Into the Woods

This is our third time to Baguio since we’ve been in the Philippines and we have three times in a row booked it for our anniversary weekend without even realizing. We have to book it months in advance to make sure we get the house on a three day weekend and it is often months later we realize. It is always a happy realization and a great place to spend the weekend reminiscing about how we spent our wedding weekend six years ago.

Because I love a throwback here we are in Baguio two years ago-

and one year ago-

and here we are this year! And yes Randy was with us all three years, just didn’t make it into the photos.

Despite a very long drive (between 4-5 hours depending on traffic and the last hour winding up a mountain) once you get up to Baguio it is always worth it. The Embassy has property up there with two cabins and you are surrounded by pine trees every which way. It’s also 20-30 degrees cooler up there. When you are living 365 days of your life in humid temperatures over 95 it is pretty amazing to be in 75 degree weather. I love putting on sweaters, sleeping with the windows open under a blanket and lighting a fire to roast marshmallows!

Every time we realize that being up there is worth every second of the five hours we have to keep the boys amused and happy. Whatever it takes people!

The minute we got there the boys leaped out and wanted to go exploring. Living in an apartment building in the city the boys really enjoy wandering around and exploring nature and take full advantage. On the agenda for this weekend, pine cone collecting, catching and releasing butterflies (safely so they could still fly), picking flowers, playing ball and walking up as many hills as possible.

Here is how Malcolm puts flowers behind his ear….

The only thing better than exploring outside is getting to barbecue outside! Randy cooked up some yummy vegetables and BBQ chicken for us all.

We even had some bubbly to celebrate our anniversary. Nothing like a multi-tasking husband at dusk!

Topped off by an awesome fire and roasted marshmallows.

The next morning we woke up and had horses come right to our house. Which, as you can guess, was a huge hit.

My only complaint is that Filipino horses are so small that I always look giant on them…oh well, a couple more years and Malcolm can ride by himself!

Randy and I even managed to sneak in a run. Living in Manila it is impossible to run outside. There are no parks or nice places to run. Besides, even if there was a place it is so hot that it is impossible. Getting to run in a forest in 70 degree weather was a pretty special treat.