Kanigan Family: I Survived...

...the longest summer the kids and I have yet to experience. They finished their school in Rio on the 28th of April, and just started here in Manila last Thursday (on my birthday, thank you very much) August 6th. I already posted about all the many adventures we experienced in that four month time-span, and even though we had a fun time, every one of the kids was excited and ready to begin school again.

We have a few changes this year. The school here in Manila has uniforms for one. I'll be honest, I think they are the preppiest, cutest things I've ever seen and it makes my heart very happy to see the kids dressed in them each morning. Manila is hot and muggy, even in the rain, so shorts are a must. Ellie's spindly legs poke out of her puffy shorts in such a cute way, I just love it. Another change, is that here, Lincoln (who is starting fifth grade) is in the middle school with his brother. The school is enormous and though it is a pre-k through 12th grade school, the elementary, middle and high schools are divided into different sections. They all ride the bus together in the morning, and then the elementary kids come home about a half and hour before the older ones. Logan and Linc got to pick a few electives, so Logan is in beginning strings, an organization class (his idea...I was shocked!) and is learning Spanish. His Portuguese skills should help him there, either that, or confuse him to no end. We'll see! Linc has Spanish too, and a computer graphics class, and general music. All the kids will have after school classes too. Soccer for the boys, ballet and gymnastics for Ellie, and a few other interests.

I think everyone should be really happy here. My goal is to keep them busy. We do have a fantastic pool area, and plenty of kids running around, but it still isn't the same as the wide open spaces I was raised on, and I worry that with too much time inside, they will get bored and lazy. If I keep them busy doing things, I hope that will help!

Life in Manila is great. It's generally a hot, muggy, smoggy, traffic congested place, but it's full of very nice people, enough English for me to comfortably get by, and shopping centers like no ones business. They have shopping malls, connected to other shopping malls, that are connected to even more shopping malls. It's crazy. Some of them are high-end, others (usually the more crowded ones) have great prices. I'm looking forward to doing my Christmas shopping here.

We don't have our possessions or our car yet, but hopefully within a month we will. I am pretty sure we will be hiring a driver. This traffic makes Rio's look like a drive through the country...really. I have a few friends who do drive here, and I am completely impressed...not necessarily wanting to do it myself, but impressed.

Dan and I received callings in our church. Dan's the boy scout leader (hee, hee) and I am the new Young Women president. Welcome to the ward! :) We're both really excited to be involved and serve here. It's a great ward already. I can tell we will be very happy. That's about all for today I guess. I'm thinking of starting a separate blog that focuses more intimately on the experiences and lessons of this crazy life I find myself living. Something beyond just what our family is doing. I'm mulling it over, and will let you all know if I decide to. Hope everyone has a great day, and let's bring on the pictures!

First off...our new home. Just look up about forty or so floors, and there we live.

Our View

Panoramic

A few pretty plants from our pool area on a rainy day.

Fun times at the pool.

Ellie trying to finish her workbook before school starts. All the kids got a prize if they finished their book on time. Ellie was using the crayons to help her subtract. Pretty smart I thought. :)