Saturday, November 27, 2010

Thanksgiving in Cebu

After much deliberation (beach holiday vs. city break), we decided to go to a resort in Cebu (Philippines). We agreed to spend this time resting, relaxing, and doing as little as possible (this has proven difficult for us to do in the past). The hard part, of course, is when the kids are so eager to start the day that they wake up at 6 a.m.

I can't say I blamed them - they spent the day swimming, laughing, playing in the sand, swinging on the swings (Mads), at the kids club (Chase), and sleeping when it just became too much to keep their eyes open (7 pm).

And while it sounds good that they went to sleep so early, there is very little one can actually do in a room - that you can't leave - with two sleeping children. Good thing we had a balcony (a definite must for parents who are considering travel with kids).

So the up side - family time, lovely grounds, kids club, very little stress, only four hours door-to-door from home. There was also a fabulous performance, that showcased local music and dancing... and fireworks!

Down side - didn't see anything besides the beach, pool and lovely grounds - embarrassed to say that for the first time, we didn't see local sights (Magellan's Cross - or even Cebu, the oldest city in the Philippines). They didn't have any turkey on Thanksgiving. Oh, and Hub's MOvember mustache. Thank goodness that thing goes away at the end of November - Merry Christmas to me!










































Feeding fish in the morning. They came right up to you!














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Pool-side girls...

































At dusk, everyone in town decided to (1) cook or (2) burn garbage, so a very thick layer of smoke veiled everything for as far as the eye could see. Chase, Mads and I all started coughing every night and no matter how good the ventilation system was, our room smelled of smoke (a definite down side).














Local flowers...




















Balcony time...















Mads decided early on that she would (1) not wear a diaper, (2) not wear shoes, and (3) not wear any clothes - for the entire time we were there.




















"Why does Mom keep putting this diaper on me?"


































Our view of the lovely grounds...
























































We ate loads of fruit...















Chase actually became a little tired at one point...




















And Mads definitely enjoyed her early afternoon naps...



















Until Chase tickled her toes (no Chase! Let your sister sleep!)















And I wore a big, crazy hat to try to keep freckles and wrinkles away...


































Good times!