They arrived early Sunday morning and were jet-lagged the whole week they were with us. But, luckily they can sleep anywhere, like at the movie theater, restaurant & lounge

A morning of shopping at Greenhills where we bought knock-off purses and other souvenirs. And of course they got to see “lady-boys”

We had a nice dinner at The Peninsula and then went to the lounge to watch/listen to a live band

These guys flew to Dumaguete from Manila, and then took the hour long ferry boat to get to Siquijor

Getting ready to take our cousin’s boat to Salagdoong Beach (on the way they snorkeled from the bamboo arms)

3-man jump from the platform at Salagdoong

My 17 year old brother about to jump off the platform in the tree at Cambugahay Falls

They enjoyed their time at Cambugahay Falls and made friends with the locals that were also spending the day there

They played some basketball with cousins

They enjoyed the decorations for the “Coconut festival”

And they danced the night away with cousins and new friends at the village disco

Photo of cousins at the disco

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is now on the island of Siquijor and they were able to attend worship service and classes before heading on the ferry and plane back to Manila

Our siblings enjoyed the pool and gym at our condo

After the boys left, my sister-in-law and I did some girl things…like attending a baby shower that the ladies from church threw for me

And I threw a “Pamper Me” Party at our condo and had some friends over and each person had their own massage therapist for an hour

My brother Robbie was also here, but had to stay in Manila with me since his online Master’s Program started that week. But the kids were happy to spend more time with him.

We love spoiling our family when they come to visit us. And they took full advantage to meet our extended relatives and see life in a 3rd world country

My 17 year old brother wrote this on a photo he took to let us know that he had a good time… now he just needs to learn how to spell Philippines, or at least use spell-check!

We finally stayed at Coco Grove Beach Resort and wished we could have spent more time there. The downside is that this resort is an hour away from our family

Many villagers from where our cousin is originally from showed up for the 4 year old birthday party

The Filipinos love lechon and a “free” meal

We had to leave the resort around 6am to get to our cousin’s place to get hair and make-up done

The 12 passenger van we rented, turned into an 18 passenger van as we transported many people to the church

Our family is ready for the wedding to start

Our lovely flower girl who had to wear a different dress since the other one was the wrong measurements…she is growing up too fast

Our handsome escort was bribed to behave for the 2-3 hours we were at the church

Right after the parents walked down the aisle, it was our turn

During the wedding they had live singers and a church choir

The bride (our cousin) and groom with the flower girls and escorts

Since we were the “sponsors” we got to sign the marriage contract

When we arrived at the reception location, the village people were already eating before the wedding party showed up…that was very different than what we are use to

These boys wanted a photo with our kids…not sure if it is because they are “white” or because they are cute. I’m not ready for these older boys to be taking photos with our daughter

At the reception we found more relatives…these sisters are my second cousins

We hosted a Christmas party for our help and their family and gave everyone gifts

We took Matt’s brother, Drew, to Divasoria to buy some gifts to take to our family in Siquijor

We spent an evening at Republiq Dance Club with friends

Less than 24 hours after my parents landed in Manila, we took them to Siquijor to see our family. Our cousins hosted us for lunch/dinner many times.

One cousin opened a Sari Sari (store) and Kalani spent a lot of time there helping to sell items and pretending to be the security guard.

We took my parents to one of our favorite places, Cambugahay Falls

We also found new places that we had not visited on the 3 previous trips we took to Siquijor. Like Infinity Heights Resort where the view was breath-taking and we were glad to share it with our many cousins.

Of course when you find a beautiful place the Filipinos take photos

Drew at Lugnason Falls…a new attraction we hadn’t been to before.

On Christmas Day our cousins rented a karaoke machine.

Also on Christmas Day the boys learned how to prepare lechon (pig)… from slaughter to table, we got the full on Filipino experience.

The boys also went to a cock-fight where our cousin had a rooster fighting.

We couldn’t leave Siquijor without a basketball game…or 2 or 3 or 4 games! Matt was invited to play with the police against a club team one evening.

Our cousin/tour guide takes us around in this rented car every time we come to visit. And we always pack as many people as we can inside.

We love spending time with our cousins.

My dad and his half-grand-nephew were similar in various things…like where they slept. It is a good thing they caught up on their sleep in Siquijor since the fun didn’t stop in Manila!

While waiting for our plane to arrive we spent some time in Dumeguete shopping mall with our cousin Belinda who lives there.

Our cousin ready to board his first plane and spend 5 days in Manila with us.

Our first meal in Manila was at the mall near our home where we had some yummy ramen noodles.

We took the group to the Mall of Asia where we watched the firework show and also people ice skating.

Sherwin had never seen a mall this size.

We had a wonderful buffet dinner at Manila Peninsula and Drew’s “friend” joined us…who Mason liked to be with all the time.

One evening we invited the cousins living in Manila over to our home so Sherwin and my parents could see them.

It was beautiful weather, good company and a lot food while everyone was visiting us for Christmas. We felt truly blessed to have our family with us for the holiday season

What we did while the Hansens were visiting us. Stuff for the kids, for the moms and for the whole family.

Sunday afternoon at the American Cemetery in Manila.

The kids and moms enjoyed a day at Santa Elena Fun Farm. We spent the day fishing, horse back riding, feeding animals, doing a zip line, riding a water buffalo/carabao pulled wagon, etc.

Matt’s co-workers treated us to a Girls Night Out at Palladium.

A friend took us to get our hair colored. I got purple and Makana got blue streaks through out our hair. We are the Fruit Loops in a Cherrio world.

The kids enjoyed a day at Ark Avilon where we were able to feed fish and crocodiles, hold birds and a python. Sadly, Jenny the orangutan was getting a physical so we didn’t get to meet her.

We spent a morning making sock puppets with young girls who have been abused.

The kids enjoyed playing at Kidzville where they could get their energy out and use their imagination.

Just the 2 of us went to Taal Volcano on a day trip.

We met 2 more cousins that are living in Manila and had dinner with them at a mall one night.

We had a long wait for a ferry boat in Dumeguete before we could take the Hansens to Siquijor. So we spent time at the mall getting massages, pedicures, eating, people watching and fish spa…I think she liked the fish eating her dead skin cells!

Now 2 of my siblings have been to Siquijor and visited our long lost relatives.

We all got into our cousin’s boat and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Siquijor.

We picked Mckay up at the airport and headed directly to Siquijor. He was really tired and spent most of the boat ride trying to sleep.

Mckay only had 2 days in Manila with us. So we made sure he had a spa day and then we went to Pagsanjan Falls.

The kids all loved playing with each other for 3 weeks.

I loved being with my sister and showing her around the Philippines.

Ayala Triangle where there was a music and light show for the month of December

We had a lot of fun taking photos at two different 3D art places

Attending Matt’s End of the Year work party at Hotel Manila

Day trip to People’s Palace…or Sponge Bob’s house since he lives in a pineapple

Day trip to Taal Volcano in Tagaytay

Entrance of the Chinese Garden at Rizal Park

Day visit to the American Cemetery in Manila

The Philippines love to celebrate Christmas…even at work with crazy head pieces

Robbie got to meet our cousins from the Philippines for the first time

We went to Cambodia together and Robbie carried Mason for most of the trip

Fish massage in Cambodia…it was nice after walking around all of the temples

We all got a foot massage and Robbie’s lady asked him to take off his pants so she could massage his calves…it was awkward, but gave us all a good life.

Enjoying the view of Siquijor from our resort (Firefly Cove)

Exploring a Tree House Lodge on Siquijor…it was the Ultimate Tree House

Last night with Robbie – Midget Boxing

Last dinner with Robbie was at the Hobbit House…since we did see the movie “The Hobbit”

Using Robbie’s iPod was Mason’s favorite pastime