more sand, more sun

Hooray for family portraits. I harped for awhile until we got some good family shots. This was a must have for me this beach trip. This is my favorite. Addie loves her Daddy. They spent a ton of time together this vacation. Bella tends to favor me when it comes to, well, anything, and that leaves Justin and Addie to play together a lot of the time. They both don't mind even though I have to get my Addie play time too. Me and my lovely Bella Bean. I am so in love with my little girl! She was such a beach baby and I loved it. I am such a lucky Mama!We ate two Jonah's fruit shakes a day. They were just so damn good! I plan on trying to mimic the banana choco vanilla shake I drank every day at home in my own blender. Addie would steal mine and I'd get stuck with her banana mango. Also good but not AS good. Justin discovered the banana choco peanut and that was his favorite as well as Megan's. Bella even reached for my smoothie when she saw it in my hand. She drank bits from the straw and loved it. Justin bought a Jonah's shirt and asked the owner if he could have free shakes if he worked there. All the girls working started to giggle. I tried to get a good shot of the girls together and it just didn't happen. This is as close as I got.Bella licking her fingers. Mmmm salty!

donations please

The local children have discovered that if they build pretty sand castles or pictures and then light them with candles the expats will give them money. They run up to us asking for donations. We gave money here and there. My problem is that all of the sand pictures look the same. As if all the kids are trained by the same person on how to make these displays for money. I think I might have given more money to the kids who got creative and made something a little more unique. Maybe more like Addie's drip castle. I bet I could have put a little slotted can next to her castle and made a fortune. Anyhow, after dinner that night we took a photo (and then made a donation) of this really great castle. The sand in Boracay is perfect for good castles!

great beach day

Once again Addie spent hours in the sun and sand. Auntie Megan and Addie searched for shells, she built a sand castle and ate snacks in our little sun tent. Bella had a great time discovering the beach. She got some good Mommy Daddy time that day. We all soaked in some sun.

Filipino breakfast

I adore breakfast. I adore buffet breakfast even more. Every morning while we were in Boracay we got an early start at the buffet with the girls. Addie wanted the pancakes and hot dogs, Bella had rice cereal and mangoes with banana, my choice for breakfast made me realize just how native I have gone! I used to balk at the ridiculousness of eating rice and chicken/pork/fish for breakfast in the Philippines. This trip to Boracay I couldn't wait for the garlic rice and chicken tocino or pork longganisa. Pair that with mangoes and fried eggs and its a breakfast you can't beat. Megan and I joke that I have a tape worm right now (a twenty pound blond toothless tapeworm). I'm still pumping every three to four hours and it's really taking it's toll. I can't eat enough food right now. I loved the all you can eat buffet breakfast because it allowed me pig out so I wouldn't be so hungry before lunch. Here's an example of my breakfast on any given morning: garlic rice, chicken or pork sausage, fried egg, a pancake, mango, bowl of cereal, cup of coffee, and two glasses of juice. Then I was ready for a smoothie at 10:30 AM. No joke. It's crazy.

hitt'n the beach on day one

We had three full luxurious days at the beach in Boracay. Every time I looked out at the crystal clear water that met the clear blue sky on one side and the powdery white sand on the other, I was in awe. Boracay is truly beautiful. It's my second favorite place on earth after Kauai. Justin and I kept daydreaming about how our vacation would have gone if it was just adults (i.e. get up at 8am eat a lazy breakfast, hit the lounge chairs at the cabana for the entire morning reading our books and people watching, then alternate between the water and baking in the sun until the sun went down and we could go eat seafood and stay up late, starting the whole routine over again the next day). HA! Now that we are parents of two vacations are a different story. We tried to maximize our time at the beach with the girls. We alternated who would sit at the hotel room during naps, who would go trek down the beach for take-out lunch (not a chore a treat to be alone on the beach for the walk), and who would sit at the room after the girls were asleep while the other two adults could go read or get a drink at the bar. Vacationing with kids means that Justin and I see less of one another on vacation so we can manage our girls individuals schedules and needs. This means that every time I put my feet in the sand I savored the feeling. When I was in the water with Bella or Addie I soaked up the moment. I absolutely loved being at the beach as a family, with Megan too, in the water or on the sand. Addie just ran on the beach, back and forth, up and down. She loved riding on Justin's back while be crawled in the shallow surf. Bella loved floating in the water with me and sitting on the lounge chairs. Vacationing with kids is not exactly relaxing but wonderful in it's own experience. We get a lot of joy out of watching them and knowing that they are happy.

Addie after playing in the sand for a good two and a half hours straight. She was so pooped every night.On our way to get dinner the first night. I have the hunger in my eyes (Cora says I look at her fiercely when I'm hungry)We found a little Mexican/seafood place (all restaurants serve amazing seafood).We were too hungry to be patient with the relaxed (slow) service and delivery of our food. We waited a good hour and then wolfed the food down in 10 minutes (Justin, Meg, and I eating in shifts). And end scene for day one.

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.