bay…

Firsts for the husband:

  • trip away from the Sydney Metropolitan
  • roadtrip in Aussieland
  • to see Kangaroos!!!(we went passed this farm and they had Kangaroos infront of their house)

Photos coming soon.

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World Youth Day Sydney 2008

For two whole weeks, all my entries had been about World Youth Day 2008…*whew*. It was hard work to put it all together, but worthwhile.

So now I’m just going to write down a summary of everything I’ve written about WYD08 for easy access (just click on the highlighted phrases and it will automatically link you to a certain entry) to those who might have missed them or for readers who will chance upon my blog later…and for me too (knowing I would forget where to find my WYD08 articles).

Primer on WYD08, plus the WYD08 prayers, theme and Sydney preps can be found here:
World Youth Day Sydney 2008

My happiness at seeing WYD pilgrims, especially Pinoys delegates:
Today Was A Good Day

My WYD08 Day 1 Observations

On Filipino and Aussie stories:
Kwentong Pinoy on WYD08

Kwentong Aussie on WYD08

My stories and videos on seeing the Pope:
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

Memoir of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

LP: Remembering The Holy Man From The West

Pope’s Motorcade

Pope’s Boat-a-Cade

On why I’m proud of Australia for hosting WYD08:
Bravo, Sydney!

NSW Government says “Thank you”

On photographs that will help me remember the happy celebrations of WYD08:

WYD08 Photo Gallery

All good and beautiful things may come to an end, but the memories we have experienced from this year’s World Youth Day will always remain in our hearts.

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