Filipino Easter!

We will never have another Easter celebration with out remembering our time here in the Philippines. It is because of these goof balls that it was so special. AND we had the Clayton clan pay us a visit from Singapore  which made it that much better. 

I was a little nervous when I thought about having six kids six and under but it all worked out. Especially when you have plenty of helpers to man the fort. Truly, a relaxing, fun, time.

Syd scored the "golden" egg this year, not an easy accomplishment. Fred put extra effort into finding difficult hiding spots for the eggs.  This is a picture of him "pre-egg" hunt, cutting into a coconut to hide the treasures. I had to remind him that we wanted to the kids to have success.

Let the games begin.

Jeane and Fred spent a lot of time planning and preparing Filipino games for us to enjoy. I can not remember the Filipino game names but here are a few shots of our fun filled activities.

This game is similar to our version of the fishing pond, but the kids had to jump for the treats while our new driver Samy, was the levy man.

This game was fun one too! Slightly more difficult but similar to a pinata,  this little clay pot (palayok) is filled with treats and flour, when the kids connect it makes for a nice powdery explosion. The kids loved it.

These guys poured on the games thick, they loved them every bit as much as the kids.

My Easter fuzzy had serious concentration going. The next game made me laugh the most, to the point of tears (all at the expense of my little ones, of course). They had to dig for treats (w/out hands) in a plate of flour...what is it with the flour? Trent was slightly annoyed with this one. Sorry kids, I hope the treats were worth it.

This game should have a disclaimer.....

Need I say more? 

I was not about to post the picture of Trent and I swinging our eggs. The determined winner is who

ever cracks their egg first.

The best Easter ever. really.

Tate and Maren

My honey bunny

Ready, set, go!

Brent School Easter egg hunt.

Look at my sweet little blond with these cute Asian boys.

READY, SET, GO!

Sydney and Haun-Yaung.

Be Responsible

Syd has been diligent in learning her part for her class play. Anytime Tate or Emmy go in to "crazy mode" she has been sure to  remind them in her very theatrical stage voice....

"It's being responsible for what you do, for your actions and your behavior." 

All of her pre-mothering has paid off, she delivered her part flawlessly. Good job Syd!

Mr. Fadera 

Syds "production manager" and gym coach. I had to include this because

the guy has abnormal amounts of animated energy. The kids love him.

Water Babies

These pictures capture how our kids feel about their swim lessons perfectly.....

LOVES

DREADS

LIKES

HOLY HOT! Bring on the swimming, it is summertime in the Philippines and it feels like it.We started with our new swim coaches (Jay and Jet)  this week, the kids are making great progress. Emmy swims like a fish. Tate can swim but looks like he is drowning and Syd is working on proper form. I love watching each of them and seeing the progress they make with each lesson. One of the best parts about living here has been the convenience of having our own pool, for sure.

Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming!

My Tate

This is my boy....

really, all mine.

He makes me laugh every day (sometimes cry). I thought I would share a couple of things about my

TATE:

*He wears a costume every morning to take Syd to the bus stop. Usually batman, pirate, or winter wear (I am not sure how that stuff got here) never mind the heat.  Sweat and all, he is a devoted costume wearer.

*He is obsessed with changing his clothes at least five times daily, this is of course, after he is out of his morning character gear.

*He is in love with one of his school teachers, (Teacher "Can-can") AND YES, that is really her name. He told me that I was pretty like her. But I am not so sure, because when he sees her he completely forgets that I exist. The beginning of the end, I suppose.

*He asks for cookies everyday of his life. I usually keep a stash of cookie dough in the freezer, I have warned him that if we do not cook them first we might get sick because of the raw egg in the dough. Sometimes he will ask me in the cutest voice "Hey can I have some rotten egg cookies?"

*He talks with a Filipino accent. 

*He does the best cross eyed look ever  and is always trying to make others laugh.

Ark of Avilon

This is my "Oh gosh you are stronger than you look face!" I know this little guy looks sweet but he had a serious grip, and wondering hands. I could not decide if I should blush or slap him. Tate and Em had another outing that took us to this small indoor zoo. But as soon as they saw the monkey they were out of there. I tried to show them how fun it was to get a picture with a classy dressed prime mate but I don't think my body language help persuade them.

 Feeding rodents a carrot from a hot dog stick was much more appealing to them.

But in my world, this was way more fun. (So help me if I ever own a pair of crocs)

Especially when I talked our guard (Fred) into a few snap shots, I have laughed the last three days just thinking about this curious monkey.

I KID YOU NOT......

Poor Fred!

And that, my friends, sums up a day at the Ark of Avilon!

Whale Sharks

Don Sol

There are only a few places in the world that you can swim with whale sharks and this is one of them. We heard this trip was a must if we got the chance so the end of February we headed south with a few of our friends. Any activity that involves shark in the word, is an automatic turn off for me but they really are GENTLE GIANTS (as they refer to them). When we jumped in the first time I thought I was going to die, I flipped out big time. I am sad we don't have any great pics of the whale sharks.

The gear

The groupies

Andersons

Frosts

Langheims

We had such a good time that we went round two the next day. It is hard to believe how massive these fish are. It is like swimming over the top of a tour bus.

Whale Spotter

You jump off the side while the boat is still moving....

You do this over and over for about four hours or until you are sick of pulling yourself back in. The whales surface and dive. Totally, entertaining.

 This is Omar our cute guide (and his hanging mole, no joke). I tried to not stare. This is a picture of Brad, me and my very personal mole encounter. Squirming...yes.

                  

                  My favorite part of the trip...

            cards,

mango shakes,

good tunes

and the

fun company!

Refer to Trents face book for live video feed of whale sharks.