While We Were Waiting

Anne tells it like it is!

We are waiting for Match Day (the day Edwin finds out if he has a job and where we will be moving). Some of the things we have done this past week include, visiting family (we are so glad Susan and her family live so close now!), shopping for necessities and pricing out some future expenses, curing corned beef for St. Patrick's Day, Enrichment Activity preparation and set-up, auto maintainance, and an array of other miscellaneous tasks. Anything to keep us busy while we wait, wait, WAIT!!!!

The Final Days on the Island

This week started off with decapitating our Sunday night dinner. It was a bit more than I bargained for, but Edwin and I managed to get things cleaned and ready to go. We discovered that we are a good team. I was faster at deheading and removing the shells while Edwin's strength was removing the vein. What a team!!

Aunt Susan made some delicious food for us! Hopefully the recipe will be coming soon!

I have developed holes in my favorite shoes and with some encouragement from Edwin I went shoe shopping. We were in the store long enough for me to walk down the isle when I realized Grace was quiet. I turned around to discover this....

Grace wore those lovely blue shoes the entire time we were in the store! Later that same day I was in the stationary section of another store when I turned around to find Grace once again on the floor. There was a card eye level for Grace and there she was frustrated that the pretty shoe wouldn't stay on her feet! Poor kid! Good try though!

I think this shoe craze is more than a cute little addiction!

Aunt Karen gave us this great self-hardening model clay with paints and a book of sculpting ideas. We had a great time painting the objects over and over again. Grace was particularly proud of her snail and pancake (can you tell what everything else is?).

In a one bedroom apartment there weren't enough beds for everyone. Anne's spot on the floor.

Grace's spot was in the living room on the floor. She looks so cute with New Baby, Baby Doll, and Teddy. However, it's a bit crazy when she wakes up in the middle of the night and carries all these toys plus her two favorite blankets into bed with us! Make room for the circus because she's not going to bed without any of them!

When didAnne get so big? She has discovered she can pull herself to a standing! She crawls, scoots, and now stands. Nothing is safe any more! Her tongue is always hanging out when she's excited about something and boy oh boy, what's more exciting than discovering the toy box by yourself?!

This is Miss Kathleen. She gave Grace a peppermint candy every day we visited! She was a good friend to us and I'm so glad she had a room for us to stay in while Edwin went to school.

This is Edwin's class. We went to dinner at Dr. White's the last week we were there. Everyone had a great time and the food was fabulous! Thanks Dr. White and Molly for hosting a great party! We really enjoyed our time on the island.

*****

It is home again, Home again for us. We have 3 more weeks before we find out where residency will take us. The anxiety is mounting for everyone and we hope this time passes quickly. For now Edwin will study for an upcoming test, I will plan a prepare an uncoming dinner event for church, and we will begin packing the nonessientials.

I already miss the ocean. We'll have to get outside A LOT!

Life is Fascinating

My mother just sent me pictures of cars completely covered in snow and roads blocked by avalanches. So keep in mind when I say this week was a bit cold I'm referring to weather that is somewhere in the 50's or 60's. However, even with cooler weather we still managed to get outside and play A LOT!!!

Grace, Tucker (2), and Grant (5) found a jellyfish in the sand. A week ago we found about 50 tiny jellyfish alone the coast....this week we found the big mama!
Uncle Paul with Tucker, Grant, Aunt Susan, Edwin with Anne (8 months) and Grace all on the pier. We visited the local market where they were unloading a shrimp boat. The pelicans were a bit too close for comfort, but we had a great time anyway. I'm sure looking forward to scallops and shrimp tomorrow night. Good thing Susan is a trained professional and will make our seafood finds all that more appealing to the taste buds. We are glad to have family living so close. Uncle Paul has been at his new job for two weeks now and seems happy. Aunt Susan and the boys are getting familiar with their neighborhood activities and we enjoy their company on the weekend when we are back in town.

The swing in our courtyard.

Baby Anne is ready to move! We love being outside and take any opportunity we can get! Notice the lack of flowers in the background....we watched a lady pick ALL the blooms....she was having a party and I'm sure it was going to be lovely but alas we miss the flowers.

The pelicans at the pier. I did not zoom in on these....we got snapped at a few times! Yikes!

Edwin got quite a bit of time off in the afternoons this week. We went to the beach even though it was super cold. Grace agreed not to get in the water, but who can resist this much fun?!? Edwin has been fishing a few times (alas, he is yet to see success). However, he is the eternal optimist and so we will be going fishing as much as possible this final week.

Even Baby Anne likes getting her feet wet. Since she's learned to belly crawl she comes home from the beach covered in sand. I am a bit more relaxed about the sand everywhere since our house is so close. There is nothing like throwing the kids in the tub to rinse off the "fun" things we find in the water. I'm going to miss our little retreat. I'm not ready to part from this place.

Sometimes I'm in the water and other times I'm sitting on the sidelines with Anne. No matter what I'm doing I enjoy being outside with the family. I find nature soothing for my sometimes frazzled nerves. There is so much to explore and sometimes it is nice to sit and just experience the breeze on my face. The quality of life has improved so much since we've gotten out of the big city. The change of scenery has been good for us and we hope be get back to the small town life eventually. Small towns aren't for everyone, but they are certainly for us!

This is the "rain forest" at Moody Gardens. We couldn't resist doing some tourist activities since Edwin was given an afternoon off. Although we had a good time I think that we prefer to ride the ferry back and forth, walk along the pier, or play at the park. There was a bit too much stimulation for Grace and we were sadly disappointed that the free roaming monkeys are currently off location. We had a good time, but there is no denying the disappointment when the monkeys (the reason we were going to the rain forest) were not there. We have a zoo trip in our near future because every day Grace asks, "Where the big monkeys? They in a cage and not play with Gracie." It's oh so sad!

A true "rain forest" feeling. It was beautiful and the animals were fascinating.

More from the Island

I over heard Edwin comment that our time on the island is a bit busy. However, he thought that the girls and I were having a pretty good time. Well let me tell you....WE ARE HAVING A GREAT TIME!!!!

We are staying in a little furnished apartment we like to call "The Beach House." At first I was a little concerned about the size of the place, but once I realized that we were living with minimal junk there is plenty of room for everyone! Grace is particularly impressed with the 'water beach' furniture. Although I think the wicker furniture is pretty I've realized it's a dust collector that is impossible to clean and I don't like all the glass table tops with my little girls. Great for vacation, not for my every day life though.


I'm without a computer and only have my "pay as you go" cell phone plan, so I've gotten several other things done! I've been reading a few books, organizing my 'recipes to try file', and I've managed to complete two Family Home Evening lessons.

We like it when dad comes home early because there is no question about what to do. We get the fishing gear and head to the beach. The weather was a bit chilly this particular day, but that didn't stop Grace from getting wet and extending a kind invite for mom to get wet too. "Come on, mom, let's get wet?!?" Ah Grace, who can resist such a request?

So I thought our bedspread at "the Beach House" was quite cheerful. Grace and Anne enjoy the kingsize bed because there is plenty of room for everyone in the middle of the night! While we have been away Anne has started to crawl. Mostly a one-armed, one-leg belly crawl, but occassionally she's up on all fours. This is one of my favorite stages in baby development. I like that she's mobile enough to explore her surrounding, but isn't quite mobile enough to do much damage. She's cooing a lot and has begun to play games with us. Truly an enjoyable phase in life. This picture shows Grace's cute little backside that is now DIAPER FREE!!!

Yes, my little girl is potty trained! We've been a week without accident and we've had a few close calls. However, Grace doesn't like being messy and she knows that accidents means "yucky germs" on her legs. I think we may have been a little over enthusiastic about the whole potty training though...Grace cheered for me when I used a public restroom this week!
Valentine's Day!! Edwin and I keep things simple. However, I do like the excuse to devote an entire day to the kids and husband. In the morning we went the pier to watch the birds and boats. Then Grace and I made cards and placemats for everyone (thanks mom for the craft supplies). Each of the girls got a small book (something my mom did for us on Valentine's Day a few times when I was younger). Our "Family Togetherness" gift this year was a new mixing bowl for pancakes. I had to replace the one I melted (plastic kitchen items have a short shelf life with me...cutting boards, utinsles, bowls, tupperwares watch out!) Edwin makes pancakes for us regularly and we enjoy Saturday mornings together! We enjoyed lunch as a family (a nice addition to living on the island, dad is home every day for lunch). That afternoon we went to the beach and then to the "Purple slide" park. These are Grace's two favorite destinations and we did them both in the same afternoon. With all the playing we opted for frozen pizza for dinner and spent the evening hanging out. We love being a family!

Life on the Island

We have been living on the island for the week and I can't wait to get back there on Monday. Edwin's class is going well and the girls and I love going across the street to play at the beach every day. The water, sand, and playground are all right there and it is wonderful! I have discovered that a rinse off is nessecery before heading home or Grace crunches on the sand and Anne will suck her hands clean! YUCK!!!

Having two homes for the month is a lot of fun, we've had to be a little creative with some things, but it's a great break from normal life. We like the island, and I've found the people to be very friendly overall. The more we are here the more we want to stay. The weather is perfect...not too hot and not too cold. A few storms just makes the ocean roar and then we get to watch the surfers and large waves.

It's been a great vacation for me...I've been able to work on my own hobbies... it's been FABULOUS!

Pictures to come soon!