a real vacation!

john usually classifies our trips that involve kids as just that - "trips".  we tend to deal with less sleep and more stress than while at home.  however, i have to say this trip was different - it was actually a vacation!  while it was tiring at times, the kids were fairly well-behaved, we managed to join in their 10+hr sleep stretches, and we even spent enough time in the pool that we actually got TAN!

checking out their 'big airplane"

sleep sacks on...time for bed
(now only if they would turn off the lights!)

hard at work

14 hours later...3:45am in manila

off to miko's uncle's house to pass time while we wait for hotel check-in at 11am

enjoying a cold milk at the welcome party our first evening

refreshing!

mesmerized by lights

jacks took a quick cat-nap despite livi's attempts to open his eyelids

front-row seats for the live karaoke band

it was bound to happen...
it was literally the longest day of our lives

it took a few days to adjust to the time difference
and impossible to wake them up from naps

the beauty of traveling with friends

ready for the pool

it was as good as they remembered

swim lessons with jeremy

even more fun in the philippines

hair and make-up...the kids were intrigued

shuttle ride to the wedding

to say he was a little nervous would be an understatement

she wasn't sure what the heck was going on

almost time to head down the aisle (with a little help from mom)

the pellegrini four

it's now time for the 1.5 hour full mass!

did i mention it was 90 degrees in there?

my three loves

twins!

back on the shuttle to the reception

show me those tongues!

a balancing baby

their special friends (which usually stay at home) got to tour manila with the kids

as dinner was being served, this happened
(they didn't wake up until the next morning)

miko and his san francisco buddies

the ladies

that's a wrap, manila!

off to boracay

a kiss for julia in exchange for a banana chip

three peas in a pod

first propeller plane - woohoo!

jacks and mom on one side

livi, dad, omid and nawz on the other

2 minutes later

a book, a burrito, and the hum of the airplane

from the airport, we headed to a boat

almost to boracay

we made it just in time to enjoy the sunset

while everyone else headed out to dinner, we just didn't have the energy

dad and babies

wise beyond his years
(yeah right)

pineapple smoothie, please

like mother like daughter

making mud pies by the pool

miko and julia's beach party...a fabulous close to the wedding festivities

her eighth fresh fruit skewer

learning moves from the fire dancers

mother-son dance

liv was up on the dance floor solo for about 15 minutes

after all our friends left, we splurged on a nice resort for our last few nights

it wasn't hard to win the kids over

poolside lunch

we ate more french fries on this trip than we have during their entire 2.5 years alive

pool time!

the pool here was so warm and perfectly set up for kids

we practically had it all to ourselves!

waiting for their snow cones

delicious!
watermelon? sure!  ice cream? absolutely!

my nap buddies

exploring "downtown" boracay, aka d'mall

milk stop

  

one big selfie
(thank goodness for john's long arms)

waiting for our ride

perfect weather and perfect scenery

john's 23rd trip to fill up a bucket of water for the kids

doing what kids do best

someone needs a refreshment

early dinner at our hotel

fine dining

slurping it down

all smiles for this little lady

night swim!

getting crazy

perfecting his form

jumping from all angles

it felt like one huge bath tub

we closed our last night in boracay with a chocolate cookie shake in the hot tub...
life doesn't get much better than this

the start of the 2nd longest day of our lives

boat to the airport

wandering at the dock

back on the "baby plane"

jacks like to hold hands while taking off

little miss liv

john and i actually got to sit together most of this flight

waiting to get rid of our bags at the start of our 10 hour layover in manila

we headed to the mall of asia to pass some time

there's no place like home

finally, time for sleep

we made it!!!

our thai food was delivered as we arrived home at 9pm
(jacks had a heartfelt reunion with his trains, he never made it to the dinner table)

we spent memorial day weekend recovering from jet lag and running errands,
like the carwash

reunited with our bones!

back to a family of 5 means i get the backseat

everyone loves a trip to lowes, right??

we can't believe the trip is actually over.
it was exhausting at times, but so unbelievably worth it!