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Cebu Wedding & Taipei Layover

July 27th, 2018 Tia Farley No comments

At the start of the New Year we were in the Philippines. The day before we left to return home we had dinner with a good friend and she told us that it was her goal to get married in 2018. We counseled her not to agree to get married to the first guy that she meets and to really make sure that she chooses the right one for her and not worry about a deadline. So, you can imagine how surprised we were to find out that she got engaged about two weeks after we had dinner with her, to a guy we never met from Indonesia. In March, Matt & I flew out to attend the wedding; where I kind of played the role of the “Mother of the Bride” since her own mother passed away a year ago. With two days of activities prebooked and the use of Uber, we made the most of our time in Cebu, Philippines. And as an added bonus, we booked a tour guide for our layover in Taiwan, so it was like two vacations in one. This felt like a “second honeymoon” for us and we still really like being with each other after 15 years of marriage!

Day 1

Swimming with whale sharks

Five minute hike to Tumalog Falls

Canyoneering – where you hike through nature and jump off waterfalls

Day 2

Scuba diving in Moalboal where we swam with sardine bait balls

We stopped by Pro Foods factory and bought a bunch of dried fruit

Day 3

The married couple are happy and in love.

Day 4-6

Relaxing at Plantation Bay Resort

Shooting Range at Plantation Bay

Somebody may have gotten the Emperor’s massage

8 hour layover in Taipei, Taiwan

Instead of staying at the airport for 8 hours, we booked a tour guide through Viator.com and got Nancy who we were very happy with.

Our first stop was to the National Taiwan Museum

228 Peace Memorial Monument

Our friend told us about Mango Ice and it was so yummy

Lanterns in front of Songshan Ciyou Temple

Songshan Ciyou Temple

Categories: Family, Philippines Tags: matt, philippines, taiwan, tia, travel, vacation, wedding

2017 Year Review

January 28th, 2018 Tia Farley No comments

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.

Categories: Family, Friends, Philippines Tags: birthday, blake, Homeschool, kalani, manila, mason, matt, philippines, reunion, siquijor, tia, vacation, wedding, year end

Wedding in Siquijor

February 20th, 2014 Tia Farley No comments

A couple of weeks after we left Siquijor for Christmas, we returned again. But this time it was for our cousin’s wedding. Matt and I were asked to be sponsors, Kalani was a flower girl and Mason was an escort. It was a fun experience to see how they do weddings in the province. And the day before the wedding was our little cousin’s 4 year old birthday party as well…it was a short trip, but full of fun and memories.

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

The whole village from where our cousin is originally from showed up for the 4 year old birthday party

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 hours we were at the church

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 chruch choir

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 us...its a different culture

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

More photos from the wedding here.

Categories: Family, Philippines Tags: kalani, mason, matt, philippines, siquijor, tia, vacation, wedding

Hawaii Vacation

August 8th, 2011 Tia Farley 2 comments

Yes we just got back from Europe, but when my brother decided to get married in Hawaii, we needed to make that sacrifice and get on a plane and spend time in Hawaii to support him!

They are the reason why we went to Hawaii

We had a super fun week. My aunt and uncle joined us and celebrated their 20th anniversary. And then my uncle’s brother and wife asked to tag along to celebrate their 20th anniversary as well. We are Hawaiian and everyone is part of our Ohana…so of course it was great to have more people join in the celebration.

Tuesday: Fly in, eat, find our house and the beach

This beach was 100 yards from our rental house

Wednesday: hike to the lighthouse with Cheryl, swap meet & Pearl Harbor and attend a bridal shower

My college roommate's mother-in-law...and my friend. I've known her for 12 years and she finally met ALL of my family

Great way to get some exercise...walking to Makapu'u light house

Visiting the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor

Thursday: Spend the morning with Cheryl going on a hike, visiting a lava tube, spitting cave, Dog the Bounty Hunter’s house, pick up Matt at airport and surf

All of us that hiked to the top of the ridge above Hawaii Kai

Tom Selleck's home for "Magnum P.I." that we saw on our hike

We walked through a lava tube and found ourselves here with the ocean at our feet

They got soaked at Spitting Cave

I think Dog is a fan of himself with this mural on the gate of his home

Surfing in Waikiki

Friday: Temple wedding & Polynesian Culture Center

I love to see the temple...especially when a sibling is being married (sealed) inside

I love my sisters and that we could all be together on the temple grounds

And I love my brother and my NEW sister

Learning about the island of Fiji as a family

The groom was able to take part in the Tongan village show...after being married for 5 hours

Saturday: hike to Maunawili Falls and wedding reception

Prom photo while on our way to Maunawili falls

The wedding reception was really nice. The bride sang and had friends perform songs. And the food was AMAZING! I love Hawaiian food. It was wonderful to see the 2 families together and how easily it was to work with each other.

Sunday: church, visit Punchbowl Cemetery & family get together

Memorial weekend at Punchbowl Cemetery

Sitting around "talking story"

Monday: drive around the island and fly home

Since our flight didn’t leave until the evening, we had some time to kill. So, we drove around the island. Up to North Shore and back towards the airport. We stopped at the Dole Plantation and Iolani Palace and tried to remember the beauty of the island.