Welcome to the COBBweb!!!: 2017

October 29, 2017

Halloween 2017

This video needs no words. . . it's just super cute and worth the watching!

As our first Halloween party of the year, the kids were great!

Here in the Philippines, Halloween is celebrated through various parties and different neighborhood events. It's not really a true holiday here. Actually, the 31st and November 1st are holidays, just celebrated differently. Most of the kids get the whole week off of school for fall break and IRRI gets a couple of days off! So we will actually be at the beach on the 31st, however, the kids get plenty of trick or treating as part of our neighborhood party. This year the party went well. . .

I was a Jellyfish. . . still deciding how it looked, but it looked great in the dark!

Brayden went as Ash the pokemon trainer. . . which he loved being!

Andrew was a stick figure guy. . . which he again won most original costume for.

Evan was supposed to be Jack the pumpkin king, but he looked more like a cab driver for the dead, and we thought he looked great!

Addison was a vampire. . . even won as the best vampire of the night costume!

Here is all of us! We are missing Josh because Josh was missing! He was in India still and didn't make it back in time.

So, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! Hope you all enjoy your holiday!

October 26, 2017

Brayden turns 11

Well, to start with, how is Brayden 11? WOW!

So for birthday's, I try really hard to let them have food they like and do something fun. It was a terribly busy week, so we had to do our best and use whatever time we could to make his 11th birthday great!

He chose to have his birthday dinner on Thursday night, along with his presents and cake and ice cream. He chose Aebleskivers for dinner.

We then opened up his presents!

He got this nice shiny new bike that folds up!

He also got this Ash costume!

Of course he wanted a pokemon ball for his cake. . . when will the pokemon theme ever end??!!

He loved it!!

Friday, on his actual birthday, we picked the kids up early and headed to Enchanted Kingdom!

Brayden LOVES the belly drop rides! I used to, but I haven't been able to for a few years! SO, he rides by himself. . . poor kid. Maybe when Addison is older she can ride with him too! I hope so! He's a good sport though and just jumps right on!

This is more our speed. . . water bumper boats!

Evan will ride the log ride with him. . . he only did it once. I LOVE his face in this shot! SO CLASSIC!

After, they thought it was mostly fun. Brayden's loved it of course!

Brayden didn't get to ride this the last time we were there, so he was pretty happy when he saw that it was open! He loved it so much he rode it 3 x's!!

His last time was in the dark! He loved it!

We convinced Evan that this upside down ride wouldn't be too bad. . .he braved it and actually liked it! He said it gave the impression of a belly dropper, but your belly never dropped!

We rushed around the last 30 minutes catching whatever ride we could, and finally after a few other rides, finished the night off with bumper cars.

Everyone agrees on this ride!

Overall, it was a fun day at EK!

Can't wait to go again!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAYDEN!! WE LOVE YOU!

October 15, 2017

Shrek Jr.

Evan did an amazing job in Shrek Jr.! He got to play Shrek and I was so proud of him for just trying out!! I will post the video when I get it, for everyone to see. In the meantime, here are the pictures and a couple of clips!

October 7, 2017

Trip back to the States

Well, I ended up back in the USA about a month ago. Unfortunately, it was for a funeral. My brother Amos died after fighting cancer for over a year. I still can't believe that it is true. It was the hardest funeral for me since I was 7. He was my partner in crime when we were kids, the closest to me in age and in school, and my closest friend for so many years. He was a great example to me as an adult. He married a wonderful women and together they had five amazing kids whom they taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ to, the evidence apparent as each one has had to deal with their Father dying. I look up to these kids, to this family, and to my brother. I loved him in life and will always love him and look forward to seeing him on that great day when we meet again in Heaven. Thank you Amos for living such an exemplar life.

With that said, it was a great opportunity for me to catch up with many family members. I haven't been home for over 2 years and being able to reunite with so many was amazing!

My amazing niece had been participating in America's Got Talent and I was able to stay and see her in the finals! I love her courage and strength and will always admire the way she was able to stand and sing so amazingly for the finals.

In Hollywood, I was able to hang out with my nieces some. The amazing Kirra and I had so much fun!

Of course I was lucky enough for a little time to sit by the star Blakely! She has such a sweet and wonderful spirit.

Amazing to be there in person!

Selfie with Angelica Hale. . . she is half Filipino, so I had to take this for my Filipino friends here in the Philippines!

Ruth is such a great kid. She is one of a kind and so easy to hang out with! So kind to others.

Next time I see Porter, my nephew, I'll have to take a picture with him. I didn't realize I had one with all the girls, but not one with him! Love you anyways Porter!

I also took a little tour of the Griffith Observatory and the view of the Hollywood Sign while there. It was pretty cool. Next time I'm in Hollywood, hopefully I can tour some other sights. Two days didn't give me much time!

This is at the finals, when the confetti is falling and you can't see anything on stage.

My amazing neice Evelyn. Love her and all she was able to accomplish!

Oh yeah! We got to meet Howie Mandel! He was so nice to stop and take a picture with us all!

Evie Clair's fan club. Of course her biggest fans are her family because she is amazing!!

So, the trip was for a purpose not of my choosing. It was not always fun and good. But being able to see happiness within the sadness of the occasion was such a blessing. Love you all so much!

A day away!

We had a long weekend, 3 weeks in a row! So finally, the last Monday we ran out of busy stuff to do and took the time to go away to the beach! A short 2 hour drive later and we were there!

Here is what our day looked like on August 28th!