Keith and Christine's Wedding 23 September 2016

Surprise, surprise, surprise!

Cricket Time After Work

Bowling without lanes? No foul balls? Last ball? An over? 6 points scored without a touchdown? What is this game?
I had to just go out and see what the guys were up to after work. I kept hearing them talk about a bowler and spinning the ball. That should be interesting. I never knew we could build our own bowling alley. I was eager to take my shot at this! It should be a lot of fun.

Regesh bowling

Wait just a minute! That guy does not have a bowling ball. He has a baseball right? Or is that a tennis ball? I knew for sure it was not a bowling ball yet everyone said he was bowling. I really had a hard time figuring out what he was doing. He would take a long running start up to a certain point and then sling this ball up towards what looked like a batter.


The batter although standing ready did not have a regular bat. I guess they need more "wood" to connect to the ball than what we do in baseball. They also had an awful swing at the ball if you asked me. Instead of holding the bat high up on their shoulder as I had been taught, they would let it hang down and swing it with an upper cut. This was turning out to be a totally different game than I thought it would be. 

They even have these things called wickets and overs. I am still yet to learn what these are all about. I did hear them hollering "Six! Six!" but not once did I see anyone crossing a goal line. Just one guy was running and running after a ball that made it past his outstretched arms. I thought how amazing it would be if football were like this and you did not actually have to hold on to the ball as you crossed over the goal line. Maybe even Auburn could score some touchdowns that way!
By the way, I am so ready for the start of college football next weekend. I did enjoy my day, but it is so much better to finally watch some good championship football starting next week. Roll Tide Roll and may you all have a good day!

Dinesh in swing form 

Sharun ready for release

Charles setting the spin

Subash in training

Come and watch as they play this game called cricket! Is not that something you would fish with???

Cricket at Work

HOUSE CONSTRUCTION: THE PAINTING PROJECT

It has been a long journey, but we are finally starting to see some real improvements as we move along. The thought of ever accomplishing all this when we began back in 2010 is becoming a distant memory. These days we are working on the more aesthetic projects rather than the construction we have been completing. It has begun to take on the resemblance of a place we will be able to call home.

Kuya Tony visited us late last year. He is a cousin to Maly through marriage. He is a distinguished painter and has had many projects in the Philippines. He looked over the house while there and advised us he would be able to paint the house if we would like for him to. We had to wait until May to begin, but he was willing to come at that time.

I was scheduled to be home late in May from work. Maly and the kids wanted some time away from home, so we decided to meet in Manila. While Maly and the kids were away, it was arranged that Kuya Tony and his helpers would arrive and watch the house while also beginning the work of painting it. They came in a few days before and started there preparations for the job ahead.

Banner painter by Kuya Tony

Maly and the kids met me in Manila as planned. We had a great time there that week as we visited several amusement places the kids wanted to go to. All the while I was eager to get back and see the job that was being done at the house as well.

We finally arrived on the 25th of May. We were welcomed home by a large banner outside. Kuya Tony is not only a house painter, but also can paint banners as well. He made sure were we all were welcomed back in style. It was great pulling up and seeing the banner along with some of the progress being made in the house.

During the next two weeks of my time at home, Kuya Tony and his team continued to work on getting the outside of the house painted. It was a lot of work to make sure it was painted in a standard that only Tony would accept. Many hours of scraping, sanding and painting in the hot Cagayan Valley sun. He wanted to get the outside completed before the monsoon rains of June decided to come. We were lucky not to have too much rain during this period and the house painting continued at a pretty good pace considering that there were only 3 helpers working.

Our new ride

Maly kept me busy with trips to the market and other places picking up supplies. We would go for groceries for Maly's Country market in the early mornings and then for any paint or other supplies later in the day as Kuya Tony gave us a list for items he needed. We were always going in the tricycle and always needed a driver for this. I got the wild idea that we could accomplish so much more if we had an extra means by which to get back and forth to town.
So one day on a trip into town, we had stopped with the kids and one of our helpers to buy groceries. Once finished, we loaded the tricycle with the groceries and the kids and there was no room left for us. I told Maly we would just walk down the road and hire another tricycle to get us home. As our tricycle left, I changed my mind and we went looking at different motorcycle shops. I had already scouted around and new what i was looking for. At the first place we stopped, I asked how long it would be for me to be able to drive the motorcycle I was looking at off the lot. They told me it would at least take two days.  As we were now walking, I was not satisfied with that answer.
We went to the next dealer. Maly and I have used this same place for other purchases we have made. She is well known there and has good credit with them. We asked the same question. They said that once we chose the bike and they completed the paperwork, we could drive it off that day. We were now in business! It took approximately an hour for everything to be completed. Very efficient and even let us bring some of the items back the next day that we did not have with us. We were very happy that we no longer had to walk and that we had a way to get around town even without the tricycle.   

Rain spouts installed and painted

Kuya Tony was able to get a lot done in the two weeks. Even with frequent interruptions and new ideas being added. We had gutters that were originally installed, but no downspouts. We kindly asked if he would mind installing those before continuing the paint job. He agreed and off to town we went to buy the supplies. He did an excellent job of getting these installed and painted along with the rest of the outside. It has made a huge difference when the rains have come.
Kuya Tony and his team still have work to be done, but at least we can see a positive improvement from where we were in 2010. Even since just this May we have seen a much more lovely house from the outside.
We now have the tiles for inside and the painting will begin in there shortly. We cannot wait to see the finished results of it all.
I am headed back to work now. It takes money and this is the only way I know to make it. So I will have to wait another 90 days to see what progress is made, other than our nightly calls and video chats.
Hope you will check out the video below to see the progress. If you have not done so, please subscribe to follow along in all our adventures.

House Construction: The Painting Project

Party at Dayrit Resort, Cabatuan Isabela PART 2

We really enjoyed our visit to the Dayrit Resort in Cabatuan, Isabela. The kids had a great time swimming the afternoon away in the two pools they have there. One is a kiddie pool that is just right for those kids that cannot swim yet. They can splash and play there and the water is only a few feet deep. It was not crowded so they had plenty of room to have fun in.

Excited to be sliding! 

The bigger pool is a deeper one. It does not really have a shallow end at all as it is mostly over 4 foot in depth for the whole pool. Not so bad for an American, but for my Filipino friends, some did not like that it was as deep as it was.

It had a slide at one end that made it an attraction for the kids. They enjoyed taking many turns going down the slides. For those that could not swim that well, they would still come down the slide. They would ask for an adult to wait at the end to catch them by the hand before actually coming off the slide. This seemed to work out pretty well and the kids had a lot of fun doing this.

Oh, I think I saw a karaoke machine! Time to brush off those vocal chords and have some fun. We cranked up the volume and began to sing. I do not know why we did not get any of the ladies on camera singing, but the guys had a great time. Kuya Tony not only paints, but he can sing as well. He did a great job keeping the crowd entertained.

What do you know, they even let me get into the karaoke spirit. I am not so sure this was a great idea or not. But I still had fun. I was able to find a few songs in the book that I thought I could sing anyways.

Maly was finally found to end the night with her singing. Sorry, but she would not let me post her complete song, She really enjoys singing and I hated she would not let me post that. But she did provide some "power" at the end of the evening. Not sure if that was the "Power of Love" or for the guys if it was the "Power of Food"!

We hope you will come along and enjoy our afternoon of relaxation and entertainment. You can catch it all in the video below

Dayrit Resort Party Part 2

One thing for sure about the Filipino people is their love to party. What’s the occasion? Does there even have to be one? Just invite a few friends and the enjoyment begins. We decided it was high time for us to have one of these get togethers and Dayrit Resort in Cabatuan, Isabela seemed like a great place to go.

First thing in the morning preparations began. We needed fresh coconut scraped so our painter, that had been at the house doing some work for us, helped to prepare this. Kuya Tony, Aljon and Ray all helped out. Aljon was exciting to watch as he shaved the coconuts and then split them open with his bolo. Kuya Tony and Ray used a scraper Filipino style to scrape the meat from inside the husk.

Maly, Hazel and Marjorie were busy with other cooking duties that morning. There was pancit, a Korean boiled pork wrap (Bossam), steamed Filipino bananas, rice and other items to get ready. It was a mad bee’s hive of activities that morning. The chicken had been marinated overnight and fresh tilapia was bought that morning. Everything was coming together right nicely.

I had to go into town to pick up some other items we had special ordered for one of the ladies that has a small caldaria in town. I managed to pick up some dinaguan, pata tim and some kinilaw baboy. As soon as I could get back home with my supplies we would be ready to go!  

It is sometimes a chore to get everyone wanting to go to a party where you need them to go along with all the food we were bringing. We had 3 tricycles we loaded with food and people along with our single motor as well. We made sure the store was locked for the day and off we started.

Steve and Maly ready to ride! 

We no longer got on the road when we started to remember several things we had forgotten. We had bought some ribs for doing on the BBQ. Did we pack them? We could not remember if they were loaded in the cooler. So back we went to pick these up. We also forgot the camera and one other important item. That is yet to come.

We managed to get out to Dayrit Resort which is only a few miles from where we live. It is a nice resort with big cottages you can rent out by the day. We had been by a few days earlier and requested to have the first cottage as you entered the resort. These cottages offer plenty of room with two large tables to place your food on. Another advantage is that the cottage also has a sink at the back with running water. This really comes in handy when BBQing. They do have grills you can use also, but you need to bring your own charcoal.

Maly and Ellen making sure everything is good to eat! 

As we were unloading all our goodies, we found we had forgotten the most important ingredient of all if you want a Filipino party to be successful! We had left the rice at the house. So here I go again with Aljon back to get the rice. Again thankfully we only live a few short miles from this resort, so we managed to get the rice and have it back in time for our lunch time party!

Everyone seemed to enjoy the assortment of food, dessert and refreshments we had brought. I think everyone that came went away with an extremely full belly and had great memories to share afterwards.

Come along as we take you on this first part of our enjoyable day at the Dayrit Resort. I am sure you will have some fun right along with us! 

Dayrit Resort - It is time for a Party!

Samuel and Noreen’s Happy Dance

School programs are always fun to be at. As the saying goes, “It is more fun in the Philippines!” We always enjoy seeing our kids perform their programs whatever they may be. There is always a celebration of some sort to prepare for.

This again was for a Thanksgiving performance for the school celebrating 29 years in service. All the students were allowed to do different skits, songs or other acts. Each showcased their own individual talents for the teachers and parents in attendance.

Malou Barnal, one of the mothers that also has children in the same grades as our own sons, helped by practicing with the children and preparing the dance routine along with the outfits the kids wore. She was a great help in having the kids ready for their dance.

Samuel and Noreen’s dance performance was to the song “Happy”. It was not hard to smile and get a happy vibe as they performed. The crowd enjoyed their performance and had a great time watching them dance.

You can check out their video below and if you have not, please subscribe so you will not miss any of the exciting videos we have to share! 

Sam and Noreen's Happy Dance