Oldies but Goodies

Looking through my phone the other day I found a couple pictures from Greece.  Made me nostalgic even though it’s only been a month and a half.  So in honor of throwback Thursday here are some pictures for you all. 
Just when you all thought new stuff was coming 🙂
On the beach in Milos. 

Passing time in Naxos,

Swinging before dinner.

Dinner with Aunt Das and Uncle Nooj.

Morning drink in Athens.

Yummy dinner at the Tzovairi’s house. 

Yummy octopus on our last night in Milos.

All ready for our flight back to Manila.

Whiling time away between flights in Doha.

Plane ride home.

10 for Grandma and 3 from Grandma.

There are so many reasons we love Grandma Gretch. Here are Adam and Malcolm’s top ten reasons they love Grandma Gretch:

1) She loves icecream as much as us!

2) She always takes us swimming, even when the water is cold.

3) She loves to spoil us with presents. Good thing she likes to shop 🙂

4) She love to relaxes as much as me.

5) She has the best ideas. Sprinkles with pancakes, yes please!

6) She loves cuddling.

7) She’s the best cook. More please!

8) She’s not afraid to let us try new things.

9) She makes us all happy!

10) She loves us more than anything!

And here are Grandma’s top 3 from her trip to Manila: 

1) Spending time with Adam and Malcolm.

2) Spending time with Fo and Randy.

3) Hong Kong trip but mostly because I got to spend time with Fo, Malcolm, Kate, George, and Gavin.



We miss you Grandma!   



St Helena Fun Farm

Right outside of Manila (a short 45 minute drive if you’re lucky and there’s no traffic) there is St Helena Fun Farm.  We were lucky and made it there quickly.  With the Philippines you never really know how things will be when you get there.  I wasn’t sure how this place would be, I only knew it was always booked whenever we tried to go before.  Well, this met us right as we pulled in. 

Followed by a super clean parking lot and grounds.  I immediately saw why this place was always booked. It was clean, organized and a child’s dream.  There were animals, playgrounds, caribou cart rides, horseback riding and even a fishing hole.  It’s like this place got into Adam’s head and made a dream farm just for him. Grandma Gertch brought some new books and two farm books that are Adam’s current favorites.

All around the farm were words of wisdom. 

This one is my favorite 
Just when we thought it couldn’t get ant better on our way our we saw an old truck and tractor for kids to climb on and explore.  What a great place! With smiles like these, we’ll for sure be back soon! 

 

Back to Work

When I first started work way back when last December in the Public Affairs section of the Embassy, my second day of work was spent in Kerry’s motorcade.  I spent the whole day with his traveling press corp and spent a large part of the day this close to him.

After a too short hiatus of seven months I’m back at work.  Just three weeks in I got to moderator a Google Hangout with the US Ambassador Philip Goldberg.  It was a great opportunity, despite some technical difficulties (the Philippines has some room for improvement in the internet departmetn).  The video of us went out after the first minute (not enough bandwidth or something or other the tech guys tell me) so enjoy us while you can see us 🙂   
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TQb8Xig_XP0
This job affords so many opportunities to see and learn some really interesting things and spend time with accomplished senior people at the Embassy.  This all makes it a teeny bit easier to be away from these two cuties.  
I’m still navigating life with two young babies, a full time job, Adam starting school and Malcolm on the cusp of being mobile but I’m looking forward to all that has to bring.  It is hard each morning to kiss my boys to work and head to work but there is nothing better than coming home and having Adam run to give me a big hug and getting to cuddle Malcolm as he gives me a huge smile. 

Philippines according to Indiana Jo and Fo

This blog is great and the way she explains the Philippines is spot on.  We had expectations when we came here, beautiful cheap travel to islands near and far, amazing Asian food, untouched beaches.  We have definitely seen some beautiful sights and beaches, but it’s taken a lot of planning and money to get there.  You can’t just hop on a ferry and be on an island in a couple of hours. For example when we went to Southern Leyte (which was beautiful and was sadly ravaged by Typhoon Yolanda) we had to fly (on a local airline that was delayed for three hours then arrange for transport to southern leyte which was another three hour drive. All in all it took us 8 hours to get there (the same amount of time it took us to fly to Dubai or would take us to fly to Australia).  But it was beautiful and Randy got to swim with whale sharks and we got to snorkel in a beautiful bay and eat yummy food.  Nearby to Manila options are more limited and not as picturesque.  But it’s forced us to get more creative and plan in advance when it comes to travel.

Anyway, link below to Indiana Jo who does a better job than me explaining travel within the Philippines.  It is sad, if more energy and money was spent on infrastructure and keeping the islands clean there is no end to the beauty that would then be available for people to see here in the Philippines.

http://indianajo.com/2013/06/guide-to-visiting-the-philippines.html

And onto the food.  Everyone that knows us knows how much we like food which has made living here a challenge.  There are definitely some great restaurants in Manila and we find new ones every day.  Current favorites are Blackbird, Donostis and Masseto. But overall the food is definitely disappointing.  Again Indiana Jo says it better than me.

http://indianajo.com/2013/06/food-in-the-philippines.html

Jumperoo – Big and small

We took the Jumperoo out of storage last week, wiped it down, put it together and got it ready for Malcolm to use. But guess who insisted on getting in first.  He used to love this jumperoo and it was the only way I had any time to cook dinner.  I would plop Adam in and let him play away while I cooked.  I was curious if Malcolm would like it. 

And look who we have in the Jumperoo. 

Did you think that was Malcolm? That’s Adam! This was the first time we put him in and you can tell from his face how much he loved it.

And….Malcolm loved it too!

7 months young!

It feels like I just took pictures of Malcolm for 6 months and now he’s already 7 months. In just a month he is already so different.  He’s so much bigger and stronger.  He’s sitting up on his own for longer periods of time. He’s eating three solid meals a day and even trying to grab cheerios (which excites Adam to no end).  He’s rolling over the second you put him on his back.  He’s always trying to talk to you and smile and laugh.  He loves when you talk to him and now reaches out to me when he wants me to hold him.

He still loves Adam and watches him and smiles at him every second he gets.  He loves books and being read to.  I love seeing his little personality come out more and more.  I love this stage. He’s becoming more of a baby and has settled into a great routine. He’s napping like a champ and eating tons and growing and growing.  He even tries to squirm to reach his toys, and I have a feeling he’ll be up on his knees trying to crawl soon.

I know I say this every month but I’m so amazed that this little peanut used to be this teeny. 

The Peak

This is my third trip to Hong Kong and every time I go I’m amazed at how much there is to do. There’s always something new that I haven’t already seen.  This time we went up to the Peak and walked around.  It was such a beautiful walk.  As I always do when I’m out of Manila and somewhere where there’s green spaces I think to myself that I would visit these places every day if I was lucky enough to live nearby (but of course we all know if I lived nearby I would take it for granted and never come). 
We took cabs up to the top of the peak and right when we got there the skies opened up and poured on us. Luckily there was a Starbucks and we were able to wait out the rain. Once it stopped we headed out for a long walk. 
The views were amazing. Both babies fell asleep and we were able to chat and enjoy being outside.  I’ll say it again. If I lived here, I would come here ALL THE TIME!