St. John, Antigua

It's pronounced "ann-teeg-uh" for the uninformed. Or is it? I think I heard the locals pronounce it every way imaginable! Antigua is known for its historical sites. So, we again rented a taxi & drove around a bit before settling down at the beach.

Self Portrait

Shirley Heights

Nelson's Dockyard. Used since the 17th Century!

Turner's Point

Before we left the island of "365 beaches, one for each day of the year" we decided to do a bit of shopping. Josh found his dream purchase, a pair of Addidas Chiles. He's been looking for these for over a year & happen to find them in a tiny shop in downtown St. John's, and they were cheap. Go figure!

Good bye, Antigua. It's been great!

Virgin Gorda, BVI

Could this be the isle of the gods? Perhaps! We really liked this island. Small, poor like all the islands, but had a safer feel about it. That, and we could actually understand most of the English! Again, we rented a taxi to take us around. It was falling apart & had to be push started. Our driver's front teeth had a gold star & a gold moon on them. Thinking about getting one myself. :)

Savannah Bay. A place we plan on returning to!

Gorda Peak

Old Copper Mine

After driving around, we spent the rest of the afternoon snorkeling & swimming at The Baths, a definate must see! First we had to hike through giant boulders to get to the beach we wanted. (I know, just pretend like I am fully clothed. It helps with the gag reflex!)

Devil's Bay at The Baths

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Our next stop landed us in Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. This was basically a pit stop for us. We quickly, and I mean quickly because we had about 2 minutes to spare, jumped onboard a ferry & headed over to Virgin Gorda, another island in the BVI. We were shocked when we ran into Kyle on the ferry. Just kidding, but the guy really looked like Kyle! I think Kyle was actually in Hawaii. Poor fellow!

Samana, Dominican Republic

Our first stop?

Samana, Dominican Republic. Talk about a beautiful place!

The people were incredibly poor, often living in homes that could fit in my master bathroom!

We rented a taxi & made a 27 km trek over rutted roads, honking at everyone in site (Beep, Beep! Little 2 year old get out of the road! Honk! Honk! Watch out goats! Beep! Beeep! Hey dude, long time no see!) to the town of Las Galeras. Sorry, but my pictures of the town didn't work out! hmmmm...wonder why? :)

Jarrod, Shelly, Dixie, Josh at beach in Las Galeras

We boarded a sea taxi for a breathtaking 15 minute boat ride to Playa Rincon. We were starving & somehow convinced Shelly to try the local cuisine. That was pretty surprising since she doesn't like fish & didn't want to chance getting sick. So, at a shack on the beach, we picked out some red snappers from a cooler & waited while they were grilled for us. Hands down, best fish I have EVER eaten, and this was unanimous! And talk about presentation! Josh throwing the frisbee on Playa Rincon

This church is several hundred years old. It was dismantled in England & brought to the DR in the 1800's. Inside is all original.

Kids make a living "selling seashells". They were pretty lame, the seashells, not the kids, so we just gave the boy the rest of our pesos. Josh loved the chance to speak the lingo.

Dixie overlooking the Samana Bay Bridge after a long & fun day!

All Aboard!

We made it!

Getting ready to sail from the Port of Miami

Guess what?

OK, so it probably isn't that hard to guess that our pictures ARRIVED! Mostly intact, mostly working. Man is Josh out of the dog house! It will take me a few days to get the pictures sorted, so why don't we just start at the beginning?

disc golf FLORIDA style

What would any trip be without disc golf?

fun in Driggs

Dixie & Josh shared a Saturday off, the first in over 2 months (not counting our vacation of course!), and for once the roads were listed in "fair condition". So off we went to Driggs, for some fun times with Grams & Gramps. Gramps pulled the boys behind the tractor on a sled. Josh built a sled ramp off of the drifts in the yard for the boys. Grams fed everyone 'till we were stuffed. And, there was no wind. It was a great day!

ahoy matey

Monkey Lander sitting on Pirate Grandpa...

"ooh-ooh-ooh, ee-ee-ee"

the Pioneer in me

A few days ago, Shelly sent a link to a really funny blog filled with fabulous recipes. Me, in my overwhelmed, just-can't-get-caught-up state, decided to start reading, reading, and keep reading. I found a link to another blog & have been hooked since. The dishes are piling up, bills need to be paid, and kids are begging for attention, but I just can't stop! Shelly, this has to be even better than your Sex and the City!

Anyone in need of a little romance or laughter, just click on the link. Then sit back, relax, and be prepared to neglect all of your important duties!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/black_heels_to_tractor_wheels_a_love_story

and if you find that you still have time to read up on some great recipes, hit up her other blog: http://www.thepioneerwomancooks.com/

Snow Day!

School was cancelled yesterday.

I'm not really sure why. It was only -22 outside!

You can see how disappointed Jake was about it!

Shut UP!

After a l-o-n-g day of travel, we are HOME! Lots of good memories...However, it may be a while before I can share them because Josh decided to delete them from our camera. Whoops...Oh, wait! Did I just say that?...

Never fear! Dixie, LC-Tech Recovery Services & $125 are coming to the rescue. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that they can recover the deleted pictures! In the meantime, I had to post something about our trip. Thank goodness for Jarrod & Shelly's camera!

So, sit back, relax & enjoy this picture taken on the beautiful Playa Rincon (near Las Galeras, Dominican Republic) while I await the arrival of my recovered pictures! And, just for fun, click on the "Shut Up" link. Not only did we hear this song about a thousand times on the ship, I thought it really hit the spot!

P.S. And no this picture isn't very good...the water was a thousand times better in real life! What a life...

One more day & we're outta here!

9 Days of turquoise water, beaches & no little ones...sounds like HEAVEN! Special thanks to Alan & Heather, Mom & Dad, Emily, & Myrlene. We sooo appreciate your help while we are off playing!

Here is the link to the web cam: http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/fleet/publicRooms.html;jsessionid=HCNBTTSqqtcsFDnpG3Hhyhjh1jQ8rP5h!-241515965?shipCode=PEARL&displayTab=WebCam

Get Involved!

Our country seems to be going downhill & the only way to stop this slide is by getting involved!

By answering a series of questions about major issues, you can quickly learn which candidates are most closely aligned with your views. You'll be able to learn more about each candidate, hear his/her positions on many issues, and find out how your results compare with those of others who take the survey.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/projects/ongoing/select_a_candidate/poll.php?race_id=13

Christmas Morning

patiently waiting for the "all clear"

"YES! Yes! Santa came! Wahoo!!!"

the fam

Dad helps with transformers

Lander & the human jungle gym

isn't Uncle Alan the best?

Axis & Allies

Alan got the new version of Axis & Allies for Christmas. He let Dixie participate in its maiden voyage, and guess who almost won after a mere 3 hours?

a date with daddy

Josh took Jake on a...gasp...date. Some might call it a father & son outing, but it was a "date" to Jake. They went out for pizza & then went bowling. When I asked Jake that night about his favorite memory for that day, he said "my date with dad"...awww

Aren't these kids cute?

Devin, Jake, Lander & Bri having fun in St. George

Brush Your Teeth

Over the past few days, I have had the opportunity to gather more medical supplies to send to Tonga. This got me thinking about my trip last year. We were able to teach more than 500 Tongan students about brushing their teeth. It was an amazing experience! However, I think that Jake & Lander (with Heather's help) would have done a much better job. Take a peek at what they have to say about it...

Little Achiever

I went to Jake's school today and noticed that his picture was on the wall for academic excellence. When I asked him why it was there, he said "I don't know. They just took my picture." So, in honor of his unknown award, here is a tribute to Jake:

Disc Golf Idaho

Josh & Jarrod threw in a round of disc golf or two over Thanksgiving. Here is Jarrod's latest go for an Ace (that's a hole in one for those less familiar with disc golf). Listen closely....How many aces would that have been Jarrod?

Travel Genie

Due to popular demand, with a slight twist, here is a list of places that I plan on visiting in next 10 years (Sorry Tiff, no Iraq or Ethiopia here):

1. Cartagena, Colombia
2. Niuatoputapu Island, Tonga http://www.tongaholiday.com/tonga/export/sites/TVB/experience/islands/niua.html
3. Florida
4. Alaska
5. Costa Rica
6. Belize
7. Dominican Republic
8. St. Lucia
9. Barbados
10. Antigua
11. British Virgin Islands

Okay, so the last 5 places are kind of cheating...we will be visiting them in January while on a cruise. Other places that I plan on visiting, once the kids have flown the coop:

1. Scotland
2. Montenegro http://www.visit-montenegro.com/photo-montenegro.htm
3. Norway
4. Santiago & the lake district in southern, Chile
5. New Zealand
6. Riding the Euro through Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Greece
7. New England
8. Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia