Lagmans

SDCC Day 2 and 3

2007-07-31T11:52:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay in posting but the hotel upload speed sucked. Click for larger images

2007 SDCC Day 1

2007-07-26T08:50:00.000-05:00

Here are some shots from the San Diego Comic Con. So far it's been pretty overwhelming but the people have been awesome.

Zilinski Farm 2007

2007-07-20T14:21:00.001-05:00

Thanks to the Zilinski's and Falkenholm's for another invite and yearly visit to their farm near Castle Rock Lake in Wisconsin. Another excellent adventure and even bigger fireworks show put on by Phil and Carlo productions!! Enjoy the pics...

Caden saying Cheese DADA!

Dinner Time

Yummy!!

No Cable TV but we have WiFi

Phil taking the kids on a Dune Buggy ride

Phil taking on the sand pile

Carlo trying to get some air

Phil going for it

VW Power!!!

Deer Farm

100's of deer just walking around freely and kids
wore this one out

"Hello there!!"

Tasty deer crackers

Caden had no fear

Captain Caden driving the boat. It was cold...

Kickin back

Wotcha lookin at?!?

Too cold to swim...BRrrrrr

But one brave soul braved the waters...

A little cold couldn't stop a few hours on the lake

Is that the famous Castle Rock Lake creature in the background?

Unfortunately, we only got pics of our ground display

Caden on the riding mower

Getting ready for Christines science display

Caden can't contain his excitement

Mentos and Diet Coke=Cool

Cool!!

No let's see if Diet Pepsi works better

Getting for a trip around the field

All good things must end

2007-06-23T10:01:00.000-05:00

It was the perfect marriage. My favorite team (Arsenal) and my favorite player (Thierry Henry). For years they were the epitome of a class champion but unfortunately it has all ended. When the Italian Series A had given up on the Frenchman, Arsenal showed him the way. Au revoir,...

Barcelona claim they have agreed a £16million fee for Thierry Henry.

Computer mouse and pointer technology revealed!!!

2007-06-23T09:37:00.000-05:00

How does the small arrow in the screen of the computer work when you move the mouse? Haven't you ever wondered? Now, through the miracle of high technology, we can see how it is done.

With the aid of a screen magnifying lens the mechanism becomes apparent. Be sure to move your mouse. Then move your mouse in rapid circle, then stop quickly. Note too the sound effects which we normally can't hear. Click the link

How the pointer and mouse work

F1 tuners get musical....and more

2007-06-22T22:43:00.000-05:00

So I haven't bothered to update here because work has made my life no fun but some videos inspired me to post again.

"God Save the Queen"

"We Are the Champions"

So one thing I'm psyched for is my trip with Marlon to San Diego Comic Con. I'm ready to get my Geek On!! I know that everyone will be hyped for Transformers so here's a video to get you into the spirit.

More photos

2006-12-24T01:18:00.000-06:00

Would you believe that we raised about 100,000 pesos in this fund raising event!

More photos from the fashion show

2006-12-24T01:02:00.000-06:00

Success! I finally know how to post pictures. No, we have more models in the fashion show. I do not think you will be interested in seeing other peoples pictures, especially in two piece Bikinis. Just kidding.

Fashion Show in Iloilo

2006-12-23T21:07:00.000-06:00

Have been trying to post some pictures since last week unsuccessfully. This time I reformatted the pictures to JPEG. Hope it will work.

New Roof

2006-12-23T02:52:00.000-06:00

The new "red brick" colored tile roof on the Lagman's home.

Happy 60th Birthday Lola Lina !!!!

2006-11-24T19:00:00.000-06:00

Celeste worked diligently for hours painting the signs for Lola Lina's birthday. She wanted to do something very special for her birthday greeting.

Halloween 06

2006-11-02T15:24:00.000-06:00

Celeste was really worried she'd be sick again this year and miss out on trick or treating. Instead she got sick the day after Halloween. Fun!! Caden had his first real trick or treating experience or as he says, "Tic o teets" . The day started with a parade at Celeste's school and trick or treating in the neighborhood afterwards. Every year politically correct folks take a little fun out of Halloween but to me this is 2nd to Christmas in terms of the excitement factor.

Goebbert's Farm - Pumpkin Patch

2006-11-02T15:04:00.000-06:00

Sorry I'm so late on getting these pics uploaded. On Sunday, October 22nd, we took the Dejuras' on our yearly trip to Goebbert's farm to pick a pumpkin. Unfortunately, because we've had so much rain, they weren't taking people out to the fields to pick pumpkins. A worker said that the mud is a couple feet deep in some places. As you can see from the pics, contrary to what Christine said, IT WAS COLD. The highlights were the roasted buttered corn, the corn stalk maze, magic show, feeding the animals, picking pumpkins, apple pie, and apple donuts. Enjoy

Aidan Dejuras' Birthday 2006

2006-10-09T01:33:00.000-05:00

Here's some pics from Aidan's 1st Birthday party at My Corner Playroom as well as some shots from the after party at Katie and Jaime's. Happy Birthday Aidan!!!!

The first 4 pictures are Celeste and Caden in the basement.

Basement sneak peak

2006-10-04T09:46:00.000-05:00

So the basement is 95% done. I just wanted to show a little taste before I post the whole Before and After shots. Enjoy.

September 2006 Great America

2006-10-01T08:55:00.000-05:00

It turned out to be a nice day for Accenture day at Great America. Accenture rented out the whole park so not only did we save on the $50 admission fee but there were NO LINES... I was able to get a few extra tickets so we were lucky enough to invite the Dejuras', Rico, Marco, Marlon and Scott. Obviously, the parents in this crew spent most of the day in the kids section of the park while the younger guys hit the roller coasters MULTIPLE times. Here's the photos...

Dadda's Schooooz!!!

2006-09-27T10:31:00.000-05:00

So I got these new Salomon Techamphibian shoes that are so darn convenient. Anyway, Caden is in a new phase where he let's you know who things belong to. For example, if he hears a song from High School Musical he'll say 'leste, 'leste (i.e. Celeste). If he sees a famous celebrity that Christine likes he'll say momma, momma. For me, it's either football or toys. So I guess today he found my shoes and kept walking around saying dadda, dadda, dadda's schoooooz!!!

Where'd ya go???

2006-09-26T21:00:00.000-05:00

So no posts in like....FOREVER
Well the whole basement transformation that included moving our entire computer set up has put a damper on posting on the blog. It's just not condusive to blogging sitting at the kitchen counter. Anyway, here's a video that is both funny and freakishly bizarre. Either way you can't stop watching this little guy get down with his bad self.

The basement should be done next week so pictures and updates are forthcoming. Enjoy!!

Road Trippin' Part 4 - A Canadian Wedding

2006-08-04T08:28:00.000-05:00

Here are the pics from Elgin and Gen's wedding in Mississauga, Ontario. As with any Tagle family function there was lots of fun, dancing and FOOD. As Tito Ernie said the Tagle's eat one meal a day but that meal lasts ALL Day.

Hangin out at the Hotel

Dunny party

Look!!! Tagle's eating at a buffet

The "adults" table

Cheese!!

Christine and Hendrix

Cousins

Celeste and Caden in their new pajamas given by the generous Tagles

Party before the big day

The Pilot got plenty of use

The flower girls with Gail

The beautiful bride

Celeste is an old pro by now

Cathleen stole the show with her reading

Man and wife...

Caden preachin' the gospel

Cuties!!!

What a nice looking family

The kids with Sha Sha

Wedding party

The cool crowd

Frederick in da house

The partying is just about to begin

Cel-ebration time.....come on!!

Caden saying "Who is this crazy guy"

Celeste took time out of her busy dancing to take a pic with mom

Shake it

Ocho Ocho!!!

The new bff's

The Tagle party

Road Trippin' Part 3 - New York(Long Island, Hyde Park, Binghamton, DeRuyter) and Niagara Falls, Ontario

2006-07-31T21:17:00.000-05:00

We're back!!!!
After lots of driving and great times with friends and family, we're back in the Heights. There have been several requests for pictures so here's another set of our New York leg of the Lagman Tour 2006. Enjoy!!

Part 4 will be the final part of the Road Trippin' series (A Canadian Wedding) and will be up tomorrow night.

Hewlett, NY (Long Island)

Caden and Hannah getting acquainted

Christine, Jen and Melissa...It's been too long

Haley trying to make a break for it with the Garrett's popcorn we brought from Chicago

"How YOU doin'?"

Big Hug!!!

Melissa with Hannah and Sammy

From Binghamton to the backyard

Celeste playing with her new friends

"I love bagels!! How'd ya know?"

Did someone say play date?

Hyde Park, NY

It was so nice to finally relax for a couple days

Celeste missed the Schad kids too much. It was insanity. Just like old times

The young ones

Hangin out in Bianca's room

Wow! Dad actually got into a picture

The whole gang

Ninang even made cookies from scratch. Celeste was so upset when we left the next day. She tried not to cry but nothing worked. :-(

Binghamton University (Formerly SUNY-Binghamton)

At the old student union at Christine's alma mater. There's a new fancy union but she had to take a picture in her old hang out.

Christine's dorm

If these walls could talk....

The dining hall

DeRuyter, NY

The beach in front of Arlene's

Shot from the beach

Celeste made such great friends on this trip. Hey Cassidy!!

Old friends and new friends.

The lake is just across the street. How sweet is that?

Dad's in another shot? Craziness!!

Niagara Falls, Ontario

We arrived at night and headed for the falls. We rented several books and videos from the library to prepare Celeste for the falls. Her words were "They aren't as loud as I expected."

Shot of Clifton Hill amusements. One of the top 10 cheesiest places on earth. Just how we like it.

The American falls at night

On Clifton Hill

More t-shirt shops per block than any other city...Just a guess.

A shot of the Canadian Horshoe Falls from the hill

The Maid of the Mist before entering the falls

Celeste's picture taking skills have really improved.

Cutie pie

We made a special trip to the falls the morning we left just to get these shots.

Next time we're definitely doing the Maid of the Mist

Road Trippin' Part 2 - Close Encounter with W

2006-07-24T22:35:00.000-05:00

We got some good news and bad news about our visit to the White House on Sunday. The good news is that we would be able to greet POTUS (President Of The United States) when he landed on the south lawn of the White House. The bad news is that he was going straight to a meeting to prepare for a sudden meeting with the Saudis which meant that he probably would not greet us. Other bad news that turned out to be good was that all tours for that day were canceled. However, since they were canceled, Susan gave us a private insider tour of the White House which meant that we got to see and hear things you wouldn't see on a formal tour. Highlights of the tour were the oval office, the vp's office, the cabinet room and various other rooms not seen by the public. Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed inside. All in all, a very exciting day that none of us will forget. Here's the pics...

Just cleared security and with badges in hand, we were official "White House guests"

Auntie Susan gave the kids official White House M&M's and Crayons. Check it out!!

The Eisenhower executive offices. This is where most of the president's staff is located not the West Wing.

Employee entrance to the West Wing

The rose garden with the Oval Office entrance in the background

Famous walkway between the West Wing and main building

Another shot of Oval office as seen from the rose garden

and another

The Truman balcony that faces the South Lawn where Marine One lands

The south lawn of the White House with the Washington Monument in the background

The CAT (Counter Assault Team) preparing for POTUS' arrival. These guys fan out in covert locations (bushes, trees, etc) around the landing area and the closer to arrival the more "invisible" they become. I couldn't spot a single one during the landing. I tried to get a shot of the snipers on the roof but we never got far enough away.

Waiting patiently

Still waiting

The president's dog, Barney, doing his business

Landing team preparing the area

I'm a White House intern.

See!!! I told ya so...

Press core preparing for arrival

I'm an intern too!!

Susan being one with her blackberry. We got minute by minute updates on POTUS' arrival

Secret Service being not so secret

Susan's credentials

When the president arrives by helicopter they send 3 helicopters for security reasons and no one knows which one he's actually in.

Tuka Tuka!!! aka..HELICOPTERS!!!

Helicopter 1 and 2 fanned off and POTUS was in 3

Coming in for a landing

A marine is first deployed to release the secret service men

Secret service

POTUS's personal secret serviceman and POTUS

Waving to the press

Waving to us!!!

On to a meeting

After the landing

copter immediately leaves

Thanks Susan!! That was awesome

Now on to the famous press briefing room

Celeste Lagman...future presidential press secretary

At the podium

At the back of the press briefing room

Someone was happy to be there

All the seats in the room are assigned to the major news agencies. This is the Chicago Tribune's seat.

Busy day for the press on a Sunday because of the Saudi's

Main entrance to the West Wing (as seen on TV)

Front of the White House

Press core section at the front of the White House

The Washington Monument

the World War II memorial

Each pillar was dedicated to the states and countries that fought for U.S. in WWII. My grandfather fought for the U.S. in the Philippines

Making a wish

Walking along the reflecting pool towards the Lincoln Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial

Road Trippin' Part 1 - Mt. Vernon, Alexandria, Silver Spring, Woodbridge

2006-07-23T09:11:00.000-05:00

We made it to D.C. safely after driving through the night from Chicago. We began with an awe inspiring visit to Mt. Vernon, the estate of our first president. Then, we planned to see some monuments in D.C. but the kids fell asleep in the car while looking for parking so we headed to the hotel in Old Town Alexandria. After getting a well needed rest and shower we ventured into beautiful downtown Alexandria for some dinner and dessert. The next day we headed out early and drove up to Silver Spring, MD to visit Jenny and Guy. First we headed to the Ponder Hill Farm to see Jenny's horse, Haley. We've heard so much about her and she is a true beauty. Then, is was back to their place for lunch. For dinner, we headed down to Woodbridge, VA to Susan and Troy's house for dinner. Big day tomorrow. I can't believe we actually get to meet W.

The day we left we had planned to go to the Cubs game but it was crappy weather. Caden still wanted to suppor for his team. The good news is we still wen to the Wrigley and picked up Celeste's American Girl outfit they were giving away.

A brief history of Mt. Vernon

The entrance to Mt. Vernon

On George's porch that overlooks the Potomac River

The back of the mansion

Side view of the back

The front of the mansion

This is the neccessary. What is a necessary? Read below and you'll find out what makes it "necessary"

Ewwwwww!!

3 at once? Comfort and convenience. The magazine rack is to the right out of the picture.

The mansion and the separate kitchen to the right.

Info on the separate house just for washing. Cleanliness is next to godliness

Inside the washhouse

The scenic path on the way to Washington's tomb

Celeste taking a break

Looking inside the tomb. George is on the right and Martha is on the left

In front of the tomb. Most of the Washington's are buried in here but just Martha and George are in the front.

A wreath ceremony is performed twice a day

Side view

Most of the slaves that worked at Mt. Vernon were buried on the property and the majority of them were unmarked. There is a whole area dedicated to them

Heading down to the wharf

The wharf on the Potomac

Shot of the mansion from the bowling green

Posing in front of a bust of GW

The Lagman's don't go anywhere without doing some shopping. Christine found a cheap shoe and clothing store but me in the kids beat the heat by watching movies in the car.

As you can see Caden is thrilled

On the plaza in Old Town Alexandria

The boys at the Weigold's in Silver Spring, MD

Celeste was on the floor looking for the cats

The stable at Ponder Hill farm

Beautiful Girl Haley

Celeste giving Haley animal crackers

Haley loves apples!!!

Christine's turn

Jen's baby

Country girls

The stable

Feed me!!!

Christine and Guy the grillmaster

Hard at work in the kitchen

Let me in

Testing out the timer on the camera

At Susan and Troy's. Unfortunately, Celeste's arm blocks the precious Mimi

In the kitchen. Too bad the camera battery died before we could get more pics.

More pics from Susan's camera

Thanks for dinner guys!!

On the back porch

Caden was afraid of the dogs

2nd Annual Lagman Movie Night (2006)

2006-07-17T10:29:00.000-05:00

We had a great turnout for this year's Movie Night. Thanks to all that attended.
The party started off with drinks and light appetizers. Then Christine announced the start of the festivities. Everyone topped off there drinks and stopped by the popcorn cart and candy tray before claiming a space on the various rugs, couches and chairs in the yard. Congrats to the raffle winners that won a popcorn maker, movie tickets or a DVD of the featured movie. Finally, this year's movie was revealed...
"Reality Bites"
I hope everyone had a great time. Congrats to Christine for another great movie night!! A big thanks to Cathleen and Brian for flying in and braving the 100 degree heat to get everything ready.

No time for snappy comments. Christine wanted the pics up ASAP.

Take me out to the T-ball game

2006-07-16T12:31:00.000-05:00

Here's Celeste before one of her t-ball games. She's on the A's. This day her team played the Red Sox and it was 3 innings of fast paced ball. NOT!!!
She did and awesome job and even got a double.

Wiscons-insane!!!

2006-07-12T00:16:00.000-05:00

This is the second year in a row we've had the pleasure of being invited to the Jen's dad's farm in Germantown, Wisconsin. This year was just as fun but with bigger and better fireworks. The kids had THE BEST time with their buddies Luke and Charlie. Caden is a big gearhead and went crazy for the abundance of motorized vehicles at the Zilinski Farm. It was a like a 45 acre playground for kids and parents alike. We grilled out and made all meals except one. Rented a pontoon boat and swam in Castle Rock lake. Had 2 great nights of big mama jamma fireworks shows. Roasted marshmallows. Cleared a fallen tree. Caught a snake. Rode tractors, lawn mowers, a dune buggy, and a golf cart. Swam at the Zilinski beach. Watched the World Cup final. Shopped the Mausten K-mart and Dollar General. It was a great time with awesome friends.

Enjoy the pics. Please post comments via the link at the bottom of the post.

We made it and with a fireworks arsenal bigger than last year. I got some mortars and 400 foot red dahlia's to up the ante.

Tuka tuka!!! That means I've never seen so many trucks in Caden speak.

How do you start this damn thing already!!!

Peek a boo!! Charlie checking out the tent.

Not sure how many times this dune buggy has been rebuilt but this time was one of the best. I acutally popped a huge wheelie on the street. Scared the caca laca out of me.

Back of the Zilinski farm house

Barn number 1. You can see the cool antique truck and old tractor. It also kept the 2 riding mowers.

This is so Little House on the Prairie

More old remnants

Old tractor accessories

Wide shot of the back of the house

You can see the corn growing in the field behind the row of trees

Caden checking out the old wagon

Barn number 2. Kept the moped, motorcycle, dune buggy, snow mobiles and kubota tractor.

Weather vane on top of barn

Shot inside of the barn. The kids had fun climbing on all the cool machines.

Utility shed

Side entrance

Front of the house

Wide shot of the side of the house

Tweet tweet

Jen relaxing at her private beach.

This ain't Cancun but at least we won't get Montezuma's revenge

While looking for rocks this garter snake startled Phil. I did my best Steve Irwin impression and wrangle this guy into a paper bag with a broom and gloves on my hands. Celeste named him Fred.

Luke made us let Fred go but he really didn't like me getting up close to take this pic as you can see when he tries to bite me.

The hot mamas getting ready for another great meal.

The chillin after the grillin. XM satellite radio was a hit. I think they got another customer in the Falkenholms.

SMORES!!!

Celeste roasting like a pro.

Me and my first mate getting ready to board the pontoon boat that we rented

Discovering the hidden therapeutic wonders of algae

Celeste finally was ok floating alone with her vest on

Swimming and being out on the lake make you hungry

Safety first

We used to have a smaller version of this Ariens riding mower back when we were kids

The beautiful Zilinski property

Why are barns red?

Parting shot before leaving. Thanks Falkenhoms and Ernie and Arlene.