The Apartment - Outside

The outside of our building. We live all the way up those stairs!

Everything is green here. I love it!

This is what the boys do when they get to play outside:

run

pretend they have guns and shoot each other

pretend they are Transformers or from Star Wars

This is the lobby at the bottom floor of the apartment where we have to go to use the internet when it isn't working in our apartment and to make phone calls. And where Liam and Jonas like to hang out after they are all red and sweaty.

Time to go back upstairs.

Around the Town

Jeepneys. A popular form of transport here. These things are everywhere and they drive crazy!

Tricycles - They "comfortably" fit 4 but you can pile on more. I guess you can even use one to move house...

...or whatever they are doing!

Driving. Notice how people aren't really in lanes. They mostly drive where ever they can fit. If your nose is first, you have the right of way.

Yes, that would be our green.

SM Mall of Asia. Supposedly the largest and #1 mall in the Philippines. We weren't all that impressed but isn't that world so cool?!

I guess its better to have these than to have them going where ever they want - and they would.

Wacky Brands

I always have my camera with me because you never know what kind of crazy stuff you will see...even in the grocery store.

Manila American Cemetery

August 20th we went to the American Cemetery in Manila. We were the only people there so it was nice and quiet to walk around on the perfectly manicured grounds (but we weren't allowed to walk on the grass) with the bell chiming.

In front of the chapel

Checking out the mosaic maps of WWII battles in the Philippines

Wall of names

Some pretty flowers we found on the ground

Chop Chop

I meant to get a hair cut before I left Australia but with everything else going on I never got around to it. I am so happy I waited because this hair cut cost me 280 pesos. That is under 7 US dollars! And that included a shampoo, blow dry and style! I am happy with the way it turned out (I hope so! Its the exact same hair cut I seem to get every time I get it cut no matter what I tell them). I told them I wanted it to my shoulders, with a little bit of layering and a little swoop bang but not too chunky. Its just a little past my shoulders. I guess maybe it was the language issue. Or maybe he thought I meant I wanted the shortest layer to my shoulders? Not that it really matters because as soon as we got home from the mall I pulled it back into the ponytail that it will be in for the next 3 months. I really just wanted a lighter ponytail. And lighter it is...

I'm Three!!

Our little Jonas turned 3 today! Nate had a meeting in the middle of the day today so we made yesterday our day to do something fun together. We took the boys to lunch first. We tried to get them to go to Taco Bell but what Jonas really wanted was chicken nuggets from McDonalds. Next we watched UP in 3D and they each got to fill up their own bag of candy from the bulk bins. We made him wait until today to open his presents though...


He got lots of great toys. Mostly Star Wars and Lego (thanks Grandmas and Grandpas!!).

Mom, is this for me?

Helping Dad put together his new Lego plane.

Birthday brownies

Mmmango

Nate has been telling me for as long as I can remember that he won't eat the mangoes you can get in the US because there is no way they can compare to the mangoes in the Philippines. I have had them in the US and they tasted fine. I couldn't understand how they could be so much better in the Philippines. Until now. I finally had my first Philippine mango and it was amazing! I don't know how else to describe it. We had it for dessert one night and when I went to bed that night all I could think about was how I wanted more.

The aftermath. I chewed on the seed until I couldn't get anymore off.