Tarsiers, Chocolate Hills, Houses for Barbie and Ken, and Basement is complete.

Lily, Lydia and Mary are still enjoying Bohol. They have really enjoyed being with Clark, Swathi, Soren and Meera. Here are some cute scenes of cousin time:

Their two big outings today were going to the Tarsier Sanctuary and going to the Chocolate Hills. Keep in mind, these may have been on separate days for them (due to different time zone), but they were during my day here in Utah.

Lily told me all about Tarsiers. She said at first she wasn’t very interested in seeing them because someone mentioned they are a bit like rats, and they have a tail. Pictures of them really aren’t that cute. But after she saw them, she thought they were so cute. She said she just had to block out the fact that they had a tail. She really raved about how cute they are. Apparently their brains are tiny (in part because their eyes take up something like 2/3 of their head). And the funny thing is that even with eyes that big, they can’t see well! Yoda and other characters have been based off of Tarsiers. They just look so interesting. Here are some pics and videos:

After the Tarsier sanctuary, they went to the Chocolate Hills. They are so beautiful. Many years ago they were all underwater coral reefs, and now they are the beautiful chocolate hills:

After the Chocolate Hills, it appears they had an amazing boat, dinner, dance and cultural experience.

All in all, they had a great day in Bohol!

Back at the home front, I continued to work towards packing the house. Ammon and Clarissa were very cute to have along at Lowe’s. We also got a board for the piano mover while we were there.

Here is a beautiful drawing that Mary made that I found while cleaning. The poem is very apt as Mary and Lily are getting so much time together and Lily has reported that they both have been perfect the entire trip. They really have both bloomed into such incredible people.

I finished clearing out the basement today!

This is one of the kid’s craft tables. I love it both because it makes me think of the hours they spent their crafting and also because I love it as a work of modern art.

Clarissa has done some fun crafting to pass the time. This is a house she made for Barbie. Clarissa was so intentional with each part of the house including the clothes rack, the couch (the bra pad) and more. Each item in there had a specific purpose (I’m just not quite sure what each one was).

And this is a house she made for Ken. She said Ken’s house is more plain.

Day in Cebu and Epic Jazz game.

Lily, Lydia and Mary went to Cebu with Clark, Swathi, Soren and Meera today. They took a tour of the city and had a really nice time. Lily said the tour guide was not super knowledgeable and she didn’t find Cebu to be as interesting as some of the other places she went to, except at the end, Lily was blown away by the church. It was a very old a beautiful church that had a lot of tradition going back to Magellan. If I understood Lily correctly, the church was associated with a Christian revival that happened in the Philippines when a relic (I think a cross) that Magellan gave to the Philippine Queen was found in a well. The Queen had rejected the gift and threw it out, but when it was later found in a well, it was interpreted as a sign of Christianity and that started the revival. Here are picture from their day in Cebu:

Here are pictures and videos of the church Lily was so fascinated by. The placard on the church gives details about the story of Magellan’s cross:

They also drove by the Philippine LDS temple in Cebu:

Back at the homefront, I had my first full-on day at work. I spent most of the day having one on ones meeting with my new reps in Provo. I really enjoyed meeting everyone. I also felt super fortunate, because the Jazz suite happened to be available tonight, and I arranged to take all of my Provo-based employees to the game as a team-building experience. It was such a great way to bond together, and the game was absolutely incredible. In the last 31 seconds, there were 4 back to back three pointers that sent the game into overtime. I was worried the game wouldn’t be good because the Pistons are the worst team in the league and only recently snapped a 28 game losing streak, but they came to play and it was the best game I ever saw live. The Jazz ended up winning and breaking a record for most points scored in a game at home, and they tied an all-time franchise record for points scored in a game and they also broke a franchise record for total points recorded in a game (across both teams). The energy in the building was great! (see the video below). What a game to be at, and what a way to bond as a team! Also, my dad and Suzanne watched the kids, which, once again, was so incredibly helpful.

Slowing Down in Cebu

Lily, Lydia, Mary, Clark, Swathi, Soren and Meera all recently arrived in Cebu. It has been a wonderful change of pace for them since their agenda has been so packed. In Cebu, they will get a lot more time to relax. Here are some scenes from the day, I think all from the resort:

Below is footage of tinikling. Mary and Lydia had done it before in their elementary school and it’s so amazing they got to do it in the Philippines with professional dancers and their cousins. This is hard faught footage, because Lily tripped and strained her ankle while getting a video of Lydia tinikling. I should also mention that Lily and Lydia have been wrestling with sickness throughout the whole trip (especially Lily who has a raspy voice and cough almost every time I talk to her). But they are all very happy and loving their trip!

Happy New Years! 2024 Begins.

Today was a really good day because I got a lot done, but (fresh on the heels of my self care conversation with Chris and Jenn) I stayed with in my limits, paced myself correctly, and found joy along the way.

I had so much fun chatting with Chris and Jen before they all left at 9:45 in the morning, and then I just relaxed for a couple of hours. I watched Top Gun Maverick which was an incredible movie, truly sensational. Then I got lunch for everyone and took the kids on a bike ride because the weather was nice. Just was we were starting we got to have a nice conversation with Lily:

Another great milestone is Clarissa just learned to ride on Lydia’s old bike. She’s a little small for it, but she will grow into it and she was getting too big for the purple Schwinn (which I will always love). Here are Ammon and Clarissa riding around the neighborhood with me!

After biking, I moved some things into the container and then blogged the rest of the evening. I didn’t push myself too hard and I stopped for breaks. Like when I found myself sitting at the top of the stairs, then lying down, then asleep, lol. It was a nice little nap. An I also played Smash Brothers with Ammon and Clarissa at the end of the day, which was so fun, it is at the level of of Wingspan with Lily for me. I really love playing Smash Brothers with my kids! I keep accidentally calling Ammon “David” lately and I think it is because when I play with him, he feels like my little brother. I’m having so much fun with them!

Also, I have loved our tree so much. It makes me happy every time I see it. Thank you Lily for reminding me to get the good tree to cheer me up while half of my loved ones are across the world!

Today Lily woke up early to go birdwatching with Swathi and Louie. She said the birds were amazing!

As a rough overview of their time in the Phillipines: Lily and the girls started in Manila, then went to a resort at Coron, and then have spent the last 4 days or so at the resort in El Nido. Today they flew to Cebu to stay there for two days, and then they stay in Bohol before coming home (via Japan which just had a major earthquake). What a trip they have had!

Here are some pictures and videos from their last day at El Nido in Palawan.

Clarissa and Ammon learn to ski!

Today Lily and the girls had the best time snorkeling near their resort at El Nido! Here are some pictures:

Here are some more pictures from their fun day today:

Back in Utah it was a very exciting day for us because Chris and I took all the kids skiing and this is the first time Ammon and Clarissa ever skied. Jen stayed home and bonded with Basil 🙂

Everyone were such champs. Clarissa, Ammon and Gigi all did lessons with an instructor on the bunny hill. I hung out with them some to get video and see them, and also got a few runs of my own up the mountain. Chris and Caelan also spent time on the bunny hill. Then we all had a delicious lunch. After lunch the kids wanted to keep skiing. After observing Ammon and Clarissa for a bit, I was convinced they were ready for the lift (Gigi and Caelen had already done it before). So I took Clarissa two times, Gigi two times, and Ammon and Caelen two times (Caelen also joined with Clarissa once). Everyone did such a great job and made it down the mountain with no problem. I was so proud of everyone!

It’s incredible to track Ammon and Clarissa’s progress throughout the day. I put these videos in order so you can see how they progressed, from barely being able to stay upright on their skies to bombing down the mountain by the end fo the day. I’m so proud of them!

In the video below, Ammon is so excited to tell me about the progress he had made!

Look at him go! And he’s not even using an Edgie Wedgie!
Look at Clarissa go!

Lunch at the lodge was delicious!

After lunch we hit the slopes again. We spent time on the bunny hill until I felt Ammon and Clarissa were ready, and then we all spent time on the slopes. Here is footage from our time on the bunny hill:

This is one of my favorite videos from the day. Why is skiing good? “Cause I’m awesome at it!”
Ammon showing his progress

And here are videos from us going on the lift. This is Clarissa’s first lift ride and run down the mountain!! She went down the whole thing without falling once except for at the very end. She did so well!!!

Here’s is Gigi’s first run of the day down the mountain!

Here’s Ammon’s first chair ride and run down the mountain ever! Caelan was with us also, and he did great!

“He is flying, holy cow”

I was so proud of all of them. Gigi also progressed so much since last time, and Caelan was doing great on the snowboard, and I think snowboarding is much harder to learn at first than skiing.

It was such an incredible day. I felt true happiness skiing with all the kids, participating in Ammon and Clarissa’s first ski day, and seeing them all have such an incredible time and progress so much. It was a 2023 highlight for me.

Speaking of 2023, Jen bought a delicious French pie to celebrate New Years’ Eve. We took turns sharing a high, a low, and a high from 2023. The kids mostly all shared things from today or this week, which the adults thought was funny (a little recency bias). My highs for this year were running half-marathons and having my job situation work out, and my low was my challenges with mental health. It was so so fun to spend New Years’ Eve with the Deans and I’m so glad they chose to spend it with me! I had such rich conversation with Jen and Chris after the kids went down also. We talked about self care during challenging times and Jen had great insight that she has picked up in her demanding work with refugees. What a wonderful famly they are!

El Nido, Bacuit Bay and family parties

Right now Lily and the girls are staying with relatives at a resort in el Nido. I think they spent time during the day in Bacuit bay (according to Google Photos). They had fun both day and night!

Day:

Night:

Today started early for me. I got some waffles going for the kids, and Jenn kindly finished making them while Chris and I picked up most all of Georgia’s furniture. I’m i love with his truck which has a huge bed. We were very proud that we fit all of her furniture in it:

Afterwards, Chris, Jen and their kids left to meet up with friends and family for the day. I worked on the house and packing and while doing that, I took this picture. I think it could hold its own with any piece of modern art, but what makes it special is that it is our kids crafting table (one of them):

This picture is just to remind me of all the time I spent in this garage (which I love) loading the containers. I love listening to the CDs of my youth on our garage CD player while I work.

Below are three videos of Loki playing with Basil. It is so good for Basil to have a playmate. Unfortunately, though, Loki is way more excited to play with Basil, than Basil is to play with Loki. Basil did enjoy some play with Loki, but you can tell by the third video, Basil feels totally done, but Loki felt like he was just getting started. It’s really cute because I actually put Basil in the car so he could relax and not constantly have Loki trying to play with him. After I put Basil in the car, Loki ran upstairs looking for him, looked left, looked right, even looked up on the couch. He was visibly sad that his playmate was gone. He is a very cute dog.

After working on the house, I took the possessions of my friend Nick Barnes to mutual friends house near my mom’s house. After Nick got kicked out of his apartment here in Utah, I helped him move out and I have stored his things for him, however, I am not taking the things with me, so Dan and Anna (mutual friends) were kind enough to let me drop his things off. Nick has had his disability payments removed, is hit with medical bills when he goes to the hospital for being suicidal, was hit by a truck (so lost his car and hurt his arm), has had trouble finding employment, was fired twice, was kicked out of a friends’ house, is struggling with massive psychological issues, spent time in a homeless shelter, and the list goes on and on and on. It breaks my heart to see all that he is going through. Although I am grateful there are a number of people in his life who care about him, and who have been investing in him and trying to help him move forward.

After dropping Nick’s things off, I went to my mom’s Christmas gathering. It was a week postponed becuase she has been so sick (she had Covid and another bug on top of it). It was so nice to see everyone including Kurt and Naomi, and Victor and Melody and their families. I hadn’t seen them in a very long time! I had fun giving Christmas gifts to people, and I was delighted to see that Ozzy loved the olives that I got him so much. He was really happy about them! He also played the magnetic drawing board I got him for a long time at the party and was really into it. It was so fun to see him enjoy his gifts! We also got Kizik shoes for my mom and Jay and I got Baerskin hoodies for David and Jere, and a Cotopaxi gift card for Olivia. It was super fun to see people enjoy their gifts. I should also note that David and Olivia got us the game Animal Crossing for the Switch and I’m dying to play it with Clarissa and Ammon.

After eating at my mom’s we went to see my grandma Forsyth and got caught up on life. It was so nice to see her.

Then we went to the ski shop to get everything we needed for skiing tomorrow. Clarissa was barefoot in the shop because she left her shoes at my mom’s (lol). I had to carry her to see my grandma and have her sit on my lap or on a chair so her feet didn’t touch the ground.

At night I was truly exhausted, but it was a very very good day. I also had a really good time hanging out with Chris before going to bed.

Also, this picture and video were of Lily, Lydia and Mary at the start of their next day (still the same day in my time zone):

Culion, Container, Burgers, Arcade, Furniture for Georgia

Today, Lily and the girls traveled with family to Culion by boat. Culion used to be a leprosy colony and it was where Lily’s dad was raised because his parents were there to help the people with leprosy. His mom was a nurse and his dad was an administrator. Ben, Lily’s dad, was always ashamed that he grew up there, but in truth, it is a beautiful place. Here are pictures of the boat ride to the island:

Here are pictures from their time on the island:

While in Culion, they went to the archives building, and learned all about the history of Culion as a leprosy colony. Lily took a trillion informative photos, but I’m capturing them all here because of how important Culion is to our family history.

Here is some related information from Ancestry.com

Here are more pictures from their time in Culion after the archives museum, heading back on the boat, and beach time at their resort.

Back at the home front, I finished packing our container (not Pod). I was very proud of how tightly I packed it, and I took this picture. I did start to worry that I was over the 6,000 pound weight limit though:

When the man from Pack Rat arrived, he picked up the container and weighed it and it came in at 8,000 pounds. My heart skipped a beat thinking I would need to unload a bunch of things, but he said that it was probably showing a little heavier than actual, and as long as he could lift it, he would take it. I was so relieved! I was also interested in how his truck worked.

After loading in the morning, and finishing work in the afternoon, I prepared the fixings for hamburgers (and Gigi peeled and arranged the oranges), and then Chris grilled while I picked up Georgia to come over for dinner. It was so fun to all enjoy dinner together!

After dinner, I dropped Georgia off and then Chris and I took the kids to the arcade. Clarissa went right to her favorite roller coaster ride and Gigi followed. Gigi and Clarissa played a lot of games to get tickets and they both got really fun prizes at the end and Ammon and Caelen played a lot of games together.

After the arcade, I borrowed Chris’ truck and loaded a ton of old furniture we are getting rid of, and took it over to Georgia’s place for her to use as temporary furniture since we are taking almost all of her furnature to Raleigh.

I will also note that it has been really fun having Loki over. Sometimes Basil, gets stressed out because Loki ALWAYS wants to play with him, and sometimes Basil also wants to play and they have a lot of fun together. In either case, I think it is great for Basil to have socialization. Loki is so darn cute!!

Also, as we were wrapping up our day in Utah, Lily, Lydia and Mary were starting their next day in the Philippines. I’m not sure what these photos are of, but here they are!

Palawan, Arrival of the Deans, Gregorian Chant, and playing “shop”

Today I found Ammon and Clarissa horsing around in front of the Alexa. Their recording reminded me of really off the wall Gregorian chant, so I texted this video to Lily so she could start her day by seeing it. She thought it was hilarious!

Today, Lily and girls left Manila and went to Coron, Palawan in the Philippines. It appears they had a nice boat ride and that their resort was extremely scenic. It looks so beautiful there!

Back at the house, I readied our house for our guests and continued to pack up our container. Ammon and Clarissa had used a ton of game pieces to play shop. They were so helpful to clean it up dutifully, but before they did, Ammon insisted on getting a video of his shop.

All clean!

Also, while I was packing, I found this cute sign above Mary’s desk. It made me smile. The Deans arrived around 2. After they arrived, I finished up work and then we all got Thai food in the evening, and Chris and I chatted at night. Our kids had so much fun playing together!

Fashion in the Philippines, Switch, and Darais Christmas Party

Today Lydia had her hair done. She didn’t want to get it done, but some good old-fashioned family pressure did the trick, and I think she looks great! Also, Lily is looking fantastic with her newly darkened eyebrows!

I’ve still been staying at my dad and Suzanne’s place, along with Jere. My dad and Suzanne have been beyond wonderful to us. They have fed us, played with the kids, given us very comfortable accommodations, and of course, they have just been so fun to hang out with and chat with. One of my favorite things I ate was a huge serving of my dad’s salad. He chops up so many different ingredients, and it’s delicious. I’m going to miss being farther away from them!!! But I am so glad we got this deep time with them before the move.

Today I worked and spent time lining up our home insurance and rental insurance. While I was knocking out tasks, Ammon and Clarissa played a little Nintendo Switch. OK, they played a ton of Nintendo Switch. Look at Ammon’s thumb!! I’m so glad they love the Switch so much!

In the evening we went to the Darais Christmas party. I had a great time talking with relatives, eating the good food and then playing basketball at the end. I’m sad I will be farther away from all these wonderful people who are such a beautiful part of my life, but I’m glad I got to spend so much time with them at the party!

Coming Home (rooted in unrootedness)

Lily told me that she and Clark have been pondering in disbelief how it is that they are half Philipino and they have never been to the Philippines. Truly this trip was long overdue, and it has been a powerful experience for Lily. Today and the day after (all in this entry due to time zone differences), Lily learned a lot about her father’s native land, including one reason why her dad wasn’t more intentional about exposing her and Clark to the Phillipines and Philipino culture. All that to be found in this entry.

One theme that is running throughout the Manila days is the trauma Philipinos have faced in their history and the hardship they continue to face today. They have been colonized and recolonized multiple times over the years, and the Japanese occupation was particularly horrific, as was the bombing by the United States to try to free the Philippines from Japanese control. Life is still not easy in the Philippines for many people as rampant poverty exists. And yet, there is such a beauty in the people, the food, the culture, and the way everyone has moved forward. Art is one of the beautiful expressions of the Philipino people, and Lily and the girls joined family members to go to the Museum of Modern Art early in the day to start things off.

After the modern art museum, everyone went to Jolibee’s and then they went shopping. Lily, Lydia and Mary are all having so much fun being with their relatives!

The next day (still the same day in the US), they went on a tour of Manila. They had an outstanding tour guide! This tour was hugely impactful for Lily. Manila has faced so much destruction over the years, and the buildings were severely bombed by the United States to end the Japanese occupation. Lily told me that Manila used to be called the Paris of Asia because it was such a beautifully stunning city, with outstanding architecture and features. But, after all the city has endured, like the US bombing to end the Japanese occupation, very few pieces of the historic beautiful city are left. And the new city has been built up without reflecting much of the old city. Lily told me that the Philipino approach to the past has been to just move on. I believe this church below is one of the very few old beautiful structures still standing in Manila:

Here are more pictures and videos from their tour:

The tour caused Lily and Clark to both reflect on how the Philipinos have just moved on from the past without overly memorializing, remembering or recreating it. There is a culture of forgetting and moving forward. Lily and Clark realized that is exactly how their dad handled his Philipino past, and a big part of why he did not connect Lily and Clark more to his native country. This was sad to reflect on, but also in a way satisfying. Because Lily and Clark realized that their unrootedness is itself a part of the Philipino culture. Lily and Clark are experiencing authentically what it is like to be Philipino by not being overly connected to the past. I think that thought was a bit comforting to Clark and Lily as they questioned and mourned that their relatives visit the Philipines so much more often and are more connected to the language, land and culture. But Ben’s childhood was so traumatic (burying bodies, abused by parents, ran away from home, saw Philipinos tortured by the Japanese etc) that it seems he just needed to leave it behind. There is such rich history on Lily’s Philipino side and I’m so glad she could connect with it.

Back in Utah, people played the Switch a lot. Even Ken played!

Mostly Ammon and Clarissa played with Jere joining a lot while I worked and [mostly] blogged.

Then we all had an awesome outing. Suzanne took us to all see the window decorations inside the Grand America.

Ozzy is the cutest!

After seeing the displays, we had a delicious dinner at Via 313. Then dad, Suzanne, Ammon, Clarissa and I spent some time at the mall and we came home.

Jere and I played lots of Nintendo with Ammon and Clarissa (Suzanne joined a game too!) and I put the kids to bed way too late. Then I played Mario Kart with Jere and went to bed myself.

It was another good day!