Anguilla

Since this is our last break before leaving St. Maarten we decided we wanted to see as much as our student budget would allow. The first place we chose to visit was Anguilla. We departed on the ferry at Marigot on the French side. It was only an 18 minute boat ride across to the beautiful island.

We decided to rent a car, as soon as we got off the ferry and walked out onto the street, good ol' Marcel waved us down and over to his parking lot of beat up rental cars. Thirty bucks for the day plus twenty dollars for an Anguilla drivers licence and we were off, but not without at least a dozen reminders to STAY ON THE LEFT. Anguilla is part of the British West Indies and therefore they drive on the left side. Monty's licence expired on his birthday so I was the lucky one who got to drive. I preferred to drive since he is the best navigator. There was only one instance where I veered to my right, luckily there was no other cars in sight;)

Warning: Insanely beautiful beach pictures below. Just when I thought a beach couldn't be more beautiful, water more clear and sand whiter, then there was Upper Shoal Bay East. Shoal Bay East was voted one of the top ten most beautiful beaches in the world, and there was no question in my mind why that was. The water looked like an endless swimming pool, and the whole time you are swimming you can't believe you are actually in the ocean. The fish would come right up to your legs. I think Monty and Krysten stepped on one. The kids really got into snorkelling this trip, and were not afraid of the fish anymore.

The fish was this BIG!

We rented the car so we could see as much of the island in the day we had, but we could not leave this beach. Five hours later we decided to pack up and drive by all the other recommended spots on the map, take a quick pic and on to the next place  before heading back to the ferry. Im glad that we ended up staying at shoal Bay East because it definitely was the prettiest beach EVER! 

The Viceroy is a famous resort on the island, we heard a lot of celebrities have stayed there, we had to take a peak and snap a few pics. The place was fancy shmancy...

We drove by some cool looking churches. Overall the Island felt very quiet. In the past the island was run by plantations but since that had died out in the 60's the economy has relied heavily on tourism.

We drove by these two neat looking churches.

Just in case you haven't seen enough beach pictures here are a few more;)

Maundalay Bay

Cove Bay

St. Maarten in the distance

Shoal Bay West

Bye bye Anguilla!

Arrived back just in time to witness this beauty of a sunset in Marigot!

We had an amazing day, wonderful memories were made. The beauty of Anguilla will forever be etched in my brain.

The start...

We were so excited to start our three week vacation with Monty. To start it off we were able to attend USESOM's fifth term graduation as a family. The dean asked the fourth term students to help out. Monty was asked to MC the evening. He did a great good job keeping the mood light with jokes and moving things along. We look forward to his graduation in 3.5 months.

Next stop the Boardwalk. Believe it or not after being on the Island for over 8 months Monty has never been to the boardwalk. The kids were excited to show dad, and ride their bikes in the wide open spaces. I love going to the boardwalk and looking at the cruise ships, they are such grandiose structures and make me feel so small in comparison.

On saturday we got to witness another baptism at sea. This one was preformed at Le Galion. A favourite beach of ours not he French side. It was beautiful, the baptism started at 8am and the talks and songs were sung right on the beach. What a wonderful experience I had as I felt the spirit as I watched 9 year old Bertina be baptized. Since it was Good Friday after the baptism, we changed into our beach clothes and enjoyed a full day of BBQ, volley ball and swimming. By 4 o'clock the kids still didn't want to leave. We had a great day, yummy food and better company. Good Friday is a very popular day for locals to camp on the beach. I have never seen so many people at the beach before. 

Monty turned 35! We went to the Marigot pier, Layla's, had naps and I threw a little party that evening with our friends. 

Nettle Bay on the Caribbean side.

Layla's has a great playground and the view is not bad either.

The only picture I have of the night. Thanks to Josh we had some yummy BBQ, and played some fun games.

Easter Easter and more Easter...

Not one, not two but we had the opportunity to see the Easter Bunny three times this year. Eli is not a fan of the furry guy in white but Krysten was all over getting her picture taken with the big bunny.

Not sure where this tradition started, but we learned about it from our Albertan friends last year and really what else do you do with your decorated easter eggs then roll them down a hill. Off we went to Divi little bay and raced our eggs down the hill. 

Krysten found some nice grass and was all over it, grass is a rarity here on the island, especially thick green grass. As we sat on the cool grass we were able to each take a turn sharing what we are grateful for that Jesus has done for us. As fun as it is to celebrate all the "worldly" traditions of Easter, I am so grateful I have the knowledge of my saviour Jesus Christ, and know that He lives and that I can teach my children of His infinite love for them. I loved watching this new video that the church put out, if you haven't watched it yet, watch it now! #becauseofHim

Happy Easter!

USESOM on St. Maarten

A photographer recently came to Monty's school to take some current photos of the school/students for their new website. Here's a look at his school on St. Maarten. If you want to check out the schools website go here.

Below is the St. Maarten hospital. Monty will be doing some rotations there this semester as part of his ICM course.

 ID Tags were made for the family. The kids love wearing them and love going to visit Dad at school. Since there are only three families with kids at the school, us included, our kids get a lot of attention from the other students. It's no wonder they like to go there. They also enjoy walking around the marina and looking for fish and playing with their friends around the docks.

ABC...

Preschool has been a lot of fun this year, Eli is really into his numbers and letters. Krysten also likes to join in and although she is in Kindergarten (homeschool) she tells me everyday how she wishes she was in Preschool like Eli because it's easier.

'J' is for Jellyfish'.

Nothing like a human 'N'.