in transit and arrival

As the crow flies, Boracay is not far from Manila. Too bad we aren't birds. To get from our house to the resort at the beach we did the following: took a taxi to the airport, 45 minute flight from Manila to Kalibo, 1.5 hour bus ride to Clatican, 5 minute van ride to the dock, 15 minute boat ride from Clatican to Boracay, 15 minute van ride to the Sea Wind Resort. Phew! Luckily the girls were on their best behavior. I was extremely concerned about traveling with Bella, who has proved NOT to be a chill baby. She completely surprised me this trip by being wonderful! She fell asleep in my arms on the long bus ride, it took a bit of a fight but she finally gave in. Everyone was tired and hungry when we arrived at the resort. I was relieved! The resort was much more relaxed and beachy than the previous place we stayed. We liked it a a lot. Everything about the place felt chill and comfortable. The place was family owned and we love it. When we arrived it was lunchtime so we ate and then had plenty of time to discover our surroundings. We couldn't wait to get on the beach.

Addie just wanted to run and was glad she wasn't in a van/bus/plane/boat. The resort had a great little play area.

Boracay 2010

We rang in the New Year in style this year with a vacation to Boracay. We left New Year's Day and returned home, today, January 5. The trip was amazing and I can't wait to share all the spectacular pictures both Megan and I took at the beach. Justin and I have two beach babies on our hands. The girls were so adorable in the sand and surf. The views were gorgeous and the colors were even more vivid than I remember. I can't get my head around how blue the water is and how white the sand it.

I'm pretty exhausted after the trip. Taking the two girls on vacation, even with Megan's help, is like being the ring leader of a traveling circus. It's never dull! Justin and I had to laugh at a few moments where we both thought our heads were going to explode. Then there were the wonderful moments of the girls in the water or watching Bella discover sand and salt water for the first time and it made the head explosion moments seems less terrible. I love, love, love Boracay but I am so glad to be home right now. Cora is washing the bottles (a chore I performed three times a day in our hotel bathroom) and my soft luxurious bed awaits me with sand-less sheets (no matter how many times you shake out the blankets and dust off your feet, sand finds away into bed at the beach). This annoyance doubles as all night exfoliation (this is my vacation mood finding the laid back chill go with the flow bright side of the situation). A night in my own bed sounds pretty sweet right now. Much more beach blogging to come.
The beach front of our resort the SeaWind Boracay The sunset we watched during dinner on Sunday night-pretty much a perfect sunset, I wouldn't have minded being on one of those sail boats. Shot from my lounge chair-not too shabby of a view.

The aftermath

I love the wind-down period after Christmas. Lazy days hanging out at home, letting the kids play with their toys and taking showers late in the morning. It's taken me awhile to come down from the Christmas stress plateau. I blame that characteristic on my Mother. There's just lots for a Mom/wife to do for the holidays. I'm not saying that the Dad/husbands don't prepare for the holidays but for the most part the baking/shopping/wrapping/shipping/photo taking/organizing/planning falls on my shoulders. On one hand I love it all and that's why I do it but on the other hand it's tough to accomplish with two little kiddos. Thank goodness Justin made me more than a few mugs of hot cocoa this year and forced me to sit down and watch our Christmas movies in the evenings!

The best part of the aftermath is watching Addie and Bella with their news toys! So much fun.
Bella with her new lovie (I am hoping she falls in love with it so I have to order another*fingers crossed*)Me and the girls with pink tutus on Princess birthday partyCinderella edition of Pretty Pretty PrincessOne seriously cool Dad who plays this girlie game with his daughter (he said he felt like Elton John and sang us "Tiny Dancer"

Christmas swim

I'm over the fact that it's not cold during Christmas here in Manila. In fact, I love that I am still wearing shorts and tank tops in December. The day after Christmas we took a swim! The non-traditional moments make the best memories. I mean, come on, swimming the day after Christmas! Crazy fun. Bella loves the water and gives us hope that our up-coming beach trip may be a pleasant experience for her (and me).

Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas here in Manila. Megan has made it an extra special holiday just by being here with us. Justin and I were so excited for Addie to wake up on Christmas morning. When she jumped into bed with us we didn't suggest she fall back asleep like we normally do, instead we encouraged her to get up and go see if Santa came. To our surprise she didn't want to. Even when we told her to go check her stocking on her her door she said "no". We finally realized that while we convinced her that Santa Claus was coming on Christmas Eve to bring her gifts under the tree, we failed to mention that he would leave the gifts and then move on to other kids homes. He wouldn't hang out at our house. She didn't want to go into the living room for fear that Santa might still be sitting there eating his cookies and waiting for her! We had to laugh once we realized what her hesitation was from. We quickly explained that Santa wasn't in the house. She got over her fear quickly when she saw that her stocking was full of little gifts and that Santa had left her a huge haul of gifts under the tree. Bella Bean woke up about 40 minutes later and the fun of the day began. Unwrapping gift after gift for the girls while we talked on Skype with all the grandparents. I made my traditional homemade cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting (a serious Christmas morning treat). Addie changed outfits over and over depending on what tutu, princess gown, or pajamas she opened from a gift. Arabella sucked on lots of curling ribbon and quickly had a stash of new toys surrounding her. She loved her new Radio Flyer push wagon. Megan helped me get the turkey in the oven then watched the girls as Justin set the table and we put the finishing touches on our Christmas dinner. Mid glass of wine I decided it would be best for me to get Bella to sleep first then eat my meal I had worked so hard on. Both girls were in bed early then I could enjoy my meal. We popped in "It's a Wonderful Life" and cut a slice of pumpkin pie. We quickly whipped up a second pie ('cause that's what my sisters and I have been taught to do best: cook). The first pie was nasty as we forgot the sugar. The second pie at 10 PM with homemade whip cream was awesome. The day was crazy and chaotic and exhausting and wonderfully happy. Addie was thrilled with her Christmas. She wrapped her arms around Justin and I and said "Merry Christmas Mommy", "Merry Christmas Daddy", "I love you" and that made it all totally worth it. Thank you to all our family and friends who sent beautiful gifts for the girls.Pez at 6AMFrog PrincessPink Rose PrincessMegan got Lucy new ballsAunt Megan made Addie a Fairy GardenBella is crawling all over the place now. She's on the go!Justin said he knows he's getting old because his new coffee maker makes him as excited as he once got about receiving a Nintendo DS. He can't stop playing with this coffee maker!Lucy passed out in a princess dressAwesome Christmas dinner