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Posts Tagged ‘mason’

Spring Break 2019

April 27th, 2019 No comments

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.

Day 1

Lunch at Marcia Adams near Tagaytay
Sunset at Lago de Oro resort
No electronics on this road trip, so they played cards

Day 2

We drove about 90 minutes to Canyon Cove
We got to play on this inflatable island by ourselves for an hour or so
View from our room of Canyon Cove

Day 3

Morning snorkeling near Canyon Cove resort
We drove a couple of hours to People’s Park in Tagaytay
We spent hours on this outside porch at the Air BnB talking and enjoying the fresh air in Highlands, Tagaytay

Day 4

We drove about an hour away to arrive at Republic Wake Park. While Matt & Tia did some wake boarding, the boys played in the pool while Kalani watched them
A couple of Matt’s former co-workers from Chevron met us at Republic Wake Park
After lunch we drove 45 minutes to Enchanted Kingdom to meet up with some friends
Blake’s first time on roller coasters and he LOVED it

Baby shower for a Legend

April 26th, 2019 No comments

Over five years ago while living in the Philippines, we really wanted one more baby. But, we needed help to get pregnant. Matt did some research and found KatoReproBiotech in Makati. We saw them and soon we were pregnant with Blake. We told some other friends who also had some problems getting pregnant about Kato and they went to see them and were able to get pregnant. While at lunch with this mom who was expecting her first child after seeing Kato, I told her I would throw her a small baby shower for the people in our church congregation to be able to celebrate this miracle with her. Well, things changed and we ended up combining our small “church friends” shower, with her main shower — which included several famous people/couples from the entertainment business in which she and her husband work. Thankfully, this mother-to-be was able to help with getting food and party favors donated (“sponsored”). I did the decorations, games and some other food. Overall it was a really fun baby shower and we heard everyone had a great time.

With the parents-to-be
Food spread
Our helpers who worked behind the scenes to keep everything in order
Blake got to be reunited with Billy Crawford & Coleen Garcia
Everyone who came to the baby shower
You can watch the video of the shower here on our friend’s channel
About 6 weeks after the shower, I got to hold baby Legend

2018 Year Review

April 24th, 2019 No comments
In January we celebrated 15 years of marriage
We went to the Bay Area and got to see Apple, Google & Facebook
We had brunch with other Chevron employees that were in the Philippines with us
Family got together in California for the funeral of Grandpa Farley
Matt bought a new car
Attended a wedding in Cebu, Philippines
We had an 8 hour layover in Taipei
Mason played Simba in the play “The Lion King”
Girls night to watch Hamilton
Cousins get together to play Dungeons & Dragons
Neighborhood block party that Tia arranges
Mason’s YMCA baseball team
Poulson Family Reunion in Utah
We put our dream home on the market and it sold in a few weeks
Exploring the Philippines and making new friends
We participated in #LightTheWorld in buying gifts for people in the Philippines
Spending Christmas in Phuket, Thailand with friends

Cebu Vacation – Plantation Bay

April 22nd, 2019 No comments

At the end of November we had plane tickets to fly to Cebu for the long weekend. But Blake started to seem sick and after taking him to the doctors we found out that he had the “mouth” part of Hand-Foot-Mouth virus. So, Matt & the oldest two went to Plantation Bay resort in Cebu, while Blake and Tia stayed in our empty condo resting.

They got to have a private cooking class at the resort
Waiting for the boat to arrive for their island hopping tour
Their dad takes them to the resort’s club
With no one else really in the club the kids could take center stage
Massage while in the jacuzzi
These three had a great time at Plantation Bay. Hopefully Blake and Tia will be able to join them on another stay there.

Philippines Vacation – Subic Bay

April 21st, 2019 No comments

During the three years that we lived in the Philippines the first time (2013-2015) we traveled to a lot of foreign countries. Now that we are back and planning on living here for a couple of decades, we want to explore more of the Philippines! Many people travel to Subic Bay as a get-away from Manila and we finally went to see what it’s all about. November 1 & 2 are holidays here, so we drove up to Subic for a long weekend.

Day 1 – Zoobic Safari

Since our driver had the day off, Matt and I drove our huge 11 passenger Super Grandia up to Subic Bay. Our first stop was at Zoobic Safari.

The drive to Subic is quiet and full of nature
Feeding a baby tiger from a bottle
We got inside a caged jeepney and drove around a secure area where adult tigers came up to the jeepney in search of meat. The guides then threw meat on the roof of the jeepney to entice the tigers to jump on top for a fun ride.
We got to go fishing for crocodiles

Day 2 – Ocean Adventure & Water Park

In the morning we spent time at Ocean Adventure. The best dolphin and sea lion shows we have every experienced were here. They were educational and very funny. Then in the late afternoon we went to the nearby Adventure Beach Water Park. (no photos since we were busy swimming and having fun)

Ready to discover what Ocean Adventure is all about
3-D art if always fun
Kalani getting ready to feed a sea lion
Blake is excited to feed the sea lion some fish
We paid for Mason to have a dolphin encounter (he is the shirtless kid)

Day 3 – Inflatable Island

We played in Subic Bay for an hour during the mid-morning
Our scheduled time to play on this floating island of inflatables was early afternoon

We had a great time being together as a family and exploring more of the Philippines.