Hamilo Coast at Nasugbu, Philippines

After our memorable trek to Nasugbu we were excited to get up the next morning and explore our surroundings because it had been dark when we arrived. We got out to the beach and it was already scorching. The ocean was like bath water. 

The Philippines were slowly winning me over. 

 Kohen was so excited to try out the snorkeling gear, he was trying to figure out how to walk in flippers and had no idea I was taking pics of him. I have a series of about 15 pics of him valiantly attempting to walk down the beach, and they are all hilarious.

 The sun was so intense that it didn't take long before we decided it just wasn't smart to be out in the peak hours of the day. It was a good choice. Ander would get a nap and Nathan and Maddie would take the kids to go play inside the clubhouse. But in the mornings, late afternoon and early evening it was just so perfect out.

 Anyone with toddlers knows how unrelaxing they can cause a trip to be if there is water around. At first I thought Ander wasn't going to dig the ocean, but in no time he was venturing out on his own and when he inevitably lost his balance, he almost never swallowed any water which surprised us. He was never upset and just held his breath until one of us righted him.

I don't know how he could stand the salt water in his eyes and mouth but there was no denying he was having a good time. He was always trying to blow bubbles on the top of the water, which is tricky (read: funny) when you have gentle waves coming and going.

 We had access to a kayak and the bottom one ^ is Nathan with Kohen and Kennedy. The kayak was more fun when we didn't know we weren't supposed to go over and explore the caves across the bay...

 These flowers grow in our front yard in Taipei too. I love them, they are so perfect they almost look fake. Almost.

 Our little place had a small kitchen and we mostly ate there- except Ander who seemed to think he could eat anywhere. Hello, 3 pieces of sandwich in hand and a 4th shoved in his mouth. I guess everyone got in on having their version of a good time.

 On Sundays if we are on vacation we don't swim and try to keep things low key. We ended up having a really nice Sunday this trip. We had a short spiritual thought in the morning and then we played games and relaxed. In the late afternoon we went to explore the beach and look for more crabs.

 The children had gotten really good at catching the little crabs and even discovered that a bunch of the shells in one area all had tiny hermit crabs living in them!
Catching crabs on a Sunday afternoon: $0.00
Kohen screaming like a little girl after he got a pinch by a crab? Priceless.

 I have so many pictures of Aly in her own little world, pretending and singing away. Here she was tossing fists full of sand in the air and dancing through them. She provided her own music.

 Ander thinks I'm funny :)

 Maddie!

 Rents and the Minions

 This kind of sand crab is super fast, way to go Kenna! Success!

Yummy cheeks

This may be my favorite pic of the whole trip. ^

Monkeys  

Lesson of the day: Teamwork works best when trying to corner sand crabs.