Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a lot of fun. We put cookies out for Santa...

AK insisting "I'm not tired, Mommy"

We headed off to church with the Huys and the Yacyshyns. AK didn't nap in the afternoon so, surprise, she conked out in the car on the way to church. She got about 20 mins of shut-eye before the Huys piled into my little clown car and woke her up. AK and Matthew were FABULOUS in church... but I must say it took a lot of energy to keep them occupied during a 2-hour service! We headed back to the Huys after church for some snacks and visiting. It was a great night. AK and Matthew each got to open one gift from Karen and they got their Christmas PJs on. We didn't leave until 10pm and then Babbs asked us to stop by, so we visited with them for a bit. They sure spoiled both of us - that was a huge surprise for me!!!

Seeing we didn't get home until 11pm, it was easy peasy to transfer AK from the car to the bed. Santa waited a few minutes to make sure AK was fully asleep before getting down to work!!!

Santa finished up just before midnight and was in dreamland shortly after.

Sorry for the absolute storm of posts tonight, I finally had AK in bed at a decent time tonight and some time to myself! Tomorrow I'll start up again with Christmas morning! xo

Christmas Eve boating

Everybody, at one point in their lives, needs to spend one Christmas Eve on the water. I kid you not. It's amazing.

AK and I packed up our boating stuff and headed out with the Huys and the Forsyths (including Grandma and Grandpa). At Rum Point, we met up with the Brosnihans, Yacyshyns and Babbs. Saturday was an absolutely beautiful day and we all enjoyed being out on the water and on the beach.

Don't think the view could get much better from where I stood...

Pure joy, is she not?

Diva!

Drinking a (virgin) daquiri!

We had lunch at Rum Point and headed back to Britannia. All the kids jumped into the pool and we all hung out for another couple of hours. Forget about napping that day! xo

Making cookies for Santa!

Last Friday, AK and I actually stayed in. Can you imagine - two social butterflies in on a Friday night? We needed a quiet night, plus we had something important to do... bake cookies for Santa!

AK was a very good helper. Doesn't she look like a deer caught in the headlights here?

Carefully cutting out the shapes

Showing her joy at making cookies! Or perhaps she's eating the sprinkles...

Carefully decorating

More decorating

Christmas videos

Please see our JibJab card here :)

Video from Santa #1 here

Video from Santa #2 here

Lights Delight!

After supper today, AK and I met up with Jenni and her family at the Bodden house in South Sound to look at the Christmas lights!

Posing with the big guy himself

Christmas scene

My favorite tree!

Check it out in all its glory!

This was a time-out for Matthew. AK joined him and they said "cheese". Some time-out!

AK and I also headed out to the Crighton house in Prospect to check out the lights there too. AK was particularly taken with the train set there. We were out looking at lights for over an hour and a half!

A few other stories:

• AK and I were singing carols in the car the other day, I think "Mary's Boy Child" which starts off "Mary's boy child, Jesus Christ, was born on Christmas Day". AK paused and said "but Mommy, Jesus is grown up now!".
• AK is very much enjoying her Advent calendar. Every day she looks for the right number and we open it up. It's a paper calendar that just opens up to a picture behind the door, no candy, but that's better for her teeth anyway!
• Nancy gave AK a beautiful Christmas book and AK especially loves the Nutcracker story. We read "The 12 days of Christmas" tonight though.
  
• Poor AK is confused as Santa already came to Daddy's house on the weekend... she can't understand why she can't open her gifts at my house yet. I have to remind her several times a day that Santa hasn't come to Mommy's house yet.

1.5 more days of work... can't wait for a few days off... I've got some running around to do at lunch tomorrow (making the last payment on my car - it will be great to have that paid off! and dropping off some goodies with some favorite people). Oh, and I have to mail my Christmas cards. Sorry... they'll be VERY late this year. I've found it so hard to make it to the post office this week so far.

Time for me to hit the hay... visions of sugarplums tonight, perhaps? xo

Santa Success!

WE GOT PICTURES!!!

And yes, I mean the royal "we". As in, I'm in the pictures too!!!




AK was pretty shy about seeing Santa but at least she wasn't bawling and trying to run away while we were standing in line. I asked her if she wanted to sit on his lap, talk to him, give him a high five... got nothing but vehement head shakes NO to all my questions. Then Jess was smart enough to mention that Santa had candy canes... THEN she was willing to go up to Santa, but only if she was attached to me.

I'll take it! She posed nicely for the pictures and even said "Merry Christmas" to Santa when we were done! On our way out of Camana Bay, we even got snowed on... can you believe it... that definitely put me in the Christmas mood.

It is well with my soul... Christmas is coming, I have my little girl with me, what more could I want? Love and happiness to everyone tonight xo

Checkup thumbsup!

AK and I visited with Dr. MacIntyre today.

Dr. Mac and AK really enjoy visiting with each other. AK giggles and smiles and listens to Dr. Mac very well. She thinks it's pretty funny that Dr. Mac seems to tickle her as she pokes and prods. AK is now 29lbs and exactly 3 feet tall. Dr. Mac suggested a couple more creams to try as AK still gets the odd dry spot or itchy rash.

Dr. Mac was taken enough with AK that she offered her a mini Christmas cracker on the way out! I don't think she does that with every kid... they were hidden way back in her desk drawer. AK and I brought it home and she put it under the tree.

This kid has a sharp eye. She noticed my new Christmas dish towels hanging on the oven rack and asked "why do you have new towels, Mommy?" and when I told her that I'd just gotten them on the weekend, she wanted to know "why now, Mommy?".

She noticed the presents under the tree (although that's not really too observant on her part, that's just part of Christmas) and wanted to start opening them now. She seemed to understand when I told her that Santa hadn't come to Mommy's house yet.

And I must sign off on that note as I have one big gift to start assembling... must not wait until Christmas Eve to do so! xo

A Tale of Two Birthdays

A few weeks back, AK had the honor of attending not one, but two, birthday parties for her classmates one day!

Cupcake!

The birthday boy Lachlan

Giggling on the couch with Marley

Party #2 - Chloe, AK and Zinzie

Fighting over the dolphin

What a busy day that was. Thankfully there was booze at both parties for me :P

Peace on Earth

Now that the conference is over, and Nancy has come and gone, it's finally time to really get into the Christmas spirit. Here's what's been going on...

1. AK's Christmas concert - I know I posted a video but I will find some time to post pictures as well. I still smile when I think of all the love and joy in the church that night. AK is blessed to attend Wee Care.

2. USA Risk Christmas party - we took a water taxi to Kaibo and had a wonderful dinner on the beach in the light of the full moon. Secret Santa gifts were thoughtful and funny, as always. Seeing we were at Kaibo, with just four other people on the beach with us, we let our hair down and danced up a storm. There were lots of drinks consumed that night... and I'm sure more than one sore head the next day! The night was also a beautiful one, the water was calm and it felt great to be on the boat with the wind running through my hair, and all I had to do was look up to see the beautiful full moon in the clear sky.

3. Parade of Lights - Camana Bay holds an event every year where boats are decorated with lights and then they parade by... this is the first time I've made it for the event and it was a lot of fun. There were a LOT of people at Camana Bay, and we managed to find a quieter spot at the very end of the dock to enjoy the Parade and the fireworks! Nancy took loads of photos so I will share some of the best ones. The best part of the night, for me, was watching the fireworks, seeing the palm trees illuminated by them, and the full moon in the midst of it all. What a beautiful night to be out.

4. Festival of Christmas Praise - First Baptist's choir held a Christmas concert celebrating "Emmanuel... God with us!". WOW. I knew what to expect as I had attended this concert last year, but they blew me away again. This choir is talented, and 2.5 hours flew by.

5. Christmas cards are arriving in the mail! Guess I'd better get mine out! Ha. They may reach you in time for Ukrainian Christmas. It was fun to go and get the cards made up yesterday, and to print other photos to send to family members.

6. Grocery shopping for charity... this has been such a humbling experience. Jenni and I went for lunch the other day and we were talking about the different Christmas things we wanted to do with the kiddies. One of us mentioned wanting to do a charity gift buy for a child in need, and it so happened that we could pop into the Discovery Center at Camana Bay to check out the charity drives. We both left with a bag to fill with groceries, and two wishes for gifts. We both struggled while we were at the Discovery Center, with the realization that so many children (and adults too) are in need at this time of the year, and year-round. Thankfully Jenni confessed that she was feeling emotional so I was able to confess I was near tears... I did my grocery shopping last night, using the list of recommended foods, and found the whole experience very profound and emotional. I worry sometimes about making ends meet for myself, but I am happy to let some of my extravagances go right now in order to serve someone else. This isn't saying much as I have such a small car, but right now my trunk is packed full of groceries to be dropped off at the Discovery Center. I filled the bag I was given, and bought three more to hold all the groceries. AK and I will go shopping on Friday after school for the two gifts for the girls... I picked a 4-month old baby and a 2.5-year old girl for us to buy for. I have ideas in mind, and I know AK may be too young to really understand but I hope she enjoys the experience as well.

7. Other Christmas activities - Jenni is doing a 12 days of Christmas with her family leading up to the big day. Unfortunately, I don't have AK for all those 12 days but I have taken Jenni's lead and am planning some fun things for next week. We will go see the Christmas lights, see a movie at Camana Bay, maybe make some cookies, go to church with the Huys on Christmas Eve... we have all sorts of great stuff on the list :) I am so grateful that I did the bulk of gift shopping earlier this year, and that within my group of friends, we did a draw for the kids' gifts, so that has really simplified things, giving us time to really enjoy the meaning of the season.

My plan is to buy all my ingredients for baking on Saturday and spend Sunday in the kitchen. Wish me luck! xo

Christmas concert - VIDEO!

Check out AK singing with her classmates...

Poor muffin was so tired, it was overwhelming for her. Don't worry, she got lots of cuddles from a teacher afterwards.

Hunter's class sang Gospel Bells, and they did really well too! I am in awe of all the preparations that the teachers did with the children, and how hard they've all worked to get ready for the concert. AK is so blessed to attend such a school with such a warm, loving atmosphere.

Pictures will come another day, I took some but they are not very good, Nancy's are better and I just have to transfer them over to my computer first so I can use them. xo

Honduras - Waterfall hike

Time for some more Honduras stories!

Sunday was our waterfall hike day. It turned out to be not at all what I was expecting. But you know what? That's okay. It ended up being a really incredible day in a lot of ways.

The first obstacle started out with the river... beautiful, fresh, hydrating water... it had rained so much the day/night before that the river was about 20 cms higher than anticipated and was rushing quite quickly as well... instead of walking across a knee-high river as anticipated, we had to swim like hell to get to the other side. That was scary, and I don't think I've ever swam harder in my life before. There was a boulder in the river that was a guideline - if you drifted past that boulder, you would be thrown a rope to ensure you didn't get swept away. All I could think about was "I am NOT going past that rock".

Once we crossed the river, we did a wonderfully calming meditative practice. I didn't have my hearing aids, they were in a dry bag somewhere, having made the trip across the river with a guide rather than with me!, but I was still able to hear enough of what Danielle and Chantelle were saying and I found my heart rate slowing quickly and my sense of peace returning. We set out on the hike, and the first 20 mins were blissful for me... we were to walk in silence and just take in the sounds of the forest and ourselves... so wonderful. Gone was the pressure of having to make conversation with those around me, the pressure of trying to take in all that was around me while devoting energy to listening... I think we all caught ourselves once in a while, about to say something before realizing that we were not supposed to be talking! At one point, everyone ahead of me started stamping their feet, so I did the same, having no idea why... I figured there must have been some kind of ant or something that was biting everyone. I was right... but of course no one could tell me that!


Here we stopped at the first little waterfall. Many people went into the water and swam. I was fine to just hang out and enjoy the scenery. If this looks impressive, just wait... the real deal was pretty awesome!


Unfortunately I made the mistake of looking downwards at this point, and this is where I have my first thought of "what on earth am I doing here?" The boulder I was standing on was quite slippery from the waterfall mist and had my feet slipped... well, I don't want to think about that. Beautiful, but do we ever have to respect nature.


I asked our (75 year old!!) guide what made the rock red... he responded that that was its natural color! I expected it to be a moss or fungus.

Looks like serious climbing hey? I'm the one in the green shirt. Let me tell you, this was tame compared to what came next...

200 year tree. Strength...

Now we're getting closer to the real deal! This is where it started to get a bit scarier again... the mist from the waterfall made the rocks slippery, and it was nothing but rock at this point. I had so many good people helping me find my foot- and hand-holds... so much was given to me without me asking or any reciprocation necessary... truly humbling for me. I reached into reserves of mental and physical power that I didn't know I had... accepted help when I needed it... came out feeling stronger than I ever have in my life.


And THIS is what we went through all that to see. Isn't it amazing? At this point, I got some good footholds, leaned back against a boulder, and just took it all in. The feel of the spray against my face, the boulder on my back, the rocks under my feet... I opened up to the love and hope in my heart and the peace in my mind.


The rest of the hike took maybe another hour or so, and we stopped for lunch on the way. We had cheese and vegetable sandwiches, plantain chips and watermelon. The guides were seriously amazing - they carried everything we had for lunch with them. They did this despite having to stop and help us on difficult rocks, giving us a hand up or a leg to stand on if necessary. I remember one particularly difficult boulder where I must have had one guide pulling me and the other two pushing me up and Danielle looking down at me telling me to "breathe, Paula!".

The true essence of this group of people really came out on this hike. I think we all came together in a perfect system of giving and receiving help. Let me tell you, I was certainly on the receiving end! Seeing how some of us started the weekend as strangers, we came out with a bond that only Honduras can give!

A gold medal weekend!

Well, AK and I have had a fantastic weekend!

AK's last ballet class for the term was yesterday. At the end of the class, during which she pranced around beautifully, she was presented with a medal! Yay for Annabelle!

And today I got a medal of my own - my team finished the marathon relay in 4:31:46. Unfortunately I contributed 1:24:24 of that, but what can I say... I finished!

The USA Risk guy's team came in at 4:12. Well done for them!!! I was hoping to beat them but alas it was not meant to be!

Somehow I managed to pinky swear that I'd sign up and train properly for the half marathon next year. Better start training next week!

Life has been so busy lately, not much time to update, but we are doing so well and having so much fun. We have company arriving today for a week - my friend Nancy - I am so excited to see her! Her plane is a bit delayed, which actually really works in my favor as I think AK will have a proper nap before we head off to the airport to pick her up.

We have some exciting stuff coming up this week, AK's first Christmas concert this week, my Christmas part on Friday, and of course, lots of fun stuff in between!!! xo

Little jelly bean of a yellow car

That's what my friend called my car last week! A little jelly bean of a car! She's not far off... we've had a lot of yellow around these parts .

Can't you just hear AK giggling when you look at this picture? I had a little monkey jumping on my bed one morning last week.
How fitting that I was trying to take this picture on Thanksgiving and this little turkey wouldn't let me get a good photo of her?
Sorry this picture is sideways, I've uploaded it twice but I can't seem to fix it. Here's some yellow schoolwork to fit in with the theme!

AK had a great time at ballet yesterday. She has one more class for the term next weekend. I asked if she wanted to keep taking it and she responded with a very enthusiastic "YES!". Once I dropped her off, I had a very busy day. I went to Funky Monkey to use a gift certificate and managed to walk out with three (!) new dresses (Merry Christmas to me!), then I did a bit of grocery and Christmas shopping before I hit up a yoga class. I then joined Julie and Jess at the Pink Ladies' craft bazaar. It wasn't what I was expecting but I still came home with a new book (25 cents!) and a Christmas runner for the table. Julie and Jess came by to help me make perogies - we got 6 dozen pumped out in an hour.

I hopped into one of my new dresses and headed out for the Bliss Christmas party. It was great, once again, to socialize with some fellow yogis off the mat. It was nice to connect with some people from the Honduras trip, and I also met a lot of new people too. I don't think you can find a nice group of people than those who do yoga together! Some of us headed to a new restaurant afterwards for drinks and appies. Karoo is a tapas bar that just opened at Camana Bay. They still have some kinks to work out... service was slow and spotty but we had a nice time hanging out.

Today has been low-key mixed with bursts of high energy. I had a few things to get into place to prepare for my busy week ahead of me. The captive conference starts on Tuesday but even over the weekend, I've been working on preparations and last-minute changes. My days are pretty much full and completely scheduled, so I went so far as to lay out all the outfits I need for the next week - day and evening. I don't to spend any time putting anything together! I was running low on energy as I'm feeling a bit under the weather (great time to get sick) but I managed to pull it together and even got the Christmas tree up and decorated. I'm looking forward to showing it to AK tomorrow night.

Happy Football Day to my Canadian readers! I have no idea how the game is going and I'm not sure I care much either... sorry! Okay, I just went to check and it looks like the Bombers need to pull their socks up...

Honduras - White Water Rafting

While I sit here, sniffling and with a sore throat, what better way to feel better than to think back to my time in Honduras?

I don't have many pictures from the white water rafting day but I'll tell the story in words instead. The morning started off with a good breakfast of huevos rancheros, fried eggs served with corn tortillas and a tomato-chili sauce. The meat eaters got a side of sausage and the vegetarians got a side of avocado. All the juices (orange, grapefruit and guava) were freshly squeezed. My favorite was the grapefruit - not too sweet and not too tart, very refreshing.

Karen and I were feeling quite nervous about the rafting at this point. I was nervous as I'd never done it before and Karen was nervous just because :) we met our group for a gentle meditative yoga practice. We did some partner work to help stretch us out and to connect with each other. This practice was exactly what I needed to calm my nerves. I was feeling pretty confident and peaceful until we had the safety briefing. ha! Then I was nervous all over again... the guides do have to go through all the worst-case scenarios, some of which I hadn't even thought of, so it brought back a bit of a sense of worry to me. We walked down to the river and spent some time with our guide practicing commands and maneuvers.

Martin sat in front of me - I watched him and followed his movements. Monkey see, monkey do! I managed quite well without my hearing aids, between the little I could hear from the guide, and the visual cues from those around me.

Sharon and I ready to go!

Karen and I don't look nervous at all, do we?

The girls with our wonderful guide

We went a little ways down the river and pulled off to the side to walk ahead a bit and check out one of the rapids. It was a Class Four rapid that day (Class Five is the highest) and we had the choice to opt out of this particular rapid if we wanted to. I decided to go for it... if I was going to raft, I wanted to do it right! Sharon, Martin and I paddled for our lives and then we sat down low in the raft. We did well! Luckily we were the first boat to go, as the third boat flipped over and its occupants went floating down the river. If I had seen that, I'm not so sure I would have had the courage to go! The photo below is my raft after it went through the rapid.

The rest of the trip was a lot of fun. We had stretches where we paddled like crazy, others where we could just float along and relax. It was really neat to see how the guide would tell us to paddle, and how the raft would respond just as he wanted. These guys know the currents well! We stopped a couple of times to climb boulders, and could jump off of them if you wished (I didn't).

Our guide also stopped at one point and found a plant that you can use as s soap to wash your hands. I'm sure he also shared a lot of other interesting information but as I didn't have my hearing aids in, I was able to just soak in the atmosphere. We got splashed a lot by the water and once I got over the initial shock of the colder temperature of the water, I found it quite refreshing as the water was fresh and not salty. I loved looking at the path of the water, and the boulders that were on either side of the river and in our paths, I loved breathing in the fresh air. It was a cloudy misty day and I loved the feeling of the rain on my face, as we don't have rain like that in Cayman.

I really enjoyed the rafting and quite wish now that I hadn't spent so much time worrying about it! It was a lot of fun and as I love the water, it really suited me.

We had a quick lunch of pasta then headed back to our rooms for a rest. Mid-afternoon, we met for a yoga practice, which I'll describe more in another post as I have enough yoga pictures to justify a post of its own. After the practice, we met for drinks and then had supper together.

AK-isms

Just got word today that my friend Nancy is coming for a visit! In a week and a half!!

I asked AK if she was happy that Nancy was coming.
AK: Yes, I like Nancy!
A few seconds later... AK: I don't know that Nancy.
Me: Well, you did meet her once before, when you were one year old, when you were a little girl.
AK: Oh, when I was a little girl, not like a big girl like I am today!

Looking through AK's schoolwork, there is a worksheet about friends. I asked AK who her friends were, she said "Matthew, Hunter, Molly, I love my friends!". Later I asked her who her best friend was and she pointed to me :)

Went outside to play with bubbles. AK unscrewed the top of the bottle but it had a seal on it.
AK: Mommy, you need to take this off!
Me: Okay (taking it off)
AK: I don't want this wand (referring to the one in the bottle)
Me: Okay (taking it out)
AK: I want this in here (referring to another little dish)
Me: Okay, go ahead and pour it in, just be careful.
AK: (pouring very carefully, and very well!, brings the rest back to me) Okay Mommy, you put this away and we'll use it later. Put the lid back on it.

What a smart kid!

We walked down the pool and AK took her pants and got in the water in her shirt and underwear. There are several steps so there's quite a lot of room for her to move around on her own. For some reason, I have not yet realized that "let's put our feet in the water" = "AK will swim around in her clothing". One of these days, I'll tune in and get her bathing suit on. She spent about ten minutes moving around in the water, singing her Christmas concert song, both in English and Spanish, I think? She said it was, and the tune sounded right, but I have no idea if the words were right or not.

We stopped by Hunter's house to pick something up and AK and Hunter played together for a bit. When I told AK that it was time to say goodbye, Hunter said "I want AK to stay here with me, she is my friend, she is my girl and she needs to stay with me!". AK left without a fuss but commented on the way to the car that "Hunter wanted me to stay here with him!". Do I need to start fighting off the boys already?

I didn't blog yesterday as it was oneofthosedays. Hoo boy. So glad that one is over and today has been much better. Pretty much no whining and crying at all!

I'm starting to think this running thing is for the birds. My knee is totally fine but now my foot is bothering me. Boo. Didn't start until today, and I ran yesterday. Who knows what the problem is!

Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends... we had turkey lunches brought in at work today which was a nice treat. Email was blissfully silent as all my American clients were busy eating turkey and watching football. That is the life!

Just pulled out some Christmas decorations and got those up. The tree will happen this weekend. Some cards are underway and I need to get on the picture printing!!! xo

Tuesday Shenanigans

First I'd like to backtrack to some photos of Saturday's morning out... "reading" a book at Books and Books... (she wore her Ukrainian vinok all morning!!! What an accessory queen)

AK wants her picture taken with a Christmas tree every time she sees one now! She especially loved this white one with purple decorations!

AK got silly with some chopsticks this morning... I told her she looked like a walrus!

We headed out to Camana Bay tonight for the Christmas Tree Lighting. On the way there, we had this conversation:
AK: Mommy, I'm going to close my eyes!
Me: Are you going to rest your eyes? That's what Baba does.
AK: Yes, I'm resting my eyes. (a minute later) I miss Baba.
Me: Want to talk to Baba?
AK: Yes! Right now!
So I passed the phone back and she had a nice conversation with Baba! I think Baba did most of the talking and AK did the listening but it was really sweet that she asked for Baba like that.

We had a little picnic at Camana Bay before the concert started. We listened to some carols, bought a cupcake for AK (why bother with cake, all she wants is the icing!), caught a glimpse of Santa from afar, and saw the tree lit up. AK looked in awe at all the decorations, she especially loves the lights. On the way back to the parkade, we stopped so AK could frolic in this neat fountain.


We got home and AK got straight into her PJs. When I tucked her in, I asked what her favorite part of tonight had been. She said "Santa" and so I asked if she'd sit on Santa's knee this year (remember she's been so afraid of him for the past two years that she won't go anywhere near him?). Here's the rest of the conversation:
AK: Yes, I'll sit on Santa's knee.
Me: And you'll tell him that you've been a good girl?
AK: Yes, I will!
Me: And you'll tell him what you want?
AK: Yes, I will!
Me: What will you ask him for?
AK: A treat!
Me: What kind of treat?
AK: A lollipop!
Me: A big one or a little one?
AK: A little one!
Me: What color?
AK: Pink and purple!

Looks like my "Santa" shopping will be pretty easy this year!!!

AK is constantly complimenting me. She likes my shoes, and my necklace, and my hair, and my shirt, and this and that. It is really sweet.

AK asked me to lay down with her "for a little bit" when I tucked her in tonight. I don't normally encourage it but decided to do so tonight. After about 30 seconds, she rolled over, looked at me, and said "You can go away now, Mommy". Ha!

I had a nice yoga session today that stretched everything out after yesterday's long run. I hadn't been for a week so it was nice to get my mind back in the right place too. I noticed I've been a bit impatient and snappy the past few days, it is amazing how much I rely on yoga to keep me on an even keel and in a good place. Gotta do more of it! xo

Time's flying!

AK and I had a really fun weekend together. Friday night, Ben picked her up from school as I volunteered at the church's Thanksgiving dinner. The dinner went really well and the food was delicious. It wasn't your typical Thanksgiving fare, we had rice and beans, jerk chicken alfredo, cayman-style fish, chicken curry, green salad and coleslaw. I got to bring some of the leftovers home and that made a couple of good meals for me.

Saturday morning, AK climbed into bed with me to wake me up, all made up already. She's gotten into the habit of putting her face on before she comes to get me. What a girly girl! We had a fantastic morning of running errands. We went into Kirk's Home to get a measuring cup and came out with $25 worth of Christmas decorations. It's totally worth it though, to see the look of joy on AK's face. She is also enjoying the toy displays that seem to be everywhere. "Mommy, I want this and I want that, and you can get me this for Christmas and...". Yikes! I need to find a toy drive of some sort that we can donate to so that AK can get a sense of how lucky she is. It's never too early to start.

We headed over to Camana Bay and met up with Cindy, Molly and Jake for a bit too. The kids had fun climbing the rocks and jumping off of them, and looking at the Christmas tree that will be lit up tomorrow night! AK did not want to leave Camana Bay as she did not want to go home to nap. I managed to appease her by promising that we could go to the grocery store first. Cindy was amazed that AK wanted to go grocery shopping!

AK and I picked up Ben and Hunter that evening and met Cindy and her kids at my work to watch fireworks. My work has a balcony on the fifth floor that is the perfect location for catching all the excitement without having to battle the crowds. We were treated to an amazing display of fireworks that must have gone on for at least 10 mins. AK covered her ears the whole time as she didn't enjoy the noise at all. She even turned her face away for a while as she'd had enough. She commented afterwards that the fireworks were "beautiful" and that they looked like "'Christmas lights in the sky". She and Hunter also enjoyed seeing Christmas lights on the way home.

Angella came over to babysit that night as the Babbs and I were attending a very important housewarming party at the Huys! You had to dress up as a rock star for the night... I grudgingly pulled together an outfit to emulate Cher, Jess went all out as Gwen Stefani and Ben pulled out a rather convincing Willie Nelson. The party was a lot of fun, us girls danced and sang our hearts out.

Sunday morning came early but thankfully for me, AK was still at Babbs! I got a pass as I drove Angella home so they agreed to keep AK and I could take my time getting up in the morning. I picked up both kids and we headed off to church. Sounds like the kids had a great time in their daycare class. After church, AK and I met Mo, Bryan and baby James for lunch. It was so good to catch up and AK had a few gentle touches for Baby James.

We headed home for well-anticipated and needed naps and rest time... I pulled together a few things for supper as we had a new friend from Honduras over that night. It was a relaxing evening of food, wine and visiting, and AK turned her charm on for our new friend.

And of course AK slept in this morning. Why does she sleep later on Mondays than she does all weekend??? It was nice to not have to rush out the door this morning and we took our time. Chapel was nearly over by the time AK got to school!

I am really excited about what I did after work. I went for a long run, somewhere between 5.2 and 5.5 miles, I'll have to chart it out tomorrow to know for sure. Took about 1:05, but I managed to run 4 mins, walk 1 min the entire way through. I am confident that I can do my part of the relay now, it won't be fast, it won't be pretty but I'll do it! Woohoo!

It is now past my bedtime, time to get a move on and set my head down on the pillow. Hope you all are well... I'll try to get more Honduras stuff up sooner rather than later. xo

Honduras - Hot Springs

Karen and I spent the first afternoon in Honduras at the hot springs. It was beautiful, very natural and not "commercialized" at all. I went to hot springs in Costa Rica and was expecting somewhat the same in Honduras - it wasn't at all, and I'm so glad for that.

From near the top, looking out - almost an infinity pool sort of feeling

Beautiful profile picture of Karen

This was a unique spot in the springs - cold water came from the left and hot water from the right, where Martin is. The hot water was so close to the source that you couldn't comfortably put your hand in it for long. It was also really neat here to feel the cold and hot waters swirling together. If we'd climbed a little bit higher, we would have been able to see where the hot water springs started, and the water is so hot there that it bubbles. Alas, we were too lazy and relaxed at that point!

Large frond

Looking down from the top

My beauty treatment drying!

This Honduran lady mixed up red clay with water and made a mud mask treatment. It was quite orange and washed off quite nicely, leaving my skin feeling very smooth and soft. Bonus! See that plate of fruit off to the right? We got to snack on fresh pineapple, watermelon and I think guava? Amazing.

The pool where we spent most of our time

Looking down

My fellow hot springers - Karen, Sharon and Martin. This was the start of a good friendship - we all ended up in a raft together the next day!

Martin in his beauty treatment, pretending to be Tarzan...

The rest of the group joined us after they were done their zip-lining tour. When we were at the top, we could see a couple of the ziplines above us, and we saw a few people zip by. As I'd already done zip lines in Costa Rica, I didn't feel like I had to do them again, plus I was more interested in relaxing in the hot springs.