Mon. 3/23 - Sun. 3/29

Tuesday I went along with the kids on a field trip to Crescent Moon Cabin and farm. The last part of our long drive was exciting with a narrow dirt road and steep hills. It almost felt like a theme park ride or safari type tour. A couple came from America in the '60s to teach school and loved it so much they decided to stay (or come back after they left...).  About 16 years ago they found this place that had been grown over with trees and fixed it up. They used original foundations. There are a handful of small buildings or rooms rather. I'm finding it hard to describe!! They rent out rooms like a hotel and they also live there. One "building" was the library. It was very open with a hammock and picnic table inside. They have a Montessori school there where their 6 and 8 year old grandsons are taught. The children enjoyed exploring their school. They have a greenhouse with a huge variety of plants that they use to cook meals for their guests. They had goats the children fed flowers to. There were also chickens in a coop. I've gotten used to chickens crossing the roads and going where ever they please. It seemed strange for them to be locked up. I was talking with the grandma who asked where I am from. She was excited when I said Idaho near Boise. They apparently close down their hotel every May and go travel. They like to ride bikes and in May they are going to Boise to ride their bikes on the greenbelt! It sounds like an interesting way to live.

I have pictures to share thanks to Kari's teacher Miss Sarah!

Emma pushed the turtle's head back inside.

Kari's class. Such a pretty view.

The trip was nice but it was at least an hour and a half drive one way!!! After we finally made it home after the field trip I felt I was in desperate need of a nap and said so on Facebook. It didn't feel like it was long after that Mark came home and told me to take a nap. I said no but I was crying with a head ache and listed all the things I needed to do. He lovingly walked me to our room and "tucked" me into bed. Here that meant turning the fan on and starting some nice music so I wouldn't be able to hear the kids easily. I slept for an hour and a half and woke up to homemade pizza! Not only that but the crust was stuffed with cheese and he also made tasty bread sticks. I'm SO spoiled. He knows that I love stuff crust and bread sticks and made it extra special for me!! I love my hubby!!

Thursday, I went to Roseau in the morning. Unfortunately, the store I was most anxious to go to was out of nearly everything I wanted. They have a shipment coming next Thursday but that doesn't do me any good today... Bummer. It was still a successful trip though. I ended up with a yummy chocolate crescent from the french bakery that they sell at the grocery store Save-A-Lot. I was thoughtful and brought one back for everyone in my family.

Kari and Lexi have both had these little bumps on their necks. Lexi's definitely started before we even got here to Dominica. Now Kari has them too. Lots of little skin colored bumps. On Thursday I took them into the clinic on campus. The bumps don't seem itchy or bothersome at all. We've gotten some white stuff out of one Lexi's before. I just really don't know. One doctor said warts. Another doctor came in and said molluscum contagiosum...  Lexi had a bigger growth that just developed on her stomach. I was more concerned with that. It was nonexistent and then grew pretty rapidly. We had it removed right then and there with bribes of going to Swirls with Daddy for frozen yogurt afterwards. She ended up with a little stitch to help it heal. Now she's proud she has the first stitch out of our children.

Saturday evening I went to a pirate themed banquet as a farewell to those members of RSO (Ross Spouses Organization) who will be leaving the island. We went to a restaurant called Mangos.

The kid's teachers told us they refer to us as "the mom squad". We all have at least 3 children. 

It was nice to have an evening kid free.

 These are calabash bowls they gave as gifts to the ladies who will be leaving the island.

Mon. 3/16 - Sun. 3/22

Monday morning Mark woke me up and led me out of the bedroom to the kitchen to find he and the kids had been working on cleaning dishes and the floors. What a great way to start a Monday!!! Sunday evening especially I was missing America. Juggling housework, feeding my family, homework.... was particularly getting to me. It was nice have some extra help.

Monday morning I met up with friends for breakfast at Aunty Grace's to say goodbye to a friend leaving for a month. I think there were 10 of us with a few kiddos. It was nice.

Mark started an exercise group on campus they call Boot Camp. He pushed it hard and is going to feel it!!!

Tuesday morning I helped everyone out the door for school (the back door we use) then I went to a front window and watched them cross the street to wait for a transport. (They usually walk but today we're running late and Mark is sore from last night...) It made me smile to see them standing there together. They were all coordinated too wearing green for St. Patrick's Day.  I love them! I yelled out the window, "Love you guys! Have a great day!!" They waved and yelled nice things back. I stood there for a minute and watched the vehicles drive by. There was a little pick up truck with 9 people piled in the back. There are often people in the back of trucks but 9 was the most I had seen.

Wednesday evening we had a potluck dinner for the RSO group.

Thursday the kids and lingered at the family lounge and watched TV for a while after school and I caught up a bit on blogging.

On Friday we again lingered in the lounge. I'm feeling lazy!!!

I have put into place a rotation where the kids help me with dishes and general floor clean up each night. We're just starting. The idea is good but we'll see how it actually goes as we put it into practice. I need the help and they need to learn how to clean and be grateful for what I do for them.

Saturday wasn't very exciting and I kind of liked it that way.

Sunday I'm going to be sitting in with nursery for about a month until our friend gets back from her visit to the states. Emma really enjoyed it!

Luckily when this friend gets back she is bringing me my new cell phone we shipped to her parent's house so I can have an easy way to take pictures again!!!

Mon. 3/9 - Sun. 3/15

I hope nothing exciting happened this week that I can't easily remember because I didn't write anything down to jog my memory...

Monday I baked around 170 butterscotch oatmeal cookies. I then packaged and labeled them to participate in my first EVER bake sale on Tuesday.  It was for the RSO club. Half of the money goes to the club and half to the person who baked the goods. I made just over $42 EC. Kind of cool.

Saturday was Kid's Fest with a St. Patrick's Day theme. The kids had lots of fun!!

Later that afternoon we went to a birthday party of a boy from Lexi and Isaac's school class. They had popcorn, pop, candy and we watched Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day on a projector in the CAC building. 

On Sunday Mark and I were speakers in sacrament meeting. We spoke about preparing for general conference. It will be here in 3 short weeks!!! I love general conference! :) 

Mon. 3/2 - Sun. 3/8

Monday we woke up really late. So much so that I decided to keep the kids home from school! It didn't feel worth the effort. Maybe not the best choice but I did it. The kids didn't complain.

I've have a really hard time this week feeling any motivation. I stay up too late and want to sleep longer then I should. I'm buried in dishes and laundry. It's so hard to get on top of them let alone stay on top of them! Grrr! Not having an American washing machine or dryer make laundry extremely time consuming.

One night I went in to check on the kids and found the girls sleeping like this. Then I felt the need to take a sleeping picture of everyone. My mother took at least a handful of embarrassing pictures of me sleeping as I was growing up but somehow they are sweet. At least I imagine that's what she thinks of them because that's what I think of my kiddos sleeping. They are so peaceful and precious. I love my children!!!

Wednesday I went to parent teacher conferences at the kid's prep school on campus. The teachers had nothing but good things to say about them. I am very pleased with how they are doing in school here. 

I am very seriously contemplating a dramatic hair cut! It's starting to consume my thoughts! I've just about convinced myself. Now I  need to figure out how short and gather enough courage to actually do it!! I'm afraid I'm really going to hate it. At least up front. However, it's so hot here it makes sense... I think the convenience of having it short might make it worth it even if I don't like it. It will grow back right? Even if it takes forever...  Feel free to share your thoughts or picture ideas with me.

Thursday Emma is now 10 months old!!!  She walks everywhere and sometimes tries to run. Today she went up a few stairs for the first time. Mark took a video but I haven't figured out how to get it on here or Facebook for that matter...   Emma makes the cutest inquisitive sound that seems like she's asking, "Huh?" She has 8 teeth and knows how to use them. She likes to bite mom's shoulder. She sleeps so well through the night and makes us all smile and laugh!!

Friday Emma and I went to Purple Turtle beach with a group of ladies who wanted to go snorkeling. It was my first time putting my face in the water with snorkel gear on. I didn't go very far or deep at all. Emma was screaming when I left her with someone so I just tried breathing with the mask and snorkel for a few minutes. I'm scared to get a mouth full of water!! Some ladies found a huge starfish when they went out.

 After I came back from "snorkeling" Emma was no longer content walking around the beach or playing in the sand. She was afraid I was going to leave her again. I took her out into the water and we played with these little guys. They were having fun floating around. 

I've been trying to go to the gym 3 times a weeks.  I typically run at 6 miles per hour or a 10 minute mile :). Friday I was proud to run 3 miles at a speed of 6.5 with the last half mile bumped up to 7 and the very last minute I cranked it up to 8 to get done faster!!! Holy Cow! I was very tired after that. I'm going to keep working on it.

That night we ate pizza and hung out with friends.


Saturday we went to the pool on campus with friends. It is SUCH an ordeal to get everyone and everything ready and out the door to go anywhere! The kids had a great time at the pool.

Sunday is always a struggle getting out the door on time. Sometimes it doesn't feel worth the effort until I'm at church and feel of the Spirit. In Relief Society we took some time to share a favorite Hymn and tell why we love it. Then we sang. I love pondering the words of the inspired Hymns. Sometimes as we sing they are just words to a tune but when we really pay attention to the words the Hymns can be powerful testimonies.  

Mon 2/23 - Sun 3/1

So here I am on Wednesday thinking I'm not going to have very much to blog about this week until Lexi's birthday and baptism on Saturday. WRONG!!!!  I don't have pictures thankfully but man do I have an experience to share! Can I just start with EEEEEWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!?
To preface the story the kids had a field trip today to the Cocoa Cottages. (I guess they don't actually call it the chocolate factory like I had heard...) I stayed home all day and cleaned, baked bread and watched a show while Emma was napping. It was pretty nice. I picked up the kids at 3 and we were going to go to James' Store to find some ice cube trays (Mark just started making this really tasty peanut butter/chocolate/oatmeal smoothie in the morning but we only have one ice tray) and some nail polish remover (I'm in desperate need!). Lexi and Kari decided to fight over a bottle of water right as we got to the store. Lexi was pulling on it and Kari let go so it hit Lexi hard in the nose. Bloody nose... I bailed on James store and we started toward home.
IGA was on the way and no one was fighting so I decided to brave a little grocery trip. I had gone to all the effort of bringing the stroller (which so far is pretty rare. Iusually haul Emma around in a carrier on my front and anything else I need in my backpack or Ross shoulder bag.) I might as well put some heavier items in it to haul home. I don't know if I've ever made it out of the store without buying some sort of package of cookies. Usually Dominos cookies with fudge in the middle. They are a bit like Oreos and I'm pretty sure I'm addicted. Today, I decided we'd try some different ones. We grabbed a package of Fudge Stripped Oatmeal cookies. We survived the checkout and got out the door. We paused to get all situated and get Emma buckled back into the stroller. She started fussing and I remembered I was going to buy her a little snack like animal crackers. I decided to give her one of the oatmeal cookies even though it would make a huge mess. She'd love it. I opened the package and grabbed out a cookie which was extremely crumbly! Weird... Oh well. Lexi took some and said it was so yummy. I ate a little piece of Emma's as I was pulling some out for Kari and Isaac. It was DISGUSTING!!!! I was surprised Lexi was saying how good it was! (I think it was expecting them to be good) There was such a nasty after taste in my mouth. Then I saw Lexi's face look a bit more disgusted and she was hit with the after taste. I started examining the cookies thinking something must be wrong with them. Maybe mold. I saw a little white thing that could be part of the oatmeal (but wasn't!) and then out crawled a little BUG!!!!!!!!!!  YUCK YUCK YUCK YUCK YUCK!!! I looked through more of the cookies to be sure. YEP! It was almost funny except it was SO nasty and I had just fed some to all of my kids including my helpless little 9 month old!! EWW!!! We started spitting and drinking water. Such an awful taste was just lingering. I wanted to puke. I wish I could have! We went back into the store to talk to someone in charge. They didn't seem surprised and let me switch for some Domino cookies. I told them to get those bug cookies off of the shelf!! I hope they did!! I am NEVER buying those cookies EVER again! I'll stick with my Dominos.

Here are some pictures others took on the kid's field trip today.

A few times recently the water has gone out. I am so grateful for running water!!! The other day after heavy rain I filled up my washing machine and the water looked quite brown (from dirt). Then there was no water at all and THEN the power went out too!! Ugh!! Thankfully the power came back on after a little while and I just put off my laundry another day...  I'm not sure what we'll do when it's rainy season. Maybe we just wash in dirty water.

Friday I went on a grocery shopping trip to Roseau to stock up on a few items. I was told the general rule of thumb everything is cheaper  in Roseau. I'm not sure if that's always accurate. It's hard to know when items don't always have prices on the shelf. There are more things available and in stock more consistently in Roseau. I found some streamers and balloons for tomorrow! Yay! Our shopping trips have to be quite rushed to get there and back by noon for the kid's lunchtime. 

Saturday was a big day! We (mostly Lexi) have been counting down the days until

Lexi's 8th birthday and baptism day!!!!!!!! I can't believe my baby is 8!!

Mark did a little photo shoot with our beautiful 8 year old in her beautiful white dress.
(Grandma Rashae' got it for her for Christmas)

Not sure why but her hair looks extra red here. I love this picture!

 Lexi is standing on Coconut Beach at the Caribbean Sea (technically not the ocean...)

We took the picture above then turned around, stepped back a few feet and took this picture. 

It was a simple perfect baptism. It was different not to be in a stake center but I loved it. My great grandmother was baptized in a horse trough. It doesn't matter the location. We sang "I am a Child of God" and I felt the Spirit confirming to me that that sentence is truth. I hope that Lexi's testimony of that truth will grow and be the most important thing she knows. 

 

  

Mark and Lexi changed in and out of their jumpsuits in this rundown restaurant. 

After the baptism we invited everyone to the family lounge on campus (which isn't far from this beach) to eat cookies with us. 

 Our primary president Holli gave this to Lex. This is extra special because donuts are rare around here. These came from a trip to Roseau (an hour away) on a shopping trip the day before.

 Later at home we did gifts. We didn't have any wrapping paper and didn't want to search around for other things to wrap gifts in. Instead we had the birthday girl close her eyes and wait until we placed a gift in front of her and told her to open her eyes. It worked well. 

 This heart shaped jewelry box is made of bamboo. She laughed because it was not a surprise. 

She got an island LIME (the phone company) cell phone for emergencies. It has one simple game and even plays the radio. 

 

That night right as the kids got into bed I spotted this creepy crawly on my kitchen floor near Emma's chair. AHHHHH!!!  I screamed and jumped up onto a kitchen chair freaking out with the heebie jeebies! ICK! Lucky for me Mark was home and smashed it with a shoe after he took this picture. Unlucky for me he left it twitching on the floor for me to clean up. 

 Sunday during sacrament meting Lexi was confirmed and received the gift of the holy ghost. After church as we walked home we stopped along the way and took a few pictures of Lexi Lou.

 Since we ate so many cookies on Saturday and went to another birthday party with lots of treats we saved birthday cake for Sunday. We basically ate this delicious cake for dinner. Yep. We did. YUM!