Waterton

Since the last time we came home to visit it was near deathly freezing temperatures we hadn’t been to Waterton National Park for a couple of years and so with Ryan’s family from Utah up and spending their visit at Waterton we were happy to take the excuse and spend the day. We went up with Jessica and her boys and spent the afternoon with a picnic, walking by the lake, playing at the park and hanging out waiting for the Porters to get back from their hike. It was a great day and the visit was good. Ryan was licked by a deer who must have thought he had food!?

Dad's Wedding

The main reason we went home to Canada when we did was because my dad was getting married! It was a quiet simple backyard ceremony followed by a catered dinner with only my dad and Peggy's kids invited. It was a really nice time and although I'm not too sure how to elaborate further other then it was a great evening and we have a couple of really nice pictures to share.

Writing On Stone

For our second weekend back in Canada we had the Beattie family reunion which included Ryan's mom and dad and all the brothers and sisters. Whoever had trailers brought those and the rest of us stayed in tents. The weather was great and it was a lot of fun to have everyone together. I'm sure that we annoyed a couple of the campers beside us as the 9 grandkids ran together in a wild pack of craziness but they had a blast. We were able to climb in the hoodoo's which are rocks eroded away over time into a climbing playground of dips, caves and peaks. We spent an afternoon on the beach although the current in the Milky River was strong the kids took a ride in the raft letting it carry them down the river. Ryan spent his time setting up a huge underground tunnel system in the sand which turned into a trap waiting for some little feet to trample over it unaware and fall in. We finished the day with a pirate treasure hunt for the kids where they collected treasure at every stop and gaining pirate patches, hats and swords.

Sunday morning we had our own Sunday school class before packing up and heading out. Yay for the Beattie family reunion!!

Calgary Z00

Today we flew into Calgary from Honolulu and Ryan's youngest sister Jessica picked us up with her two boys and we spent the afternoon at the Calgary Zoo where my sister and her boyfriend joined us. It was really great to let the kids run off some of that pent up energy from sitting in the planes for hours and hours plus they were really excited to have their cousins there with them. Brayden and Kaden were pretty cute if it's okay to call two boys that!? But Brayden was thrilled to with Kaden, repeating over and over again that Kaden was his friend and hugging him, holding his hand. We quickly tried to get around to most of the animals sadly skipping the Canadian wildlife section ;) My personal favorite is the hippos because they are so FAT and somehow they can still stand on their tiny little legs... one of those mysteries I suppose!!

Honolulu

After a very long, tiring journey we made it to Honolulu Sunday evening. Our hotel was great and we were only a couple blocks from Waikiki beach so we decided to check it out our first day so we could stay close to the hotel in case we needed some pick me up naps while adjusting to the 16 hour time difference from the Philippines. It was crazy the amount of people that were there but even through the crowds the beach was beautiful and the water looked great. We had a good time playing in the waves and the currents sucking us back into the water. We were able to find a quiet place under the palm tree so we had some shade, we ate breakfast and relaxed for a couple of hours!

After the beach we walked around Waikiki looking at the different shops and vendors. It was busy but the weather was perfect and all the different people kept the kids entertained and there were alot of different things for the kids to look at!

We're Leaving on a Jet Plane

Well I haven't updated in quite a while so I thought I'd just get everyone up to speed on the last couple of weeks!
For those of you that heard about Typhoon Frank, in our area everything is back to normal and dry! We've had quite a bit of sunshine for rainy season but it was needed to help people air out all their wet belongings. I read somewhere that they've only found 34 survivors out of the 800+ that were on the ferry when the Typhoon capsized it but waters are still high and rough which was hurting rescue parties.
Ryan will officially start his Masters in September so we'll be living the students life once again but it'll be the next chapter so it should be good.
In 24 hours we will be sitting at the Guam airport eating breakfast waiting for our flight to Honolulu where we will spend 5 days before continuing onto Lethbridge. We're all really excited go to Hawaii and do the tourist thing for a bit. It'll be a great holiday before our month at home. I think we're mostly packed which is good because we leave in 10 hours! We'll spend our morning at church, come home... rest, pack and clean and then off to the airport. I can't wait!! Brayden is so excited to go on the airplane, go to the beach and see Kaden his cousin!! He will be there picking us up at the airport and so this week Brayden's favorite toys have been his two airplanes.
So off we go... wish us well and please please please send my children sleepy vibes!

Typhoon Frank

This weekend the Typhoon Frank blew through the western visayas leaving us in Bacolod without power. It was the biggest storm that we've encountered since moving to the Philippines and although it was only a signal one storm there seemed to be quite a bit of damage around town. There was a lot of flooding leaving some of our favorite families and their homes completely under water. The Regodos family had their father in Manila and with all flights and boats suspended there is no way for him to get home to his family to help with the flooding!Thankfully some families were able to find refuge at the church! Some houses were left without roofs after they blew off in the wind while the city totally shut down. There was no transportation and with so many people without vehicles of their own it left most of the city without any way of getting food and supplies which is a problem when the majority of people only buy food enough their next meal. Many people were left without power, water and food. Billboards, signs and uprooted trees had fallen on the roads, parking lots and yards. Thankfully here at our house we suffered minimally; the garden looks pretty beat up (the poor Orchids) and we had a window blow out due to the pressure build up. Other then that and a night of little sleep we are all fine and happy the storm is out of our area.
Unfortunately Typhoon Frank has gone straight through the Philippines towards Manila picking up force and strengthening to a signal three storm. Parts of the city are completely under water. The last I heard there were more then 100 dead and 700 missing after the Typhoon caused a ferry to capsize after going dead at sea from engine failure. As of 3pm this afternoon there were only 2 survivors found alive while they were searching the coast line. They are now attempting to enter the boat to see if anyone is trapped alive in an air pocket. It makes me feel sick to my stomach to read the articles about it. There are hundreds of relatives anxiosly awaiting news of their elderly, children and families but all they can give them are descriptions of the dead they find along the coast line, I'll spare the details. Elsewhere 74 deaths have been comfirmed of flooding while others are still missing.
A 45 minute ferry ride north of Bacolod leaves you in a city named Iloilo which is now under a state of destruction after a manmade damn burst leaving at least 30,000 stranded on their roofs while at least 200,000 families in Typhoon Franks path have had to flee their homes throughout these areas.
The Typhoon is scheduled to leave the Philippines sometime this evening...
If anyone is interested in reading more i've included a couple links to some of the newer reports:
700 missing after Philippines Typhoon
Philippine Ferry Sinks... "Worst Disaster"
Hundreds Trapped And Feared Dead In Capsized Ferry; Heavy Rains, Landslides Submerge Entire Communities
Here is a picture I swiped off CBS News:

The Jeepney Ladies

So around Bacolod there are many many different displays of jeepney artwork; different colours, designs and themes. We thought that it would be interesting to show you some or the different styles of jeepneys so you can all experience the greatness of them from wherever you are in the world. Since there are so many great jeeps we'd love to share I'll have to break it up into a couple of different posts according to theme. I thought I'd start by sharing some of my favorites... the ladies!! Although I have most of them my collection is missing a few... Catherine Zeta Jones, Angelina, Julia Roberts and Shakira. My goal is to acquire a picture of each of the ladies!
P.S. For those of you who don't know what a jeepney is the best explanation I can give is the Filipino equivalent to the bus system but much more chaotic! There are literally hundreds of these aggressive drivers with no designated stops so it congests traffic with a whip lash feel. I have to admit the kids just love riding in the jeepneys!!

Kait's Pic's

I've been meaning to do this ever since Kait left at the end of April but haven't ever gotten around to it and now since the kids are back at school I have a little extra time on my hands to play around so here they are...
My favorite pictures of Kaits!!

First Day of SY 2008-2009

Well June 10th marks the day of the new school year! The kids were all ready to head to school this morning in their uniforms and backpacks. Brayden is in the Panda Bear class which is equivalent to pre-kinder level (preschool) and Sydney is in Gummi Bears which is a pre-nursery level. Brayden was a little hesitant at first to go in but once his backpack was in his cubby hole he was fine! Sydney strolled right into the classroom and started playing with the toys.
Of course we had to take the "first day of school" pictures with the kids:

Here is the token picture ready for school at the front door shot with a super cute picture that Brayden our master photographer son took!

Philippine Movie Experience

Last night Ryan and I went to "Prince Caspian" the next Disney installment to the Chronicles of Narnia. It's been a long time since I've been to a movie in North America and i'm not too sure if you can bring in outside food but here in the Philippines you can bring in anything you like to eat... from anywhere. Well ... there are a few exceptions such as rice, fried chicken and ice cream. But other then that you can pack a huge bag of good food and they'll let you in.
After collecting your goodies for the movie you go and purchase your movie ticket and head into the theatre. There is a catch however: they just play the whole reel and then rewind and play again. They don't really have a set time to enter or leave the theatre and you could probably sit there all day watching the movie over and over and no one would mind. The first movie Ryan and I went to we were a little early and headed into the theatre only to realize it was the end of the movie so we quickly had to turn around and leave and wait around for the movie to finish so we wouldn't ruin the experience.
Once you know the previous show is over and people are exiting you enter and find your seat while they rewind the reel and start it up again. You're in your chair munching on all the food that you've brought into the theatre watching the previews for "coming soon" movies and everyone around you stands up with their hands over their hearts and you're left wondering "what in the world...!?" It looks like a music video on the big screen before the movie but then we slowly start to recognize the music as the Philippine National Anthem (Lupang Hinirang) and jump up.
They've made this great video with the staff and executives from one of the News stations here in the Philippines along with many TV/Movie personalities famous here in the Philippines. It's filmed on various historical sights in the Philippines although from what i've noticed I think it's mostly generalized around Manila and doesn't include sights from Central and Southern Philippines.
Here it is:

A Night Without Kids

Ryan and I decided that it was time to get ourselves to Manila and go to the LDS temple. It's the closest one to us and is found an hour north by plane or a 20 hour boat ride. We were able to get a couple of kids from our ward to stay the night at our house with Brayden and Sydney and Ryan and I took off Thursday morning. Since we've done all our journeys with our kids I hadn't realized how wonderful and stress free everything was with out them.
Our hotel was across the street from the Manila Bay and the U.S. Embassy. We tried to take a picture but apparently that's not aloud and we got in trouble by the security guards. We were also a block away from a place named "Rizal Park" where the Philippine Hero Dr. Jose Rizal was executed in 1896 by the Filipino native infantry backed by the Spanish troops. He was charged with implication to the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish rulers and was sentenced to death which ironically the catalyst that precipitated the Revolution. Also at Rizal Park is a HUGE statue of Lapu-Lapu, a Muslim chieftain who was first national hero that resisted Spanish Colonization. We were able to take some great pictures but unfortunately most of our pictures didn't turn out! :(

The left is a picture of Dr. Jose Rizal guarded by 2 soldiers 24/7 and the right has a statue of Rizal being led to his execution but you might have a hard time seeing it through Ryan...

After our walk through Rizal Park we explored a bit until we found ourselves at the Manila Bay where we walked along the coast line. It was so disgusting! Where we started they were filling up this garbage truck with trash from the ocean and then only a little bit away were these kids swimming and washing themselves. Other then the trashy ocean it was a really beautiful walk with a breeze to help cool us down from the hot hot sun.

Ward Party

Today was the one day during the year when our ward from church all gets together and leaves their worries behind, eats good food and plays together. We drove an hour south of Bacolod to a black sand beach named Soleo Beach and rented a couple huts where some of the ladies grilled some fish and pork and fed me raw fish salad in a vinegar dressing. The kids had a blast playing with all the youth, swimming in their clothes and getting all sandy. It was the perfect day; hot, sunny, no wind and when we arrived the tide was out and the beach was waiting!!The kids were pretty tired by the ride home where they Brayden actually laid still for the hour and Sydney fell asleep on one of their favorite babysitters lap (Edgar (Nonoy) Regodos).

The Versatility of the Filipino Motorbike

We had been in Bacolod maybe an hour and everything was new, different and the sun was setting, it quickly getting dark. I was a wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. No familiar stores or restaurants to give us a little comfort and after the attack at the "then" Bacolod airport of porters, taxi drivers, and strangers stares I was starting to get a little freaked out. I was happy to be on the way to the hotel with the promise of dinner and I sat anxiously in the back of the van tightly holding onto my children. It was then Ryan saw one of the most shocking things up to that point in our lives. There driving in front of us was a motorcycle with a welded on side cart carrying a huge pig and what looked like a donkey. At that time we had no idea that 1 1/2 years later that would be nothing! Since that time we've seen pigs the size of cows, chickens, huge bamboo, furniture, 12 people at once, people driving while holding tightly to their open umbrella, and goats (just wait for the jeepney post to hear all the tasty sights when there is more space!). There is nothing that these people can't carry on a motorcycle!
We've been able to collect some pictures of a few of our favorite motorcycle passengers so far:

You can never have enough chicken!!!

Pork + Rice = Dinner

This is how we got around while Kait was here... always good for some stares!