Shake, Rattle and Roll

The Rutland Spring Break started off with a bang…actually, more of a shake! We headed out bright and early to Sunset in Puerto Galera on Saturday, April 8th. We were all settled in at the beach when an earthquake made sure we didn’t get too relaxed. A 5.9 earthquake was measured in Batangas, just a hop skip and jump away from Puerto Galera. Another one hit a few minutes later, with several tremors felt the rest of Saturday and Sunday. There is talk in the Philippines of “The Big One”. I hope the “Big One” takes his precious time getting here. 

We made sure our Clemson Tigers were represented in Puerto Galera!

Hannah Grace's favorite: Mango Shake

Tony is always "fun daddy" on vacation...

...while I read my book! This was my exact spot when the first tremor was felt. 

The next day, Ellis decided we should do something we haven't done before at Puerto Galera, so we decided to take a short hike to a waterfall. 

Ellis is at the top trying to snap a good picture. He didn't jump, but some of the locals took the plunge! 

Ellis hanging out with one of our "guides". 

These two fellas helped us make our way to the falls. 

Afterwards, it was time for a swim in the refreshing water. 

Fun Daddy and the kiddos stayed in through the sunset. 

It is never easy to leave! 

After “shaking” and “rattling” for a few days in PG, it was time to “roll” on over to Hong Kong to pull on Hannah Grace and the Brent softball team in the APAC championship. The girls fought hard, played hard and loved hard. Six of our girls will graduate in May. There were lots of tears shed knowing this was their last tournament together. Bringing home the Championship trophy made the experience even more emotional. That trophy pales in comparison, though, to what I see in this team. These girls love each other, they love their coaches and they respect their opponents. They cheer for one another and lift each other up. There is so much more than softball on that field…and that makes my heart so very happy! 

The school is beautiful, with lots of stairs!

I think Tony is ready to go help help her out!

She gets a hit....

...and a high five from her coach!

We had several hours between games, so the three of us headed over to Ocean Park to entertain ourselves. There are two sections of the park. To get to the main rides, we had to ride this gondola from the bottom to the top. 

The views were amazing, but OH MY GOODNESS!

You can actually see the look of terror on my face! I was holding on so tight, too! Like that would help! 

Here are some of the rides that Ellis and Tony couldn't wait to hop on.

This is more my speed!

I did do a throw back to the Miracle Strip days with a ride on the swings, ferris wheel and their version of the log flume. 

You have to zoom in, but Ellis and Tony are in the second row.

No thanks!

The look on the riders faces is enough to tell me that I made the correct decision!

We headed back to Brent to watch Game 2 and see Mia hit a home run. Here the girls are congratulating her at home plate. 

Day 2: A picture with the players and their families.

We ended the night with dinner at Tony and Ellis's favorite: Red Pepper.

Day 3: One game down, just the championship game to be played. 

The players and their siblings  

Hannah Grace and the seniors

Ellis and Leo entertain themselves between games.

We made a trip to Stanley Beach, another favorite.

Ellis always meets a friend there!

Champions times two!!!

Coach Kathy almost got away!

The teams having fun at their banquet before the awards ceremony. 

Baby Girl off to school with her bling!

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!"