Philippines Part 5!

The last day before I left we took a trip to Pagsanjan Falls. It was very beautiful. It was so green and there were smaller waterfalls all the way because it had been raining. We had river guides that paddled us up the river and back down again. The were cute and kept asking us if we were having a good time.



Our guides literally "pushed" us up the river. They would hop out of the boat and push or just stick their feet out and push off the rocks.



People live up and down the river and these guys were out washing their clothes!







Me and mom heading up the river.





Dad and I in our lovely lifejackets in front of one the smaller falls.




When we got to the big falls you could pay extra to go up under. Wendi, Mom, Benny and I were brave enough to try. (Along with a cute Japanese couple who were intent on wearing their hard hats the whole time.)



Look how much fun my cute Mom had! (Look at the guide peeking over our shoulders. What a look!)


The brave crew in front of Pagsanjan Falls.

Trip to Banue (Philippines part 4)

This is the part of my trip where I almost died! Oh yeah! I was on the brink. Did I mention before that there are no straight roads in the Philippines? I know I did, anyway that's where my near death experience comes in. We took a trip up to Banue where they have 2000 year old rice terraces. It was an 8-9 hour trip. A lot of slowing down and speeding up, bumpy crazy roads, and of course some killer switchbacks! I don't do well with motion anyway but this was crazy! When we got to the hotel I couldn't even sit up, let alone walk. It was all I could do NOT to toss my cookies :( I was pathetic, it really wasn't pretty. I had to get help out of the car and up to my room. I was a lovely shade of green. I did however live to see another day, yay! After a good night's rest (and a lot of medication) I emerged in the morning for another day of fun and adventures.
I think Benny thought that I had a weak constitution because when I came down the next morning he was pushing for me to buy a walking stick from a cute little lady in the lobby. I'm pretty sure that he thought I was a huge wimp and that he would have to push me all the way. (BTW he wasn't pushing a walking stick on Wendi or Erik!) So in the pictures you can see the famous walking stick and the cute little lady who sold it to me also. (She jumped in the picture in front of the hotel. The Filipino's love to have their picture taken!)
It was an amazing place and I'm glad that I didn't die :) and was able to see it.

Part 3 WWII Sites

There is a lot of U.S. history that occurred in the Philippines especially during WWII. We were able to visit Corregidor which is where the Japanese landed and where MacArthur returned later. The POW's from Corregidor were part of those that endured the Bataan Death March. We were also able to visit the American Cemetery in Manila which is pretty amazing. These 2 days were the only days when the weather wasn't fabulous. It poured on us the day we went to Corregidor (which is why I have such lovely hair in all the pics), and the day we went to the cemetery it was really windy, (again, the lovely hair). However the weather didn't affect us too much and I am glad I was able to visit these places.

Philipinnes Part 2

One of my most favorite things that I got to do in the Philippines was to go to the Mabuhay house with my mom. Through a foundation, children (and sometimes adults) are brought from all over the Philippines for surgeries to correct birth defects or other problems. While they recuperate or are between surgeries they stay at Mabuhay house. My mom and a group of ladies go most every week and do some activity with the kids. They bring lunch with them too, and usually it is the only day they get meat. They just don't normally have the funds. I was able to go and see my mom in action. She is loved by those kids and the people there. They all came running and gave her a hug and she loves them back, it was very evident. They welcomed me with open arms too. It is amazing how loving the Filipino people are! The children are adorable and I wanted to take them all home with me. Especially the little peanut in the picture below. She was singing Twinkle Twinkle at the top of her lungs and doing the actions and it was just too much. Sooo adorable!
As part of our Christmas tradition we as an extended family try to find someone to help with the money we would normally spend on each other. The last 2 years we have sent our money to Mom and she would get supplies for Mabuhay house. This year my mom saved the money for when I was able to come. I was able to shop for them and get what they needed and deliver it to them. It was an indescribable experience. One of the little girls got so excited when she saw the powdered milk we brought (she loves milk and they cannot afford to buy it in any form) I had to hold back the tears. We are so blessed, crazily so, and sometimes we need to see others in need before we really understand this. I am so glad that I was able to have this experience with my mom. She is really an awesome lady.

My cute mom in action!





The cute little peanut I wanted to take home with me.













The boy with the funky goggles was born with cataracts due to mom's poor nutrition while pregnant. They were able to remove them and he is now just seeing for the first time. The little girl on the left is having her club feet corrected. She took a big chunk out of the middle of her bangs with scissors. Hee! Hee! Kids are the same no matter where you are!

Back in the Saddle!

I'm back! I'm sure the few people out there who actually read my blog were starting to wonder what had happened. I wish I could give you a fantastic reason for my absence but mostly I just procrastinated, and got a little lazy. No more! I am up and running. So hold on here we go!

Philippine Trip

I had the amazing opportunity to go and visit my parents in the Philippines all by myself. That's right! No husband or kids, I left them here in the inversion, cold and snow and ran away for almost 2 weeks! Needless to say it was hard to leave them, but I had a FABULOUS time! I had so many adventures and it was difficult to pick just a few pictures to share. I left the end of January and got back on February 8th. I had a few days by myself with Mom and then Wendi and Erik joined us for the rest of the time.

THINGS I LOVED ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES:
*The beautiful people (especially the children, so adorable!)
*The fresh mango's, pineapple, and banana's
*Mango shakes!
*The weather and how green everything was
*Seeing Mom and Dad and hearing of their day to day adventures
*Just being able to be there and see all new things

THINGS I DID NOT LIKE ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES:
*The horrendous traffic in Manila
*The noise
*That there is not a straight road to anywhere!

The first day I got to experience the fresh market. It is outdoors with a roof overhead and you go there to get fruits, veggies, and meats. No FDA there to regulate things so you could find just about anything there out in the open. Fish of all kinds, including sting rays and eels. Chicken, goat, beef, or pork which they would cut (or kill if needs be) to your specifications! It was an eye opener and the first of many adventures! We picked out fish for dinner that night and Benny (my parents driver and basically do it all guy) cooked it up for us. It was delicious!