Today was a fun day. Julian and I went over to the Four Seasons Resort to meet the MacDonalds family from Exeter. They had a care package for us from my parents. We wandered over and looked for a couple with 3 girls. They were easy to spot and it was so fun to finally meet them. They are a really fun family. Great people. Very interesting and easy going and comfortable to be around. The kids are really nice and they played great with Julian. Julian was so excited to go on the water trampoline with the girls. He paddled out there several times and jumped around. Then they would all swim back over to the beach and then I would see Julian paddling back over there. He kept forgetting to put on his mask and so his head was always struggling to stay above water as he swam like a dog out to the thing. I'm happy to say that he is still with us and didn't drown on one of his attempts to get out there or back. So, the MacDonalds are having a lot of fun and it was nice to talk with Deanna who shares a lot of the same opinions of the people here on the island. So glad that it's not just me! They went to the horse track to watch some races and said that was very interesting and other than that they are pretty content to hang out at the resort just as I would be. Of course the people who work there are extremely nice and you really feel like you are in paradise. It was really hard to leave the resort and head back out into the caribbean ghetto. But I did and I so thoroughly enjoyed the chicken pot pie I had for dinner. I kind of left there a little late and didn't have time to prepare the dinner I had planned for tonight. Oh well, that's why I had those pot pies in the first place. Oh and by the way...they brought me some Pringles...I opened them up and they are all in one piece! Thanks guys, I'm going to go enjoy my gourmet snack while I watch American Idol! 

The other day Julian asked me when McDonald's was coming to Nevis. So I told him I didn't think it would open here for a long, long time. And he got all upset and said "you said McDonald's was coming, you keep talking about it and that is what you said". So I thought about it for a while and then realized that he was talking about The MacDonalds, the family from Exeter. Haha. It was so funny...well to me but not to him. We keep talking about when the MacDonalds come to Nevis and all this time he has bee thinking it is the restaurtant. Poor little guy being disappointed like that. So the MacDonalds should be here by now and we look forward to seeing them. I'm sure that after a long day of travel they are loving their luxury accomodations over at The Four Seasons.  

We did a 5k and 10k run today and guess who came in first in the 10k? You're looking at him. Unfortunately he was not timed because in the forefront of the finishing 5k runners someone collapsed due to dehydration and that threw quite a curve into everything so the timer got stopped and people were concentrating on helping him. But we know he did well. I finished in the 5k lot at about 28 minutes which is about normal for me. Julian spent half the day at his friend Mallory's house and the rest of the day at the LaPray's house. His second home. Now it's dinner time so gotta go! 

See it's not always sunny in Nevis. We get crappy weather too! This was yesterday, Friday, Feb 25th. It downpoured for half of the day which started the night before and went all night. Lucky Julian and I got to run errands in the morning dodging raindrops the whole way. Julian can't sit in the backseat when it rains because it leaks and he gets soaked. We decided to go out for chinese food last night with the Lapray's which was very good. 

Today is Thursday Feb 24th. Weather wise today was pretty crappy. Julian had a good day of school today and earned an afteroon at his friend Harrison's house. By the time I got together with them and had planned a run it started raining sideways. I was able to wait a half hour or so and get a good run in. The weather was quite welcome during my run. At this point I need to go get him so it is a very boring blog post today. So far at least.  

This is a picture of Mt. Nevis. You can actually see the top of it in this picture. Usually the peak is obscured with clouds as it was this morning when our friends climbed it. A friend, Daniel from our SOS group climbed it this morning with his sister and she said it was very cloudy on top although they did get a nice view from a scenic vista on the way up. This is a view from Winward Beach. 

Julian, Carolina and Harrison enjoying a day of getting tossed in the surf at Winward Beach. Finally a nice sunny day for one of our beach outings.  

This picture was taken of Julian in our front yard this morning Feb 22, 2005 at 11:00. It is 84 degrees under mostly sunny skies. Horseback riding was canceled today due to a school board meeting for the instructor. So we will probably go to the pool for a while this afternoon instead. Last night I watched a good movie called The Butterfly Effect. It was a good movie. Very strange and far fetched but it was entertaining anyway.  

This is a picture of Jaime throwing Julian in the pool. One of his favorite things to do. Carolina keeping watch over her little boyfriend. She is 3 and she is so cute. We had a party over at the pool for the SOS club but only 4 families showed up. Kind of a bummer but some of the students in the library got to benefit from all the leftover food. It is not unusual that a lot of people didn't show up because it is mid-semester break and some families go over to St. Kitts for a couple of days and lounge around at the Marriott. Now Julian is having a play date with his friend Harrison. They play really well together which is quite nice for all involved. That's it for now! 

Here we are last week riding horses on the beach. Julian has lessons each week and on the 4th week they are treated to a ride on the beach. We decided since Jaime had just finished a block of tests successfully we would go with them. Up front is Erica, the teacher riding Ginger, Julian is right behind her on Buddy Boy, Ian is riding Fabiola, I am on Chantilly and Jaime is taking the picture on Miss Chloe. Erica kept reminding Jaime to keep his horse moving because she likes to roll around in the sand. I'll have some better pictures of Julian riding next week. 

Today Jaime and I were in a training bike race. You could choose between the 15k and the 30k. I did the 15 and Jaime did the 30. We were two of the 3 people on mountain bikes and it showed. We each came in last in our race. It was sort of like a loop. We went down the main road and then turned around and came back. The way down felt great and I seemed to be doing fine. Then after the turnaround I found out why I was doing so great. The wind was at my back. Now it was in my face and trying to stop me in my tracks. I kept on going and around The Four Seasons, I lost my chain so I had to stop at the base of a small hill to put that back on. Lost me a couple of minutes but not enough to make me anything but where I stayed "The Best at Being Last". :-) All in all it was a fun ride because I got to meet a lot of people who will be in the triathlon in a few weeks. Interesting fun group of people.  

Today is actually a nice day here in Nevis. The sun is out and the temperature is up. Friday morning is always our time for grocery shopping because if you wait until later in the day it is very crowded and all the good stuff disappears. A friend was once told by the manager, when she asked why they didn't still stock a certain item, "we couldn't keep it on the shelves, it sold out too quick so we stopped ordering it". Haha. Make sense? Not really but that is the way things work here. We actually found some gorgonzola cheese so I can re-create The Green Bean's salad. Well, I can't get spring greens but I can get greens and everything else I need to make it so we'll be having good lunches until they take the gorg off the shelves. Or until it sells out. I better not buy too quick so they won't stop ordering it. Rumor has it that during tourist season, January through April, they stock more "gourmet" foods for the rich people who own fancy homes here. I also found cornish game hens and havarti cheese. Sure beats that tin cheese they always have on the shelves but I would hardly call it "gourmet". I guess the meaning of gourmet changes once you have been here for a while. Like just having chips that aren't all smashed...that would be considered gourmet to me now. Even Pringles come all smashed to bits a lot of the time. Anyway, Jaime is on his mid-semester break this weekend which means he gets one day off from school. We are going to do a training bike ride on Saturday after we go to Winward Beach for a while in the am. Then on Monday we will have a party for the SOS over at the pool. That's it for today I need to go swim. 

Julian with his SOS friends at Cades Bay. They were playing on this old boat most of the day. From left: Hannah, Lexi, Carolina, Julian, Mallory and Harrison in front. 

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog. This is where I will be posting my journal entries for people to read and keep updated on our exciting life here in Nevis, West Indies. Hopefully I will keep you entertained and won't scare you away from visiting the island. It is an interesting place to live and as you will come to learn, when someone tells you they are moving to the caribbean, it's not as glamorous as you might think. Well...unless you're loaded and then it would be just perfect. I will try to show you the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, the sun, the clouds and the floods. Hope you keep checking up for more postings.