I am not funny, China is funny.: Life Happened

I have many blogs floating in my brain that I meant to post months ago. The first blog I failed to post started back in October when we made our first trip to Bohol. Once November came and went, I retitled the blog in my head to “Bohol, Barbeques and Bye-Byes” to cover all the happenings and the moving away of sweet friends. All of a sudden, Christmas was upon me and we were enjoying time with family. I threw the previous two blogs out of my brain and started thinking about the Christmas blog and the impromptu trip that Ellis and I took to Tampa. A week after we returned to the Philippines, though, I headed off to watch Hannah Grace’s basketball team play in the APAC tournament in Hanoi, Vietnam. And here we are closing out February and, well….Life Happened.

Here is a stroll down memory lane (for me) and these last few months:

Bohol, October 2016:

Look at these adorable "trick-or-treaters"! We had children that ranged in age from 3-16 and they all had a ball together!

November 2016:

It isn't a barbeque until someone gets thrown in!

So much to be thankful for with these girls!

My golfing buddies....

.....and workout buddies!

Winter White 2016

December 2016:

FLUOR Christmas party: Tony and I were thrilled to get to catch up with David and Katy (friends from our time in Australia).

Ellis's team didn't have a great record, but they had fun! He made this shot. I think the final score was 70-10. I am not even kidding.

It was a LONG 40 hour trip to the states, but worth it in the end.

Papa and Hannah Grace on their annual clamming trip. Lucky for them, the weather was perfect!

And what is Christmas without an oyster roast at Randy and Anita's?

(And a family bowling night along with a trip to Target? For my family: I don't seem to have those photos. I know it is a shocker! Please send them my way when you get a chance!)

Off to Clemson: They love spending time with their cousins!

I do a double take every time I see this photo! I can't get over how much Hannah Grace and Kristy (Tony's sister) look alike!

Another favorite: Hannah Grace and sweet Micah

January 2017

On our way to Tampa and the snow started falling! We rolled the windows down to catch it! The tiniest flakes made us so happy!

Ellis and I had planned on stopping halfway. The adrenaline must have been pumping, though, because we made it all the way to Tampa! Mark and Kristen were gracious enough to let us crash their party!

Ellis met up with his cousins and had the time of his life!

We left for Tampa without a ticket in hand. The day of the game everything went right when Ellis snagged a ticket. To make a long story short, the ticket came from a friend of a friend that had a friend with ONE extra ticket. (Confusing?!) What makes that story extra special is that the extra ticket ended up belonging to the daughter of my Mama's sweetest friend in Murrell's Inlet! Small freaking world!

To say Ellis was excited is an understatement!

It was great to spend some extra time with Tony's family!

Most of the parents of the children in this photo were friends in college. I see trouble at Clemson in just a few years!

Tony would have loved hanging out with this crew!

A huge THANKS to Mark McInnis for capturing these photos!

MY FAVORITE

The hotel after the game was full of people...and lots of excitement!

The next day, after the crowd headed home, Ellis and I had a relaxing day touring Tampa and visiting the aquarium.

We ended the night with some yummy Mexican food (a rare find in the Philippines).

Of course, I always have to get a sunset in!

I had no time for jet lag! Two days after landing, Tony and I were off to Sunset to surprise our friend Casey for his birthday.

Not a bad place to get over jet lag!

A week later, I was off for my first trip to Vietnam to watch Hannah Grace's basketball team compete in the APAC tournament. They came away with a Third Place victory!

And she made it!

When I wasn't watching basketball, I took in the sights of Hanoi.

This picture has "SUCKER" written all over it!

I probably shouldn't have, but I took a picture of this family on the side of the street eating food that was cooked in the pots that can barely be seen in the right side of the photo. I am pretty sure the food was available for purchase. Yeah, I passed.

There is really no way to capture the craziness of the traffic in a photo. It was fascinating to watch! If you zoom in, you may see the guy walking through the traffic with a bouquet of balloons. He was one of many!