What Happens When the Grandparents Teach the Kids New Tricks?

I have always tried to slow Brayden's climbing down. When he was a baby and would try to climb up onto the couch I would life him up. This worked for quite a while and kept him out of some trouble. He has always been a cautious one, watching Sydney do it first and when she succeeds without hurting herself he'll go and give it a shot. Well what happens when the Grandparents come over and start teaching your kids new tricks??? They become addicted to climbing trees! Not only tree's but now they've discovered a whole new world out there, climbing the fence, trying to get higher and higher.... so fun for them, not so much fun for the paranoid mother!

Too Loved?

I couldn't resist posting these pictures of Sydney and Sophie. Sophie is a 4 month old puppy that Sydney would not put down the whole week that we spent in Utah. She would carry her wherever Sydney went. Sydney even cried that first night when I told her that Sophie couldn't come to bed with her. Sydney even tried to give Sophie a bath in the fountain outside leaving little Sophie soaking wet and looking like a rat and when the little dog had enough and tried to run away... Sydney just ran after her until she caught up and wrapped Sophie back up into her loving arms. Even when poor Sophie Sydney had the flu she wouldn't let go of cute little Sophie. What a sport that little puppy was to put up with our Sydney... is there such a thing as being loved too much??

First Day of Kindergarten

Of course I had to take a picture of Brayden on the doorstep of his very first day of Kindergarten at Miss Pati's school! Here he is all ready to go:

Old Toys = New Toys

I love how every time we make it home to Canada the kids get to rediscover all they're old toys and they become new again. Hopefully I'll never have to buy a new toy for them ever again! They really enjoy the car set that they play with over at Nana's and seem to never bore from driving it up and down, up and down, up and down their pathway in the yard. Even Maddy enjoyed herself watching them driving around! Thankfully the weather has been fabulous since we got home and the kids have been able to run around outside everyday playing with all these "new" toys!

Waterton National Park

We thought that we would celebrate our first weekend back in Canada by driving 1 1/2 hours south to Waterton National Park. It was a perfect day, hot and no wind (which is very rare for Waterton!). We stopped of at the Prince of Whales hotel to take a look at the amazing view of Waterton Lake and the town site letting the kids run off a bit of energy the collected during the drive! One thing we did notice was a huge group of Filipino's in some sort of tour up there snapping pictures like there was no tomorrow! Filipino's and they're pictures (shaking my head side to side with a little bit of an eye roll). I feel like I can say that because I consider myself part Filipino and have been going a little camera crazy myself ;)

After our brief stop off we made our way into the tiny town of Waterton and took a look at the 'show and shine' they had going on and even the kids had a good time checking out all the "hot wheels."

We then had a great lunch with a stop over at the lake to through the token rocks into the water and dip our toes in to see exactly how cold the water was.... oh SOOOO cold!!! I nearly pee'ed myself and went into shock when I felt how cold the lake was!
We also took the rollar coaster road to Red Rock Canyon where we played a bit in the water and on the rocks before heading back into the car and driving home for dinner. And although we didn't get a look at any bears we did get to watch this beauty licking all the salt off the cars in the parking lot at Red Rock!

It was such a great day and I got my first sunburn of the summer season... including out months in the Philippines!

Goodbye to Teachers

Well we had to say goodbye to the kids teachers as we were getting ready to leave back to Canada. I know that both Brayden and Sydney just love going to school here in Bacolod and will be really sad to leave. They started this school year in June and so it has only been a couple of months but already they have really learned a lot and gotten to know they're classmates...
Good-bye for now!

Our Pest Pet Spider..... warning Spider post

Alright, I know that a lot of people tend to be frightened of spiders so I just want to warn you before proceeding that there are pictures of a spider in this post.... so if you don't want to see it then don't scroll down:

Keep Going

Almost There...

Alright,
For those of you who have been following us on our journeys then you are aware that so far we have had a golden retriever named Kula and our turtle which we named Sophie. Well we have a new friend who lives on our property. Not in our house and not so welcomed but he's there, lurking in the shadows... (well not so much lurking, more just hanging out in open view, I was going for dramatic) waiting to go for a ride.

So this guy likes to hang out on our/in our car and go for rides with us. On multiple occasions we have shooed him away while at a restaurant or the mall BUT the very next day, BAM he's there... waiting to go for another ride.

Our Pest Pet Spider..... warning Spider post

Alright, I know that a lot of people tend to be frightened of spiders so I just want to warn you before proceeding that there are pictures of a spider in this post.... so if you don't want to see it then don't scroll down:

Keep Going

Almost There...

Alright,
For those of you who have been following us on our journeys then you are aware that so far we have had a golden retriever named Kula and our turtle which we named Sophie. Well we have a new friend who lives on our property. Not in our house and not so welcomed but he's there, lurking in the shadows... (well not so much lurking, more just hanging out in open view, I was going for dramatic) waiting to go for a ride.

So this guy likes to hang out on our/in our car and go for rides with us. On multiple occasions we have shooed him away while at a restaurant or the mall BUT the very next day, BAM he's there... waiting to go for another ride.

My Girls

Madison has always been compared to Brayden and Sydney when people are trying to decided who she looks like. She has some moments where she resembles Sydney but they are rare. One thing they do have in common is that they both love to drive!

Some Filipino Humour

I'm sure all you Filipino readers have seen this before but everyone can use a laugh now and then and this never fails to make me laugh... it's just "inhuman!"

August Long Weekend in Boracay

Last weekend we were able to take a couple days and get out of Bacolod for a getaway. Unfortunately there was a tropical storm going through the northern part of the Philippines so we had to brave Lethbridge style winds and heavy rains that were on and off again. A couple of times we would look out to the sea and all you could see was this dark grey wall coming for us and we knew it was time to start running for the hotel! Thankfully we stayed central on the beach and so we never had too far to sprint before spotting the hotel on the beach, unfortunately there were a few times we got completely soaked. Thankfully when you're a kid and you're playing in the water rain doesn't bother you so much since you're all wet anyway. Madison was the most surprising as she seemed to enjoy the wind and rain sprinkles kicking her legs and squealing in delight when we would out to the beach.

One thing I have never seen before is underground construction on a beach before! These guys could dig a trench in the soft sand, lay the pipe and cover it up in no time!

We had some friends of ours join us on our trip. We were able to show them some different styles of food, like Mexican, which they weren't too sure about but bravely tried whatever we suggested. Thankfully the huge Mango shakes made up for the unique taste of Taco's. Mmmm, mango shakes.

Cebu, Philippines Temple

One of the best things about Cebu City, Philippines is that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is building a temple there. Cebu City is one of the most central points in the Philippines and easy to get to by boat, bus and plane. This is such a huge blessing to the all the Church members in the Philippines. Right now for us in Bacolod (and we're pretty central) it is a 24 hour boat ride north or an expensive plane ticket. Also because it is such a long boat ride the Saints have to sacrifice a week of paid work on top of the expenses already required. Not only do they have to think about their travel expenses but also their housing and food while they are staying in Manila. The temple is also far from the airport and boats so you have to consider the fare to get to the temple area itself. To most of these people it is a big sacrifice to save this amount and get their families there to be sealed for all time and eternity. With this new temple opening in Cebu City it will make a huge difference to all those in our area and south of us! Very exciting!

We attended church very close to the temple and were able to take a shot as we quickly drove by. We could also see it from the roof top pool at our hotel. It's already looking so beautiful and lit up at night, I can't wait!!

The Only Way To Shop

So I have decided that there is only one way to shop! Ditch the kids at a playroom for $1.50 and go wild for an hour. Although we didn't buy anything, the kids defiantly had a great time!

Cebu City defiantly out does Bacolod in the mall department but you really have to pay the price... the US price. We were able to get ourselves a couple of yummy meals and let the kids run around outside the mall courtyard after pumping them full of gelato ice cream. I had yummy raspberry, Brayden had green apple flavour, Sydney had chocolate chip and Ryan had forest berry. Sydney got a little upset when it started melting down the cone making her messy which doesn't make sense since rolling around in dirt seems to be just fine with her!?

Philippine Taoist Temple

There is a section of Cebu City named Beverly Hills. You drive up some steep roads and near the top of the hills is the Chinese Taoist Temple. You climb up 81 steps which apparently represent the 81 chapters of the Taoism Scriptures where there are rooms where the Saints will kneel and pray. Unfortunately we made the trip on a Thursday and missed the fortune telling done on Wednesdays and Sunday. It was really beautiful with a lot of "Mushu" dragons as the kids referred to them. The scenery was very beautiful with a view of the city below. It was a nice stop and the kids used up some of that never ending energy!

A Drive to Cebu City

Ryan needed to take a trip to Cebu City for work and we decided that we would take an extra couple days and go together as a family to explore the city. We've been there a couple times before but only for the night as a pit stop to some other destination. The flight is only 20 minutes but ultimately we decided to drive so that we would be able to explore on our own without being dependent on a taxi. I have to admit I was a little hesitant thinking of the 20 minute flight vs. who knew how long in the car with the three kids but I couldn't fight the logic of it all and off we went... all packed up in the Revo.

I was very surprised with the ease of the whole trip and how quickly it actually went. It only takes 1 1/2 hours to drive through Negros Island to a small town named San Carlos which is the port to Cebu Island. The drive is very beautiful and I have posted pictures of it previously. It's filled with rice terraces and sugar cane. It goes up to the top of the mountains and you drive through the clouds and small villages. It doesn't seem to matter how many times we drive through this Island, I'm always awed by it's beauty! We arrived with perfect timing; 30 minutes to departure. We parked the car in the boat and ventured around a while on the boat before going back down to the car to watch a movie for the remainder of the 1 1/2 hour boat ride. From Toledo to Cebu City it takes about an hour. Ryan used the GPS on his iPhone so we didn't loose our way once and it made the ride a lot more relaxing for me not having to constantly be on the look out for road signs that don't exist. Once we arrived in Cebu City it was time to start exploring and finding things to do.

My Favorite Urinal .... EVER!

There is only one word..... AWESOME

This is the best kept secret in Bacolod City. Ever since we discovered this gem I've wanted a picture. Unfortunately the one attempt turned into a disaster where all the trisikad drivers wanted to be in the picture so we couldn't even see the urinal. Since that time they've done some major upgrades... for example: adding a face! Well, two years later I finally got my picture! This urinal makes me wish I could pee standing up!!

Ever Wondered "What If There Were No Tow Trucks?"

I've witnessed some pretty bizarre things when it comes to Philippine traffic but one that always get a chuckle from us is the lack of tow trucks. Come to think of it I'm not sure I've even seen one over here... ever!? So what do they do when a vehicle breaks down, you're asking.... well, they do this:

Yes that is a tricycle (motorbike and sidecar) pulling a taxi with a rope... and no, it just can't get any better then this :)