back home to Manila

Sadly, our wonderful weekend came to an end today. Justin had to shower, shave and go to the office when we returned mid-day Tuesday. My break from the move is over and my anxiety level is a little higher knowing there is less time to get everything done.

It was totally worth it though. Every single moment watching my lovely children and amazing husband at the beach this weekend was worth it. I loved every second of it. It's going to be one of those weekends that we think back about with favor years from now.

Day 3 sand castles, sunsets and more beach

Night beach walking (or dancing and twirling)

beach babes

This weekend with the girls at the beach was practically a piece of cake compared to the times we've taken them places when they were younger. I can't believe how much easier it gets as they grow and Bella's only 2! We went to New Zealand in October and wow, what a huge difference 7 months makes. They both slept better and we worried less about what they would eat. Are my kids the only kids who don't eat much on vacation? I swear we feel like we are force feeding them when ever we are out of town. Anyway, I packed boxed milk for them and a few snacks but it was nice not to worry so much about food for them. We stretched bedtime each night and avoided major melt-downs for the most part!We didn't even need to bring diapers! Just a pull-up for bedtime! I love the freedom that comes from the girls getting older. I worry and stress less and as a result enjoy myself much more on vacation. It makes me a little sad that we are going to be starting all over with a newborn again in October. Lugging the breast pump and bottle brushes and a million diapers with us where ever we go. Traveling is tough with a baby. Mostly tough on Mom. It was amazing to experience the beach with my girls with the added freedom of them being 2 and 4. I can't imagine what it will be like when the kids are all older than diapers and sippy cups.

The girls are not babies anymore. They are my beach babes for sure!The Sea Wind has some beautiful tropical garden pools that Addie was curious about trying out. They hopped in and weren't swimming for 5 minutes before she said she wanted to go back to the beach!Who can blame her.

Boracay Island one more time

We'd been debating going to the beach for one last weekend while we are in the Philippines. Maybe a new beach, there are so many we never made it to. The sticker price of paying for four coast to coast US airline tickets for during our R&R was painful and we were getting so busy with our last few weekends getting filled with activities. There we were down to the last three weeks and nothing was planned. In our typical mode of operation Justin and I decided on Thursday to take a long weekend and spend it at our favorite beach in Boracay with the girls. We got some fairly decent airline ticket prices and called up our favorite resort, the Sea Wind, at Station 1 in Boracay and bam; beach weekend. I was looking forward to a few days where I could forget all the lists of things I need to do for the move. We decided it was mostly needed to remind us why we love the Philippines so much in our last few weeks of craziness while we get ready to move. My daily mantra was "get me out of this place" last week but the weekend at the beach with my family helped me to remember all the things I love about this country we've called home for the past three years. I am so thankful for the time we've had here to grow as a family. So thankful for the time I've been allowed to be at home with my children. The Philippines is a family place for me and this weekend was a great send-off for us. One last wonderful weekend at the beach. Because there really are no beaches like Boracay in the United States of America.

The girls woke up early with excitement to take the airplane to the beach. We were all ready for some sun and sand.Our little prop plane. Bella scoped out some restaurants for us to try when we got there. Addie said she wasn't nervous any longer about landing in the water. Her plugged ears were the new worry. The flight was less than an hour. We landed in Caticlan then took a banka boat ride to Boracay. The breeze was gorgeous on the boat. Addie and Bella got new shades and hats for the weekend. The wind was lulling Bella into a relaxed zone. I love the look on her face on my lap.When we arrived at Sea Wind we were a little early for check-in and decided to walk down the beach to Jonah's Fruit Shakes (our favorite place in Boracay) to start our beach weekend off right and stave off the lunch hunger. I knew we wouldn't be able to keep the girls out of the water and sure enough Addie and Bella were both wet and sandy within minutes. Bella drank her shake in her wet panties. Screw the straw Mom! This is faster. I feel like Jonah's should buy this photo for an advertisement. We couldn't wait to get to our room and change in to our swimming gear. That gorgeous white sand was begging for a sand castle.