Philippines Trip (Abby's perspective)

My Philippines Trip

Day 1:  We flew to Manila then to Roxas. We were picked up in the Jeepney and rode on that to the hotel.  

Day 2: In the morning we went out exploring and found a big chess game in a park. We played one BIG game. It was fun and hot.       

Later we went to a school that Sister Vicky teaches at. 

There were a few boys following us and giggling. It was interesting to see what a big difference in size between them and Ian.

That night went to the Roxas Stake Center. There was a big party with all the primary kids we played games like… 

Musical Chairs,

Maria went to town,

a Philippine piñata

and a few other games.

Day 3: Today we went to the Roxas Stake Center and did the Liahona Children's Foundation (LCF) distributions.   

There were about 20-25 kids. We were trying to play with them but truthfully they were all pretty shy. This adorable little girl is named princess and she is the daughter of the Brother who drove us around.

    

The next place we went to do the distributions was in Pari-an. 

There was a cute old lady in a red dress, who was very friendly. Church is held at her house. I love how kind and friendly people are in the Philippines. 

Next we went to a town called President Roxas. We tried to play a few games with the kids there but they were too shy and we had to play by ourselves.   

Next we went to Estancia.

Leah and this cute little girl were coloring together (more or less). It was cute because when I gave her the pen and paper I had to help her a little bit to use the pen right and make lines.

As usual all the members were a little shy but nice. 

Next up Manoling to stay for the night. We had to stop and buy a few supplies for the ride. While we were waiting we watched the people go by and when they waved we waved back it was funny to see their reactions. 

On the dirt road some people rode on the top but I just went on the back with Audrey.

It was fun on the back. It started to rain but it did not bother me much. Later the rain started to pour down and we all had to go inside. When we got to Manoling, they welcomed us with dinner. Their house had a kitchen, two bedrooms, a bathroom, a family room, and side barn type structure on the side of the house. We slept in one of the bedrooms.

Day 4: I woke up early due to a restless sleep and noisy roosters. A few hours later we went to church. 

The church building is brand new and so nice. 

After church we did some more LCF distributions. Dad had a meeting with some of the leaders. 

While we waited for him to finish we taught the kids how to play "Down by the Banks" It was so fun. 

Later that day, we went to the river to see their new bridge and to swim. It was really cool to swim around, skip rocks, and play with each other. 

Day 5: Monday morning we went to the waterfalls in the pouring rain. I did not like it.

Before we left Manoling, we jumped rope with our new friends and ate popcorn.

We took a few pictures with everyone.

Including one of Leah and her new lola (grandma). 

It was so cute and awesome to see her picking Leah up and hugging her.

We drove to Roxas and had FHE with the stake president, Sister Vicky  and some sister missionaries.

It was really fun. We played games and had treats. 

Day 6: We traveled to another city, called Kalibo. We did another LCF distribution.

It was cool this time because we helped sort the food supplements. There was soya milk powder, peanut butter, and baby cereal.

It was really fun.

Day 7: Today we did our last LCF distribution. Afterwards we helped make pizza. 

Then we drove to the pier to get on a boat to go to Boracay. That night we went to the beach 

and played on the beautiful beach. It was awesome.

Day 8: We went to the beach early.

Poor Cade did not feel good. He got a little food poisoning. Luckily it didn't last long and he soon came to play on one of the best beaches. Not everything goes great.

That afternoon we went back to Kalibo to stay over night because we could not get to Roxas unless it was the middle of the night.

Day 9: We woke up and drove to Roxas and left to catch our plane to Manila and finally back to Hong Kong.

I liked Boracay and Roxas.
My favorite part was Boracay.
I loved the beach because the water was crystal clear and the sand was perfectly white. I was scared to go to Manoling because people told me there were bugs and it was totally black at night but I'm still alive. 

The Philippines Trip - Cade Style

The Philippines Trip

...Cade Style...

Oct. 30 - Nov. 7, 2014

My family, Audrey, and I left for the Philippines on October 30th, 2014. We flew from Hong Kong to Manila, then from Manila to Roxas. 

We stayed in Roxas for 2 days, Thursday and Friday. We stayed in a hotel called The President’s Inn. On Friday, we did some food distributions and interviews for the Liahona Children’s Foundation (LCF). We went from Roxas to Pari-An to President Roxas to Estancia and back to President Roxas. From there, we drove in a Jeepney to Manoling. In Manoling, we stayed with the bishop from Saturday night to Monday afternoon. After church on Sunday we did the LCF distributions and interviews. The kids were really funny.

On Monday morning, we climbed through this long mountain pass in the middle of a torrential downpour to these awesome waterfalls. Most of us went swimming and dove off cliffs into the pools. When we went back, parts of the path were completely flooded with water. We had to ford a river four times!

Sadly, we left Manoling and stayed Monday night in Roxas. On Tuesday, we drove to Kalibo and did two LCF distributions and interviews (one on Tuesday and one on Wednesday). I liked Kalibo the best because we got to hand out the powdery biscuits to everyone. Apparently everyone had had them before, because they all ate them really quick. The family in charge of the Kalibo part was really awesome; we made pizza together and they were hilarious. Their dad and his sister were great cooks! 

Later that day, we drove up to a city called Caticlan and took a ferry to Boracay. The beaches at Boracay were sweet. The water was so clear, you could see the bottom clearly for a really long time.

Finally, on Thursday afternoon we went all the way back to Kalibo, and stayed with some older missionaries there. They were really kind, and we had a fun time at their house. 

On Friday at midday, we drove back to Roxas to catch our flight. It got delayed for like 45 minutes. When we landed in Hong Kong, I was excited to be back, but I also missed everyone who we had met.  The people there are so cheerful and loving. It was amazing to be with them, even if it was only for 8 days. I would absolutely go back. I had a great time in the Philippines!

Leah at the beach in Boracay.

Getting on the plane!

Impromptu Science Fun

On a beautiful sunny Saturday, we spent the day at the Mui Wo beach, 

 playing in the sun and water,

 and visiting with friends.

After a long day in the sun, we came home to clean up and relax. That evening, we received a typical grocery delivery (I buy most of our bulky items, household cleaners and supplies, canned goods, and anything heavy online so I don't have to lug it home myself - it's been a life saver and it's free!). This particular delivery included a few frozen food items which were kept cold with dry ice. Instead of disposing of the dry ice, Kyle saw an opportunity for some cool science experiments. A fun, educational, impromptu science class ensued.

The kids learned that dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide and instead of melting turns into a gas. We emphasized the precautions to take while handling dry ice so nobody gets burned or breathes too much gas. Unfortunately, these dangers scared Abby too much and she participated only by watching from the distant sidelines.

 We put dry ice in warm water to watch it create a white cloudy fog.

 In drinking water, dry ice makes bubbles and makes the water tastes carbonated.

With water, dish soap, a container, and a damp towel, a bright, white bubble formed and grew larger and larger as the gas and water vapor filled it up. It popped with a burst of smoke. 

The favorite dry ice activity was watching it "float" on the tile floor. With tongs and other kitchen utensils, the kids played a fun game of dry ice hockey.

Our Dry Ice 101 class was definitely the best science class we've done all year.

Our Homeschool Group

One of the best things I did when we started homeschooling was to join a group of homeschoolers. This group consists of families from many parts of the world with various homeschooling experience. Not only did joining this group give me an opportunity to ask questions and discuss different methods and ideas for teaching and learning but it also introduced us to an array of new friends and provided lots of great activities and field trips.  Here's a few activities from the past few months.

Matteo Ricci Workshop

We attended a fantastic workshop by The Asia Society Hong Kong Center about Matteo Ricci, an Italian Jesuit priest from the late 1500s. With age appropriate arts and crafts, the kids learned about Matteo Ricci and his experience in Asia, beginning in Macau. Adults were not allowed with the older group of kids so I didn't get any pictures but they had a great time and learned many things. 

The younger group of kids learned interesting facts about Italy and Matteo Ricci while coloring, cutting, and pasting in a little booklet.

They also made a kaleidoscope, one of the many gifts Matteo Ricci brought to China. 

After the workshop, we took a brief tour of the building which was used during the early 1900s to make magazines or ammunition holders for guns. The kids loved following the tracks that were used to transport their products.

Tong Fuk Beach Day

We spent a fun day at the beach with some of our homeschooling friends.

The kids played in the water for hours because

the waves were so big and fun.

Plus, they had some great talks about the differences between British and American English. It's always entertaining to hear the Brits talk and use different words and pronunciations.  

Rainbow Loom Bracelet Making

Our homeschool group met together to help make rainbow loom bracelets that would be used as a give-away gift at an upcoming educational conference. The bracelets were made of blue and white bands with a charm of the conference logo. 

Abby introduced and instructed many of us how to make different patterns so there was a variety of bracelets styles.

And a TV crew videoed our activity to be used in a news piece promoting the conference on the local evening news.

International Day

With families from many different countries, our group got together to share food from our home countries and learn a little more about each other. The activity was held on the less populated side of Lamma Island at a beach front restaurant near the home of one of our group members.

For many of us, it was a LONG trip to get there. We took the subway train, a bus, and finally a ferry to get to Lamma Island.

Here's a bunch of the kids on the bow of the boat enjoying the sea breeze and watching for the island.

 We had a delicious potluck lunch with foods from England, Australia, Norway, Hong Kong, Latvia, and America. It was well worth the long journey!

 Then we played on the beach,

in the water,

 and on a floating island pad.

 It was a fun day!

We have a great homeschooling group!

A Mini Macau Reunion

A few weeks ago, we were informed (thanks to Facebook friends) that our dear friends from the Macau Branch were coming to Hong Kong for the day to visit the LDS Temple. We made sure to be there so we could see them. We didn't know how many people were coming but looked forward to seeing a few familiar faces and give them hugs. We arrived at the temple first and waited for them to arrive. It was a surprise to most of them that we were there and we were surprised how many of them came. It was the largest temple trip they've had with 20+ people. 

I know this picture doesn't show the whole group. We were so busy talking, hugging, and reminiscing that we forgot to take pictures with many of them (including our good friends the Knowlers who are both teenagers now - wow have they grown up - they're so tall and so beautiful).

Here's a picture with the kids' former Primary teacher.

And Kyle with his good buddies - these men are awesome!

It was so fun to see many of our Macau friends. We love them and miss them so much. 

Some people come into our lives,

leave footprints on our hearts,

and we are never, ever the same.

- Flavia Weedn

Random Summer Activities

As we're trying to get back into a regular routine with school and activities, I realize how quickly summer is coming to an end. It's been a good summer break. Here's a few pictures from our summer activities that have yet to be featured on the blog.

With the extremely humid and hot summer days, a good bike or scooter ride always ended with a well deserved ice cream treat. On this ride, we found a nice place to sit in the shade.

While enjoying our treat, a little lizard scurried right past us. Ian followed it and got a great picture of it. The lizard had such a long tail!

One hot day, Ian and I went shopping in one of the crowded, outdoor markets. As he looked for LEGO sets and I searched for birthday gifts, a fire truck worked it's way down the center of the market. We were shocked any vehicle could even fit down the street, let alone a big fire truck. We watched as many shopkeepers had to pull in their merchandise to allow it to pass by. We loved the uncongested, specious walkway it left in its wake. However, it quickly filled back up with tables of trinkets, gadgets, clothes, and shoppers. 

For most of the summer, a herd of colorful baby elephants were on exhibit in our city center to raise money and awareness for Asian elephant conservation.

These were Leah's favorites.

We also visited a few museums this summer. In the Space Museum, my little aliens fit right in.

Covered with glowsticks, we celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Moon Festival because of the full moon or Mooncake Festival because of the traditional mooncakes eaten on the occasion. We visited with friends and had an American version of mooncakes, Oreos.

Our summer has been filled with lots of fun activities and good memories.

Abby's Jelly Bean Pie (written by Abby)

 

 Abby's Jelly Bean Pie!

Ian & I had the idea of a jelly bean pie.

I decided to make it. I chose apple & lemon 

jelly beans. It took a lot of time to decide what recipe

I wanted because we could not find jelly bean pie recipes.

 I chose a cheesecake type pie.

The crust was my favorite part to make and eat. 

I put most of the lemon flavored 

jelly beans into the filling.

Then I baked and chilled it for a couple hours.

 First I coated the top of it with lemon juice.  

Then I decorated it with the rest of the jelly beans.

Everyone liked the pie. And I thought 

it was a huge success.

It was fun and easy to make, if I made it 

again I would probably add more lemon juice,

bake the top jelly beans to make them softer

and I would try new jelly bean flavors for it.

I love and want to keep learning how to cook and bake.