Beaches, Part 2

Okay, second part...

Day 4 - We landed in St. Lucia for one of the longer days we had in port. I was super excited to start because of all the wonderful things I heard about St. Lucia but unfortunately I was a little disappointed and quite frankly a little scared. St. Lucia is by far the most poverty striken of all the islands we visited. Of course the driver we had for a "short" tour was a real downer. All he could talk about was how there was so much poverty, corruption but no one had actually starved to death because of all the food that grows naturally....okkkkaayyyy...However, we did have a nice time on our tour of the botanical gardens and once we got to the beach and away from the majority of the people. The beaches are beautiful but not sure it is worth all the rest...

Day 5 - Wooo hoooo...my birthday day! Yea! As I mentioned earlier, we were in Antigua on my birthday. I spent the ENTIRE day on the beach. Kevin and I had such a great day. Sitting on the beachis not really something Kevin enjoys but he did it just to make me happy on my special day. Did I mention before that Antiuga has 365 beaches??? I am just upset I only got to spend the day on ONE of the beaches. We did get to the downtown area of Antigua and landed right in the middle of market day. Wow! I had no idea there were that many people on the island. It was rather cool to see the whole thing. The best part of all...and here we talk about priorities...I got a Heineken for $1 and Kevin got a 12 ounce can of coke for $4. See, there is a reason you just drink beer....hee hee...

Day 6 - St. Kitts/Nevis....here we got to go back to where we went on our honeymoon 7 years ago. It was way cool, of course for all you "Pirates" fan you will totally get the reference when I say..."Hide the rum," from Kevin...not so much because he burned all of it but he did drink all of it....oh boy...We actually did an excursion with our whole group. We did a whole day on a catamaran that took us snorkeling, bbq on the beach and just a genenrally good rum party on the way from St. Kitts to Nevis and back. Not much more to say other than I highly recommend this adventure should you ever get to St. Kitts. The catamaran is named Irie Lime...don't remember why it is named that but the crew is awesome fun, with the best rum punch.

Last day we returned to San Juan and got our flight home. Glad to be back but the kiddos sure we not that excited to see us. The next day all they could do was cry for Pappi...made us feel so good...

Beaches, Beaches and well...a Cruise too, Part 1

Kevin and I went on a week long cruise from May 10-May 18 through the Southeastern Carribean. This was really the first time we had been on a cruise and had a great time. We flew to San Juan, Puerto Rico where we got on the boat and proceeded to go to St. Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Kitts/Nevis and then back to San Juan. The cruise we took was perfect for us as we went to a different island each day and got to explore 6 different places. I was not real impressed with St. Thomas or St. Lucia but think this is because this islands are much bigger with a large city (complete with corruption and poverty) feel. Day 1: Instead of staying in St. Thomas I took a ferry over to St. John and went to what is by far the most beautiful beach I personally have been too. I went to Trunk Bay on St. John and learned later that I went to one of the 10 best beaches in the world. The WORLD people! Here is what it looks like.... St. John is also one of the many spice islands, being in the West Indies, this is not surprising. I went to a cool little store with all kinds of spices (and vanilla made with rum!) of which everyone can order through the internet at www.stjohnspice.com. Got to love the internet. Day 2: We stopped in Dominica. What an amazing island. With the most rainfall of all the islands Dominica is extremely lush and tropical with rainforests and waterfalls. Hiked up to the waterfalls and then had a great lunch with curry shrimp and root vegetables. Then off further up the mountains to the Titou Gorge which is actually where some of Pirates of the Carribean 2 was filmed. Way cool! The last two pis are of the actual gorge. You had to swim through the two rocks and then to the back to a waterfall. So totally cool. The other pic is looking up and if you are a POTC fan you will notice this shot in the movie. If I was a really cool tech person I am sure I could somehow pull that part from the movie and put in on here in comparison with my pic but that is not going to happen. (Okay, I have to intervene and add this video. This whole seen is inside the Gorge and the water is that clear. Kevin)




Day 3: Barbados - Of course this is just cool because the island produces all of the Malibu rum and Mount Gay rum distributed throughout the world. Oh yeah...a rum island! Here we did a snorkle trip and swam with turtles and then hung out on Malibu beach (yes, the distillery for the rum is right on the beach). Unfortunately you do not get free rum however it is super cheap and at the place we were you had staff who would bring your drinks to you on the beach. Yea! Of course the beach was gorgeous... The guy sitting on the beach is just random so just ignore that part. The top pic is of me swiming with one of the turtles. Okay...enough for now. I will continue this post later when I have some more time. Stay tuned....

Very Long Time

I know, I know...for all three of you out there who actually read my blog it has been a ridiculouly long time since I have put anything new up here. I guess life just gets in the way. We have all been really busy with Kyle finishing up t-ball the first few weeks of May, even at this age they play games twice a week...no wonder you see all these parents who do nothing but drive the kids around. Then Kevin and I went off on a cruise for a week to the Southeastern Carribean. Went to lots of cool places and I promise to post some pics soon. Best part of the cruise...I got to spend the entire day of my birthday on a gorgeous beach in Antigua with my honey who kept me supplied with plenty to eat and drink! Also discovered that Antigua has 365 beaches...I am thinking of moving there for a year so I can say I went to a different beach each day for an entire year! Once we got back from the cruise I took the kiddos to the Keys for Memorial Day with my mom. We has a fab time and I promise to get some pics up from that as well. Now on to June and Todd's b-day along with Father's Day. Throw in some long hours at work for Kevin and some soon to be changes at work for me and you have our hectic life. I will do my best to be better about posting from now on....

Toddles is Three!

Three years ago on this date we welcomed Toddles into out world and lives. A perfect little angel to join our little family. Although the picture below is not a birth picture he is only a few weeks old. It is actually the one I used on his birth announcement. Isn't he just the sweetest!



We celebrated his birthday this year with a party on Saturday at Mike Greenwell's, a very cool, fun place for kids and adults alike. We had go-cart rides, mini golf, lots of arcade games, pizza, cake and a pinata. Todd had a fantastic time. So did all the family and friends who joined us in the celebrating...Auntie Paige, baby Z, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Chrisy, cousins Christina, John Thomas Patrick, Uncle Stephen, Aunt Christina, baby Samuel, Megan, Chris and Brendan, Darrin, Holly, Makenzie and Emme...Todd loved it all. Of course being my true child all he wanted to eat was the cake, the candy from the pinata and the candy from trading in all our tickets. Mike Greenwell's is like a Chuck-e-Cheese, only owned locally and much cooler!

Here is Todd enjoying his party...


I am in awe of this little person who has become such a big boy over the last year. He is fast outgrowing the toddler stage and moving right along in full on boyhood. He idolizes his big bro and wants to do everything that Kyle does. I love that my boys get along so well and are the best of friends. I hope they remain so as they continue to grow.

Kyle and Todd then:


Kyle and Todd now:


I really wish I could put down into words all that I feel for this special little boy but all I can say about Todd is that he is my heart. He has always been my baby and now he is my little boy. Paige asked Mama the other day how long Todd would let us keep calling him Toddles and I know deep down inside that when he insists everyone else stop, he will continue to let me. Even with the warp speed he seems to be growing up he still sleeps with his blanket everynight, he still sucks his thumb (sleeping only...already got the lecture from his dentist...ugh!)and he still crawls into bed with me to snuggle. I am his person and I cherish every single moment he lets me keep that title.