This and That

I know I haven't really been too good about keeping my website up to date lately but it just doesn't seem like we have too much going on worthy enough to talk about. BUT this week we had a couple of interesting things happen so instead of writing a post for every one I thought I'd just smash it together into one post and save myself some time and effort.
First thing, we had a pipe leak which started a couple months ago but got pretty bad lately. It started to get plugged so my laundry would never drain and just little annoying things like that. We deciced that it was time to stop procrastinating and get someone in to fix it. The downer to getting it fixed was that we had to shut our water off for the cement to cure so we filled our bathtub with water storage so we could manually flush the toilets, wash our faces, things like that. So with our bathtub filled we shut the water off and braved the next day. We had to take a picture of the bathtub so that you all can see the great water that we clean ourselves in, the water is seriously untouched, straight from the tab, no dirty kids have yet to touch it!!

Ryan is really good about bringing me home flowers on a regular basis and this time he brought a flower we nicknamed "The Brain" because we thought it resembled what we think a brain looks like. It's a really pretty flower that we've never seen before but think is quite interesting.

I got a new helmet for the motorbike which I love! I really get frustrated when Ryan drives really fast and the dirt, wind and bugs are flying into my eyes and mouth so I finally found a small sized full faced helmet. I have a pretty tiny head so a bonus is that the helmet not only fits me but it somewhat fits on Braydens head as well which he just loves. It is his helmet when he's on the bike and once we drop him off it becomes mine. It's a pretty good trade off although it kind of looks super huge on Brayden!
The last and most important of our weekly events was Ryan's birthday on Sunday. Saturday after work Focus threw him a surprise party with lots of food, cards and cake. That evening I whipped up some Chicken Parmesan which I have to admit was one of the tastiest meals i've ever made ;) Sunday Ryan was asked to speak in church, which of course was great, and after church we had our Bishop and his family over for Sunday dinner. It was a pretty relaxing day but it was really nice to spend the time together with the family before Ryan gets into his Masters/Work crazy schedule.

I'd like to end by putting a shout out to my dad who shares his birthday with Ryan!!

Sydney's First Field Trip

This week Sydney, her classmates, Teacher Summer, Teacher Inah and Ms. Charms were able to go on a little adventure to the local SM (Super Mall). It gave them a chance to get out of the classroom and go to a indoor playground for a while. She was able to drive around in those big plastic cars, slides, have a tea party and of course her favorite thing: play with babies. She loves babies and the one she has (cabbage patch doll from Auntie Kait) has survived a fair amount of abuse in her young existance.

Here are some pictures of Sydney and classmates:

There is nothing a little girl likes more then to play with some domestic mini's like a kitchen, tea sets and shopping carts. Personally I don't see the attraction, I prefer to stay away from those things myself...

The "ber" Months

I guess September officially marks the start of the "ber" months. I know in Canada September means back to school, cooling evenings and even the start of the leaves on trees turning yellow and amber. Here in the Philippines the kids have been back at school since June, the evenings defiantly aren't feeling any cooler to me and the trees are still the same brilliant green they always are. I guess here on Negros Island the sugar cane is getting ready to be harvested and is looking pretty tall in the fields! In Bacolod City it means that only 1 more month until the Masskara Festival starts. The bright flashy masks have made their way onto the displays in the department stores and I can't wait for those huge metal shipping crates from Negros Navigation Shipping tbe placed in the corners of downtown to act as the drunk tank throughout October. But here in the Philippines the one thing that the "ber" months mark is the beginning of Christmas. Who can do Christmas better then a people who celebrate it for 4 months of the year!? Back home I can remember feeling sick when I heard that first Christmas song on the radio in early November... I will have to start working on my gag reflex A.S.A.P. before I hear that first Christmas song any day now. Only yesterday at the department store I saw a display of Christmas tree ornaments although when I mentioned it to Ryan he said they were probably there all year round. Maybe this year will be lucky #3 for us and we'll buy our coveted Filipino Nativity set with the pig on a spit (or "Lechun" as they call it) that we've looked at over these past 2 Christmas' in the Philippines. I have to admit... I am looking forward to those cool December days of high twenties (that's *C for you Americans who still use *F). It will be a refreshing break from the heat of the rest of the year.
Here's a little early Christmas love from us Beatties:

Right Into The Swing of Things

Well we've back in the Philippines for a week and a half now and things seem to be like we never left. The kids are back at school, Ryan is back full swing into work and we've been able to catch up with all our friends.
We all survived the 14 hour flight from Vancouver to Manila with minor complications. Air Canada lost our luggage in Vancouver but we were fortunate enough to get it delivered to our house only a couple days after we arrived. The kids were amazing travellers as usual and I learned something new... People import Cocks from Canada!! I don't know if they are for breeding or for fighting but when we started our decent down to Manila the Roosters were crowing like crazy! At first I thought I was imagining it thinking I must be going crazy hearing the Roosters already (this is how I have woken up every morning for almost the last 2 years!) but then Brayden noticed and started crowing with them. We see them all the time on domestic flights in their little cardboard boxes with holes all over the place but i've never seen them on an international flight before! So way to go Canada for breeding international Roosters.
I've mentioned this to our family but for other readers coming home brought one huge dissapointment! Apparently a week before we arrived back into the Philippines the country passed a law limiting the passengers allowed on a motorbike to two only!! AND they both must be wearing helmets. To make it worse if there is a child on the bike they have to be at least 7 years old!! This means that now when we take the kids to school we must be super sneaky and put Brayden in clothes that make him look 7. Unfortunately this rule really sucks for those who only can afford a motorbike and it's their only means of transporting their family members to school and to work. I'm sure that this will be hard on a lot of families now having to take other means.... gas prices are now at $1.50 US and jeepney prices on the rise and rice going up it will be more difficult for these family then it already is!
In other news it was my birthday and now i'm old! But other then that... things are all good, all the same and everyone is well!

Cardston, Alberta

We drove down to Cardston Friday night after Ryan was finished work to spend the night with Leslie and Dustin before we leave to the Philippines again and we went to the Cardston Rodeo. We didn’t end up staying for too long but for the little time that Brayden did spend there he’s been pretending to rope calf’s since.

The following day was the Cardston parade where Ryan’s family all collected on the side of the road to catch as much candy as we could. Unfortunately my kids weren’t quite as prepared as I had hoped and although we left with some good treats we just didn’t have the numbers that we could have ;) Brayden and Sydney seemed pleased with their collection of sugar!

Invermere, B.C.

For the August long weekend we went out to Invermere BC with my family. For those of you who don’t know where that is the best explanation I can give is that it’s inbetween Fairmont Hot Springs and Radium. From Lethbridge it’s normally a 5 hour drive but for us it took about 7 with stops to pick up Matthew; my sister’s boyfriend, letting the kids pee, blah blah blah it was a long drive. It was raining through parts of it but we were able to spot the brightest rainbow i've ever seen. Unfortunately this picture really doesn't do it justice! But thankfully the drive was rewarded with a tasty meal and great weather for the remainder of the weekend. It was really relaxing! We were able to go to the market where I picked up some delicious blackberries (yummy) which we ate on Vanila ice cream while everyone else was out, muahaha. The kids enjoyed the slip and slide and we set up the badminton net where Ryan and I kicked some serious butt. The boys also played a game of sepaktakraw which is a Malaysian form of soccer in the youtube clip below (I suggest taking the couple of minutes to watch it... they have some really amazing moves!). We also rented some canoes for a couple of hours and coasted out in the wetlands hoping to catch some otters and although we came out of the mission unsuccessful we were able to see a Blue Heron taking flight out of the reeds. Thankfully our ride home was much shorter with a dinner stop at the White Spot, mmm.

So for those of you people who have no idea what sepaktakraw is I thought I would add this youtube clib of a game. It's kind of older and long but it's got a pretty decent commentary so if you have a couple of minutes check it out!!

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!!