S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G B-E-E Among Other Things!

S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G B-E-E Among Other Things!

At the SDA School they decided to start having annual spelling bees! They had had one for sure that I know of quite a few years ago and decided to take on the task again.   Jase and Courtney were really excited to take upon themselves the challenge of studying the American spelling bee words with other selected works for their grade level and above.  The challenge for me was to get them to study their words.  They really wanted to do the Bee but I’m not sure they realized at the beginning how much effort went into studying their words!  We spent I would say hours going over 100 words over and over so that they could do their best.  And their best they did!  Jase scored seconded next to one of his best friends Sharique, and Courtney placed second next to her best friend Mae-Rubya!  It was pretty impressive at how well they did! 

In the end they took the top 3 - 4 students in each category to go to the finals held on a later date. They

were given a whole bunch of new words to study.  We were so proud at how well they did!

Here is a Saturday afternoon spent with some friends – Bridges and we had Niz and Zay with us.  Just hanging out playing in the soccer field by the Sport Plex where Todd was playing basketball with some students from school.  (They get together every Saturday and scrimmage – Todd has gone only a couple times)  But the kids and I had a great time with our friends. 

Inside the sports plex watching a little ball and then the kids had some time on the court too!

Up snooping around where they are building the new dorms for the University…going a little slow.

Girls night with Niz and fancy hair doo’s using all flowers from the garden!

Here’s to a wonderful leisurely Sunday afternoon as a family!  We went off to the fort to pick some mangos where the tree had a small 2^nd bloom for the year.  Best mangos on the island!  These mangos are not easy to pick.  You can’t just walk up and expect to get some.  You basically have to be a monkey and willing to scale the branches – like everyone in the family is all over in that tree except me – I’m too chicken!  So we find a lot of them go to the birds – so we pick them and give some to others and some to ourselves. There was a man who came and said a few words to us about picking ‘all’ the mangos, I told him we shared them and I was trying not to be upset when he assumed out loud that we were picking just for us and ‘our kind of people’. He obviously doesn’t know us well and should not have assumed because he doesn’t know who we give them too - different local friend we have made who are in need and ‘people like us’.  Never assume! It makes an a-s-s-out of u and m-e. ASS-U-ME.  If you can tell I was really ticked off but I shut my mouth and let him assume all he wanted. Never Assume!

So anyway we picked our mangos and then sat down to eat one that looked and felt nice and ripe.  Took a bite and it was sour city!

For more bananas!  Once a banana shoot bares fruit you are suppose to cut it down right to the ground because it will never give another bushel of fruit.  It needs a brand new shoot to grow new bananas.

Then off to the beach off Lynch to try and find Todd’s spear gun!  Sad sad story here.  Here is a shorter version.  Some guys Todd had gone fishing with a few times before really wanted to go fishing so Todd said he’s check out the water to see if it was good enough to go.. The water had been bad for quite some time before this and Todd really didn’t think it was good to go out.  He looked at the water and said it wasn’t a good idea.  But trying to be the good guy he took them out anyway and not long after being in the water – compared to a normal fishing day - he felt they needed to go back in. Some might say it was his conscience, the little voice inside your head, but we would say the whispering of the Holy Ghost protecting them. The others not really sure why he was telling them to get back to shore ‘right now’ found out after as they struggled with their last energy to get back.  If they had been out any longer and not listened when Todd said to get out and exerted more energy into fishing and then being tired while trying to get out with the current now on them they might not had made it back. And amidst the turbulence Todd holding the fish bag and his gun, a big wave hit him and he lost his grip on his gun and just held the fish bag in his hand.  It was a sad sad day.  It was a really nice gun.  Sooooo we went to the area of offence to see if it might have floated up to shore.  But alas it didn’t and hasn’t ever since.  But hopefully it will float onto the short of some beach and find itself in the hand of someone who could use a nice spear gun to hunt themselves some dinner!

So looking on the shore we found a few treasure:

A milk carton that we are pretty much sure came from St. Maarten hence the French and the nearest French land.

And some really pretty shells

Judo Movie night!  Tr. Vienna had a fun Judo movie night planned for her Jud students to help them create a  feeling of a unified group.  They watched some judo tips and idea video’s and then watched the newest version of ‘The Karate Kid”.  The kids were pretty excited and brought a bunch of snack, drinks, stuffed animals and pillows to make it more comfortable.  By the end of the night the placed was packed.  I think they had a pretty good time!

There is always that beautiful sunset that you never get tiered of!

So it was then my turn to take a visit to the hospital one weekend.  Working in the yard I’ve been stung by bees and Jackie’s – like a North American wasp but with long gangly legs and vicious – I was stung by a Jackie the first time real good, the second time it just barely got me in the shin after it attacked me ten minute after knocking down its hive – I just walked by and a bunch just jumped out at me. But this third time where the venom really got me this time made the difference.  So we found out that I am allergic to the venom of a Caribbean Jackie. 

These pictures don’t really do it justice.  I was stung Friday morning and was popping antihistamines left right and center, and icing it over and over and it was still slowly getting bigger and bigger.  Saturday morning when this picture was taken it was annoyingly achy and fat. - still popping antihistamines and icing and still getting bigger.  It finally was getting so big that I started loosing the circulation in my hand and it was crawling halfway up my forearm.    So I went and got a shot in my butt Saturday evening. Ouch!  It spasm!  Anyway all the swelling was finally gone by Monday morning.

It was time for the annual school track meek at the SDA school!  It was a little overcast early in the morning and just before we were about to start the meet it rained and poured and rained and poured some more.  We were all huddled under the shelter of the stands thinking this might have to be canceled because it was almost a good hour and then it lifted!  The games were ready to begin!  I was asked to be the designated photographer – which always make me nervous because you just never know how they will turn out!  It was a fun day though watching the kids try their best!  Jase and Courtney did really well and had fun running their races – it was the in between waiting stuff that was the hard part.  But there was lots of food and treats on sale to eat and friends to visit with.  I put a few select pictures from the meet on here. 

 We were on the red team!

The opening march chanting, "The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire - the roof, the roof, the roof is on fire. Zealandia Bay...Danger Bay...Zealandia Bay...Danger Bay.  Check us out, check us out, check us out, check us out! The roof, the roof the roof is on fire.........!"

Getting some yummy food!  They had all sorts to buy.

This is what I wanted.  Its salt fish in a Johnny cake.  Soooo good! And the kids love the tuna - its always really good too.  The salt fish is fish that has been extremely salted for storage and will stay good for a long time.  You boil it down at least twice to get most of the salt out and add different cut up veggies and spices.  I really need to get on the ball and try making this myself!

Judges of the races.

Principle Lavern!

Here's Courntey!  I just about missed her race!  I turned around and there she was running like the wind!

She placed fourth!

Jase and De'Angelo headed to the end of the track for their race.

Teacher Debora and Pastor Brown!

Jase getting all ready to run!

Jase and ________ tied for second!

 Courtney and Nicole.

This little boy hopped right to the end way before the other kids and just stopped tight there before the finish line in that position.  And then everyone passed him!  It was pretty cute and funny!

Score keepers.

Heading down for the sack race!

I have no idea where my brain was but I missed taking her picture during her race!? But she did so good with 2nd!

The falls too.  I think this is Sharique - it was a great effort!  He was really fast.

Spoon and lime races!  Less messy than an egg!

Millenia giving the girls a pep talk for the shuttle relay.

Boys relay team.

Girls relay team.  They had to have at least one representative from each group (grade).

Courtney running super fast!

 Its really wonderful all the positive effort these teachers put into their students! All in all it was a warm, busy, tiring day but it was a success. 

Courtney finally learned to ride a two-wheeler here!   When we left Canada she was getting good on her bike with training wheels but then we left and had not a bike in site for her to practice with.  After quite a while then we ordered our bikes but there really wasn’t the area for her to practice on because we just had a little bit of smooth pavement out the front of our door. But a lot story short she eventually got up the nerve to work on it without feeling like she was going to crash into everything with such a short bit of pavement to work on and she did it!

Cute girly girls on the beach!  They were dancing to their music for us too!

It was Sarah's birthday and we brought her her present at home because she was going to St. Maarten for her birthday!! Lucky Girl!  Happy Birthday!

Easter Time!  As you may know our main focus at Easter Time is the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, which we made sure to include this in our Easter celebrations during the weekend.  Whom without no one would have the opportunity to make it back to live with our Father In Heaven again.  

We coloured eggs on the Friday so we could do our hunt earlier Saturday morning to beat the heat and melting candy!

And early the next day Todd was out with his pellet gun (for show) and made a big noise outside the kids bedroom patio door!  BANG! And it woke the kids up with a big start!  They came running out and Todd goes chasing after the Easter Bunny who keeps pooping eggs on our lawn! And the hunt began – minus the pellet gun of course because the kids wouldn’t let him chase the bunny down! 

Its a good thing we started early in the morning because that day it rained and rained!  We just relaxed and enjoyed our time together.

We drove out to the fort that weekend to check out the Easter festivities from a far.  We aren't into the partying and loud music down on the beach but we looked at it from afar.

We love these special times, just us and our kids!