Camp out

We were able to camp out near the lake. It was much cooler there than in Tarlac, so it was a very comfortable sleep. Well, except for the bumpy ground!

We had a feast of hot dogs, rice, and marinated pork for dinner. Gus and I introduced everyone to the joy of Smores. I'm not sure they loved them, but I sure did!

Goodbye beautiful view!

Our energy was restored to begin our trek back to the waiting 4 x 4 vehicles.

We were sad to see our trip come to an end, but excited to get back to our waiting little ones. It was a good thing we were only away one night as Emie spiked a high fever and ended up with a bad stomach virus that nearly landed her in the hospital. She needed Mommy and Daddy!

Boating in Crater Lake

After arriving at the Mt. Pinatubo crater, we ate a quick meal and headed down to the lake for boating and swimming. Gus' brother Dong, sister Grace and our niece Jacki were in our boat.

The water was a beautiful blue. Because of the mineral quality of the water, it has no fish or plant life. It had an added bonus of making your skin feel soft and smooth!

The other boat

The guides took us to the other side of the lake. Mt. Pinatubo is still a semi-active volcano and though the water is nice and cool, the sand is burning hot. You have to wear sandals to avoid burning your feet and some spots are hot enough to feel through your shoes.

This was the first night that both Gus and I have ever spent away from our kids!

Here is the whole boating group. Some of the others opted to stay back and recover from the hike.

He Redeems

In June of 1991, Mt. Pinatubo erupted for the first time in documented history. It launched pyroclastic flow called lahar over 16 kms away and left a 2.5 km wide crater. Fortunately, there had been research going on in the area following a large earthquake in the previous year and the volcano was predicted and a complete evacuation performed. Only 800 lives were lost, but the area was decimated economically and the U.S. military pulled out of the region. Every rainy season since has brought more destruction to the area from erosion and flooding. Gus' family lived about an hours drive from Mt. Pinatubo and he remembers shoveling ash off of their roof.

We had the opportunity to trek to the crater with our nieces and nephews and it was a wonderful trip! The first half of the trek involves a 2 hour ride in 4 x 4 vehicles over the lahar and river. Quite a bumpy ride! We were a little concerned about my doing that part of the trip with peapod along for the ride, but all was well.

My sister in law, Grace, had just arrived late the night before and had been at least 48 hours without sleep, but pulled off her Jackie O look and was ready to go.

One of the 4 x 4 vehicles broke an axle and we had to stop for a bit while we waited for another vehicle. This is about half of the group that went.

After the 4 x 4 portion, we hiked another 2 hours or so to the crater. You used to be able to get within a 15 minute hike of the crater, but due to all of the erosion each year, it is longer now. I love the journey of hiking and was very glad we had a chance to enjoy the scenery on foot. The beginning of the hike was mostly walking on ash and back and forth through small rivers. There really aren't clear trails as the land is always changing, but you are required to take a guide with you as well as a guy with a big gun, so you are in good hands!

The last part of the hike is far more rocky and lush.

When you reach the top of the natural stairs, you instantly have a beautiful view of the whole crater. Truly one of the most striking views I have seen.

I am proud to say, that even in my pregnant state, I reached the top well before anyone else and had a moment to take in the view. I was instantly struck by God's redemption in this world. He takes the horrible, destructive and painful things of this world, and he makes beauty. He declares his Glory. When everyone reached the top, we felt compelled to stop and pray. To praise God for what he has done with this mountain and what he has done, and will do, with the ugliness in our own lives.

He redeems.

Easter Eggs

We dyed our eggs the day before Easter. Emie wasn't sure what to think.

Then she tried to eat the eggs whole!

Nathan was very excited and ready to go!

Our lovely eggs! We made egg salad for dinner the day after Easter, and naturally, the kids ate every bite. It is far more exciting to eat an Easter egg sandwich than a plain old egg salad sandwich. Don't you think?

In search of a little Spring!

Like many parts of the country, our "Spring" has been lacking this year. It has been rainy and downright cold, with only a few hints of warmth and sun. I got a little fed up with all of the cold, rainy days last week and decided that we would go in search of a little Spring. We headed over to Garfield Conservatory. It is a very large indoor garden run by the Chicago Park District, which means FREE!

We wandered through the rainforest,

explored tunnels in the children's garden,

and sat mesmerized by the fish pond.

Emie LOVES all things purple and was very excited to find these beautiful purple flowers!

And though I was not able to get a good picture of my dear children in front of the waterfall, I did keep everyone from diving in for a swim, and I call that a successful outing!

Tarlac Eco Park

We spent a day visiting a nearby eco park which is also home to a monastery. It was quite a ride up with the winding roads, but the views were beautiful and well worth the drive.

There is a beautiful statue that is at the highest point of the mountain and easily seen from the surrounding area.

Even Lolo made the trip! It was wonderful to have three generations there.

After visiting the monastery, we stopped at the river, stripped the kids down and went for a swim! While on our trip, I was grateful that my kids got to experience a lot of things that just don't happen in the U.S. anymore.

They had huts in the river, so you could stop for lunch. There were even some women coming by selling corn and boiled peanuts.

Clark Air Force Base

On our way back from Manila, we stopped off at Clark Air Force Base. The U.S. Air Force left the base quickly after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991. Now it is an area for duty free shopping and a museum of sorts. They have an area with several of the old military helicopters and planes for kids to explore. Nathan has been rather into air craft lately, so this was a must see for us.

Needless to say, he enjoyed himself thoroughly!

Mall of Asia

Unfortunately, on our arrival to the house in Tarlac, we realized we were missing a suitcase. So a week later, we loaded up for a six hour round trip drive to pick up our missing bag. We were happy to recover it, but our video camera and a few gifts for the family were missing.

We still made the best of the day, though, and took a chance to check out the SM Mall of Asia. It is a huge mall, pretty much a city in and of itself.

Pick up trucks and eggplants

The second day of our trip, we decided to see some sights that are important to the family in Tarlac City. Gus' brother, Jack, has a pick up truck, so Nathan really enjoyed riding around in the back with his cousins. A far cry from his Evenflo car seat!

Our first stop was the cemetery. Visiting the graves of loved ones is an important part of Filipino culture. We were able to visit the graves of Gus' Mom, brother, our great niece and nephew who passed away shortly after birth, and Gus' grandmother Emilia. Of course it was special to show Emie where her name came from. The family brings flowers, lights candles and just spends time together.

Next, we headed to a piece of property that Gus' brother Dong owns just outside of town. He moved to the U.S. two years ago, but the family maintains a small farm on the property. They grow eggplants, bananas and kalamanci (kind of like a key lime). The kids enjoyed the water pump. Yes, Nathan is still in pajamas. It is a casual culture and we fully embraced the style!

Nathan filling his shirt with eggplants for lunch.

Dong also had a beautiful house built on the property and it has a lush garden surrounding the yard.

Emie picking kalamanci.

Our brother in-law owns and maintains the property next door, so we headed there to let Emie chase some chickens and ducks.

Nathan and cousin Yong found an old construction truck to explore.

Then we headed home to make our kalamanci lemonade and grilled eggplants for lunch. Yum!

Ahhhh . . . where to begin?

We are all back to sleeping through the night again and I think I finally have some energy to start some posts about our trip to the Philippines. We had an absolutely wonderful trip and I certainly found myself head over heels in love with this country, and our family there, by the time we left. I had been there once before, but it was a different feel this time. Hard to describe, but I felt like a visitor before and now it actually feels like home.

Our flight over went very well, all things considered. We were able to get a bassinet for Emie to sleep in and Nathan did really well with sleeping in his seat. He was also very adherent to the seatbelt sign as he pretty much thinks that pilots and train conductors are the coolest people in the world right now. Our total travel time was around 25 hours. When the family picked us up at the airport, we were all just thrilled to see each other in person. About 10 of them came to Manila. On the way to the house in Tarlac City (the house where Gus grew up), we stopped at Jollibee for lunch or dinner or some meal (our stomachs were fully confused by that point!). Jollibee is a Filipino fast food chain that serves fried chicken, spaghetti, burgers and of course, rice with each meal choice!

Seeing Lolo was certainly the highlight. He is crazy in love with our kids and they love seeing him. He is doing so great physically and was really able to spend a lot of time out and about with us.

Um . . . yeah, I guess I looked like I just came from 25 hours of travel.

My niece Bing is often who we talk with on Skype and Nathan couldn't believe she was real. They decided to sit at their own little table. Nathan was so excited because he was holding his first Coca-cola.

Nathan loves Lolo! Don't you love the guys with guns in the background? I didn't even notice them when we were there!

Well, there is plenty more to come, but at least I've started!

Facebook

While we are here in the Philippines, I'll be posting photos of what we are up to on Facebook. I found it easier to load lots of pictures there and we are too busy to fit in writing blog posts :) (plus I am embracing "siesta time" each day to beat the heat!)

She packs in the sweetness!

Happy 18 months Emie! Our little girl is full of spunk and personality, which we couldn't love more. She loves balls, her baby doll, dancing to fast music, playing dress up with Mommy's clothes, tea parties and chasing her brother. I took her for her 18 month check up last night and she is 19 lbs 8 oz and 31 inches tall. Our pediatrician said "wow, she sure does pack a lot of sweetness in those 19 lbs!". I couldn't agree more :)

We are flying out to the Philippines tonight! We can't wait to see our family in person and to spend so much time with them. The kids had a lot of fun playing beach this week with my pilates mat as the water. I bet they'll love the real deal!