September 25, 2011

September 25, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

We have had a great couple of weeks.  My mom flew out to help us settle in, and we had a great time having her here.  She started out the trip sick, and we were grateful when she started feeling a little better.  She was very kind and let us rearrange her trip and stay longer so that she could stay with the children while we went on a couple’s vacation.  We flew out September 15^th, and flew to St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.  We then took a ferry to the island of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.  M’ friend Jared (he rented a house and offered to let us stay there with him) met us at the dock and took us back to the house.  It was a clean three bedroom apartment in the bottom level of a house.  Once we got settled we changed into swim gear and headed to the beach.  There was an amazing beach very close to the house.  We all went swimming.  I chose to hold off on snorkeling until the next day.  It was late and so we went back to the house and got ready for dinner.  We drove into the main city Road Town and had a pizza dinner.  Coincidentally we discovered that church met in the same building as the pizza restaurant.  Someone in the group looked up and realized that there was a church sign on the building.  Kind of funny.

M and I slept in the next morning.  We were still up by 8:00 am but when you are normally awake by 5:30 it feels a lot like sleeping in.  It was wonderful!  After breakfast M went with Jared to pick up our rental car.  We had originally gotten a compact car, but at a different rental agency we got a good deal on a car with four wheel drive.  It wasn’t pretty to look at, but it got the job done.  The roads were fairly bad, lots of pot holes, winding, and very hilly so we wanted something with better traction.  We then packed a lunch and headed off to the beach.  We went snorkeling first thing.  I couldn’t believe how easy it was to see things.  We hardly had to swim out from the shore at all to start seeing things.  I kept forgetting I was in the ocean and then I would be surprised when the water was salty.  The water was perfectly clear and warm.  When we got tired of snorkeling we would take a break and visit in the water.  We would always be surprised by fish jumping by us just feet from the shore.  We stayed a long time at the beach, we eventually left because a storm came in and it was getting ready to dump some rain on us.  We made it back to the house and got ready to go to dinner.  We tried to find a curry place, but addresses don’t really exist and we couldn’t find a local that knew what we were talking about.  We settled on a burger place that was out in the open air.  It was a little pricey but good.  The burgers had beets, eggs, pineapple, and bacon on them.  M was thrilled.

Saturday we caught a ferry to Virgin Gorda, another island in the BVI.  Once there we went to a “National Park” known as “The Baths.”  It was amazing.  After paying a very small entrance fee you walk down a tree covered path to the shore.   You could swim there, but we decided to go on a further (20 min) walk to Devil’s Bay.  The path takes you around, over, under, and through some enormous boulders.  They are the size of small homes and they are in the water.  You get some fantastic views of the light coming through the boulders and lighting things up.  The hike wasn’t difficult, but there were some very awkward places that we had to get through.  It was well worth the effort.  We walked out onto a stunning beach that was completely empty.  We had very few other people.  We found a place with a little cloud cover and then went exploring in the water.  Within a few minutes M convinced me that I needed to get my snorkel gear on.  The snorkeling there was incredible.  It dropped off very quickly and all the reefs were created by these enormous boulders plunging down into the water.  While we were out snorkeling it started to pour rain for about ten minutes, but in the water you couldn’t even tell it was raining.  We got so lucky with the weather.  Even though it rained it never messed up any of our plans, and we had plenty of sunshine.  The rain blew through very fast and the rest of the day we had sunshine.  We stayed as long as we could, but eventually had to leave and catch our ferry back to Tortola.  Our ferry let us off in Road Town and after getting a few hints we were finally able to find the Curry Shack.  We were rewarded with delicious and inexpensive dinner.  (Food on the island is very pricey.)  We explored a little more downtown in the car before heading back home to watch a movie.

Sorry for the sideways... I'm not sure how to change that.

Sunday was a rainy day.  (Perfect day to be rainy!)  We went to church and stayed a long time after talking to the missionary couple that was there, and the local leaders of the branch.  They were a small branch but they have some amazing members.  It was interesting to find out that most of the people on Tortola are not born there.  Many come in from other islands or Caribbean community.  We then went home and had our own tasty burgers for dinner.  The rest of the day we chatted and played games.

Monday was our last day.  It was very sad.  We went to the beach early and then took a little break to go into Road Town and try out a bakery that had been recommended to us.  They had delicious sandwiches and amazing pastries.  M and I had the best chocolate cake/torte we have ever had in our lives and it was all super cheap because it was run through the community college and everything is made by the students.   After a leisurely lunch we headed back to the beach for more snorkeling and chatting.  I thought I would get bored with only beach stuff to do, but I was really wrong.   I was never bored, not even for a second.  

Tuesday we got up and going so that we could get off.  We decided to go with an earlier ferry than we really needed because sometimes they cancel ferries and we wanted to make sure we wouldn’t have any problems.  It was a pretty storm day, and it made for a rough ferry ride.  Once at the dock we decided to go exploring.  We had a lot of time to kill before we needed to be at the airport.  We ended up walking to a little shopping district.  There was a cruise ship in town and so there were lots of people out.  I was amazed at how many of the shops were for jewelry.  Probably 75% of the shops were selling pretty expensive jewelry.  Eventually we went back to the docks and took a taxi to the airport.  Just as we were clearing security we found out that our flight was delayed.  It was originally supposed to leave at 4:15 pm but after many delays it finally left at 9:10 pm.  We were so sad because we missed out on another chance to play and visit the bakery, plus we missed out connection in Miami so we had to rearrange my mother’s flight back home.  It was sort of stressful.  But we were at least grateful to know that the kids were in good hands and we were together!  We got in very late and got to the hotel that the airlines provided.  We got some dinner and then crashed very late.  The next morning we had breakfast and then headed back to the airport.  We had no problems with the rest of our flight.  At the airport my mom met us with J and RM.  RM was asleep but J seemed happy to see us.  We chatted for a few minutes and then I helped my mom get all of her stuff checked in and ready to go.  We were so sad to not have more time to show pictures and catch up with each other.  Once home RM was finally awake and gave me the best snuggle I think I have ever had.  He was so cute and just wanted to hug me.  The rest of the day went smoothly and I was amazed at how my mom had the house in pristine shape.

Thursday was another normal day.  Honestly it seemed like a dream to think that just 48 hours earlier we had been sitting on a beach.  But it was good to be back with the kids.   I mostly spent the day unpacking and getting a little grocery shopping done.  My visiting teachers also came and I made dinner for a family in our ward that night.

Friday I took the boys with me to eat lunch with B-man.  He was the VIP for his class and on Fridays the parents can come eat with the student.  I got B-man a super fun lunch from McDonalds and when he came into the cafeteria he gave me a hug and rushed by.  I was distracted and talking to the teacher and I didn’t realize until it was too late that he had gotten a school lunch.  So now he had two lunches to eat.  Turns out he was pretty hungry, because by the time lunch was over all the food was gone.  J and RM loved being with the big kids.  The rest of the day went pretty quickly.  We had pizza for dinner and then for our family party we opened some belated birthday gifts from Grandma Elna on the webcam.  We chatted for a while and it was fun for everyone.  That night M and I put up some drapery rods and drapes in the study.

Saturday morning I went with a friend to garage sales.  We both found a few fun things.  Once I got home we tried putting the car in the garage.  We figured out how to fit both cars in the garage.  We don’t have an automatic garage door opener though, so it will probably be a while before we park them in the garage on a regular basis.  Plus it is a VERY tight squeeze for me.  Then M went with B-man to our ward’s day of service.  They worked to help clear a battlefield that will be used to re-enact a civil war battle this year for the 200^th anniversary.  It was good work, but it was muddy and messy.  Not the kind of thing I could do with two toddlers.  We ran a few errands instead and then gave them naps.  After they got back we had leftovers for dinner and then got everyone in bed.

Today we got all the boys to sleep in!  J and RM were both up before 5:00 am, and thankfully we were able to get them back to sleep.  I have a few ideas that I have been trying to implement to get them to sleep less during the day and more at night.  5:15 am is just too early for me to be up with the two kids.  Plus they were cranky!  We had a great breakfast of whole wheat pancakes and then had a leisurely morning before church.  I have a new calling, I am now the Primary Chorister and so I was in Primary today trying to learn and pick up a few hints.  I am very grateful to have two weeks until the next time I need to be ready to go.

We love you all!

The C Crew