Our kids had their spring break during the last week of February. So Matt planned out a fun 3-day itinerary and we invited some friends to join us. We were only a few hours out of Manila, but it was nice to get-away from the city and create memories as a family.
As a new year begins and I reflect on the past year that just ended I find that I forget the good and bad things that we experienced. The purpose of this blog is to act as a family journal for posterity, and also share family updates with close friends and relatives. So here is a quick look at our 2017!
We bought a new home and moved into it on March 31
In April, I got to go to Utah for one of my mission companion’s wedding.
The beginning of May, Matt’s sister got married in California.
Towards the end of May, Matt & Tia flew to Utah for the sealing of close friends we met in the Philippines.
There was a really good airfare deal, so a lot of our family came to visit us. We made a trip to Waco to visit the Magnolia Silos.
In June we had a family reunion for the Limary side of the family in Las Vegas. Nearly all of the siblings and grandkids attended.
While in Vegas, we were able to attend the wedding of my brother Robbie.
Right after we got back from Vegas, Kalani and I went to a church girls camp for a week.
Beginning of August, my 17 year old brother passed away. All of the siblings and spouses were able to attend the funeral in California.
The end of August, Matt & I took a trip to Florida to scuba dive and visit with close friends that we had met in the Philippines.
We got hit with Hurricane Harvey in August. So most weekends in September were spent “mucking” homes as we raced to tear out sheet rock, carpet, cabinets, etc, before mold could set in.
Halloween was a wet evening, but the cousins got together to trick-or-treat (despite the downpour) and got a lot of candy.
Mom & Dad Farley visited us in November.
We had a full house for Thanksgiving that we hosted.
Kalani was in a lot of plays this year. Fiddler on the Roof, Little Women, Cinderella & Macbeth to name a few.
When it snows in Texas it is worth staying up until midnight for a snowball fight.
And finally, we spent 3 1/2 weeks in the Philippines to celebrate Christmas and ring in the New Year.
For the past three years we have employed Helen & Marliyn as our live-in household kasambahay and would like to now advertise a very strong recommendation for their services.
Why should you hire them?
Why should you hire Marilyn specifically?
Why should you hire Helen specifically?
Other FYI’s:
We will be out of town Dec 23-Dec 27, so they will both be available for interviews during that window. Otherwise, we leave Jan 8 and they’ll be available to work full-time after that.
Helen can be reached at: 0905 678 1494
and Marilyn: 0915 670 4453
One of Marilyn’s more “simple” dinner spreads
Helen taking good care of our baby
Helen playing with the baby
Helen playing video games with our middle child
Marilyn front-row left, Helen far right
Marilyn learned how to bake on her own and these cookies are good I told her to make me a batch every Saturday! They’re a hit with my friends too.
After spending two solid days in Abu Dhabi with our friends Kym and Will, we drove the 90 minutes or so to see our other friends in Dubai for three and a half days. We first met Carey and her family at church in the Philippines where they lived near us for a year and we became fast friends. Our kids were very excited to visit with them again and play with their toys and dog. Carey acted as our tour guide and babysitter when we needed one. It was wonderful to be able to reminisce about friends and the Philippines with their family. After spending a week in the UAE during the cool season I would be willing to move there.
Most of the ride from Abu Dhabi to Dubai looked like this…a lot of nothing but sand. After living in a concrete jungle for three years, I think this view is beautiful.
Sometimes we came across these air conditioned bus stops.
Getting gas in the UAE is time consuming. Since there aren’t a lot of gas stations in the country, you wait in long lines to fill up your car.
We made it to our friend’s home and it was great to to see them again and our kids couldn’t wait for their kids to get home from school.
Our first evening in Dubai, we left the kids with our friends and Matt and I had another date night. This time at the Mall of the Emirates. Matt tried snow boarding at Ski Dubai, and I watched the penguin show since I have only tried skiing once in the fourth grade and that wasn’t a fun experience.
We had a delicious dinner at Karam Beirut where we were also able to watch people on the slopes at Ski Dubai.
Day 1
Our friend and tour guide, Carey, had us walking a lot on our first morning.
First stop was to Al Bastakiya area to attend a culture breakfast at Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding. We ate the traditional food that Emerati families would eat and then we were able to ask any question to our hosts about their country, culture, or anything else on our mind. Yummy food, very informative and fun.
We walked to the water taxi area and rode the boat for a short ride to cross the Dubai creek so we could see some spice souk & gold souk.
GOLD ring that is big enough for a giant!
While the older kids stayed home to play with their friends and toys, Blake joined Matt & I at the Dubai Mall where we took him to his first aquarium.
Blake wasn’t sure about this glass flooring where there were large fish (maybe some sharks) underneath. He was too scared to walk over the clear areas.
While waiting to watch the Dubai Mall fountain show, Blake was making friends.
Duabi Mall fountain show is only about three minutes, but was fun to watch and to see Blake enjoy the lights, music and water.
Night view of the Burj Khalifa after the water show. We actually watched the water show twice before heading home.
Day 2
Our friends got us 9am tickets to go up the tallest building in the world, The Burj Khalifa.
You don’t actually go all the way to the top of the building, but still at 452 meters (494 yards), we made the records books.
Our kids looking out at Dubai from the Burj Khalifa
If the Burj Khalifa had a voice, this what it would say.
We had time to spare in the afternoon, so we went to the “Atlantis The Palm” hotel and walked around their Lost Chambers Aquarium.
In the late afternoon we got picked up in a four-runner and headed out to the desert to experience a desert safari. Blake stayed home with our friends for the evening since he was too young.
There were so many cars there to do “dune bashing.” It is like a roller coaster ride in the car.
We stopped and watched the sunset during our time of dune bashing.
We arrived at the “Arabian Nights Tour” dinner location where hundreds of people gather for a buffet dinner, entertainment and a fun experience. Mason quickly made friends with the majority of the kids there and they all played tag.
Mom & daughter henna.
Camel ride was short, but now we can say we rode a camel in the desert.
Farley family as Emiratis.
Day 3
In the Middle East, Fridays are the Sabbath day. So we got to attend church with our friends inside this villa that is the LDS church building.
After dinner we drove about 15-20 minutes and pulled off on the side of the road and picked a “camp ground” area in the sand dunes. Matt caught this small lizard as it was zipping over the sand dunes.
We got to watch the sunset with friends.
We built a fire in the sand and made s’mores.
To end our Friday Sabbath, we went home and decorated Halloween sugar cookies.
Day 4
We woke up early and went to the JBR beach where they “mow” the sand.
We spent a couple of hours playing on these inflatables in water and enjoying the company of friends.
Mason got to help carve a pumpkin since it was Halloween. Poor boy is six years old and that was his first time to “carve” a pumpkin.
We had such a fabulous time being with friends and exploring Dubai.
More photos of Dubai here.
Matt has a best friend since he was about 12-13 years old. They went through the teenage years together, prepared and served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, went through the dating scene, went on a cruise together and now are both married and with kids. And when they get together it as if no time as past since they were last together, and they act like they acted when they were half their age! Ryan’s wife served a mission for the LDS church in Taiwan and with us now living in Manila, the end of February was a perfect opportunity for them to visit her mission and visit us in the Philippines.
“Sawyer and Farley” about age 14
The four of us had fun eating out and just being together
Enjoying a PBA (Philippine Basketball Association) game
Sawyer family ready for Pagsanjan Falls. It rained heavily the day before, so we were only able to go 1/3 of the way, but it was still an enjoyable trip.
Lounging around at a hotel; the boys wanted to be comfortable!
View of Taal Volcano. We weren’t able to go to the volcano because of the rains, but it was still a nice view once the raining stopped
Spent the day on Corrigedor Island. On the way back our ferry rescued a fisherman that was treading water for a few hours.
The boys went scuba diving at Eagle’s Point
We hung out at home talking a lot and catching up. Mason really liked hanging out with the Sawyer family and continues to pray for them
