Ana is 3!

Ana turned 3 in the Bahamas! She really wants to go to Mateo's school now that she is 3. Sorry Ana, not until next fall. We had a nice day, went to the beach and had a little cake. She wanted strawberry cake, strawberry icing, strawberry ice cream and strawberries! Guess someone likes strawberries-Strawberry Shortcake doll for Christmas perhaps?

Halloween 2010-Bahamas

Halloween was a tad bit different here. We bought tickets to go on a Halloween Trick-or-treat cruise for the kids. Not only did we get to go on a sort of "booze cruise" but the kids did their trick or treating from the boat at houses along one of the canals. It was great, they played "spooky" music along the way and to top it off as we came back onto the home pier we stopped by the "ghost" ship (from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies) for a little pirate battle show. The kids and the parents had a blast. Oh wait-did I mention the stop at the dolphin experience? On our way up one of the canals we slipped into the dolphin area and watched a quick show.
I didn't get great pictures from the evening but here are a few. Mateo was Optimus Prime (some sot of transformer) and Ana was Tinker Bell or we called her "tinker hell" because of her devil horns-she thought they were cute little light up berets-she'll figure it out someday.

On our way out one of the canals.

The kids both got vampire teeth in their bags-Ana is trying to be scary.

The only decent shot I had of both of them.

Opitmus Prime

Look closely-dolphins in the air.

New camera

We had my mom deliver our new camera to us (she's here visiting for 3 weeks), it is a super fun camera to have here. It's a compact waterproof digital camera made by Olympus. Here are a few pictures from the pool and beach over the last few days.

Ana, doing what she does best, playing in the water.

Feisty crab, ready to battle.

Beautiful seastar!

Mateo, self portrait underwater. Good one!

Just Another Day in Paradise

We borrowed a neighbors kayak today and now we are on a mission to get kayaks. We paddled straight out from our house at low tide. We paddle about 3/4 mile offshore where the deeper water begins. Most of the way we were on sandbars and able to jump out and swim with the kids. It's pretty amazing to be that far off shore and still be able to touch. It's beautiful!
We did some exploring along the beach on the way back and found a great snorkling spot right off the beach about 100 yards down from our house. We really are in paradise!

Ana snorkling

We hung around home yesterday and tried to do a little snorkling-it was too rough so the visibility wasn't good but the kids had fun trying out their new gear.
Didn't get any good pictures of Mateo-next time.

Flora, Fruit, and a Bug

Starting to find some local fruit and veggies, yea! It's avocado season right now, unfortunately we don' t have a tree in our yard, bought these off some kids selling them along the road today.

When it comes to what is blooming here, these photos don't even touch the surface.

Woke up with this little guy (3-4 inches long) on the front porch.

After School Fun!

We seem to swim everyday these days. What else do you do when it's 85 degrees with 100% humidity out when you get done with school? Ana and Mateo are both becoming really good swimmers. I thought these were some fun shots of them jumping into the pool. Just for reference, our house is the house in the background (behind the two palms in the last picture of Mateo). This is the small pool that is shared between about 8 houses, there is a much bigger infinity pool, complete with waterfalls, a few steps away from this one. Pretty nice!

Turtle Cove

We had a super fun day today. Some friends took us to Turtle Cove, about twenty minutes from home. We would have had no idea it was there if they hadn't shown us. I can only imagine what else is out there not to mention the beaches that are only accessible by boat. Must get a boat! Must get a boat! To get the full experience you have to go to Turtle Cove at low tide, at high tide there isn't much beach at all. At low tide the beach becomes an amazing shallow water playground for the kids and a fishing haven for the boys. We saw lots of rays (some really big), they seem to be harmless, as well as other tropical fish (no masks or snorkels needed). As you can see in the pictures we were the only ones there, seems to be the case at all the amazing beaches we have been to so far. We will definitely go back to Turtle Cove!

Where we live

A quick glimpse of what we were up to before school started for Mateo. Must give credit to a friend that took these great photos.

Yes, I cried!

Of course I cried. I was crying before his teacher handed this to all of the parents dropping off:

" Here is a little "gift" for you as you leave your precious one with me on the first day of school. As you hold this cotton ball in your hand, the softness will help you to remember the gentle spirit of your child. After you've gone home and dried your tears, make yourself a hot cup of tea. Put up your feet and relax. Remember that together you and I will work for your child to be the best they can be. Thank you for entrusting your child to me for the coming school year. I will do my very best everyday to be your child's guide in learning and exploring this bright world they've just stepped into."
-Mrs. Peavy

This was with a little bag with a cotton ball, a tissue, and a tea bag inside. Are you kidding me, I read the first line and shoved it in my bag.

Mateo was so excited, didn't even care to say goodbye to me. He ran right to his seat and started working on a project.

Sitting at his seat with the teacher assistant, Miss B

Mateo outside his classroom this morning.

1st Day of School

Mateo started school today. He is attending Lucaya International School, year 1. It seems like a wonderful school. He was really excited, he wanted to make sure in all the pictures you could see the badge on his school uniform shirt. He has to wear this everyday-you can switch it up with a red, light blue, or white shirt. On PE days he has school shorts and shirts to wear.
I can't believe how excited he was. He's quite the handsome fellow!

On the front porch with a conch shell

Lookin' sharp

On the back deck

Sharks and Freighters

Last night we went to the harbor to see the sharks feeding. It was really cool, the kids loved it! The sharks are really big bull sharks, at one time there were 6 sharks in the water below us all about 10-12 feet long. The restaurant that does the feedings is right at the entrance to the harbor where all the huge cruise ships, cargo freighters and oil rigs come in. It was really impressive to see this huge freighter coming in with two tugs guiding it through the harbor entrance. The mail boat (picture below), we have learned is actually a decent inexpensive way to travel island to island.

Conch

We found this little conch today at Banana Bay. They are everywhere and get much bigger then this. Mateo spotted this one as we were wading through the shallows. You can walk way off the coast line at low tide and thats where the bonefish are. The kids love it and so does Emilio.

Bahama Mama

Bahama Mama, that's what I am now. We have made it to the Bahamas safe and sound and everything is fabulous. We are ready for the adventures to come. I would love to post photos previous to today but our camera was set at a really high resolution and it takes hours to download the photos. These photos are from "Banana Bay", a two minute drive or a 15 minute walk down the beach from our house. Not bad for a rainy day in the tropics.