We made hygiene kits at church and then Matt and Robbie delivered them to the city jail with other members from our church.

We went to the province to celebrate our cousin’s 1st birthday party and all of these guys wanted a photo with Matt and Robbie before we left.

Mason with the 1 year old birthday girl.

Annual Light Show at Ayala Triangle

Life-size gingerbread house at the Peninsula Hotel

Manila Airport was a mess on Christmas Eve. Luckily we found a place to wait to board the plane on the floor in front of a TV

We were able to ride on the Coco Princess from Dumeguete to Siquijor. It is Coco Grove’s private boat that goes straight to the resort.

We enjoyed our time at Salagdoong with cousins

Mason got dropped off the platform at Salagdoong. Later he ran and jumped off on his own while other adults were too nervous to do the same.

Because it rained the day before, Cambugahay Falls wasn’t as clear as it normally is. But still beautiful and we enjoyed our time there.

We explored more of Siquijor and found another waterfall after walking through the “jungle”

While hanging out with family, the kids played in this “tree house” that was built for our 5 year old cousin.

The children who live near our cousins welcome our children to play with them whenever we arrive.

The boys always seem to go to a cock-fight in Siquijor

We got to listen to Island Melody Band on Christmas Eve. Due to the rain they had to move the show indoors.

We arranged to have our family come to Coco Grove to have dinner with us. This is the first group of people to arrive to the resort.

We tried to see how many cousins could fit on the circular bed at the Penthouse.

All of our cousins and 2 sister missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who came over to have a catered dinner with us at Coco Grove.

We were able to attend church in Siquijor with our friends from Manila.

Finally on December 30th, we were able to return home and the kids could open their Christmas presents.

Matt and Robbie went out dancing with some of our Filipino friends

2014 was a wonderful year for us and we are looking forward to 2015 and all the adventures it holds for us.

We ate at People’s Palace a few times

We watched Matt play basketball

Rosalyn found the grandmother of her co-worker selling vegetables at a local wet-market

We walked around the neighborhood of that local market and received many stares since foreigners aren’t normally seen in that area

Matt and Drew spent some brother time wakeboarding

The boys also took their parents to Sky Ranch in Tagaytay so they can see life outside of Manila

Grandpa magic with Blake to keep him happy

We waited to have Blake blessed until his grandparents arrived. 3 generations of Farleys in one photo.

Drew convinced Peter to get a suit tailored made by the same tailor who made the 1980’s James Bond suits

Peter was invited to do a presentation at The Medical City hospital that Angela and Matt were able to attend

Our private pool at one of the villas which the kids really enjoyed.

Beautiful ocean view as seen from the Shangri-La with wonderful weather while we were there.

Family in the ocean and enjoying the white powder sand at the public beach.

We had our own private dinner at our villa where enjoyed a 3 course meal and had some good conversations.

Lost in paradise!

Warehouse area where the pottery is put into molds and inspected

A bunch of pottery after it has been in the kiln and before painted

Hand painting each bowl

This bathroom pottery set I almost bought for just over $40, but it doesn’t match my bathroom so I passed

The route we traveled in northern Luzon in 5 days. We discovered once again how beautiful this country is outside of the big city.

Our first stop was to Baler where we stayed at Coasta Pacifica. We stayed here for 2 nights and enjoyed the swimming pool, beach, having a tour of the area and getting out of the car. There were 2 routes to get to Baler and google maps recommended we take the route that goes through the mountain which tacked on 3 extra hours.

All of the kids on a surf board. This was Blake’s first time in the ocean/pool & Kalani’s first time back in the ocean after being stung by a jellyfish

Our “city tour” took us to Cunayan Falls. The kids were a bit disappointed that they didn’t have their swimsuits, but we told them they could swim in their clothes like the locals and that made them happy

We got to explore the “Millennium Balete Tree” where you can walk through it since there is a path “carved out”. And the kids could have stayed here for a couple of hours climbing all over it

We left Baler and the only road to get to Tuguegarao was a bit scary at times with it only being dirt roads, land slides and washed away in some places

On this road to Tuguegarao we saw some of the descendants of the very first people in the Philippines called “aeta“

After a few hours in the car we made it to Tuguegarao and met up with our good friend Mavis. She and our driver Juan joined us exploring the Callao caves

There are 7 “openings” at Callao caves and in the 2nd opening is a “church” that holds services once or twice a month

We said our good-byes to Mavis and continued driving north to reach Cagayan Holiday & Leisure Resort. This is where the Survivor Cagayan crew stayed

Cagayan Holiday & Leisure Resort has a bunch of homes (our had 5 bedrooms & private pool) to rent out, a casino & private airstrip…mostly caters to Chinese clients who like to gamble

On our way to our next destination we came across the “Filipino Family Vehicle”

We stopped at Pagudpud beach and enjoyed the powder white sand and beautiful scenery. They call this place the Boracay of the north.

Our hotel on the north/west of Luzon was at Fort Ilocandia and it was wonderful. There was so much to do/see at the resort that we will most likely go back since we didn’t get to do everything we wanted to

We got in this jeep and went on some sand dunes as a family

Mason really liked sliding down the sand dunes

Kalani went horseback riding around the resort and on the beach

She also tried out archery for the first time

After staying at 3 wonderful resorts, our last hotel in La Union would be considered a dive in comparison. But, we enjoyed a walk on the beach and were now only 6-7 hours away from home.

We enjoyed the beautiful countryside of Norhern Luzon

They arrived early Sunday morning and were jet-lagged the whole week they were with us. But, luckily they can sleep anywhere, like at the movie theater, restaurant & lounge

A morning of shopping at Greenhills where we bought knock-off purses and other souvenirs. And of course they got to see “lady-boys”

We had a nice dinner at The Peninsula and then went to the lounge to watch/listen to a live band

These guys flew to Dumaguete from Manila, and then took the hour long ferry boat to get to Siquijor

Getting ready to take our cousin’s boat to Salagdoong Beach (on the way they snorkeled from the bamboo arms)

3-man jump from the platform at Salagdoong

My 17 year old brother about to jump off the platform in the tree at Cambugahay Falls

They enjoyed their time at Cambugahay Falls and made friends with the locals that were also spending the day there

They played some basketball with cousins

They enjoyed the decorations for the “Coconut festival”

And they danced the night away with cousins and new friends at the village disco

Photo of cousins at the disco

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is now on the island of Siquijor and they were able to attend worship service and classes before heading on the ferry and plane back to Manila

Our siblings enjoyed the pool and gym at our condo

After the boys left, my sister-in-law and I did some girl things…like attending a baby shower that the ladies from church threw for me

And I threw a “Pamper Me” Party at our condo and had some friends over and each person had their own massage therapist for an hour

My brother Robbie was also here, but had to stay in Manila with me since his online Master’s Program started that week. But the kids were happy to spend more time with him.

We love spoiling our family when they come to visit us. And they took full advantage to meet our extended relatives and see life in a 3rd world country

My 17 year old brother wrote this on a photo he took to let us know that he had a good time… now he just needs to learn how to spell Philippines, or at least use spell-check!