This week there is a festival going on in Bacolod, Panaad Sa Negros (Promise of Negros). The festival is an anual event that usually is held in April but since this May 10th there is the Presidential Election, they moved the festival to March. It started in 1993 in front of the Province Capital building in Bacolod City and since been moved to Panaad Park where the 13 cities and 19 towns participating have permanent booths designed to show off what their home is famous for, example being famous for their crab fishing they would have a crab booth, or for Bacolod City they have a mini Provincial Building booth since Bacolod is the capital city of Negros Occidental.
One thing that I always find entertainment in is the amount of security doing absolutely nothing but looking pretty holding their old guns. They were just all standing around chatting with one another. I'm not too sure what their real purpose is because I really find it hard to believe that they actually do anything productive security wise!?
We went back later in the week to walk around the different displays and to get out of the house to enjoy something free to do outside. They had some beautiful native dresses on display as well as many different hand made crafts from each of the city booths available to purchase. One of the favourite things the kids had their eyes on were these extremely visually appealing balloons. We decided to let Brayden and Sydney each pick one and as soon as these guys selling them figured out we were buyers we were literally swarmed by them! It was pretty intense.
Ryan has gone out a couple times to play airsoft with some of the guys from work and he really really enjoys it. I'm not too sure if it's spending that man time together or the fact that the airsoft guns here in the Philippines are so similar to a real gun (inch/inch and pound/pound) that it adds all this extra adrenaline to the game. Whatever it is, he has decided to own his own airsoft gun. He bought one from Arnel, a friend at work, and then bought a couple of accessories to jazz it up a bit. He HAD to have a silencer since there is a gun ban on right now with the trigger happy people out there and the Presidential Election coming up this year. Thankfully the silencer does the job and he can still go out and shoot cats pests that destroy our garbage. Another something extra that he just had to have was a green laser pointer so he can see not only the destination of the bullet but the line of travel it will take to reach it's target. VERY exciting. The kids really love it too and have all taken turns shooting pop cans lined up along the fence and as much as I hate to admit it, Brayden has quite the shot!
One of the best ways I can think of to beat the heat is to take a dip into the clean clear ocean, even if it means swallowing a ton of salt water. With summer coming on and El Nino bringing on the above average temperatures for this time of year nothing sounds better then a beach weekend with the water always close by to refresh yourself.
We decided that Boracay was the Island of choice for our most recent road trip and so early Thursday morning we packed up and loaded the cars onto the boats for the 1 1/2 hour ride to Panay Island. From Dumangas it takes around 5 hours driving
through Panay Island until you reach Caticlan, the jetty port for Boracay Island. It's a long winding ride battling pot holes and random road construction but the view is beautiful and even with the drought a lot of the rice fields were brilliant green and flowing in the breeze looking like velvet. 
We arrived on the beach Thursday afternoon, got into our swim gear and headed to the water to refresh ourselves after the 7 hours it took to get there. It was hot, the sand castles were started and the kids were happy to burn all that energy. It was a nice relaxing afternoon, the perfect way to start the weekend. In the evening Bobbi and I strolled the beach while the guys took a nap before starting their night at work. We checked out all the fresh seafoods ready to be grilled and the fire dancers going from place to place tossing their fire all around, so fun.
Friday morning we spent on the beach in and out of the sun. Ryan did some snorkelling with the guys while us girls baked and the kids swam. In the afternoon we rented a trike (a motorbike with a side car) since we now have a family of 5 a normal motorbike is a little too squishy for a couple hours of cruising. The rest of the group got some motorbikes and Lance helped push Ryan up some of the steep dirt roads when assistance was needed while the kids, Bobbi and I would walk. It was quite the adventure well rewarded by a quiet beach located in a small cove with a couple of caves to play around in. By the time we got back to the hotel it was time to get the kids some fuel and settle them to bed and give us adults some time to feed on our Greek foods on the beach.
Sunday we rented a boat and just cruised around the ocean, did a little snorkelling and a little sitting in the sun. We got ourselves all packed up and ready for our early departure the next morning! It was such a great weekend. Maddy seemed to really enjoy playing in the shallow water splashing away and grabbling at the silky sands. Brayden and Sydney were continually playing in and out of the water and letting Ryan and I get in a little bit of relaxing while Maddy was down for her naps. Nothing like a successful weekend away from the city!
The Jarman family have been lucky enough to get some family out to visit them already! On Sunday after church we tagged along as they took Bobbi's sister and her family up into the mountains to Mambukal. It's a mountain resort found at the base of a volcano here on Negros Island. It has a couple of sulphur hot springs, one is so hot you can't touch it or go in and the other is so relaxing and nice. There is also a couple of normal temperature pools, a climbing wall, a tram, hikes to waterfalls, some foods, butterfly gardens and of course places for the resort goers to stay.
The first thing that I was able to do was go on the tram over the river. Ryan and Lance have already been there and done that with some of the gang at Focus so Bobbi and I decided to test it out together. We hung upside down and with the blood flowing like crazy to our heads we zipped down the line to meet everyone waiting for us on the other side.
The boys also were able to go swimming but in the fresh water! They hiked up to the 4th of 7 waterfalls. The hike is up the mountain in the hot humid heat and it takes about an hour to get up there. Once they made it up to the 4th set of falls they saw a bunch of the mountain kids cliff jumping into the river. Ryan had a blast taking pictures of the kids while they were jumping and then showing them the shots so they could see what they looked like! Apparently one of the guys had these sweet ninja moves and Ryan got some great shots of these kids playing around. I can imagine them smiling and laughing with those dark brown faces and great big white teeth filled smiles as they were looking at themselves on the camera. Of course the guys did some moves of their own to refresh themselves after the hot, sweaty walk up the mountain. Unfortunately by the time the guys made it back the hike was closed since it was getting close to sunset so us girls didn't get to go. Bummer, BUT next time for sure!
And everyones favorite vegetable: Broccoli. Our Broccoli's have started to sprout also. Okay, maybe they are weeds since I have no idea what broccoli sprouts look like but I'm optimistic that one day I will be munching on this new growth with a bit of lemon pepper seasoning with a lechon manok (rotisserie chicken), mashed potato's and gravy!
With all this new found motivation tonight we chopped up the potato's we were letting seed a bit and Ryan planted those while Bobbi and I planted chives, oregano, basil and parsley. We did some major weeding and checked on the tomato's Ryan planted last week in a pot. They are also starting 
to sprout but defiantly not picture worthy yet... that will come next week! We only have 2 rows left, 1 for our tomato's when they are ready to transplant and 1 for our peanuts (which take 3 months until harvest). Tomorrow I am going to buy some raw peanuts at the store and this week we'll be able to sow them! I'm so excited to grow peanuts... who does that!?
This weekend we helped out at a Youth Activity for our church that included youth from 12-18 years of age. Each group had to put on a skit about a previously selected Book of Mormon Story based on the theme "Who is Your Hero." The skits were great and Brayden and Sydney were sitting front row enjoying themselves. Brayden somehow got his hands on some props and spent the rest of the night being Nephi. After the skits there was a dance and THIS is where it all came back to me. The. Awkward. Years. Girls standing on one
side of the gym while the boys stand at the other no one brave enough to ask someone to dance. I felt awkward just watching them. Finally Ryan just started grabbing people and forcing them to dance with each other during the sweet (slow) songs. It ended up being a great time and the next day at church the youth in our ward said they had a great time. Hopefully they all got to dance with their crush to the longest slow song or the very last dance. OH how I would never wish to go back to Jr. High!
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