Spins a Web, Any Size

Yesterday we attended the first annual Halloween party at the resort in our sub division. Brayden and Sydney were SO excited to dress up in their Halloween costumes but I made them wait until the early afternoon. I know I sound like a huge meanie BUT Sydney's dress already had a little tear in it and Brayden's was long sleeves, mask and long pants so I didn't really need a sweaty Spiderman. As far as getting into costume Madison was ummmmm.... not so happy. She literally freaked out. Madison and I ended up compromising on the costume. She decided that she would not wear the cute hat and shoes that went along with it but in return I got to do her make up a little so her cheeks and eyes sparkled.
Around 3pm we walked over to the Jarman's to meet up with them before continuing down the street to the resort. The kids had a good time. They got to dance, play a couple games, have their faces painted and of course they got to bring home some candy! Not the door to door trick or treating I'm used to but for these three it was just as great and all the same. Candy and costumes is what makes Halloween and I'm so so glad that they were able to get both and then some.

I had a good chuckle when later that night when I told Brayden that his costume was really cool and his face painting was just awesome. He just casually turns and looks at me giving the slightest shrug and says "Ya, I know." I know how excited he was and how cool he felt to have his face painted and for him to act so casual about it.... sometimes I just have to turn away and have a quick giggle.

Garden Update

I thought that since it's getting to that time of year where the first frost has hit I would brag a little bit about our year long summer. It's really hard to be so far from family and when something happens (good or bad) it just sucks to not be there to help out or celebrate. It's humbling to realize exactly how easily life goes on without you even if you are missed (or Brayden, Sydney and Madison are missed) and family traditions continue without pause. SO, to be so far sucks. But the one thing Ryan and I can do that most of you can't do right now is show you all pictures of how fabulous our year round garden is doing :P Muahahaha (devious, somewhat evil laugh).

While we went home to Canada our garden was left unattended and turned into this huge overgrown jungle in just those 4 weeks. I couldn't believe it, we seriously couldn't find the water tap for the sprinkler in all the overgrown grass. Thankfully for us a boy from our ward was preparing to leave on his mission a few weeks away and needed a little bit extra money for his last minute supplies. It was such perfect timing and so we took advantage of the situation and hired him short term to relocate our garden and weed it back into tip top shape. He did a great job and even plated a couple of papaya trees for us in the back of the garden... then Danny left on his mission and our garden once again became the jungle. We could see the tops of the corn seeding and once I even saw a tiny red tomato from the upstairs window but just barely. Thankfully, Jane was is in the same situation Danny was in and needed just a little extra to get her mission papers all in order and into the right hands and again we totally jumped all over that opportunity. She got it all cleared away for us and even made sure that the little damage that last typhoon that blew through the Philippines did was fixed. She used the leaves from the corn stalks to tie them upright again after being blown over and beat down from the rains!
We did notice however that our poor lemon tree was really suffering in the garden. The insects were eating the leaves and the birds kept stealing all our baby lemons. We decided to drive down the road and buy a couple of pots, one for the tree and a few others for my new herb garden. We spent some good quality time out in the garden and planted some herbs, carrots, lettuce, peas, pumpkin and squash. We also made sure that the plants that are still alive were well weeded and watered! We picked all our tomato's but left the green peppers to grow a little more and are now waiting for our corn cobs to grow a little larger so we can pig out on them one night for dinner!

SO, as you start preparing your homes for Halloween (something they don't do here) think of us over here and our garden so we don't feel quite so bad about our kids missing such a fun day of fantastic costumes and running around door to door (or trunk to trunk) filling their pillow cases with loads of candy I would help eat.

Fun with Wax

Do remember playing around with wax lips when you were younger? I totally do. Ryan and I went to Cebu City on Saturday to attend the LDS Cebu City, Philippines temple. To make a date out of the day we went out after our session for some amazing foods and to shop for some imported delicacies we can't get here in Bacolod. We found Lucky Charms, Crispex, fresh Dill Weed and croutons but I think the best thing was the wax lips and mustache we found. The girls each got a nice pair of red shiny lips and Brayden lucked out with a Sherlock Holmes types mustache.

It was a challenge to explain to Madison that she shouldn't eat her lips. Why in the world do they make these wax lips taste so delicious!?

MassKara Street Dance

MassKara festival started in the 80's when there was a farming crisis. Also that same year there was a huge tanker that sank and 700 lives were lost. With these tragedies occuring the city of Bacolod, known as the city of smiles (which it truly is!), decided to hold a festival of Smiles. It was a declaration to the city that no matter how bad times got they would be able to 'pull through, survive, and in the end, triumph.' It also gave them a reason to do something fun and forget their troubles. It is now a 3 week long street party with dancing, masks and parties!

This is our 4th MassKara festival since we moved to Bacolod and although we've been in the Charter Day parade we've never actually really watched any of the dancing which is pretty much what MassKara is. This year we decided to really do it up and today was the MassKara street dance competition. They shut down one of the main roads in the city which was fortunately close to our house so we all squished on the motorbike and found a less populated spot at the beginning of the parade to watch from. There were 20 different Barangay's competing against each other for the best dance, all wearing different masks and costumes dancing through the streets and sweating buckets. There isn't too much to say about it but I have some great pictures to show off how amazing these costumes were. Just imagine dancing down the street in these masks and costumes for 1-2 hours in the 35*C heat.... I have this huge appreciation for these dancers! I was sweating buckets just standing still.

MassKara Electric Parade

Last night Ryan and I tackled the crowds of MassKara to get a glimpse of the electric parade. They completely shut down the main road through the city to all traffic and it turns into the largest street party I've ever seen. All the restaurants are open with tables flowing into the street, there were stages built in an afternoon to accommodate all the live bands playing and people were everywhere! It was so loud with all the music and venders selling their brightly lit toys and masks. I was so glad we left the kids at home because there is no way that we would have been able to keep track of them in the crowds.
There was a 5 or 6 float parade and each float there were masked dancers playing drums and dancing to the music. They looked AMAZING!

The best part was when it started to lightly rain. For some reason Filipino's are afraid of rain water (it brings 'the fever') so as soon as it starts they scatter. The streets were half as full with the people under all the shops and restaurants looking for cover (it really was just a sprinkle!) so we were able to get close to the dancers and get a few great shots. Like I mentioned, they really looked amazing. Such brilliant colours!

Brayden is SIX!!

Brayden just had his sixth birthday and lucky for him that fell on a Saturday so he got to have a full day of partying. He woke up and as soon as he saw me I excitedly reminded him that he was 6 years old and he gave me a big proud look and told me "I KNOW! AND, I think I feel bigger." So I measured him against me like we do and he seemed to believe that he had indeed grown a significant amount over night.
When Ryan got home from work that morning we did the big unveiling of his gift (note to grandparents: we included you in this one so EVERYONE gave this to him). We had to keep it outside and around the corner so that he wouldn't spot it if he ran out there to play. Thankfully Ryan got home quite early that morning so we had just finished his blue '6' pancakes so I didn't have to make excuses for him to not be outside. He got a new bike! A super cool motorbike bike, which now is parked beside our 2 real motorbikes in the motorbike parking of driveway. Let me tell you, he really can go super fast on his new bike!

Later in the morning we headed out to the Caribbean Water Park with the Jarman's for Brayden's birthday party. We didn't really do anything huge for him in terms of extravagant parties but he had so much fun. We rented a Nipa Hut and bought some yummy Jollibee's chicken and rice with cupcakes for dessert. I made bubblegum and tutti frutti/watermelon flavoured icing and the kids got to pick which flavour they wanted to ice their cupcakes. He unwrapped his gifts from the Jarmans, who also bought the other kids a little something too... so nice! Then it was time for the water slides. The time went so quickly! The kids were up and down the water slides so many times it was hard to keep track of them. Madison was loving it too. She's learning how to kick herself around where she wants to go in her water wings and she just laughs and squeals. We came home and had time to give the kids a bath, fill them up with some dinner and opened up a pack of 15 glow sticks. It was already starting to get dark and so they were really bright and they had so much fun sticking them together, waving them around and making anklets, bracelets, necklaces. It was such a fun day, I think Brayden really really enjoyed himself!

Back to the Real World

Today we packed up and left Jomabo. As relaxing of a weekend as it was it's always nice to come home, isn't it!? To be back in your own space, your own bed and your children's own beds. There is something comforting about the routine that comes from being home and that as soon as we walk through those doors the kids just seem to understand when bed time is again. As nice as a weekend away in the sun and warmth is, it's nice to be back home to the sound of the frogs croaking enjoying the rainfall.
We really did have a great time at the beach. Not the prettiest or the fanciest but you can't beat being the only ones on the entire island! That was truly a first. The kids loved every second of the weekend and were so wired and hyper the entire drive home.
As we were leaving on the boat I was watching the island get smaller and smaller and I noticed that you could barely tell where the sea stopped and the sky began. It looked so pretty and made me feel pretty small as I was looking into what looked like eternity.

Thanksgiving on Jomabo

When we woke up Sunday morning the tide was so far out we could see sand and exposed dead coral for at least 2 km. We started to walk out to see what treasures we could find under where we were swimming the day before and it wasn't too long before we started finding sand dollars, starfish, and decent sized crabs!

The further we got out the more interesting our finds started to become. Quite a distant out there was a narrow net that lined the shore. We weren't exactly sure of the purpose but since there were a few crabs stuck in the net we assumed it was placed there to catch the crabs as they scurried on their way. There was this disgusting sea cucumber thing that looked like a gigantic worm slowly slithering in small pools of warm water. Ryan tried to pick one up with a stick and it stretched out so thin with all the liquid pooling in the head (or end?).

We also ran into a school of smaller fish that were scouring the bottom playing leap frog as they took turns in the front. They slowly made their way over to Ryan's feet where they quickly decided what they were looking for was defiantly not there and they changed their course and moved along. We also ran into this guy who was just walking around collecting treasures of his own to either eat or sell. He called us over to show what it was that he had found which included some larger crabs, sea cucumbers and 2 octopus! We asked if we could see the octopus and first he pulled out the larger one which I couldn't resist feeling. The tentacles quickly started to stick to my fingers as I slid my fingers down one of arms. He then pulled out a smaller one joking about it being the baby. It was pretty cool! Later in the day Ryan had been out snorkeling with Sydney and found an octopus of his own in the wild! Unfortunately when we went back with the video camera the Octopus had run away to a different hiding spot.

We also had fun finding loads of starfish and playing SAFELY around the different kinds of sea urchins. There were ones small white tips or long dark spikes all just waiting for a nice foot to attack. We also saw different types of starfish. Vibrant blue starfish (poor guy was missing one of his 4 legs), ones that looked like they had big Hershey chocolate chips on top and we also saw this HUGE starfish that looked a puffed up pentagon because all the 5 legs were webbed together. He was pretty cool.

After exploring we played in the sand and water. I got a good start on a new book and the kids just ran and ran. It was so relaxing. We had to come in at lunch time for a while to get out of the sun. It was so hot, it reminded me of summer here! The kids weren't so impressed to have to stay inside for a while but they eventually made their way out to the boat to play while the adults played cards around the shaded side of the cottage.

Finally the sun made it way down and the kids went to bed. We just relaxed on the beach under the moon before heading in ourselves. There was the hugest thunder storm that night that seriously shook our house so bad I whacked Ryan and asked him if he felt that earthquake... and I was 100% serious. I don't know if you are dedicated readers or not but I have posted about feeling an earthquake before. Ryan claimed it was just him moving around in the bed but I'm pretty sure the walls were shaking!

First Impression of Jomabo

The destination for October was a little Island named Jomabo. We had heard about it 4 years ago when we first came to the Philippines but couldn't ever really research enough about it to confidently make the trip. We finally decided that it was time with it being so close to where we live it could be a relaxing weekend with little travel time. Since the Jarman's were back from their time in Canada we thought it would be fun to all go together to experience Jomabo for the first time. The travel there was easy. Just a short drive lining the northern coastline of Negros Island and then a short 20 minute boat ride heading east to Jomabo Island. We were coming out of a few rainy days and the showers had only stopped that morning but the boat ride was calm and the sun was breaking through the clouds as we loaded all our things. I think the kids all enjoyed being out of the car and watched the boat break through the water moving around and watching for the beach they had been counting down to see.

As soon as the boat docked we were lead to our cottages where my kids literally ripped off their clothes, slid into their swimsuits and ran for the water. Thankfully by this time (noon) the sun was shinning and it was getting H.O.T.

The cottages were a fair size. We didn't really know what to expect because for Canadian prices they were super cheap so we were pleasantly surprised to find these huge cottages right on the beach all ready for us. Both had 2 huge bedrooms with multiple beds, a kitchen and a sitting area to eat along with a bathroom. The island's power is only generator supplied so we only had fans available from 5:30pm-7am but that was a step up from Apo Island and with the windows and doors open there was this amazingly cool breeze blowing through so I didn't miss the air conditioning. We spent the whole day outside anyway with the exception of Madison's nap.
There wasn't much to the tiny island... just a few trees in the center to offer some shaded tables to eat under and a couple of cottages that looked like they were never finished. At one point you could stand in the middle of the island and see the sea in every direction with a few sandbars off in the distance. There was a little hotel that offered a few small air conditioned rooms off the beach and in the shade, an old run down basketball court and a nice swing under a large tree. The highlight for the kids was one of the 'Jomabo Boats' that was up on the beach. They played in that thing whenever we told them they had to get out of the sun for a while. Another great thing was that between us Beattie's and the Jarman's, there was no one else on the island. Well except for the employee's that laid around in hammocks and watched the television when the power was switched on. VERY private.

As the afternoon got later and the tide started to roll out there was this sand bar that was forming just in front of our cottages. It went out forever and the kids were running up and down it, back and forth splashing in the water and seeing how far they could go out. Even Maddy and Scarlett made their way out there and splashed around in the water while the older kids played. The day was so hot and the kids had so much fun playing with Isabelle on the beach. It was nice and shallow so they could go out quite far without getting scared. Because it was so shallow for so far the water was warm like a hot bath. It was unbelievable how nice and warm it was but it sort of sucked because you would get all hot in the sun and go for a swim to cool off although the warm water offered no relieve (I know, you all feel so sorry for us). All in all the first day was nice and relaxing. By the time the sun went down I think we were all ready for bed. Something about that hot sun that drains the energy out of you, that and staying up all night to work and then staying up all day to get your family safely to the beach! Poor Ryan.