Cherish the moments!

I am still reminiscing about our summer!!! It was the best summer we've spent as a family.
We started off with Emily and Charley's wedding in the Philippines and the beautiful white sand and blue waters of Boracay! It was a truly relaxing vacation there. I wish we could have stayed at Boracay longer! We stayed for two nights and the kids were literally on the beach from morning til night! Erin was overly tanned and Eli...well, we'll just say that he had a really bad rash in his you know what!!! I guess I should have known better because of how salty the water was! Now, he demands to wear underwear along with his trunks every time he goes swimming.
I was in heaven when we headed back to Manila with 168 and Greenhills shopping on the agenda! Everything, I mean everything there was 1/4 of the price of things here! And I learned how to say "how much is this" in tagalog so that I could bargain with them without feeling ripped off! =) It didn't take them long before they realized I wasn't a local because I couldn't understand their response and I in turn just shrugged my shoulders!!! Haha! I never new how good it felt to bargain...even if it was 10 cents cheaper.
So, we stayed with Nanay and Ma-ma the last two weeks, in Tanay. We felt so welcomed! I love that we woke up everyday to breakfast ready for us, laundry done, looking at old family pictures, karaoking with Tatay, and the kids playing the Wii with Ate Gina and Kuya Arnel's boys! I loved staying up late that one night eating Choc Nut with Ate Gina!!! She got me hooked on it and I bought six packs to bring home! I loved how Kuya Arnel, Ma-ma and Ate Gina and I would leave at 6 a.m. to go to stinky Divisoria just to go shopping at 168, which would only take us only 30 minutes instead of 2.5 hours to get there if it weren't for the traffic!
I truly loved walking the streets with Rico and him showing me his elementary school, his old and abandoned house, the oldest Catholic church in town which was gorgeous by the way, places where he used to play basketball as a little kid, running into his baby sitter at the market, eating grilled chicken head off the street vendor, etc. We also attended the branch there. It's amazing how the gospel is the same everywhere we go! It was a small branch, but the members were faithful and love the gospel. I love listening to their beautiful testimonies even if I didn't understand the language!
We also got to spend time with Lolo Eric. He showed us his office, took us out to lunch, brought Erin and me to get mani-pedi's which costed about $2 each!!!! Yeah, really! If only it cost me that much here! Shopping everyday took a toll on our feet, so Lolo knew that a foot spa was exactly what we needed! Shopping at Save-more was on our daily agenda!!!! We loved the coconut smoothies, and I especially love Gulaman and that was my daily fix!
One of the fun things the kids really enjoyed was going to Kuya Eugene's farm. It was beautiful and the soil was rich! Everything on the farm was abundantly fruitful! The kids had a blast fishing and I had a blast climbing up the mango tree and getting more of my fair share! Indian mangoes are so delicious!!!! It was such a treat to spend the evening with his wife and family! The kids did not want to leave at all! Then there came the time came for us to go back home to Utah!!! 18 hours flight back was not long at all...we were all pooped and were sure that we'd been drooling on our oh so comfy pillows the airline had supplied us with. As Mike picked us up from the airport and drove us home, we immediately felt nostalgic of the people of the Philippines, most importantly our family in Tanay and Morong. We won't know the next time we'll get to see ma-ma, pa-pa, nany, and tatay again! We were so sad! But we were so glad that we didn't have to shower with cold water again, get eaten by thirsty mosquitos, or suffer the humidity of PI! LOL That was no match to coming back home to the US! Wait, but our summer didn't end there!
That night, we unpacked and packed again, and headed out to the bay area where my family lives! Rico had gotten a management internship at SFO. The kids and I were so excited! That means spending time with cousins, and families for the rest of the summer! We got to see Taylor for the first time! Erin and Eli immediately fell in love with him! Did so many things that we didn't get to do when we used to live there! I guess you could say we took it for granted. We enjoyed every minute of it!!! My birthday with the hubby at Pier 39, the weather, Crawdaddy's, sleepovers and movies with Bel and Jason, Cambodian branch gatherings and activities, hanging out at the Lion and Ate Jen's pool, Creams - where we personalized our ice cream sandwiches and my favorite place, by the way!!! Erin was in the Lion's swim team and we loved the early Saturday morning swim meets!!! We especially love that Erin's number one fan, mama was there at every meet cheering her on!!! We love her team, awesome parent support and outstanding coaches! She truly enjoyed being surrounded by great team mates as well!
But we all know, all great things come to an end!!! Erin and I flew back to Utah for school and work a week earlier than Rico and Eli. Rico still had another week of internship to finish. We decided to leave Eli in Cali because we didn't have any babysitters for Eli while I was in training for work!!! It broke my heart to hear him cry for me over the phone!!! I missed both of my boys dearly!! Getting back to work and into the groove was not easy. Erin started 5th grade and Eli started preschool in Head Start - not at my site, but at one that is closer to home! He loves it! Erin has started swimming again. She is in the Wasatch Front Fish Market team, which is a USA team. Eli started Level 1 Swimming and loves it to death!!! I miss being the mom that bussed the kids to school, activities, and practice, but I sure am one lucky woman to have a husband who is supportive and loving in all aspect! I am so proud of him!!! He is 8 months shy of graduating with his Masters, is the PTA president at Eli's school, reads bedtime stories to him, helps Erin with homework, and does laundry and dishes!!! What more can I ask for! The Lord has blessed me with such a beautiful family and in so many countless ways!