Back to life... Back to reality...

So we're back home from our babymoon. I managed not to blog on the last day. We went to the beach and I pouted about not being able to snorkel due to the huge Hurricane Bertha waves. I finally did get to in a safer place and I encountered scary sea urchins, so that only lasted about 5 minutes. :-) I had a bit of a new outlook upon returning home. The Cruzan relaxed state-of-mind and lifestyle transferred over a bit. I've been relaxed and looking forward to preparing for the fall- baby, school, work for mom and dad, med transcriptioning. I've got lots to do and work on, but I'm taking it a day at a time. Baby is doing well. She's just been swimming and kicking around a lot. I read that 23-28 weeks is when they move the most because they're not yet big enough to be totally squished. She likes to move and dance and play uterine soccer when I eat and lie down to rest. Oops.. she just kicked me for talking about her! So fun! She also likes when Bryan pokes at her and talks to her. This picture is my very favorite beach picture from the trip taken on the last day...

Happy Anniversary, Mon!

Babymoon Day 4 (... or 5... I think... I'm starting to get lost on what day it is. The island does that to people. Just listen to Kenny Chesney songs.) So, yesterday we celebrated our 2nd anniversary. We've made it this far- maybe we'll make it two more! Just kidding. We were talking about the fact that we're going to be married for 80 years as we walked on the beach last night. Bryan said I was silly b/c that would mean I'd live to be 113 or something like that. I just said, "It could happen." We had an interesting day for an anniversary celebration. Today we chose to go to VBS with Brandyn and Kendall and the kids at the YWAM(Youth with a Mission) camp. It was so fun. Exhausting, but fun. I played a little but mostly just stayed in the shade and sang the songs and such. I made some new little local friends. Yasmin, who shares my love for dancing and C.S. Lewis and dislike for sports, was my favorite. She and I sat in the shade and talked a lot of the morning. I chose not to swim with the kids because of my lobster burn. It's a good thing that I didn't because there were several of the wee ones who don't swim. B & K told us that most locals don't know how to swim. It's a generational thing, they said. I found that fascinating because they have this beautiful ocean to swim in and they don't use it! They wade around close to the shore, but that's about it. At VBS, we started with play time. I got to play frisbee with some kids and shoot like three hoops until I was tired. I'm such a wimp these days! Bryan had little boys hanging on him all day. They were doing long handshakes by the end of the morning. It was so sweet. We painted hats, had popcorn and mango snacks, swam in the pool, did singing and story time (the story of Joseph), and practiced the memory verse. It was a lot of fun to see the local kids. They were so cute and extremely sweet. We returned for a long needed nap and then to go out to a super nice dinner for our anniversary. We went to a famous spot called Duggan's Reef where we sat in fancy wingback chairs and had some gourmet grub. We both chose wahu (sp?) mine pan seared with a crab and bruschetta topping, Bryan's was baked with goat cheese and crap topping. Delicious! Bryan tried conch chowder. Those are the mussels that come from the huge pretty shells. We had coconut bread pudding and key lime pie. It was ridiculous! I was up all night with a stomach ache, but it was worth it! We were able to look over the ocean and see Buck Island off the coast (in the pic). The people were really nice, especially Scott the bartender who made me a delicious virgin pina colada. He told us all about living on the island and his own history. After dinner we stood out on the little dock for a long time and watched two crabs scurry around the dock. "Heeey, heeey, heeey..." (That's what they say because they're so skiddish.) It was a wonderful day and we're so sad that we'll be going home on Friday. Bryan and Kendall bought some fish from some local fishermen that we're going to have tomorrow night. The pictures are of us on our anniversary/babymoon dinner, kids at "Jericho Kids," and Bryan's "catch."

The Snorkel Burn

Babymoon Day 4- Bryan and I have coined a new term. The snorkel burn. Today we ate a big breakfast and headed out for a day on the island off the coast of the island- Protestant Cay. We took a short ferry to the little island that houses a hotel and a small beach and we had a view of the harbor on one side and the vast ocean on the other. We swam and laid around and snorkeled. We saw lots of tropical fish and a stingray! A school of large silvery fish swam right past us and kind of scared us both. So much fun it was! So much fun that each time I came out of the crystal waters to take a break I reapplied sunscreen to the my face, arms, and chest and I forgot one important part that was exposed nearly all day long- my back. I now possess a gnarly burn on my back and lower butt cheeks :-) that it radiating heat! It was such a fun day, though. My pregnant belly provides the perfect buoyant float. I didn't hardly have to swim or work on the water at all. I just kind of floated. Amillia was doing her part to make sure I didn't sink! That was all for today. We're about to eat some dinner and maybe play a game. I love not having a TV. We just spend tons of time together. The pics today are actually a few more from yesterday because I didn't take any today since we were in the water a lot and not with our things, we decided not to take the valuables.

"Dad, build me a fort!"

Babymoon Day 3- Bryan and I have this interesting tradition that whenever we visit a beach town, we do all the nerdy touristy things like learning the history of the place we're visiting. We always will seek out forts and lighthouses. Well, today we found our fort. It was a Dutch fort that was build to protect Christiansted harbor. So fun! It was neat (and very valuable) how the fort was built to capture the sea breezes to cool the place down. Before the fort, though, we went for a drive on the east end of the island which is the desert land with beautiful views. We stopped on the most eastern point of the island where a monument was built and enjoyed the almost 360 degree views of the Caribbean Sea. It was breathtaking. We also stopped on our way there to take some pics of an amazing view and we trekked down a hill to the ocean and walked around for a bit. We didn't stay too long b/c I forgot to put on sunscreen. What an idiot, eh? But luckily we found some tourist friends from Boston at the point who shared their sunscreen with me! We continued driving around the east side then south and down the south side of the island inward. It was our "adventure," we called it. There really aren't street signs here, so we just had to kind of guess where we were going sometimes. Luckily, there are highway signs, so we didn't veer off our path much. After our fort visit (after the morning drive), we picnicked on a bench on the harbor. The winds were nice and strong because Hurricane Bertha is currently about 100 miles away! Scary, but we're told there's nothing to worry about. All we're getting is a little bit of rain and some nice winds. After lunch we did some walking around the harbor and then a tiny bit of shopping in an air conditioned store. I was needing it! We returned to the house to nap and to get ready for dinner. We drove out with Brandyn and Kendall to Off the Wall to swim a bit in the water and then eat at a restaurant that's right on the water. They have real and concrete rocks set up underneath the restaurant so the water crashes right there while you watch the sunset! It was so beautiful. We enjoyed some amazing calzones and I tried ginger beer. No worries, it's not alcoholic. It's like root beer, but made with ginger. A pregnant woman's dream- this stuff!!! After sunset we headed back to the boardwalk for a quick stroll so Kendall could tell us about the sailboats and the owners he knew and then home for a much needed night's rest! Pictures are of the beach we swam in at dinner, the waves crashing on the mountains from our morning adventure, and me making my intense "fort" face.

Mama make me a Johnny Cake Christmas comin'...

Babymoon Day 2- In three words- Jesus, Mangoes, and Pate. These were my favorite things about today. Brandyn, Kendall, Bryan, and I went to a major island event called the Mango Melee (pronounced may-lay). It was kind of like a farmer's market mixed with a craft fair mixed with a county fair minus the livestock. The Cruzans were celebrating their beloved mango! The event took place at the Botanical Gardens so we got to do one of our touristy things on our list. I've got great pics of exotic plants, cacti, and fruit. One of the best things about it was the local food made by local people. I enjoyed a favorite called chicken pate (pronounced like the liver stuff, but very different.) It was like an empanada with friend bread stuffed with a chicken mixture. We bought a rattle made from the nut of a tree (that I can't the remember the name of sadly) made by a local artist for the baby. We looked at lots of jewelry, plants, and ruins that are on the site of the botanical gardens. It was a great experience.

Our morning started out really nicely with a visit to the St. Croix Christian Church. I was a little bit sick this morning so I was "weary" during the service, but I still really enjoyed the message and the people were really nice. The message was about making choices about your life based on the dangers that God reveals to you. It was extremely encouraging. "The prudent see danger and seek refuge. The simple keep going and suffer for it." (Somewhere in Proverbs :-( ... can't remember).

Once we returned home from our day, we swam to cool off and practiced our snorkeling techniques. I was so worn out from the day that I had a nap and them we had dinner. It's early to bed tonight so Brandyn and Kendall can wake up early to go to VBS. I'm not sure what we'll be doing. The pictures below are of Bryan and one of the spiky cactus plants and us with the mango display at Mango Malee!

In the Jungle the Mighty Jungle...

Babymoon Day 1- We needed a major sleep in after the long day of flying and layovers that we experience added to the jerk chicken smorgasboard and watching fireworks 40 miles away on St. John Island. A great 4th! After the best french toast I've ever had this morning (probably because Kendall put a little Cruzan rum cream- alcohol cooked off of course) we got ourselves prepared for a fun day. We drove all around the island today. We picked up the Tracker at Brandyn and Kendall's house and drove out to the rainforest. Favorite part of the day? Stopping at the Country Snack Local Fruit Smoothie stand. See picture below! They made smoothies of five different tropical fruits and no sugar! I felt so healthy and the baby LOVED it. After a walk around the "mini-zoo" we drove on to the beach in Fredricksted. We spent a couple of hours wading in the crystal water. It was so relaxing. One of my favorite parts was that there was a huge family reunion type gathering where all these people were barbequing and there was a DJ playing reggae music. I loved it. There were only locals there, but Bryan and me. After our day of jungle driving and beachcombing, we headed to the Big K and the grocery store to stock up on groceries for the week. Tonight we cooked hamburgers, fries, and grilled pineapple. Delicious. I think we're about play a game. Tomorrow is Mango Malee! The pics below are us on the beach with my big 'ole stomach, Brandyn and I at the smoothie stand, and the beautiful 4th of July sunset.