I went to the Fall Out Boy concert last night. It was great! Honestly, I liked the opening act, Hey Monday, perhaps even better than Fall Out Boy, but they were both a lot of fun. And it was great to see so many young Filipinos rocking out.
Unfortunately, I had to go alone, as Tanya is not really up to a loud rock concert yet. Would have been more fun with her, but I still had a great time.
We really did have a great time (again, this is our forth time in Baguio). We visited the Bell Chinese Church and the Tam Awan Village and wandered around Camp John Hay. However, in the end, the best thing about Baguio is the incredible Ambassador’s Residence and its grounds. It is just sooo relaxing there.
Tatyana and Anya (and Sasha!)
Sasha and Anya
Sasha and I spent plenty of our time practicing with our new DSLR cameras, too, and debating their relative merits (we agreed, in the end, that Canon is better — sorry Sasha, but I write the blog, so I make the final pronouncements).
Anya and Sasha, with the Residence in the Background
Masha is 18 months old. Aliciya has known Masha since she was born, and really loves her. She feels much like a older sister toward her.
They were so cute playing together this weekend
Getting a little tired
Aliciya decided, at the end of the weekend, that Masha should come to live with us. It took a lot of explaining to convince her that it would be better for Masha to stay with her parents!
We went to Baguio for the weekend of February 7. As always, it was lovely. We took our friends, Anya and Sasha, and their cute little daughter Masha, and stayed at the cottage on the incredible grounds of the Ambassador’s residence there.
The Ambassador's Residence
The residence dates from before World War II. In fact, all of Baguio was an invention of the Americans during colonial times. It was established as a place to get out of the heat in the hotest months, and the whole colonial government would move to Baguio for months at a time. It is still a great place to beat the heat. In the center of Luzon and nestled among the mountains, it is both cooler and dryer than the rest of the island. The residence and grounds must be one of the nicest spots in Baguio.
Anya on a Rusty Old Bridge
If you ask me, Anya was pretty brave to go out onto this bridge. It’s on the Kennon Road up into the mountains below Baguio. The spot, with the waterfall and river, is pretty spectacular.
Of course, we had to take advantage of being in such a beautiful place to snap a few photos.
The Embassy held an Inaugural Ball to celebrate the transition to a new President. Tatyana had a dress made for the occasion. Unfortunately, the photos leave something to be desired, but they give an idea, anyway.
We had a very nice Christmas. Our Christmas Eve celebration was short, given Aliciya’s attention span. We read a few stories, sang a few Christmas carols (Aliciya proposed, “Mary Had a Little Lamb”), read the Christmas story from the bible, and hung our stockings, that was about it.
Christmas day we unwrapped presents. Most of them were for Aliciya, of course, and she had a great time.
Florsheim Kids opened a new store in the Mall of Asia, the forth largest mall in the world (and second largest in the Philippines). We went to see it tonight, and I shot a few photos of Aliciya in front of her new poster, which is the centerpiece of the store. That makes three stores decked out with photos of Aliciya — at least, as far as we know. One is in Cebu, a city in the central Philippines. We haven’t been there since it went up, so we don’t have pictures there.
We took Aliciya to “Breakfast with Santa,” organized by the Embassy Employees Association. She had a great time. Here are a few pics.
Next Up
On Santa's Knee
With Best Friend Georgia
Dancing In Their Own Little World
At a birthday party that same afternoon for one of her friends, Aliciya got to try out being put into a soap bubble – she did it with her friend James.
Continuing the theme of balls, here is a photo from the Marine Corps Ball. The Marine Corps Ball is an important embassy tradition. Almost all U.S. embassies worldwide are protected by a detachment of Marine Security Guards. Every November U.S. embassies around the world hold Marine Corps Birthday Balls to celebrate the founding of the U.S. Marine Corps on November 10, 1775 and to honor the Marines who protect us. It is always a fun occasion. Here’s a photo of Tatyana and I from this year’s ball.
We had a really nice Thanksgiving. It started when I was asked to give the “Thanksgiving Message” at the annual Thanksgiving Ball put on by the American Chamber of Commerce Foundation (a charitable organization). They asked me, I expect, because neither the Ambassador nor the Deputy Chief of Mission were available. Still, it seemed very appropriate to me, since I have a lot to be thankful for this year.
Larry Speaking at Thanksgiving Ball
Obviously, I spoke about Tatyana’s operation. I was pleased that I managed to keep from crying, though my voice did crack at one point.
Tatyana and I were invited by some friends to go out to dinner the evening before Thanksgiving, and we had a lovely time. And then we were invited (again) to the home of the Deputy Chief of Mission, Paul Jones, for Thanksgiving dinner. That was also a very nice evening, with lots of good conversation and food. Aliciya made a good friend there and played hard, while mom and dad talked with the grownups.
Tatyana is doing very well. The day after Thanksgiving she had her first physical therapy. The doctor told her he thinks she is doing so well that she should be able to play tennis again starting in January. Pretty impressive, I think.
The two of us at the ball.
We are beginning to put together our schedule for the coming summer. Looks like we will be in Washington for seven weeks for training and consultations and then will take the kids down to Orlando for a week of Disney-style fun. After Disney, we will head out to Utah for the rest of our home leave.
