While Dads Away, the Kids Will Play

There is this most amazing play area for kids here in Bacolod. It takes up the whole third floor of one of the department stores with it's slides, cushy carpet, roped bridge to a ball pit, drivable mini cars, toy store and small food venders. It is seriously a child's dream, or my children's dream at least. Brayden and Sydney love running around collecting balls and playing in the ball pit. The bridge that takes you to the ball pit is high and long! It leads you to a narrow path high as the ceiling that takes you to the balls which is on the other side of the floor.
While Madison has never ventured over the rope bridge she seems happy enough running up and down the slides, playing the balls that have escaped the ball pit and climbing up and down the stairs. There are at least 4 different slides all different sizes and heights. One of the nice things about it is the foam that have put under the carpet. It's at least 3 inches thick so when the kids are running and tumble it's such a soft landing and they bounce right back up and keep on going. Even though the soft carpet is awesome the absolute best part about the whole thing is that it costs $0.50 for the entire day! ROCKIN'

This weekend Ryan and Lance are gone for an overnight training summit/work retreat and have left us girls home with 1 car and the kids. BOO. Bobbi and I decided that it would be the perfect time to let the kids run off their energy at Lopues East and we invited a new Canadian friend with us who had never been before. The kids had a blast. We were only there for 2 hours when Maddy just sat down in the middle of the floor and started to zone out into an exhausted stare. Mission complete. My kids are going to sleep well tonight (knock on wood).

I Can Fly, I Can Fly, I Can Fly

Madison is a fairly brave little girl. She will follow Brayden and Sydney through thorns and rocks, jump off anything they jump off of and take off in a mad sprint in fear she'll loose them. She's quiet around new faces but is really getting over that shyness.
Today her class got to go to the old airport. The runway is literally right next door ... well maybe 5 lots away. They shut the airport down and opened a new international airport further north on the Island so now the runway is used for remote planes and drag racing. They have kept a couple small planes, one seats 2 and the other looks like it fits 4. The kids were able to climb in the planes and play around with the controls. She loved looking out the window at me, swirling the steering wheel around and making the wing flaps move up and down. I ended up actually having quite a hard time getting her out of one. She kept hiding in the back seat where I couldn't reach her, sneaky little thing. Then when I go to the back of the plane to pull her out she would climb over the seat back up to the front. Finally I had to be sneaky and crawl under the plane where she couldn't see me and quickly rip her out of the plane. Thankfully at this point everyone was heading inside for a quick lecture so there weren't witnesses to my perfect child's disobedience.

After they climbed around the planes and learned a little bit about them they went out to the runway to watch a few knee high remote control airplanes take off, fly around and then land. As soon as the first planes engine started to buzz Maddy started to freak out. She kept looking at me with these terrified eyes and would wave to the plane while pleading with me "bye bye, bye bye." She did not like it at all. When it started rolling down the runway towards us she gripped me so tight and I could feel her shaking! She was really terrified. I tried to make her feel reassured and make it exciting which probably kept her from crying or screaming but she kept asking me "bye bye, bye bye" and would wrap her legs around me so tight it was starting to hurt. I held her close and tried to rub her back trying to sooth her trembling but it didn't work. Although it was really cool we had to walk back quite a distance before she loosened her grip and relaxed. I'm not too sure what it was that freaked her out but she obviously does not like miniature planes that fly.

Ahoy Matey

This year it seems the kids have been on a zillion field trips. I don't know if it's just that they really are going on so many or if it's just the normal amount x3!?
Both Brayden and Sydney got to ride in a Jeepney while Madison rode in a tricicad. For clarification a Jeepney is what our local bus system is like in Canada although there are no designated stops so you just wave and the jeepney aggresively swerves over to you and you hop in. The same goes for getting off, you tell him you want out and he pulls over to the side of the road and off you go. A tricicad is bicycle with a side car for hire. You pay 5 peso's/km and the guy drives you where you need to go. I always feel sorry for the tricicad drivers biking around in the heat all day long but that quickly disappears when I get stuck in my car behind one of them slowly peddling down the middle of the one lane traffic holding everyone up.

The week after the jeepney rides both Brayden and Sydney went to the pier for a tour of one of the Weesam Fast Craft Ferry's (it's transportation month). Brayden's class didn't need a parent with the child so I wasn't able to get any snaps of him and his classmates but Sydney's class required one parent/guardian for each child so off we went. We waited for the boat to arrive and watched everyone unload that was coming from the Panay, the Island north of us. After it was cleared out the class boarded the boat. We just walked around, sat in the chairs, took brilliant pictures of ourselves and got off. We then watched, in the blistering heat, everyone load on for the return trip to Iloilo, Panay and waved as the boat took off again.

Sydney has been on her fair share of boats with all the traveling we've been able to do so when Teacher Tina asked what the kids would rather ride in; a jeepney or a ferry, Sydney was the only voice to say jeepney. All her classmates chose the ferry. I guess I should start taking the kids on more jeepney rides and less boats!

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Then and Now:

I've been meaning to write this post for a couple weeks now but haven't been able to put my thoughts into something tangible. The beginning of November was our 4 year mark here in the Philippines. Four years! Stepping off that plane 4 years ago, I did not see this coming.

The Good:
*Our little family has had to figure out who we are, without family help and influence. We've had to test and try different things out with our kids and with each other and we've been able to figure out what works for the 5 of us and we're all still alive to tell the tale.
*I've learned a lot about myself and what my limits are. I've defiantly grown and have had to give up a lot of the comforts from back home. Granted, the longer we're here the more things from back home I find are being imported but no Costco, no Walmart and no Superstore really stinks.
*Ryan has had an amazing opportunity to build and grow a business and learn from some amazing examples. Focus has some great, super smart people working in all departments and Ryan has had the chance to learn in a concentrated setting he wouldn't have had anywhere else. I know he still has a lot to learn but he's becoming a very valuable asset to the company and the couple hundred people here that work that work with/for him love and respect him.
*We have seen parts of the world I never thought I'd see. We've been to more islands in the Philippines then I can count on both hands, dozens of white sand beaches, Singapore, HongKong, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia. The best part is we've been to all those place (except Australia) with our kids sharing the adventure.
*There have been so many amazing people enter our lives through church, Focus Direct, Focus Services and our travels. One time we were taking a train through Malaysia up to Bangkok and a Filipino family living in Bangkok friended us and our kids. They showed us where we needed to go to get a cab, took us to their place so we could give the kids a break and some snacks and then onto our hotel. No matter where you are in the world, the Filipino's are kindest, warmest people!

The Bad:
*It just really sucks to be so far away from family especially for birthdays and holidays.
*The Philippines is defiantly not an efficiant country. There is no such thing as quickly running to the store.
*Brown outs. I hate no power. I hate no power because it means no air conditioning, no way to heat babies milk, no water pressure and no hot water.
*Sometimes the difference in culture means there is a difference in food preference.
*When it rains ... it poors

The Ugly:
*The spiders. SO.FREAKING.HUGE.
*The smells. When the streets are one big toilet sometimes the stink is a little overwhelming. Also the smell of meat that has been sitting in the hot sun all day ... not pleasant.
*People in bikini's that shouldn't be wearing them.

Put all these together and it's a fraction of our experiences so far here in the Philippines. So cheers to 4 good years behind us and to 1 more ahead of us!!

Wind Through the Hair

I'd like to start off by asking the grandparents to not freak out at the safety issues this entry might stir up inside of you.
Okay, continuing to blog entry:

We have a few Sunday afternoon activities that are regulars in our routine. We like to walk around while the kids ride their bikes. Sometimes Ryan will climb a coconut tree for us and we'll munch on some fresh coconut. We'll watch a Book of Mormon cartoon and veg out together as a family. Sometimes we like to go and look at our garden and see what goodies it's producing for us but if we don't have any meetings we stick close to home.
One thing all three of our kids love to do is ride on the motorbike with their dad! LOVE. IT. When Ryan starts up a motorbike Maddy's eyes grow into these huge circular saucers and she runs for the door. He loves to take them around the subdivision for a cruise and he's taken them throughout all the different stages of the new bikes development. They've ridden it when it was a rusted piece of junk, they've all had a ride when it was a 'bubble bike' (the muffler fell off and it sounded like bubbles were blowing out it), and they've watched Ryan every step of they way. This afternoon Ryan took them for a Sunday ride... the three of them together on the completed masterpiece. Some things you can only get away in the Philippines! (or Southeast Asia)

Always Expand Your Talents

The resort in our subdivision gave me a call earlier in the week inviting me to register my kids in a workshop they were offering. In this workshop the children would paint their own shirts using silk screening, they just had to bring a white t-shirt with them. Personally, my kids learning silk screen t-shirt printing isn't high on my list of things to teach young children but it was on a Saturday morning while Ryan was sleeping so it would give us something to do and leave the house quiet for him.
Saturday morning off we walked down the street with our white t-shirts ready to be printed. I had no idea what to expect and I thought it might be best to arrive with low expectations. When we got there they had a little spot set aside for the kids that were attending and they coloured some mask pictures and ate Stick-o's until they were ready to teach the kids. They got a wooden frame with a pre-cut piece of silk screen to tack onto the frame. Since the kids were all Brayden's age and younger we, as guardians, were suggested to assist the children to make sure they weren't hurt playing with the tacks while the children attached the screen to the frame themselves. Painfully each child got their turn sticking tacks into the frame with assistants (that wood was super hard) and we moved onto watching the workshop leaders show the youth how to cut out the 'I' for the design using a exacto knife. The thought crossed my mind 'am I a good parent having my children attend a workshop that is encouraging them to play with thumb tacks and exacto knife's?' After the cutting demonstration the painting began. The kids blobbed on paint and then smoothed it out over the screen pushing the paint thinly through to the shirt then again waited for that to dry before moving onto the next colour.

The kids seemed to really enjoy what they were doing and were so proud of their finished project so I'm glad we went. I think that it would have probably been a little better if orientated to a group of children a few years older but now my kids have a talent I never thought they would have. The best part ... they are going to have a part 2 where the kids will be able to do it again but with a different design! I have to give credit to Palmas Del Mar, they do try. Plus it's amazingly nice in there with the swimming pools off the ocean. We do love living in this subdivision far more then anywhere else in the city and it's so quiet and safe. My kids can ride their bikes in the street without me worrying about the traffic, they play around in the basketball court that is right in our backyard and we have our huge garden made out of the empty lot beside us. It's really perfect for us, we do love it and now the kids have shirts to show the world our love for Palmas Del Mar Resort and Sub Division.
Next Saturday they are having another workshop, a face painting workshop. Now that sounds like fun!

Me Just Cruisin' on THE Bike

Today the motorbike went to the LTO (Land Transportation Office) to become a legitimate member of the automotive world. We had to pick the bike up from Focus which meant Ryan or I had to drive the bike while the other drove the car home with the kids. Well lucky me, I got to drive the bike home. It was my first real drive with the bike outside in the 'real' world. The sun was just starting to set when we left and it was pretty dark by the time the 20 minute drive was over and I had successfully driven home (all in my flip flop's none the less. I guess I'm really becoming a true Filipina, living in my 'slippers').
WOW! I am so proud of myself. I feel like I conquered something great. I was so nervous at first but as soon as I was on the road and driving I realized how easy of a bike it is to drive. It's quite small so it's easy for me to steady and hold up so the stopping and balancing seemed to be easier then I remember other bikes I've driven being and NO jump start! (I nearly killed small children spinning the bike around in a 360* stunt move in the sand trying to jump start a bike once, a story for another time.)
Anyway, I just really wanted to share my amazing accomplishment today with the rest of the world.... I LOVED IT!

So... We Ate Some Corn

This week we were able to pick 7 cobs of corn from our garden. Yes, seven. Guess what we did tonight!? .... We ate those 7 cobs of corn with our dinner. Not life changing delicious or anything but they filled the vegetable spot at the table. We grew them from little kernels and I learned that little kernels brings forth little cobs. That's all I have to say about that:

MY Our Completed Bike

I'm so excited to say that the bike once called "Scoot" is now complete! I can't believe it. Ryan did such a great job, he got her all cleaned up, she's now re-wired, new custom muffler, all new lights and grips, new seat leather and of course a new paint job. There is so much more that he did to this bike that I don't even know about but it has proven to be quite the transformation:

The Back End

The Side View

The Guts

Now that I've seen the potential of the bike and how great of a job Ryan did restoring it I no longer think that the name Scoot applies. I have no idea what she'll be called but we'll be working on it.
I have always thought it was so kind and selfless of Ryan to build me my own bike although now that it's finished i'm not too surprised that the last few nights he's chosen to take MY bike into work instead of his bike. His excuse is that he needs to drive the bike for at least a week to make sure that it's reliable enough for me to take it out on my own. Seems like genuine concern but I have to admit that i'm a little suspicious and not totally convinced of his motives... not that I blame him, the bike rocks!

Cliff Jumping Filipino Style

It has been a busy week for us. Five American's have come to visit Focus and so Ryan has been busy at work and trying to help these guests see a little of what our area has to offer in the ways of fun. It's been a crazy schedule but today I think was a great day for the boys. We took everyone up to Mambukal Mountain Resort for a little cliff jumping. There isn't much more to say then that! Enjoy some of my favorite shots:

Everyone got their turn and after those first warm up jumps the experiments began and the poses really started to come out. We had splits, 360* turns, dives, the classic nose plugging and even a mooning from one of the local boys (don't worry, no pictures)! All these pictures were taken from the 6th set of falls of the 7 falls. It's a quick hike up but by the time you get there you're a little winded and defiantly hot. Even though it's a little cooler up on the mountain it's still really warm and mixed with the humidity that jump into the cooler water feels amazingly refreshing. It's also nice since it's so warm that you don't feel cold after while you're standing around waiting for your turn or taking pictures and you dry off quickly enough that you aren't grossly sopping during the hike back down!