The library...

It took us awhile to get our library cards here because you need passport pictures for the card and at first I wasn't wanting to go buy those for the free library card. That was a mistake because we love the library and getting new books. So four months later we got our cards.  I was able to pack a good amount of books but really we have read them all a lot, so its nice that there is a big library in downtown Philipsburg. We go every couple of weeks and spend a good two hours there, after picking out our books, we go into the air conditioned kids room where the kids play and read. One of my favourite things as a parent is watching my kids play make believe. I read a quote somewhere that said don't make them join your world, join theirs. Wise words to think about as I watch them play dragons and caves/dungeons, cats and tigers, and library.

The kids are really big into going in each others cars, to the same store, over for lunch and play dates and are already planning their first sleep over with Lincoln before we move.

I love these kids!

Nature Park, Maho, and the Pier.

If you know me then you know that I like to keep busy. Whether its heading out on an excursion, cleaning, organizing, homeschooling, planning, I like to always be doing something. Even if Im relaxing, in my mind I'm working;) So when Kayla moved to Statia and shared a similar interest in keeping busy we went to work. We always plan activities, crafts for the kids, outings to keep us busy, and you know the secret to time flying by is to keep busy and it really does work. On statia would we occupy our time by visiting the local pigs, collecting rocks to paint, and hiking up mountains with the kids. In St. Maarten we have so much more to do and therefore its not difficult to keep busy.

This past month we went to the Nature park, a local petting zooish type of place where tourists can go horseback riding along the beach. The nature park is located in Cole Bay not far from our place. After visiting the nature park the kids really enjoyed playing mother horse and ponies.

Then we went to Maho to see the planes. This is always a favourite, I never get tired of seeing these massive machines fly so close to us. Except my kids are still learning patience and waiting for the planes can sometimes prove to be difficult because its so hot out. Luckily for us there was a band performing that day right on the beach and then marched down the street. 

We have discovered a new place to go, the Marigot pier. It's perfect for bike riding, boat and fish watching. Don't forget to bring some crumbs and you will see a bunch of different types of tropical fish. One day there was some boys fishing there and dropped in some fresh meat and 5 huge barracudas came close to the edge for our viewing. We also saw flounder fish, small sword type fish, and striped fish. Sorry I don't know all the names.

Krysten and Lincoln play so well together, she is really going to miss him when we go.

Always another beach...

Often on Fridays Monty will take a break and off we go to explore another beach and check it off our list. In March we visited two new beautiful beaches Anse Marcel and Happy Bay.

Anse Marcel is located on the north side of the Island at the base of the exquisite port lonvilliers resort. The bay is sheltered on both sides making the waters calm, the ideal beach for the kids. If it wasn't so far we would go more often. We jumped off the small docks and looked at the many different types of fish along the shore of the canal while waving to boaters as they drove by. I really liked the atmosphere at this beach. Most of the visitors there were staying at the resort, it's always fun to go to the beach and pretend like we are on vacation as well.

Happy Bay is a ten minute hike from Friars Bay. This beach was lined with coconut trees and white sand. The water was rougher than Friars making it more difficult for the kids to swim. We really enjoyed searching through the tide pools and finding lots of sea urchins.

                         Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures of the beach, just the journey there.

Itty bitty kitty

Is it ok to admit that I'm not an animal person? Don't get me wrong, I love animals, they are furry and cute and often entertaining as long as they are not mine. The first five years of my life was spent on my parents hobbie farm, but I was too young and moving to the city at age 5 those former farm years did not stick with me. So when my 5 year old asks me daily, I kid you not, each day and night before bed if she can get her own kitty and or puppy, I have no idea where she gets this obsession from? I always reply "when you live on your own yes", or "when we have a yard and you can take care of it yourself". I really don't like the idea of cleaning up after an animal. Krysten adores animals, since she was really little she was always attracted to other people's pet. She often goes outside to find little critters, such as caterpillars and hermit crabs, and the wild cats that roam our apartment grounds. We frequent the zoo, nature park (petting zoo) and pet store so she can get her fix.
Then there was one day where she won the pet lottery and a little abandoned kitty, we have no idea how old but would guess around two weeks was found by our neighbour. They tried to feed it but it didn't know how to drink the milk and so they left it outside hoping its mother or another mother cat would feed it. Well sadly no mother came and the kitten cried the entire night. The poor kitten could barely walk, so our neighbour upstairs gave us a new born bottle and the cat was able to drink from the bottle like a baby. Oh and we got to take the kitten home because our neighbour couldn't watch him since he and his wife work long hours, 6 days a week. Lucky us (enter sarcasm in here) but no, the kids were ecstatic, they couldn't believe that they got to take him home. I'm not sure who was more smitten, Monty or the kids, but everyone was excited. And really who could turn a helpless little creature away? Not even the non pet lover me.

So here we have this new kitten who eats like a baby every three hours and guess who wakes up to feed him in the night. Monty, the daddy who has never had to do a night feeding with his own two children wakes up twice in the night and sleeps on the couch to be close to the kitten. It was pretty cute I'll admit but I still can't believe it. Luckily that didn't last long and after a week the cat could go eight hour.  I would do the morning feed after the kids woke up. Imagine your babies only took  a week to sleep through the night, I think I'd have ten! Joking;)

Krysten decided to name the cat Angel Diamond, we went with Angel. She had two different coloured eyes and got dirty very easily being all white. Monty did the bathing once a day, while I tried to keep contact at a minimum. The kids played with her for hours throughout the day. I was glad they got the experience of having a pet even if it was only for two weeks. Like I said, I am not a pet person and any mother with young children knows that the Mom is the one looking after the pet. So needless to say we found her a nice home with other cats and we will visit.

Krysten and Eli tell me often that they miss Statia because they miss their dog Fergie. Animals really are great friends for kids and I love watching my kids interact with them, but its still not enough for me to want one of our own;)

I can't believe we have been in St. Maarten for as long as we were in Statia. Time is a flying by, look how young Krysten and Eli look eight months ago. Please stop growing!

Beach Days...

As mentioned before my kids still prefer the pool over the beach but that doesn't stop me from forcing them to go, I know sad hey when you have to force/bribe/beg your kids to go to the beach. But every time we go they have a blast, imagine that, they have very short memories. It also helps that we have great friends to play with when we are there. We started doing weekly beach trips with some of the other med students wives. We don't always all make it, but when we do its fun to chat and catch up.

It just so happened to be the beginning of the Heineken Regatta on this beach day. You can slightly see some of the boats in the distance. This event is a big deal for the island and brings in a lot of tourists and boaters of course. They party for three days straight and watch the boats race around the island. Friars Bay located in the French side has become a new favourite. We love its calm, warm waters which make it perfect for the kids and you can walk down to the far end and collect shells and throw rocks. They also have a swing which is a rarity on the island.

Kim Sha in Simpson Bay is also a regular beach we like to frequent. The kids spend hours splashing around, playing hide n go seek around buccaneers and watching cool rocket like men shoot out of the water.

Beware twinsies below! We thought it would be fun to get the kids in their matching suits, we didn't buy them at the same time, just a coincidence! We still get asked when we are out if Lincoln and Eli are twins. We have fun dressing them alike. It will be interesting to see if they will look similar as they get older.

A baptism in the Sea

One Sunday a baptism was announced in church. We had been to a couple the month before and were excited to attend another one. But little did we know that we would be a part of this one. Annalisa is eleven and from what we were told she is a very smart girl who knows what she wants. Well she wanted Monty to baptize her. Even though they had never had a conversation she had been watching him and knew that she wanted him to baptize her. At first Monty was a bit surprised and said "are you sure, me? and quickly after replied with a "yes". Its not everyday you get to watch a baptism in the ocean let alone perform one.

Annalisa's grandmother was baptized only a month prior and is the only other member in her family. My mother was baptized when she was eleven and I couldn't help but think of her conversion story while watching this sacred ordinance preformed. 

Got to end the day with some great ladies who came over to watch the general women's meeting. If you're interested in being spiritually uplifted, click here. GWM

Piano

Since October Krysten has been taking Piano lessons from the ever so talented Miss Megan. At the beginning Krysten did not want to go, she does not like new things, but after her first lesson she couldn't wait to go back. Her love for piano waivers, usually when we have to practice. However, its been wonderful watching her progress and learn a new skill. Last month she had her first piano recital where she played hot cross buns, mary had a little lamb and twinkle twinkle little star. Okay I didn't cry but I was a very proud mamma.

While Krysten has lessons Eli and I get to have fun with this cutie, little Maddie. Eli adores her and she loves to watch him. After we played with Maddie one morning, he asks. "Mom, I want a baby like Maddie". 

I thought these berry like seed things on the palm tree were neat. We saw a bunch on our walk. I guess they are the palm seeds if I remember correctly.

RS Party and St. Patricks Day

Our Branch Relief Society threw a party for the community to celebrate 174 years since the RS was organized. Did you know that the Relief Society is the oldest and largest  women's organization in the world? Pretty neat!
I was asked to do some face painting for the kids. Im still learning, but I had a lot of fun. The paint didm't last long in the hot temperature plus the bouncy castle didn't help;)

Happy St. Patricks Day! We got to celebrate with a green party at Lincoln's in the morning and some frozen yogurt at night to celebrate Kayla's Birthday.

Can't have a party without some more face painting. 

Date night!

Date night, what's that? Since we have been in the Caribbean, dates are almost a thing of the past. I could probably count on one hand how many dates we have been on in 16 months. But I should stop my complaining, because we have made some awesome friends who have given us the opportunity to go out.  So what better day than Valentines to head out for some yummy Thai, we ate at Paan Lann in Simpson bay, and it didn't disappoint. Chicken Sate, Phad Thai and Red coconut Curry. It was the perfect date, and the company wasn't too bad either.

 Here's our friend Tuba. When we are not hitting up new beaches or working out, we love just hanging out with Tuba,  and not only for the free babysitting. She is one of the nicest people I know, and the kids absolutely adore her!

Meet the Orton's!

We frequently get visitors to the island and each Sunday at church it's always fun to see and meet new people. Usually they are just there for the day because they are on a cruise, but occasionally we get visitors who stay for a couple weeks.
Then there are the Orton's, a family of seven from NY who bought a boat, called it Fezywig and are getting it ready to hit the sea. They have been here nine weeks. They are a super fun and talented family. We have been lucky enough to have them over to share some meals, swim in the pool and hear them sing. We even got to have a pizza night on their boat. We've had a blast getting to know their family, and wouldn't complain if they stayed another 9 weeks:) Check out their adventures on their blog here. www.fezywig.com

The dingy ride was a blast, Krysten was smiling from ear to ear the entire time, and Eli was grasping tight to my arm as we took he 5 minute dinghy ride out to the Orton's catamaran. At this point they were anchored in the Simpson Bay Lagoon. 

(We went to our friends teenage mutant ninja turtle birthday party that morning, hence the green masks!)

Fezywig NY NY

Because every boat needs a TMNT captain, naturally! 

Eli often asks if we can buy a boat.

Boats, a homemade hammock and dominos pizza! 

Life doesn't get much better!

 Eli and Krysten loved the trampoline on the front of the catamaran.

Good company, jokes, and dessert...

 We had so much fun, and the kids talked about us living on a boat for weeks after. There is definitely something liberating and refreshing about being on a boat. I love being by the ocean, and have always found the water to be so calming. I'm not sure if I could ever be brave enough to live on a boat, but I definitely admire the Orton's adventurous characters. We hope to visit them one day in NY!

A long day...

Okay I know you will be shocked that not everyday is pina coladas and sand between our toes. The thing about St. Maarten as well as on Statia is that services are not always set up well, there seems to be no sense of organization, common sense and/or customer service whatsoever. The locals would even agree with me, its just how it is. For example, one day I went to pay my internet bill, they didn't open until 11 so I got there right at 11 as to avoid a line, those also move very slowly here, the worker told me to wait a second as I watched her head out to the parking lot, grab a baguette and another bag of food, slowly make her way back, then make a few phone calls, take a bite of her lunch, and talk to another worker and then around 11:30 decided she was free to help me. I could share at least a half dozen more experiences that are similar.

However, this one tops all of them. This so happens to be the inspection centre for vehicles here in st. maarten. Every two years your car needs to be inspected to make sure it meets the requirements for safety etc. Our car so happened to need this inspection which also fell at the same time everyone was required to get their new plates. Yes, every year you need to purchase new plates. I was informed that the island tried to go the sticker route but too many people were dishonest and therefore the registrar was losing money. Anyways, so to get the new plates you have to have the car inspected first and this all had to be done by the end of February, I also tried to get the car inspected in January, but they don't like you doing things ahead of time and I was told I had to wait until February. The inspection centre is only open Monday -Friday so Monty wasn't able to do it on the weekend. So here I am with kids in hand at the inspection centre at 7:30 in the morning. There were about 20 people ahead of me, we got a number and waited about three hours until we were able to go inside and get our paperwork started for the inspection and that is where I was told I had to go to the bookstore to get my name printed out on our bill of sale, so frustrated, but did as I was told and headed down the road to an old bookstore where he type writed my name at the bottom of the bill of sale for 7 dollars, then we headed back to the inspection centre, fortunately we didn't have to wait in line again, did I mention there was only one lady working at the desk this day. Got the car inspected to find out there was two things that needed to be fixed, headed to the mechanic to re clean the front headlights and tighten my battery. The inspection centre was closed at lunch so we headed to the zoo and grabbed a freezie, then back to the inspection centre for 1, passed inspection, went further downtown to the registrar to get a stamp on my paper then back to the inspection centre to get another paper then back to the registrar to finally pick up our new plates. It was a crazy long day, and I was thankful for good kids and iPhones. What did we do when we finally got home at 4, we jumped in the pool:)



The inspection center, the little office is through that door, and to the left is where you drive your car through to be inspected. There were people budging, elbowing and paying people to get them ahead in line. It was quite the experience and glad I won't have to experience that again.

Out with the old yellow plates...

In with the new purple ones. I love my kids, and wouldn't have survived the day without them being well behaved.