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!

You will have to zoom in for this one: An "open air" barber shop on the side of the road. 

In January, Kristen's family arrived! Her mama was a trooper, as she came with a broken leg!

February 2017

We played a lot of golf while Kristen's family was in town and I loved every second! My back now hates me, but it was fun!

I love catching up with college friends on this side of the world!

ALIG's Arabian Nights Charity Ball was a huge success! Over one million pesos raised for our charities!

Dinner at Waterside before seeing one of my favorite plays, WICKED!

"Because I knew you, I have been changed for good!"

Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

Music has always been a big part of my life. It seems every time something big happens, different lyrics pop in to my head. “Should I stay or should I go?” by the Clash are the lyrics that have been a constant on my brain. Just those seven words, though, which can be annoying at times. 

Since this summer, we have known that Tony’s project at FLUOR would end in December. Out the window went my perfect plan of leaving here in June of 2017 to take Hannah Grace back to South Carolina for her Senior year. I needed a new plan…because that is what I do, I plan. I mull things over in my head, overthinking every possible situation and I continuously  ask Tony, “Any news?” I drive us both crazy. We knew the project would end in December, but weren’t sure where we would land next. Several options were thrown out, but only two became actual possibilities: a project in Houston and a project in the Philippines. And thus the song, “Should I Stay or Should I go?” popped in my head. Mind you, neither project in those places had been won, so it was my job to drive Tony and myself crazy by constantly trying to determine which project that I wanted FLUOR to be awarded. 

Our answer came many weeks later. The project in the Philippines was won and it was time to have a family meeting. Hannah Grace has always said that she wanted to go back to Seneca for her senior year (despite absolutely loving it here). The anticipation of that family meeting tore me to pieces. Two options were given to the children and we weighed their answers heavily. We could leave for Houston in December OR we could all stay in the Philippines until June 2018….getting Hannah Grace through High School Graduation. Ellis’s answer came quickly, “I want to live where we can all be together as a family.” Hannah Grace’s answer took much more thought and many, many tears. 

The lyrics no longer hum through my brain every waking moment. We will stay. It is what the entire family wants. What solidified my certainty that we are exactly where we need to be were the tears that came from Hannah Grace’s coach as she talked about Hannah Grace and our future. The icing on the cake was being greeted last night with a big smile from the Headmaster of the school and his excitement over us staying. My children are so loved. Nothing makes a mama happier. 

Hong Kong: September 2016

The older the children get, the harder it is to get away. They are busy with activities throughout the week and weekend. A lot of our travel is dictated by Hannah Grace’s sporting events. Just a few months ago, we were sitting at the dinner table and Hannah Grace let out a big sigh, “We’re going to Hong Kong AGAIN for softball.” I immediately burst in to laughter, thinking how absurd that sounded. She quickly joined my laughing fit knowing she is having such an unbelievable experience with her travels. It isn’t that she doesn’t like Hong Kong, she actually loves it! She just wants to go more places, which I think is pretty cool that she has that desire within her. When a free weekend arose, though, I wasn’t sure how she would take the idea of another (insert teenage eye rolling) trip to Hong Kong, but she was all for it! This was Hannah Grace’s third trip to Hong Kong, while only the second for the rest of us. Her trips before, however, have been with school. It was nice to explore the city as a family this time!

This was not our taxi, but we saw so many where the luggage didn't fit.

On our first day in Hong Kong, we met up with the Van Nispen's at Stanley Beach to celebrate sweet Anje's birthday.

After a day of exploring Stanley Beach, we rode the ferry over to the Kowloon side. Although my pictures aren't the greatest, the lights in Hong Kong were stunning!

We bypassed the opportunity to pay 200 Hong Kong dollars per person just to be seated at the Intercontinental for dinner and chose the delicious Morton's instead. Maybe it was our casual attire, but they sat us in our very own private room...the perfect setting! Tony was sad when Hannah Grace said it was the best steak she had ever eaten!

Tony and the birthday girl!

When in China, the kids are always excited to find the electronic markets.

The next day, Hannah Grace couldn't wait to introduce us to Cali-Mex. When she was in Hong Kong last April, her home stay took her there. 

After lunch, we headed to the Peak to take in the views. The last time that Tony, Ellis and I were there, we couldn't see a thing due to the fog. This trip proved to be much better.

After spending most of our day walking, we decided a trip to the pool was just what we needed.

Before going to dinner, we had to make one more stop at the American Grocery store. It was full of products that made us happy...like this popcorn and Rotel tomatoes. 

To end our last night in Hong Kong, we went to Tony's favorite place, Red Pepper. When in Shanghai, he fell in love with Mopa tofu. Not me. I am just not that adventurous. 

As usual, Ellis finds a friend. 

And just like that, our holiday came to an end. I can't wait for the next one!