Happy Halloween

For the second year in a row we are living in a place that doesn't celebrate Halloween (at least not the way we do in the US). Halloween is far from my favorite holiday but I am finding it a bit sad that for the past couple of years Liam and Jonas haven't been able to experience the fun of dressing up and going trick or treating (and getting lots of candy of course). They are at an age where they both would have so much fun. Last time we went Jonas wasn't even 2 so I pushed him around in the stroller. He might have even fallen asleep while we walked around. So when we were at the supermarket a few weeks ago and found these cute little perfect mini pumpkins we let them each pick one. I think they were meant to just be table displays but they made the kids happy. We tried to figure out if they were big enough that we could really carve them but decided on permanent markers since the only knives we have in the house are a dull foot long kitchen knife and butter knives.


This is what they came up with for their pumpkins. Liam's is on the left - he did it all by himself. After Jonas scribbled on his for an hour I helped him put a face on it.


Hope you all have a fun day and get lots of candy! I hear there is another tropical storm on the way tomorrow so maybe it is good people wont be out trick or treating here.

Day 9 - Bohol to home

We woke up early and got ready to leave our lovely vacation and head back to Manila. We arranged for a car to take us to the airport at 8:30am. We were ready a little early so we had some time take one last look around the resort and take pictures.

Spent most of our time in this pool.

This is where we stayed at the Alona Tropical.

The view from our front porch.

It was the smallest airport ever and packed full of people. We only had to wait for a half hour to board our plane. It was a short flight - just over an hour. Nate sat with Liam and Jonas and I was across the isle. I have to admit that when I saw Manila through the window on the plane I almost cried. I so wished we were flying into Australia or better yet, the US. I was not excited about getting back to real life...especially cooking. Liam told me on the way back that he was happy to go home because he wouldn't have to share a bed with Jonas anymore.

The End. :(

Day 8 - Bohol

October 6 - After our long, busy day yesterday we decided to spend the day relaxing on the beach. After breakfast we went straight to the beach to play. Just as we found our spot it started to rain. We tried to wait it out but it got harder and harder. Eventually we just went swimming in the pool since we were already wet. We swam until lunch time and then took a walk around town to find something to eat. After lunch we went back to the beach. Nate tried to do some snorkeling but there were too many waves and he would have had to go out much further than he was comfortable with to see anything. So we lounged around while the Liam and Jonas played in the sand. Later before dinner we went swimming again (we were leaving in the morning and wouldn't get another chance before we left).

These guys clean up the seaweed on the beach all day long and bury it.

Day 7 - Bohol

October 5 - We decided to splurge a little and take a guided tour of Bohol. Basically you pay a driver to drive you around and show you all of the sites. We started out in the Chocolate Hills. We had to walk up 250 stairs to get to the top and see the view but it was worth it.




The next stop was a butterfly sanctuary. This was an optional thing but of course I couldn't pass it up. We had our own personal tour guide to show us the different stages and kinds of butterflies and he let us hold them!

This is what happens when you have to ride in the backseat with the boys.

We got to stop and see the Tarsier monkeys. Every time I looked at them it made me laugh! They have the biggest eyes and they just stare at you.

For lunch we went on a river cruise. It was buffet style and we got to try a lot of Filipino foods. Most of it was really good. They also had a singer to serenade us while we ate.

Underground cave

The next pictures are of a 400 year old Catholic church.

I loved how these 3 different tiles all met up.

Men hammering out metal to make a knife.

Coconut drying on the side of the road.

Rice drying on the side of the road.

We made it home just in time for dinner and then went swimming where he tried to teach Liam how to swim. By the end of the night Liam would let go of the edge and could paddle across the pool alone (with his floaties on).

Day 6 - Cebu to Bohol

October 4 - We were so excited when we got into our hotel and saw that this was the view from our window. This is the Cebu temple, still under construction. Our friend Donna and her husband had driven us past it yesterday but we didn't get a very good look at it because it was dark. We had another lazy morning at the hotel and a bizarre breakfast in the hotel restaurant with possibly the unhappiest staff ever. They basically didn't smile the entire time and wouldn't respond when we talked to them.

We had to catch another supercat ferry to Bohol later in the day.


It was about a 2 hour boat ride, an hour car ride to another island and we were at our resort - The Alona Tropical Beach Resort on Panglao.

After getting settled we took a walk along the beach to see what it was like. There were a few resorts along the beach and a bunch of restaurants, scuba diving places and small stores. It was a nice beach. The sand was nice in most places with a few rocks in others. We ate an early dinner, Nate took Liam and Jonas swimming while I watched and then we went back to our room and went to bed early.

Day 5 - Bacolod to Cebu

October 3 - We slept in this morning until 6:45 am!! It felt so good after such a long and busy day yesterday. For breakfast we ate at our hotel's all you can eat breakfast buffet. I have been hearing about this breakfast at the Business Inn for as long as I have known Nate so it was fun to actually get to eat there. The best part was the made to order omelet bar. It did not disappoint. We were taking a bus across Negros at 12:15 so we relaxed for a while at the hotel and finalized arrangements for the rest of the trip.

The bus ride was on a long, windy road but it was worth it for the nice views.


On the other end of Negros in San Carlos we got on a boat (so did the bus) to go across to Cebu.


The boat ride took 2 hours and then we had to get back on the bus. You can see our bus on the ferry in the picture above. We had another 2 hours on the bus to Cebu City. We finally arrived in Cebu City at 7:00pm and met up with Donna - a sister who Nate served with on his mission. We went to a place called Jo's Chicken which is a chain they ate at during their mission. This is another place I have been hearing about for years. The chicken inasal was really good, served on a banana leaf!
Happily we were able to get a room in a hotel right next door to Jo's. We had planned on staying at another place but Donna told us it was at least an hour away. After being on a bus/boat all day we really didn't want to have to drive another hour, plus have to pay for the taxi to get us there. It also made it easier on us in the morning.

Day 4 - Guimaras to Bacolod

October 2 - We had made arrangements ahead of time to leave Guimaras this morning but when we woke up we weren't sure if we were going to be able to. There were strong winds so the water was really choppy. After breakfast it seemed to get a little better so we left. It was a very bumpy ride and we kept getting sprayed with water. I'm not going to lie - I was a little scared. I just held onto the boys tightly and tried to help them feel a little more secure.



We made it back safely and then had to catch another boat-a supercab - to Bacolod. We made it to Bacolod before lunch and after checking into our hotel -The Business Inn - we walked over to the Bacolod Mission office that was right around the corner. We ran into a few Elders and talked to them for a bit. Nate had fun talking to the missionaries about how much the mission has changed in the last 10 years. We also made sure to get their recommendations on places to eat. We eventually decided on a place called Bob's that had been around for 40 years or so because we were told they had paninis. I know, not exactly Filipino food but we had been having nothing but chicken so it was nice to have something different.

After lunch we went to an animal park where they have endangered animals from the Philippines. Just around the corner was the Negros Museum (they don't allow you to take pictures there but but it was a cool little museum).

We figured we had dragged the kids around enough so we took them to a park where they could let out a little bit of energy. Where ever they went there were crowds of little girls following them. Jonas doesn't mind, he is getting pretty used to it but Liam I think tries to get away from them.

After the park we went to SM mall. It wasn't there when Nate was there before so he wanted to see it. We got some breads and chips to take back to the hotel and have for dinner (so healthy!!). We went outside to catch a taxi and could not find any! It seemed so crazy because in Quezon City where we live there are always taxis lined up waiting for you. After about 40 minutes we finally found one and went back to the hotel. Then Liam and Jonas were able to have their first bath in the Philippines!

It was so nice. There was a window from the main room to the bathroom where the tub was. So while Nate and I figured out what to do the next day and where to stay for the rest of the trip the kids got to have fun without me hovering over them and spraying them off with the shower head. I think this was our busiest day yet!