SWEET SYDNEY IS SIX!

What happened to my little peanut? Time really does fly. I have a handful of memories that I consider to be "the best of the best" of my life.  The day that Sydney joined our family was definitely one of them. The first 24 hours of Sydney's life, I was running on pure adrenaline (okay maybe the drugs helped) but I could not sleep, I was thrilled beyond measure with our little girl.  Nothing could have prepared me for the feeling of intense love that came with our little Sydney Sunshine. I am so grateful for her happy little attitude, her friendly skills,  and the way she treats Tate and Emmy.

We love you Syd!

ONE

TWO

 A love for swim suits year around.

THREE

FOUR

Syd's first official birthday Party. (Run, Jump & Play)

FIVE

SIX

I feel like overnight Sydney has gone from a toddler to an independent little lady. Maybe loosing her first baby tooth has aged her. Here are a few things that I have noticed about the Sydster lately. She wants to do her own hair or at least make additions (I smile on the outside, cry on the inside). No more dining on plastic toddler ware, she has noticed that Trent and I use different place settings and now makes sure she is above the Ikea dish ware. She is also very aware of herself and her out fit for the day. Syd wares a very preppy uniform to school but loves to add pink socks to give it her own flare. She is quick to point out on me or anyone else, what is "cute" and what is "not really cute". I always appreciate these observations because she is sincerely trying to help. You are right Syd, I should roll my socks "snake" style. Everything she colors or writes is done in a rainbow pattern, EVERYTHING. She is a little sponge that is soaking everything up. I love, love, love that she is becoming her own person, her  questions about life and her overall desire to do what is right. We love you Sydney.

Bohol'd Out! (the never ending post)

Kind of funny huh? These little guys (tarsier monkeys)  can only be found in Bohol. Totally cute AND creepy.  I was proud of Cassie, she hates any kind of animals...being in the Philippines brought out a side in her I have never seen....posing, spelunking, teaching our dive crew how to make "awkward" sounds with her arm pits, she was awesome and did me proud. She even let the iguana perch on her shoulder, is this really my sister?

After the animal kingdom we went to see the famous chocolate hills. Totally awesome. There are over 1000 of this perfectly shaped little mountains. I wish I could explain how they came to be but that's not my specialty. So enjoy these pics. It really was a unique, beautiful place.

Chocolate hill kisses

The best part of our day, maybe even the whole trip was our ATV rides around the chocolate hills and through rice fields. Since it was a bit muddy, we purchased some really ugly t-shirts and went for it. LOVED IT!  Sure our machines were a bit sketchy but it just added to the adventure.

I love him

AND

her....

I was so sad when our ATV adventure was over, well worth the muddy toes. We also went to this hanging bridge (not a must see).

Cassie giving us a wave

Our trip to Bohol was nothing short of AWESOME and I am so happy that I got to share it with some of my favorite people.  That pretty much sums up our two week adventure with my sister and niece. It was fast and furious fun.  My kids felt a little left out, I am going to have to make it up with some good cousin time this summer. Thanks Cassie and Beth for the visit! 

Total adventure.

I should mention that our two weeks O' Fun would not have been possible with out our Rock Star Jeane. She is more than cool. She kept my kids happy, fed and clean.  Not to mention, my house was nice and tidy. I am not sure how she does it but I really appreciate the sweet gig I have going.

Bohol Part 3 Bat Cave

We did a little spelunking after our morning of snorkeling. It was okay, I am not a huge fan of caves....maybe because it reminds me of my high school days and the time spent at the old Nutty Putty. I got wedged in a hole once, behind Jon Overson, who totally let one go. I nearly had a panic attack right then and there. Caves just equal bad smell to me and this cave was no different.  For what ever reason Cassie seemed to enjoy.

After our killer cave visit we headed to some falls. We were not able to swim because their had been to much rain run off. Darn. It was worth the drive over because I was able to snap a photo of these two. I am not sure why but pictures like this, make me smile..... 

I know Beetle would have gotten in.

Back to our resort, Amorita really was a great place to stay. The service was exceptional and the food was first class.  The chef aimed to please and made sure we were happy with every meal.

I liked the chef, almost as much as I liked CRIZ....The bartender. He hooked me up with a calamansi slush every time I sat down. I asked Trent how he felt about bringing Criz back to Manila with us. Surely we could use someone to whip up yummy drinks. Trent didn't buy it.

Bohol Part 2

 

 Day three started with an early morning snorkeling trip 6:00 AM (I thought this was vacation?) Our boat captain (Etchim) was awesome, his boat was not. These are the typical boats we use but his motor looked like the size of a hand held fan that you would use to cool yourself down with in some theme park in southern Kentucky. I wondered if we would make it out to our destinations before sunset. We did and we even were able to see some dolphins along the way.

Amorita Resort

Bohol had great snorkeling, Trent and I were sad that we have one more dive to be scuba certified. Their were tons of colorful fish. Trent was loving the starfish and spent a lot of his time diving for them. We also were able to swim with a couple of sea turtles. I would totally recommend Bohol to anyone...it is GREAT! (for all of you who are anxiously planning your third world visit)

These ladies came to sale us their treasures.... pearls, shells and coral jewelry. They had cute stuff and we happily gave them our business!

We pretty much chilled the rest of the day with a quick trip to a local cave hmmmm....I will save that for another day.  Thanks Cassie, Beth and Trent for a fun ocean adventure :)

BOHOL & CEBU

Cassie and Beth had a packed schedule while they were here. They were able to see  a lot of the Philippines in just two weeks. We stayed at some real "raw" places (giving it too much credit) in Banaue (rice terraces) so Bohol was definitely our reward and a great place for them to end their vacation. One thing that I thought was sweet about Tagbilaran is they have a city ordinance of no pornography so all of their motor trikes have sweet little "spiritual" sayings painted all over the back of their trikes. Bohol really did have the best Filipino people yet. The beach and resort were great and I know and recognize that I say this every time but....... "This place is the best!"

(This time I'm serious)

We had some good, relaxing girl time our first day. Day two, we jumped on a two hour ferry ride to Cebu Island and went to the temple. I loved my my sister/niece time and will never forget our day in Cebu. 

I will never forget, not only because we had a nice time at the temple BUT right after our temple visit we jumped on the back of these motorcycles to check out "Topps"- top of a mountain with a view of Cebu Island. It is here that I received my permanent Philippines souvenir. It hurt...what am I talking about, it still hurts (three weeks later). I have never been blessed with "sexy legs" but this beauty makes it final. Make sure you get off the opposite side of the muffler when exiting your motor scooter.

My pre-third degree burn smile.

Temple attending, motorcycle cruz'n Momma. I am weird. 

My fake "What a lame view, I am nauseous with pain smile"

Okay, the view was not lame it was awesome. After motor adventure 2011, we also took a jeepney ride. The real deal, full of Filipinos, jeepney ride. The locals were looking at us like "you crazy white people". Maybe we enjoyed the jeepney ride too much, but how can you beat 8 pesos?

Trent was their to greet us at the resort, and tell me how much he loves my legs with a little character. We ended our day with awesome food (grilled blue marlin) and good company :)