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

First impression of Taiwan is that it is clean. This lady was mopping the sidewalk outside of her store!

If you are going to stand on an escalator, stay to the right…everyone follows this rule

Some street food that we tried that was pretty good

Traveling with a Tech-Savvy guy like I do means checking out electronics. However this was not like Fry’s. Many small electronic stores, but at least they were all near enough to each other at an area called “3C”

SCORE! We found the padfone…one of the reasons why we chose Taiwan as a get-away.

Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, Happy Anniversary…all in one with a new phone and dock/tablet

Dinner at Din Tai Fung Dumpling House. Really yummy food and a pretty famous restaurant

After dinner, we asked our tour guide if she knew where the “Mormon Temple” was at and she took us right to it. We have a friend serving an LDS mission there now, but sadly we didn’t see our friend.

Ended the day by watching a puppet show and opera at Taipei Eye. We got to take photos with members of the cast at intermission

Started off the day by visiting Mengjia Longshan Temple

Outside of the National Palace Museum with our guide…no photography allowed inside

Chiang Kai-shek memorial hall grounds. He was the former president of the Republic of China.

We were able to watch the changing of the guards in front of the Chiang Kai-shek statue.

Beitou hot-springs. You could smell the sulfur and supposedly you can boil an egg in seconds there at the main source.

We opted for our own private hot-springs at Villa 32…and it was a perfectly romantic location; away from the free and/or public hot-springs.

Last stop of the day was at the Shilin Night Market. We have so much fun trying to get the best deal on things.

We rented a car and drove north-east to the mountains and ocean. The wind and water created these cool rock formations.

From the minerals in the water, these are known as the “Golden Waterfalls” in Jinguashi.

The three of us explored Jinguashi mining grounds.

We walked through the crowded Jiufen market.

We walked around Ping Hsi “Pingxi” branch rail where we saw people “play sky lantern”. They would write sayings or wishes on a paper sky lantern and then release it.

We walked to Shifen falls and it was lovely. If it was warmer we may have been tempted to swim there, but it was a chilly day.

We ended the day by having dinner at Taipei 101. We had this whole room to ourselves for about half of our 7-course meal.

Taipei 101 is super tall with 101 floors…we ate on the 86th floor (or there about).

Good-bye Taipei, Taiwan. It was a wonderful weekend get-away.

My schedule for California. Shopping was very important since I needed to stock up on items not found in the Philippines to last me for the next 1-2 years.

The home I grew up in is surrounded by 3 rice fields and a canal in the back. My dad, uncles and grandpa built our home about 28 years ago. Now my brother and dad are building an “Ag Building” that will be converted into an apartment.

The joys of living out in the country. Exploring for critters with your uncle.

Cousins having fun on the trampoline ages 9, 5, 5, 4, 1

Mason LOVED playing with all of the toys at grandma’s house.

We had a bonfire at my parent’s house a couple of times and even roasted some marshmallows and made s’mores.

I had lunch with my grandma.

Dinner with my friends who I have known for over 25 years…I brought them a “bra organizer” from the Philippines.

Afternoon at a pumpkin patch to choose pumpkins to decorate.

Dinner with ALL of my siblings and their spouse who were in California for the week.

My brothers…just missing Seth who is the youngest.

My sisters…just missing Lei who is number 4 sister.

Ninjas are invading the house. Both kids wanted to have the same ninja costume this year.

Ready to go Trick-or-Treating with cousins. We only lasted about an hour or so, but everyone was happy with their loot.

The family who watched Jeffrey’s football game. He scored 4 touchdowns that night!

The kids thought looking at the stars and running around with other kids was more fun than sitting in the bleachers and watching the football game.

Before we left my sister took photos of the kids per my dad’s request. Here is our Hawaiian princess.

Our Big Kahuna!

Waiting for to board the plane at the airline lounge. There are some perks to flying so much, like the free food, drinks and Wi-Fi in the frequent flyer lounges.

Spent the day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium before everyone arrived.

While waiting for family to show up at the hotel, we decided to take the short walk to the beach and go exploring.

The night before the wedding we had a nice dinner with close friends and family.

While waiting for Matt to arrive from the airport and the wedding to start, the kids enjoyed the nearby park and playing with their cousins.

The wedding was held on the beach at Asilomar where my in-laws first met each other.

Daddy/Daughter dance during a small reception…her dress was lovely. She had commissioned custom sleeves to be made by a tailor, but unfortunately the end result did not properly match the dress.

The best photo that I had with the happy bride and groom…good thing I wasn’t the photographer.

Matt using the decorations for a grill. We got to see him at 2pm Saturday afternoon and then he left for the Philippines at 7am on Sunday morning.

Dinner with Matt’s co-worker and her family at Cuc Gach restaurant. Apparently Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have eaten there.

Our first stop on our city tour was at the local market. Vendors inside and out. Outer portion is food and the inner area is clothing, toys, etc.

Items for sale inside the market.

Thien Hau Pagoda had amazing artistry.

Vietnam War Remnants Museum…not sure how accurate the information is that is being displayed, and some photos and stories are pretty graphic. Still it was cool to see a big tank! (Mason thought all of these were Transformers)

These teenage boys wanted a photo with our 9 year old girl! Kalani kept being told by men and women old and young how pretty she is.

Inside of the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica.

In Vietnam the farmer’s family members who pass away are buried in their fields.

Ready to go on the Mekong Delta. A long river that starts in China and goes through most of the countries in South East Asia and finally reaches the ocean in Vietnam.

Along the Mekong Delta we saw this lady making rice paper for spring rolls. We also saw them making coconut candy, extracting coconut oil, making rice cakes, etc.

We rode in this smaller canoe to go down a channel of the Mekong Delta.

We went to a pottery warehouse where we saw them molding pots and then firing them in the kiln.

Crocodile feeding. Everyone had a great time give the crocodile chicken meat.

We went to a wet market and there were a ton of snakes ready for purchase…plus other types of meat and produce.

End our second day in Vietnam by getting our hair washed at a salon. My lady felt like she was clawing my head and then she stuck her fingers in my ears a few different times…I could have done without this experience, but at least they straightened my hair for me.

Our last full day in Vietnam we spent the morning at Dam Sen water park.

Our last night in Vietnam we watched the Water Puppet Show. It was only 1 hour long and pretty entertaining although we didn’t understand a word being said.

We drove past about a half a dozen Baskin Robbin stores. Of course we had to stop and have some ice cream…it has been over a year since we had some 31 flavors and we weren’t disappointed!

Vietnam has a TON of motorbikes. I don’t understand the traffic rules and I am grateful we were in a car. Still it was impressive to see so many motorbikes on the road.