Family Portraits

by Liam

Barber Shop

One morning we were walking through the mall and there was a barber shop completely empty. All of the guys needed haircuts - especially in this heat - so we went in and got them all done at the same time.

Apartment in the Philippines

A few pictures of our apartment...

Living room

Kitchen area. It came with the stove top but we bought the toaster oven ourselves. We can't drink the tap water but we can buy the 5 gallon water jugs for around $2 US each from the lobby downstairs.

Jonas' side of the room

Liam's side of the room

The bathroom. I am so happy to have a flushing toilet. Nate has told me what they can be like sometimes. That blue bucket in the shower area is for bucket showers. There is a smaller cup and you just dump the water on yourself. I haven't tried one yet but Nate has (and did his whole mission). There is a heated shower though. That little unit hanging next to the shower head heats the water as it comes through. The only problem is that the water pressure is horrible. Think of the worst pressure you've ever had in the US and cut it in half and that is what it is like. Basically just falling out of the shower head. The only time it really matters is when I am washing my hair. As soon as I find a good place I am chopping it off!

Jonas taking a bucket bath

Lego station. Love these things. Liam and Jonas will sit there for hours building things.

One of many tiki. The come out in the evenings and run around the walls looking for bugs to eat. They freak me out because they are so fast and their skin is sort of see through but Nate says they wont hurt you.

View from our bedroom window.

View from our kitchen window.

It has been comfortable so far. Each of the rooms has an AC unit in it (which we run all night) and there is an oscillating fan mounted on the wall in the living/dining room. The kitchen is cramped, but it works. We only have a few dishes so washing up after meals has been mostly easy. We do have to dip the dishes in a bleach/water solution after the regular wash, which gets annoying.

The apartment building is used for visiting scholars, researchers, professors and foreign grad students and it set up almost like a hotel. So one day we got home from doing some grocery shopping and a maid had come by and cleaned the place. I am not sure if it is their job to really clean the whole place or if they are just here to gather the dirty sheets and towels and replace them. She had definitely done more than just the towels and sheets. The boys had left toys all over the place and there were a few dirty dishes in the sink she had cleaned. I am a little uncomfortable with it all but I guess its something I have to get used to. It makes me want to clean everything up every time we leave the house though. I feel bad about someone doing our dishes and picking up the boy's toys.

The grounds of the apartment are so pretty. It is so green everywhere! I will have to take pictures of the outside later. There is also a guard in the lobby downstairs around the clock which is really nice.

We have 56 stairs to walk up. Liam and Jonas run up them easily but it hasn't been so easy for me, especially when my hands are full of groceries. I am hoping by the end of the 4 months I will have super tough legs. :)

We made it!

August 1
6:30 am - Wake up
7:20 - Leave for bus station
8:00 - bus leaves
11:15 - arrive at airport
12:00 pm - find lunch
12:35 - find out plane is delayed from 1:20 until 3
1:00 - receive $80 in free food vouchers because of delay
1:05 - 2:15 - purchase $80 worth of unnecessary food
2:30 - board plane
3:00 - take off
9:00 (11 pm AU time) - land in Philippines
10:00 - catch taxi
11:15 - arrive at apartment after being lost for a half hour of so
11:16 - turn on AC
11:30 - boys in bed
11:40 - mom and dad in bed

August 2
5:40 am - wake up call from roosters (ugh!)

Dedicated to Grandma Debbie & Aunt Whitney

While getting ready for our move I came across some of Jonas' art he did at the restaurant when Grandma Debbie and Aunt Whitney were visiting. When Jonas was drawing this he was making dots with the crayons and saying "This is Kangaroo poop". (see arrow)

FIVE!!

When did this happen?!

Liam, 5

Liam, 4

Liam, 3

Liam, 2

Liam, 1

Liam, 11 days

Oh yeah. Thats when.

Happy Birthday Liam! We love you!

Torture

I went to a craft store last night where all of their fabric was unexpectedly HALF OFF and I didn't get to buy anything fun!

I have been reading a lot of quilting blogs lately and want to sew something so badly! I guess I'll have to settle for the costume I'm making for Liam's birthday party (he's having a kingdom party and dressing up as a knight).

Maybe this isn't the best time to start a big sewing project anyways. I can think of a few other things I should probably be doing.