Christmas with family
The month of December was packed and full of fun. We had a full house and a lot of memories for Christmas 2013. My parents finally came to visit us and it worked out the best to have them here for Christmas. They only had 10 days in the Philippines, but I think that we packed it pretty full to make sure that they had enough to do and also time to relax. One of the highlights of the trip was taking my dad to the island where his dad (my grandfather) is from (Siquijor) and meeting his half sister-in-law, nieces, nephews, cousins, etc. We also had Matt’s brother, Drew, come visit us since he served his mission in the Philippines and speaks Tagalog. After Christmas in Siquijor, we brought our cousin Sherwin with us back to Manila for a few days. It was his first time to Manila and his first time on an airplane!
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
