Months ago we were asked by our brother-in-law if we could fly to Hawaii to celebrate Matt’s older sister’s 40th birthday with them! Of course we said yes. Matt was in charge of planning the activities and our brother-in-law was in charge of getting us a car and place to stay. I was on vacation and just did what I was told! And the birthday girl could do whatever she wanted. We really only had two full-days to spend in Kona, Hawaii and we spent them well.

Day 1

Day 2

15 fun facts about Kalani

She loves musicals

Harry Potter fan

Can’t see without her glasses

Always making puns

Sprains her ankle a few times a year

Marvel & DC fan

Loves to sleep

Doing really well in high school

Rarely swims in the ocean (due to a Box Jellyfish sting when she was a kid!)

Loves chocolate

Enjoys baking…mostly cobbler

Misses her friends & family in the US

Looking forward to going to college and living back in the US

Enjoys playing the piano and wants to learn to play the guitar

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

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

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.

When trying to decide what I really wanted to do for my 40th birthday, I couldn’t think of just one thing. So, I took a page out of my sister’s book of birthday celebrations and did something for myself everyday of the week!