Grandma Mary is Here

My mom is here to visit for a couple weeks, we are soooooo Happy! I will try to update the blog soon, she has only been here for 3 days and I already have tons of pictures and we have had tons of fun. She will not be allowed to leave.

Earthquakes

We have been having alot of earthquakes on the island lately. Most are small and not everyone can feels them but last week we felt our first one. Nick and I were reading to Aidan and our bed shifted it was fast but it was pretty cool, we thought.

Well this morning we had a HUGE one, my chair rocked back and forth and I had to hold on to it so I would not fall off.Our coconuts rolled around on our belcony, the book shelves were shaking at school, it was pretty scarey. After the quake I went outside and I saw tons of people on their belcony's, I am sure they were thinking the same thing as I was, HOLY SH*T, what just happened?

We have 9 valcano's on the island so hopefully they stay put.

This is Very intresting, check out this link. What do you think?

http://repeatingislands.com/2009/04/24/dominica%E2%80%99s-morne-au-diable-volcano-poses-tsunami-risk-for-neighboring-islands/

Turkey Hats, Beach and Friends

Aidan and Declan love having friends over, we were able to watch Jillian and Karissa for the day and I think everyone had fun.


Working hard on making Turkey Hats


Karissa, Jillian and Aidan riding the boat


My little Turkey






waiting for lunch at Perky's Pizza


Karissa the Mermaid




Jillian passed out from playing all day.


The kids made muffins for church, they did everything on their own and were very proud.

Green Beans

We were so happy to find green beans today, Declan was a big help in getting them ready to steam.

A Christmas Tree

I was so excited when I saw this christmas tree for sale by a 4th semester spouse. It will be perfect in our home during the holiday season. We are so excited to decorate it, we have a whole bunch of fun ideas on making our tree a "Dominican" style tree. I also think it will help make Christmas on the Island a little more special.

Just a couple of reasons to get out of bed...

These are just a few of the boys reasons why they get out of bed, some nights they come up with the funniest things.

Aidan bite me, Declan pinched me, Aidan kicked me, Declan is on my pillow, My foot itches, Aidan has to go pee, I need a hug, I need a kiss, Aidan is talking mean, Declan won't stay on his side of the bed, there is a volcano, there is a bug, I am hot, turn off the fan, turn on the fan, I am sick, I am not tired, etc. I could go on and on and on.

Poor Nick

Nick has a horrible cold that he just can't get rid of. Our Neighbor brought up some tea that she bought from the medicine man in Roseau and I made it for Nick. He drank half of it but said that his stomach hurt so that was that, but it was worth a try.

Making Pretzels

Yes, Christmas music is playing in the background.

Pretzels

The boys and I attempted to make pretzels tonight, they turned out really good but looked sort of funny. The boys and I were not the best at shaping them. They would have been even better with salt and melted cheese to dip them in.


Declan was ready long before I was.


Getting Ready to make Pretzels


Hard at work, the boys had to work hard to shape the pretzel. I think they would perfer to keep it a blob of dough and just cook it.





Declan did not want to give up his pretzel dough, he played with it for atleast 20 minutes and everytime I would ask for some he would tell me "Hold On Please"


The finished Product. They were wonderful, even without salt or melted cheese.

Beach Day

Aidan has been home with a cold for the last couple of days, he is feeling better and was ready to get out of the house so we met Nick and Declan at the pool and had lunch and then Nick went to class and the boys and I went to the beach for a couple of hours. It was alot of fun, we need to go there more even if we carry home tons of sad that ends up everywhere.


The boys went shell and coral hunting and put all their treasures on the bench.


I don't think so Declan, he was trying to sneak my bottle of Coke.


We forgot Declans swim trunks but he didn't mind playing in his diaper.


Lucky Boy, the only juice they had at the resturant was star fruit and grapefruit which both are to sour for the boys so I bought a Orange Fanta Pop for them to share. When Aidan took a sip he looked at Declan and said it is Poison, I am not sure if he thought that maybe Declan wouldn't want to drink any and then he could have more or if he really beleived it was Poison. Nick and I always tell the boys that pop is not good for them and that it is like poison for kids.

Ginger and Friends

We often have visitors that come to our house, here is a picture of a couple of them.




Ginger

PAWS

This is Sarah, she is a Big part of Paws on the Island, she does everything in her power to help stray dogs,cats and other animals and if the animals do have a local as an owner she tries to educate them on the care of animals. She has raised enough money to be able to have some of the the animals Spay/ Neutered and to be able to feed and medicate some of the animals but still has along way to go and alot more money to raise to be able to make even a bigger difference.

Dominica is a sad place when it comes to animals, in the states most people treat dogs and cats like part of the family, here they do not. The animals are hit, kicked or poisoned on a regular basis, instead of slowing down in your car when you see an animal some speed up to hit them, most have cuts, broken bones, scars, full of fleas, etc. I think one of the saddest things about Dominica is the organized Dog fights that take place on a regular basis, it is Horrible. I am so thankful for PAWS and all the work Sarah does for the local animals.



This is an example of how much PAWS is needed on the Island. This is Rupert, this is how he looked when he was found a week ago, he is looking and feeling better thanks to PAWS. If you feel the need to Bless the animals of Dominica, please let me know and I will give Sarah your contact information, anything and everything helps.

I will take a picture of some of our "watch dogs" that hang out by our apartment, they are very protective of all the families in our building. Ginger is the main one and he is the ugliest but cutest dog, he has scars all over his body, his nose has pieces that are missing so he has a very crooked smile. Whenever a local or someone that he does not know walks by he barks and barks until they leave or until we tell him it is ok and Good Dog. He is Wonderful!

*** We do not allow the boys to pet any of the local dogs but we do tell them that one of the best things kids can do is to talk REALLY nice to them and tell them what a good dog they are, how special and smart they are. The boys love how the dogs tails start wagging and their ears stand up***

Sourcream

Declan is alot like me, I love creamcheese and sourcream but I don't love it enough to eat it plain.

Sype

What a Great Night, the boys were able to skype Grandma Mary and Grandpa David and Grandma Mary even read acouple Thanksgiving books to the boys. We also were able to skype Grandma Terri and Grandpa Patrick but the video was not working so the boys couldn't see them but they were still able to hear them. Hopefully we can get it fixed soon, we love being able to see them.

Get Back into Bed!

Guess who is up and out of bed?


Yes, Declan is in full control of Nick and I. He was Dancing at 8:45pm and I was laughing and thinking he is the cutest thing on earth when I should have been walking him back to his bed and telling him in a Firm voice that Enough is Enough, it is BED TIME!


This is when I told Declan to get back into bed, he came out 2 seconds later


Aidan is now out of bed and thinks it is funny that Declan continues to get out of bed without getting into trouble.


This was at 9:00pm when their bedtime is suppose to be 7:00pm but tonight was a special night because they were able to skype both sets of Grandparents which made them a little excited and full of energy. We can't wait for them to visit us in Dominica, my Mom comes in 9 days and is able to stay with us for 3 weeks and Nick's parents are coming in December and is able to stay for almost 2 full weeks. We can't wait.

New Hair Cut

Declan loves to dance to Go Deigo and Dora music. I gave him a new hair cut, he had so much hair and it is so hot here that he needed something new. He loves the way his hair feels and looks so cute.

Farewell Dinner

It is sad to think that these girls will be gone in a month. I will miss them so much!


Felicity, Me, Jennifer and Nicole

A cow

There should also be a sign that reads " cow crossing zone". We have cows everywhere on the island and they just roam around and eat but on this day, this poor cow was being chased by a bunch of dogs.

But we are Sick...

H1N1 has been going around campus so there is alot of talk about sick people, well our boys feel they are sick but only at night when it is time to go to bed and stay in bed. Nick decided to check the boys out and tell them that were not sick but very very healthy and needed to go back to bed so they could grow big and tall while they slept.

Relaxing

I was out on our balcony during Declan's nap and Aidan was watching Lost World 1 & 2 ( I am amazed that he can sit through over an hour of an old man who talks about fossils, I know the movie is made for adults, but our little man loves it) and I saw a whole family of big white birds on a tree but when I went in to get my camera they were all gone but one. I wish Grandma Miller had a computer to see this picture because we thought of her and her love for sitting by her big window watching birds and other animals. Next time I will try to get a closer picture and maybe I can figure out what kind it is. One thing about Dominica is that there are tons of birds, we even had a couple owls by our house that were Beautiful!

Strong Boy

Bug Bites

I kept Aidan and Declan home from school today because Declan has had horrible diarrea and I didn't want to have to walk to the school to drop Aidan off and then pick him up all while stopping to change Declan's diaper in the hot sun so we spent the day at home painting, having fun and cleaning.

Tomorrow is a Holiday so alot of the buisnesses will be closed for a couple days so I asked our neighbor Katie to come up and play with Declan for an hour while Aidan and I went grocery shopping. There must have been ALOT of bugs in the taxi because we both came home with huge welts and bug bites on our legs, arms, etc. While we were sitting on my bed and I was telling him how much my legs itch and I asked him if he had any and he looked down and said " well I know nipples are not on my feet so they must be bug bites". It was so funny, it still brings a smile to my face.

My Little Helper

This was on a day when Declan didn't want to go to school so I told him if he was going to stay home he had to WORK!

rain rain go away

It rains here atleast 3 times a day.

Millipede