The Philippines

With a tear in our eyes and shoes on our feet (we literally didn't wear shoes for four days) we left Boracay and headed for Manila... We had such a great time and loved the Philippines. I could see us live and work there some day. It's like America but with Filipino people and SUPER expensive gluten free food, but at least they had it. People are very religious there. At one of the malls, there was even a Catholic service going on right in the middle of things. I also got a chance to visit my old secretary, Sherril, her husband Dave, and their gorgeous baby Drea. They took me to a yummy Filipino restaurant for lunch. Afterwards, we got a dessert, called a "mango blast" that was divine.

Gabby saw her first movie, "How to Train a Dragon" in 3D. She really freaked out at first because they were showing a trailer for "Iron Man" and it was super violent. We sat a little too close and it was loud, so Travis took her out because she was screaming, "I want to go home!" After awhile she calmed down and watched the movie. She still talks about the dragon and the "big TV."

Oh yah, we went to Manila because of a teaching conference. I don't want to bore you with details, but it was okay.

Panic in the Paraw

The "Love Song," which was the actual boat we were on.

This is s similar boat that we road on.

You can see how the hammock thing works.

Hello Tebo blog fans. It has been a tremendous amount of time since I have last posted but was compelled to write about our experience this morning. Having kids doesn't automatically quell a parent's sense of adventure. We all want a bit of fun doing outdoorsy type stuff with our kids, right? As a part of our hotel package on Boracay we received a "island hopping" ride on a Paraw, which is a downrigger sailboat.   Being the awesome parents we are, we asked if it was safe and if the ride was rough etc. We were assured it was fine as long as Gabby liked the water. Gabby really likes the water so we felt alright going on a nice leisurely cruise around the island.
A Paraw is an interesting boat with one part conoe, one part catamaran, one part tarp, and one part hammock. After getting settled in our hammock type areas, Cara and Gabby on one side, me on the other Cara put on her life jacket. Gabby also had a decent floatation device that would keep her head above water if we wanted to stop and have a nice swim somewhere on our cruise around the island. I of course didn't accept the offer of  a life jacket because the two guys running the boat didn't have them on and I'm a good swimmer if something happened to the boat so I figured I'd be OK.
As we slowly moved through the shallows I layed back on the woven material, looking up at the sky, thinking about how great it was to experience a sailing trip with Cara and Gabby. The sail caught a bit more wind and we began to pick up speed causing one end of the boat to come out of the water. The pilot expertly managed the sails to push us even faster until Cara and Gabby were suspended at least five feet above the water. Gabby was smiling,Cara was whooping with glee, in short, it was a perfect moment in time...
Boracay is shaped like a dogbone that is roughly lined up North to South. We left from the beach on the West of the island and headed south. As we prepared to round the south end of the island the pilot told me to move over to Cara's side of the boat to give it more weight to counteract the much stronger wind we were about to encounter. The south side of the island has a narrow straight of water between Boracay and a larger island. The gap between the islands funnels the winds and waves concentrating their intensity. We were soon going up and down waves that grew progressively larger as we continued down the straight. Several times the bow would disappear in a wave as spray doused us. The waves were so large they would push up under the hammock mesh we were sitting on and send gushes of water into our faces. For about 10 minutes we were repeatedly hit with wave shrapnel. Gabby began to freak out, I began to worry...
As we made a turn along the Eastern side of the island the waves began approaching from a different angle that made it difficult to gauge how large they would be. The Eastern side of the island is the windward side at this time of year, this morning the wind was whipping the waves into a frenzy. 15 minutes had passed since we began experiencing large waves and Gabby had stopped crying and seemed to completely shut down. Cara later told me that she was bighting down on her life jacket as her arms had a death lock on hers.When a person is in over their head they weigh the options of throwing in the towel or forging on. My mind started going through my plan in case any of us went over the side, or if the boat broke up. The two sailors working the boat seemed completely unworried but could clearly see that we weren't handling the situation in kind. I asked the pilot if we could head for a beach and walk the half a mile across the island to our hotel but he said the water was too rough to manage the passage across the reef that sits offshore. Our only option was to trust our sailors, and keep a strong grip on the boat to prevent being washed over the side.
The north point of the island could be seen in the distance about 7 kilometers away, I locked my eyes on that point and measured our progress down the island by its growing size. It took about 30 minutes to begin rounding the Northern tip of the island and finally we caught a break. When we turned toward the west, the waves came from behind, the pilot perfectly aligning us to ride the wave, surfing for several seconds each time. My grip loosened and my mind relaxed knowing that we were going to be OK. Gabby took everything in stride, emerging from her shell as Cara's grip relaxed. She started saying, "Waves go bye bye, I don't like waves, waves go to sleep and stay in bed or they get a time out, waves go bye bye". The waves must have been listening because it was smooth sailing the rest of the way home.

Boracay is Paradise

This is our balcony with the incredible view...

Gabby playing at sunset...

The left balcony was our room.

 

Gabby playing on the hammock- she loved this thing!

The Tebo Family on our last day.

Travis and Gabby eating at the restaurant.

This is a motorcycle with a side-car attached.

There are no cars, so this

is the main mode of transport

Don't hate me because I'm in paradise...literally. Boracay island is amazing... As I'm writing this, I'm on on huge balcony overlooking the water. There's a bar right next door playing good music and people walking by. You know how I love people watching, so this is fun for me. We flew in on tiny puddle jumper type airplane yesterday and took a boat ride to the island. My friend Hanna and her mom are staying at a resort two places down from us, so I took the liberty of celebrating this into 2 o'clock in the morning. Needless to say, we had a blast and I felt like I was in college. We walked down the beach where there are tons of people and things to do- live bands, fire breathing people, bikini contests, and people to talk to. There's a Shakey's pizza here, which Travis and I remember from when we grew up in Bremerton. Hanna and I made friends with the owner and scored some free pizza. Sweet. Travis is going out tonight, so we're doing a good job of balancing family and adult fun.

Hangin' Out in Hong Kong

The Tebo family is hangin' out in the Hong Kong airport, waiting for our next flight to Manila. We have about a three hour layover... Blah. We found a play area, though, which has saved us, and got re-energized at Starbucks.

This morning in Beijing was like a movie scene out of Armageddon. We had a sand storm, which is a total trip. The sand from the Gobi desert comes barreling through and the sky looks orange and there's a film of sand everywhere... it's really weird but it happens this time of year... Anyway, another reason why we're happy to get out of there!

OMG More Snow... Where is Spring?

On Sunday, it snowed all day and we got about 3 to 4 inches. Unfortunately (or fortunately)  it all went away, so we didn't miss any school. Bummer. The Chinese government hasn't turned our heat off because the weather has been so cold and we're living through the longest winter in the world. Anyway. Travis and I are all really busy right now and I feel like I'm running a marathon at work. This time of the year is insane! We've been keeping ourselves busy with the usual... play dates, Gymnees, American Idol Night Dinners, etc.

We leave tomorrow for the Philippines and we can't wait! We're going to an island called, Boracay, for a couple of days, and then attending a teaching conference in Manila. Below is a link to where we'll be staying. Can't wait!

http://www.bluemango.com.ph/

It Snowed... Yet Again

To me, snow is no good unless you get a day off of school. Unfortunately, at ISB that rarely happens... not even a late arrival. It's March 8th right now and there's a layer of snow on the ground... where is Spring? In two weeks we'll be in sunny Phillipines. Cannot wait!

Spoke too Soon...

Okay, okay so I shouldn't have said anything... Gabby peed in her pants at school today. I asked her why she didn't tell the teacher she had to go and she said she forgot. Fair enough. She's 2 1/2. I love her anyway and still think she's fabulous!

Something cute she did... This morning she asked me if I had to go to school, and I said "Yah, I have to go to work." in kind of a "it's a bummer" tone of voice. She said "don't be sad" and gave me a big hug. Aaaaahhh...

Potty Training Update

I am happy to report that potty training is going well... For the last week, she's been wearing panties (minus nap and bed time) and has been telling us she has to pee/poop. There haven't been any accidents yet. *fingers crossed* Gabby refuses to use the little potty and the special seat and wants to pee "like a big girl" by holding herself up. So YAY, things are progressing... now we need to tackle the no diaper thing for nap and bed time...

It's Snowing... Again.

It's March 1st and there is snow on the ground. Not enough to close school but enough to feel like spring is never coming... it's hard to imagine that this place can get stinkin' hot. I am SO looking forward to Spring!

Gabby is Translating

Gabby translated something for the first time. Chen told Gabby in Chinese that it was cold outside and then Gabby asked Travis in English if he was cold and that it was cold outside. Pretty cool.