Boracay Island Tour

We took the opportunity to go on a tour of the island.  It was a great trip around the island with lots of incredible beauty.  The kids got to do some snorkeling, which was a big highlight.

 But the definite highlight was the beauty of Puka Beach.  On the windy Northern side of the island, the clear water and the soft sand is part of what makes Boracay so fabulous.   It really was a breath-taking place to stop for lunch.


When we arrived, the girls decided they might want a souvenir.  Well, they sure had enough attention!  

Sunset in Boracay.

We decided we had to eat one meal at the beach.  Unfortunately, the food wasn't as good as some of the other places. But you cannot beat the view.  Wow!

Sky in Boracay

They have a tiny ferris wheel in Boracay and the girls decided they wanted to take a ride.  It gives you a good excuse to look at the sky!

Diving

Doug got to have two nice dives while Tracy and kids played at the pool and then at the beach.  It was a nice morning to get back in the water and see some of the awe-inspiring beauty under the ocean's surface.

Birthday Girl

It was a special girl who got to celebrate her birthday during Spring Break.  Rania got to choose where to eat dinner.  She even had lots of presents follow her to Boracay.  Not sure how many girls have had their birthdays in Boracay.

But it was hopefully a memorable experience for a little girl.

Boracay

After a long day of travel - made longer by the heavy rain, we finally arrived in Boracay.  Our flight on Tuesday was supposed to be about an hour.  But after a delay, being re-routed to another airport, a 2 hour bus ride then the ferry and drive up the island, we were only about 6 hours later than anticipated.

But the next day we saw why it was all worth it.  We enjoyed being away from the busier beach area, and the view from up high was spectacular.  The kids enjoyed seeing the pool, and then we made our way to the beach, which had some incredible colors and great sand.

Day at School

On Monday we had a nice day at school, seeing some of the routines and experiences at Faith Academy.  It was fun to hang out at the playground (amazing!) and have a bit of down time.  It was a nice, low-key day to finish up the Manila section of our vacation.  

It really was so wonderful to reunite with Dave and Lori and their wonderful two children.  After several years in Asia, we finally connected in this hemisphere. 

Fort Santiago

After church we had a nice visit downtown, where we got to see a bit of Manila's history.  It was nice to see the historic district and we had a delightful walk around Fort Santiago, learning about Jose Rizal's martyrdom which sparked Philippine independence.  We even got a family picture!

And the girls had a fun time riding in a carriage.  You know where horses are, there is great interest from our daughters!

Morning Worship

We had a nice morning worship service in one of Manila's largest and fastest growing churches.  It was impressive to see the huge production with its multiple (6?) services each Sunday.

It was definitely a big production and obvious why the Philippines is an exporter of Christianity rather than an importer.

Lion, Witch & Wardrobe

How fun to see Lori working on their Spring production - The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe.  We got to eat a delicious gluten-free lasagna lunch in Dave's beautiful art studio.  We also got to see the props.  Wow!  Reeve wore a mask for the chief wolf.   Some of the costumes were incredibly elaborate.

The kids also got to ride in the White Witch's sleigh.  Scary!

Swimming Video

Here is a short video montage to show the very Happy Day we had.

Faith Academy Pool

To start Spring Break, we arrived late in Manila and made our way to Dave and Lori's house.  The next day was Saturday, and we had a great start of the day enjoying the majestic view over Manila from Faith Academy's vantage point.  The swimming pool was great fun, as always.

With a diving board, the kids had lots of extra fun.  Reeve continues to amaze with his flips!

Tracy to Melbourne

Tracy went with a colleague to a conference in Melbourne.  The conference had a lot of great applications, especially for the Young Women's Leadership Group that Tracy is co-sponsoring.  It was also wonderful to see Melbourne, have some cooler weather and what a beautiful city!

U-11 Tournament

Reeve had his end of year tournament to finish off the U-11 Soccer season.  Playing with the 4th grade team, they had a long, hot day at Alice Smith school.  They did pretty well against older competition (mostly 5th grade teams), ending up with a lot of ties, a couple of losses and a win.

Reeve played a bit of goalie - though against the toughest team, it was a big challenge.  

Reeve came close to scoring several times - though did have some nice passing to set up some of their team's goals. 

Midwest Picnic

We had the second annual Midwest picnic.  It was even beter attendance than last year's Midwest picnic, with those that have Midwest roots from ISKL joining together for the great February / March tradition of gathering around the watering hole.  Okay, so we swam, played tennis and ate way too much good food.

It was a fun time! Good conversation, the rain held off, and kids got to play together.

Buckin' Bronco

As part of International Fest, the inflatables that fill the gym are always a big hit.  This year the kids tried the buckin' bronco.  Here are Gabi's attempts.  Sure was fun.

International Fest

ISKL's International Fest is one of the highlights of the calendar.  Our kids absolutely love it, and it is a great event for families, as well as the whole community.  Bands, groups and individuals all performing.  The flag parade.  A gym full of blow-up toys for the kids.  And best of all - the incredible food from all nations.  Yum!

 Gabi made it all the way to the top of one of the huge climbing toys!  It was pretty impressive.

But one of the best things was seeing our kids so happy with some of their good friends from school. 

The girls sure enjoyed getting face paintings from one of the booths, and we had a great time wandering around the school celebrating the international flavor that makes ISKL so special.