Philippines #2

After about 30 hours of travel we arrived in Puerto Galara, Philippines. We drove from Chehalis to Vancouver, BC for our flight. Then we had a 13 hour flight to Hong Kong, layover there and a short flight to Manila. From there a 4 hour bus ride then a 1 hour boat ride.

The food here is wonderful. We have enjoyed some of the best food on any of our dive trips. Kirsten is not a seafood fan but there has always been chicken or beef. Gary is loving all the fresh fish he can eat. For lunch and dinner we always have a gourmet dessert. Laura we will get pictures for you at every meal.

Our dining area.


We have 63 stairs to climb up to our room every time. It reminds me of my trip on the Comfort! We make sure before we leave that we have everything we need. But, we have to go up and down and least 4 times a day, great exercise. That and being in the water swimming for up to 4 hours a day helps justify the desserts.

Yesterday, while our gear was drying, we took a walk around town. Gary found two hardware stores and enjoyed looking around.

The streets of Puerto Galara.


Think there are any copyright issues here?


A few of the boats we have been diving off of.


One day last week we traveled by boat to Verde Island where we spent a day of diving. Here are a few pictures of the island.





During this week two of our divers reached milestone dives. Russ had dive #1200 and Bob (Scuba Dad) had Dive #6400. No, that is not a typo! I am barely to dive #600. That night they each had to drink a beer out of a snorkel with a mask on. They made it look easy!
They each got T-Shirts to commemorate the event. My lesson in all of this is to NEVER tell them exactly how many dives I have had.

We have been here one week and we are packing our gear and headed for the airport. We are flying from Manila to our next destination, Dumaguete. We will be staying at the sister resort to where we are at now. It's not a lot of fun drying out the wet gear for a day, packing, getting up early and traveling, but it is necessary to go someplace else.

We are usually in bed by 8:30 at night and we are up at 6:00 am. For those who know my sleep schedule lately, that is a real challenge for me. But, I have adjusted and with the help of some great little blue pills I sleep well all night.

The sunset the night before we left.

This is the sunrise as we were leaving.

The shore of Puerto Galara as we were leaving.

Loading up on the boat.

JENNY!!!

Alright, I guess the truth is out (on facebook) so I might as well give up the game.

Jenny is pregnant! She is due on June 18th.

Her morning sickness set in nearly right away, but she is on a good medication that has her feeling much better. Her Dr said both mom and baby are looking healthy.

We're all SO excited!

Guess Who is Pregnant

The Klein family has some exciting news! Yes, someone is pregnant.


Instead of telling you right away I thought I would have a little fun (even though you've all been anxious for the last 10 days!). I am going to have everyone tell me who they think is pregnant.

I have added a gadget to my blog on the right for you to take the poll. Just remember our motto in Chicago for voting: "Vote Early. Vote Often."

The Philippines #1

Gary and I are in the Philippines for a 2 week scuba diving trip. It took us about 30 hours to get here: A long drive from Chehalis to the Vancouver BC airport where we left, a 13 hour flight to Hong Kong, a 2 hour flight to Manila, a 4 hour bus ride and a 1 hour boat ride. Add to that layovers, customs etc and we arrived exhausted.

Our first adventure was crossing into Canada. They always ask questions and one of them is if we brought any firearms with us. Not remembering if Gary did or not I asked him if he left his gun at home. The officer asked me what I said and I told her. Well, we were asked to pull over. I had to go inside and when I turned around and looked Gary was being held with his hands behind his back like he was handcuffed. They wouldn't let me stay with him. They searched him, our car and luggage. It all was quite fast but it was a little scary. We didn't have anything to hide which made it better.

On our first day of diving Gary got a headache so he missed the second dive. After lunch I felt very sleepy so I went to bed about 2:00 pm and slept until 6:00 am. I guess I needed the sleep. Gary did the 2 afternoon dives without me. The next day Gary got a headache after the first dive and sat out the next two dives. On the last dive for the day he joined me. My high pressure hose failed so I had to go back to the boat and he finished the dive without me. Today we are headed for Verde Island for 3 dives.

The food here is fabulous! Gary is enjoying seafood everyday. The weather has been warm and sunny and the water temperature has been great. I didn't bring my underwater camera but I will try and take some land pictures today. I know my children are breathing a sigh of relief that I didn't bring my underwater video camera. They don't enjoy watching my videos.

KLEIN FAMILY ANNOUNCEMENT!

Well, I am going to make you wait. There will be a very special Klein Family Announcement on November 10. Mark your calendar and check back as you won't want to miss this one!

No way!

Laura came for a two day visit last week. It was her break from school so it was nice of her to come home for a couple of days and spend it with me. While she was here I started cleaning my pantry. This is the closet that I had lots of cookbooks in. Michelle made a comment once about my cookbooks (the quantity) so I got rid of about half of them. I have been slowly getting the food out of the closet and using it for small appliances and paper products. I guess I am trying to organize a little better.

Since Laura is going to Culinary School I love to give her the kitchen gadgets that I no longer need. So with her home for a visit it was a great opportunity to have her look at the things I don't want and she can tell me if she wants them or not.

I reached behind something and pulled out a bottle of Kraft barbecue sauce. Laura could tell from the label that it was old. I didn't think it looked that old but I was completely shocked when I saw the date on it.
Yes, that says best when used by October 12, 1989. Usually when you buy something it has a date about a year or so ahead so I may have purchased that bottle of barbecue sauce in 1988. So, it is almost as old as Laura, it is 21 years old!



I have been going through my food every year and throwing out the old stuff so I am surprised to find it. It was hidden, but how could I have overlooked it? We moved here in 1992 so we would have had to move it here from our other house.

I also found this bottle of Karo syrup which she thought looked old as well. I do have to say it is a glass bottle and they don't use glass bottles anymore. I don't think the label looks old. But then, I am almost 50...

I honestly think my children are playing a practical joke on me. I think one of them, probably Laura, put it in the pantry just to make me clean even more.

Gary???????

Yes, this is Gary, Many of you are not aware of this special and hidden side of Gary.

Several years ago our daughter Laura was dancing as Clara in the Nutcracker. As most parents do, we got involved in the production. One year we ran Styrofoam peanuts through our snow blower to shred them. They were used as the snow during the Snowflake scene.

This year in particular they were in need of someone to play the role of Mother Ginger. My understanding is the part is supposed to be played by a man dressing as a woman. Frequently it is a woman pretending to be dressed as a man that is pretending to dress as a woman. Confused?

The director took one look at Gary and knew he found his man (Woman?). Gary, being the great sport that he is, agreed. Now the problem was the costume. His mom went to work and made the breasts. They were quite large! I honestly don't remember, but I am sure someone helped him with his makeup.

During dress rehearsal, Gary wore his big Army type boots. The director thought they would fit the character best. Underneath this huge hoop dress are about 6 - 7 little children. Mother Ginger comes out onto the stage slowly looking for her children. You could frequently hear the children screaming "OW" as Gary stepped on one of their little toes. I hope he didn't do any permanent damage to their poor little feet. I was careful to make sure that the day before the performance, Gary didn't eat anything that might cause "intestinal distress".

After this year of the Nutcracker Gary decided it was fun, but they haven't asked him back. So for now, Gary has to keep this special talent of his hidden.

I was cleaning out some bins in the basement and came across this picture. I knew I had to share it with everyone.