UPDATE

 

Quick update on the kids..I took Logan to the dentist for the first time today..She was sooo excited to go, especially when I told her she would get a new toothbrush and new toothpaste and maybe a prize...She was all smiles and did awesome, and had no cavities...I didn't do so awesome as I have to go back and get a crown...:( Why do I have such rotten teeth??



Little update on Cache...He is turning "all boy" and loves to tease/wrestle his sister...She doesn't like it so much...He is still into cars and any kind of ball..He says the cutest, funniest things sometimes and I wanted to write down what he said last night.

He was saying his night time prayers and I told him to say "please help me share my toys better" (He has a hard time with that one) He said "Please help me share my toys better.." Then he thought about it and said "but I won't share my trucks, they are mine."

Then I was kissing him goodnight and a piece of hair fell into my face...He said "Mom, I don't like your hair." I said why not?? He said "because it is wearing your face."





DAY 7

 Holy cow! This is FINALLY my last post for the Philipines...
For our last day in the Philipines I woke up with a slight fever and sore throat...Not feeling great-but took some ibuprofen and cold medicine that seemed to help...(Perry wasn't feeling well either) Anyway, our plan was to go to the temple with my aunt and uncle-but when we got there they didn't have our reservations for some reason and the temple was packed.... Aunt Teresa begged for them to let Perry and I into the session-even though they didn't have room for any of us...They decided to squeeze Perry and I in... (our session was packed and they had to add chairs to our room)..When we got done we went outside and there were hundreds of people waiting to do temple work... It was inspiring to me because some of these people were going to have to wait 4-5 hours for the next available session and they were all willing to wait in the hot sun and humidity... Not only were they willing to wait-but they were still happy and not complaining...(I don't think I would wait hours to do a session-if it was busy I would go back another day).. They taught me a lesson and inspired me to be a little better... Anyway-we found some of Perry's friends/converts who were supposed to be in our session...They didn't make it into our session and were waiting... They had us go behind the temple and prepared a little lunch for us...Fried chicken, rice and mangos-so nice of them.. After that we said our goodbyes and met up with my aunt and uncle...We drove to a large store that reminded me of Cosco...Everything was american brands inside..Alot of it was extremely expensive-especially the dairy items...$12 dollars for a carton of icecream...$10 dollars for a gallon of milk.. (They have to import everything-which drives the cost up) My aunt got a few items and we left...Traffic was terrible on the way back to the mission home...Everyone is always cutting everyone off..(whoever is just barely in front of the other one always has the right of way and they will just come right in your lane) Its crazy to me--there is no traffic rules or anything...Totally different than here-much much more chaotic...Sometimes I would just close my eyes and pray we get there safely..) My uncle definitely hates the traffic...Anyway, after getting back to the mission home we hung out a little bit and then our driver picked us up and took us to the panghulo ward..They had a ward FHE planned for us to come to..Our driver got lost-and we arrived an hour late..They were still so excited we made it...When we got inside their church there was no airconditioner and it was HOT...When we got there-they had a whole program planned...The two ward missionaries gave us a lesson...Then they had some of their members in a band play some songs..They were very good. Then they had the youth perform two special dance numbers in their traditional costume-(which they sewed beforehand..) They did so good! Then we played a couple games and danced...After the games we had dinner-which they prepared...I was doing ok with it-until I tried to cut into what I thought was a piece of meat. I looked at Perry and he shook his head at me to not eat it..I found out later it was a thick piece of pig skin with the fat and everything on it....I lost my appetite a little after that-so I stuck to what I knew was safe....rice and mangos.. We gave the kids little plastic frogs and they loved them...It was fun to watch them play with them...After getting a billion pictures with everybody-our fun night came to an end...We got back to the mission home around 11:00 or so...We were both exhausted-but had a great day... It was humbling again-that these people would go to all the effort they did to plan a fun night for us...They were so sweet and kind... We went to bed and woke up around 4 am to get ready to fly home...Both of us woke up feeling very sick-my throat/head was killing me...Perry wasn't doing well either..(At least it waited until the end of the trip to really hit us) The flight home was absolutely TERRIBLE to say the least-but we finally arrived home 26 exhausting hours later to two cute kiddos happy to see us...(We were very happy to see them too)

All in all it was an amazing trip and experience--one I will always remember...I feel very lucky to have gone and feel blessed and humbled  to witness some very amazing people, scenery and experiences..                 



 Lunch on the temple grounds...

 Band...

 Dancers...

 The 3 girls in the middle were ward missionaries when Perry was a missionary...(Jovie in the pink-is the one who planned everything)

                                     

DAY 6

Today was our last day at the resort.. We got up early and hopped on the boat over to the "sister resort" of where we were staying for breakfast...This resort was bigger and nicer/ more modern than ours-but also more expensive..In comparing the two resorts-I liked the rustic/laid back feel of ours almost better..We had a yummy breakfast and then relaxed by the pool. After hanging out for a bit-they dropped us off at Entulula beach again... We had the whole little Island to ourselves (besides the workers) for about 2 hours...(I guess no one else wanted to go-lucky us) I loved every minute spent there-it truly is a little paradise... I was sad to see the boat when it came to pick us up...We went back to the resort and packed up to leave, had some lunch and the boat took us on the hour long boat ride back to the airport. (By airport-I mean tiki hut with a dirt runway) I was really sad to leave--Palowan was such a fun, beautiful, amazing place...We boarded the little plane and I thought I was going to die of heat!! It was soo hot-with no air conditioning-my hands were shaking my little fan a million miles an hour trying to get some air...After an hour we landed, and our driver was waiting for us to take us back to my aunt and uncle's house.. When we got there we were pretty tired again-but we had some dinner and talked to them for a while-then went to bed...Another long, fun day...  

Sister resort 

 Love all the parrot fish here..

 Leaving the resort...

 They all sang their goodbye song...

 Short jeepney ride back to the airport...

 Singing goodbye at the airport...

DAY 5

Today I woke up and attempted a speed workout on the sand..Haha-it was hard-but kind of fun... Once again I was drenched with sweat by the time I was done.. After that we ate breakfast and went on a tour of some of the different islands... We only got to see about 3 or 4 different ones, but there are literally hundreds of different islands. It was fun to go exploring and see the beauty of each. After exploring some of the Islands they dropped us off at Dibuluan Island and we hung out there for the majority of the day.. At Dibuluan-they showed Perry how to sail the 2 person catamaran and he had a blast taking me and him on rides.. (I think sailing the catamaran was definitely one of his favorite parts of the trip-he thought he was pretty cool stuff;)) Later I was walking into the water and almost walked right into a white (almost translucent) big jelly fish.  It's tentacles were only about an inch away from my leg and it kind of freaked me out so that kind of put the kabosh on me wanting to swim. Dibuluan was a fun Island-not as pristine/pretty as Entulula-but still nice and quiet. That night we ate dinner on a little private Island right by the resort...They put little lights up for us to eat-it was cute and nice to just have a little romantic dinner. Another awesome day. Below are pics

Snake Island...We went on a little hike here that overlooked everything...During low tide this Island sticks up above the water and goes all the way across.. You can see Snake Island behind us in this picture.

 Me standing on the snake part..

 We went to an island with a little cave inside..

 Another cave...

 Perry sailing at Dibiluan Island..

 This is a random picture-but I love the shape of this Island. So random

Romantic dinner

DAY 4

DAY 4

 Today I woke up and attempted to run in the thick white sand around our resort.. It was only 200 meters around the whole thing and running in the thick sand, heat and humidity made for a difficult run. I ran 5 miles and by the time I was done I looked like I had jumped in a pool...lol..After that we got breakfast-pancakes and waffles and fresh fruit-yum! Then we went diving.. Diving was great.. The coral was very different than other places we have been.. We saw an eel, turtle, sand rays, many fish. We did two dives and then they took us to Entulula beach for the rest of the day..This has got to be the prettiest beach ever..I love how secluded it is (hardly and people) and the water is a gorgeous aqua blue...Also the best fine white sand...absolutely gorgeous-(my favorite beach I have ever been to.) We snorkeled and kayaked and just relaxed... We also had a fun time watching/playing with the silly sand crabs..Did I mention this beach is amazing?...Went back and had dinner at the resort..
Diving

 Entulula Beach

 Lunch at Entulula (Perry showing the fish he ate)

 Lunch-yes Perry ate the fish-he had to peel the skin off it..Luckily they had beef for me..

Below are two short videos of diving and one of Entulula Beach