Scope for Imagination

Ella has a gift of a wonderful imagination.  Tonight she chose to protect her daddy and herself from the rain, while the rest of us were getting soaked.  Oh well, just prior to that she had served us up a beautiful meal with attention to many details.  Tonight we leave Cebu to go back to Canada!  We cherish many precious memories of our time together.

Happy Sunday

Evening dinner out on the "side yard".  Such a great time with a beautiful barbecued dinner and fun conversation.  If you look carefully, you can see the new sala in the background--tonight was a sort of initiation.  God bless this home and hospitable family!!

Beautiful Girl

Ella utilizes her creativity in taking numerous pictures.  This is yesterday's self photo.

Gelatissimo

Someone once said that a vacation day was incomplete if you hadn't enjoyed ice cream(or gelato) at some point in the day.  We all chose a kind of chocolate and all were happy with our choice.

Grandma and Grandpa time

One of the activities of our few hours together this evening involved picture taking.  Ella has been having fun with the timed photos.  Here is a sample of one of them.  Ella has a vivid imagination and we became gymnasts walking on a balance beam of blocks, made hay for some animals who were inside the block fence, did some cooking and eating of chicken, played hide and seek, were caterpillars who became butterflies...good times!

The Coming of the Sala

Just a few minutes ago the ordered sala(in Canada we would call it a gazebo)  was delivered here to Jen and Andrey's house.  As you can see from the pictures there were some challenges that needed to be overcome.   However, with the help of a large crew of men and a few children, it is now settled into place.  It is sure to be enjoyed by family and guests who visit.

Adventures

We have been going on daily little "adventures".  It is fun to explore new things with a curious three year old.  Today we toured this ship which is in port in Cebu for one month.  The Logos Hope is a "floating community that brings knowledge, help and hope to the world".  The book fair is quite extensive and we enjoyed choosing several new titles.  What also was so enjoyable was sharing a bag of popcorn with Ella. 

Happy Chinese New Year!

This evening we joined together with a great company of friends in Cebu to celebrate Chinese New Year!  The celebration included a delicious potluck dinner, great conversation and even some fireworks.  At one point during the evening, Lou and I talked about how privilieged we were to be with so many interesting and capable young people. 

Waterpark Fun!!

Ella really loves the water and is getting to be a capable swimmer.  Today she was diving down to catch pretend "star fish" and grandma's toes, at a Cebu City hotel resort. 

This picture was taken just before the first launch on the lazy river, at that same resort.  There was much delight for all of us over this particular activity. Very pleasant on a very hot day.

Buying local

The local market is less than a ten minute walk from Jen and Andrey's house.  It is a frequent destination for us.  Today I bought mangoes, (70 pesos for one kilo--5 mangoes for about $1.75) bananas, coconut (where I chose a coconut and had it shredded--for less than fifty cents), fish, eggplant, long green beans, pumpkin, onions.  Though we are stared at because of our foreign-ness, it is fun to interact with the smiling merchants and walk away with produce from Cebu.

Bedtime Story

After a busy day of playing with friends, bear hunts, preparing food, going for walks, playing hide and seek, building tents, eating, imagining many wonderful things...there is not a better way to end a day than to read a book together.  For some of us the habit continues...the book I have just completed  is Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.  Lou is reading Just a Thought  by Ed Cook.

On being kneaded...

Baking bread has always been a therapeutic activity for me.  I love to bake different kinds of bread.  Today we made cinnamon rolls...mostly I did, but Ella helped by kneading and also by making a few of her very own rolls.  Fun moments and enjoyable times sharing the results.

Environment Friendly

Kawasan Falls close to Moalboal where we went on a family hike.  As we entered the park, there was a sign that informed us that Cebuanos are Environment Friendly.  Reassuring.  There were a series of five waterfalls.  It was a good day.  Many people were getting on rafts and being paddled directly under the falls.  We enjoyed the refreshing cool water by going for a swim.

Dacozy Resort

One of the things we loved to do this weekend on our getaway weekend to Moalboal, about three hours from Cebu City was to walk on the beach, discovering the beautiful starfish, sea urchins, hermit crabs.  Looking at life and creatures through the eyes of a three year old always brings a renewed sense of wonder.

Traveling Mercies

Our travel to the Philippines was uneventful...minimal turbulence, good connections, our baggage arrived on the same plane that we did.  Lou is the best packer I have ever known and can get more stuff into a suitcase than many people could.  The picture was taken because the contrast between the appearance of his completely packed bag and mine was striking.  (You will have to take my word for it because I couldn't bring myself to take a picture of my dishevelled looking packing job).

Adventures

Let's see...which path should we take?

Happy with the path that was chosen!

Today we leave for the Philippines where we will visit  Andrey, Jen and Ella!  We are so thankful for the privilege of visiting, travel.  Daily adventures are also deeply treasured.  Yesterday afternoon we spent some time at the Lawrencetown Beach on the Atlantic Ocean with Lisa and Annika and Stella (the dog).  Next weekend we plan to be on a beach in the Pacific Ocean in Cebu.