Paradise

We spent the last three nights in the Tobago Cays, which are pictured above. The Tobago Cays are a part of the Grenadines - in the south. As you can see, there are five islands in the area, but none of them are inhabited. We were anchored somewhere in the middle of the three that are sort of facing each other. It was definitely one of the most beautiful places I've ever been - if not THE most beautiful place! I mean - just look how many shades of blue there are in the picture! I couldn't believe it - it was incredible. I have never seen such gorgeous water anywhere! And while it was picturesque for sure, I actually don't know if I was a huge fan of the area itself! It was quite windy most of the time we were there, which didn't make for the most pleasant experience. The boat rocked a lot and the beaches weren't  really all the pleasant either, which was a bummer! 

{The view from the boat pulling in!}

The first day we arrived the kids were dying to go to the beach, so David took me and some of the kids to one of the islands in the tender. We had an easy enough time getting there, but it was a huge hassle getting back into the tender when he came back to pick us up! He had a hard time getting close to the beach the second time around and we ended up having to swim out to the boat. It was a bit difficult and a tad scary with the choppy water, kids, and beach toys! There were a lot of small rocks on the ocean floor too along with random boulder looking chunks of coral. Matthew loves playing in the water, so I kept worrying he would get tossed about! I didn't take anything but snorkel gear with me - it was so choppy I didn't want to get anything wet getting out of the boat. So, once I stopped worrying about Matthew, I did a bit of snorkeling. It was alright. I have been a bit of a pansy on this trip so far! I've been snorkeling several times and am usually the one pulling my friends closer and closer to the fish and other things...but for some reason I'm having to warm up a lot this time around! Jenn did say she saw a shark the other day...she told me before we left that the sharks here are "friendly"! I guess I've watched too much "I Shouldn't Be Alive" or something! In any case, it's probably a good thing I didn't follow through with my childhood dream of becoming a marine biologist. (Speaking of which - have ya'll seen Blackfish?! OMG. Life career crises averted thanks to my dislike of the sciences.) Anyways, Savannah and I saw some white see through-ish fish that would come super close! We kept shrieking and it cracked me up. 

  

The second day (Saturday) we all went to another one of the islands to snorkel. That particular island is known for the turtles that swim around it! It took two separate rides in the dingy, because there are so many of us! I guess Jenn or I could have technically just jumped off the boat and swam over, since we were pretty close. People there were snorkeling EVERYWHERE! I did see about three turtles snorkeling around that area, but we didn't stay super long because of the wind. It was super difficult to get the dingy anchored and what not and the wind was blowing the sand so hard it kind of stung our skin!

{Turtle Island}

The third day was Sunday. Fortunately, two couples that we had met at church the week before were also anchored here! One of them was a second-time stake president, so we got to have sacrament meeting together. It was really nice! They gave the talks and even sang a musical number for us. I really enjoyed getting to know them - the two men in the group had known each other since they were boys. Their fathers practiced together as doctors and they had become doctors too. The stake president, Tom, was a retired cardiovascular anesthesiologist and I believe the other was a urologist. I loved their views on travel - as parents they tried to give their children experiences rather than things. It really reminded me a lot of my own parents and how they view life! I'm so grateful for all the experiences I've had around this good old world because of them! Tom and his wife Sue, who are from Jacksonville, Florida, even gave me someone to contact in Tanzania! I guess they happen to know a fellow LDS doctor affiliated with the Mayo Clinic who is developing some type of radio-oncology clinic outside the hospital there near Mt. Kilimanjaro! I'm going to try getting back on the horse with my orphanage project while I'm out here, so I'm hoping this dude can help me with funding or even just help me figure out how to get a darn bank account there! Either way, it's a little exciting!

Ta ta for now ;)

XOXO 

Seasick

*Warning* This post is not for the faint of heart...or stomach! Ha. Yesterday was pretty rough...I'm not going to lie! We left St. Lucia and started our journey towards St. Vincent and the Grenadines at 7 am. I woke up around then, but didn't get out of bed until 7:30. My room is near the the bow of the boat, which from what I understand is the place that gets the most movement. I felt like my whole room was on a trampoline that was being jumped on!

The distance between St. Lucia and Bequia was about 50 miles. I'm pretty sure we're anchored in Port Elizabeth, which is on the West side of the island. Bequia is the second largest island in the Grenadines and it took us about 8 hours to get between the two. I definitely did not anticipate getting sea sick! I didn't even bring anything besides Dramamine, because I generally don't get motion sickness and I didn't have time to run to the doctor to get a prescription. I've been on planes of almost every size, trains, and automobiles - even cruise ships and smaller boats and have never gotten sick. (Maybe occasionally in the car, but not recently!) But the ocean got me good today! I didn't eat breakfast, which was smart because an hour into our journey I had to run downstairs to the bathroom! I grabbed some Dramamine and went up to the top deck hoping to get some fresh air when Benji immediately vomited. Ugh. Definitely gross. I've got to be earning some good mommy points here! Poor kid. He's had a rough few days! He literally spent the whole day looking into the void until he got cold and threw a blanket over himself! (Pic below.) I also threw up a short while later in the kitchen sink (so embarrassing and gross in front of Jenn who walked out of the room, but what can ya do?!) and again in one of the back bathrooms. Jenn eventually gave me some Zofran, which is a medicine she sometimes takes for pregnancy! Ha ha. Thank goodness I kept that down and started to feel a bit better, but I was down and out for most of the day. Nanny fail! (Oh and p.s...if yesterday is what pregnancy is like then I will continue to stay away from boys for a long, long time!)

Here are our barf totals for the day:
Jenn & Dave: 0 (Yachting pros!)
Melinda: 3 (Amateur...)
Savannah: 0
Calvin: 0
Isabel: 0
Benjji: 2
Matthew: 0
Alex: 1

Melinda FTW!!! ...it's going to be an interesting 3 months. Ha! I don't think we'll have a TON of passages like that, but there's sure to be several more! The boat tipped so far to the right a few times that the furniture on the top deck slammed into the other side. It was actually a bit scary! Luckily no one got hurt. I grabbed Ben and made him sit with me in the Captain's chair. I kept wondering what in the heck we'd do if one of us got a good cut and needed stitches!

Lucky for me I was fine as soon as we set the anchor, which was about 4 in the afternoon. I felt 110% better and couldn't wait to get into the water! It is so fun to be able to just jump right off the boat into beautiful blue water!

More to come!

XOXO

Bon Voyage

We finally set sail today - one week in! I'm not sure if I should really say "set sail", because our boat isn't a sail boat. It definitely has a motor, so I guess I could technically say we are"yachting"... although after seeing several mega yachts in the marina, I certainly feel weird referring to our boat as a yacht! (More pictures of our boat and others to come!) Apparently our boat is a trawler, but I'm not even sure what that means!

We originally were supposed to leave around 10 or 11 this morning, but didn't head out until around 12:30. I was happy about that because the kids were done with school work and we had wrapped up lunch, so I could be a part of the process and chill on the top deck during the journey! It took about 2 and 1/2 hours for us to get from Rodney Bay in the north to Soufriere in the south (see the map below if you happen to want to know my exact whereabouts). I surprised it took that long, even though I didn't really know what to expect. It was so relaxing!  I had a hard time staying awake - I felt like I was being lulled to sleep by the movement of the boat! Ha ha. I bet I sleep really well on this little bunk of mine the next few months! I felt like I was just on a cruise excursion today, but this is my life! So amazing!

Below is a view of  our approach to the Pitons from the boat! As I've mentioned, I was here at the beginning of last April. We did a cruise excursion that included a trip to Sulfur Springs (a natural mud bath/hot pot place that is a popular tourist destination) and a catamaran ride through the Pitons. It was the one excursion I really wanted to do and it was really fun! I was really excited to get to see the Pitons again and stoked to find we'd be anchoring in between them for the night!

{The Pitons - so beautiful!}

{La Soufriere Drive-In Volcano - skin so smooth! So soft!}

It took quite awhile for us to find a spot to drop the anchor. Apparently we made a reservation, but had to wait for a spot to become available. (There are surely more technical terms for all of this, but I'm still learning! I didn't exactly know what was going on and was playing Uno with the kids for a portion of the time!) The kids had been dying to go to the beach all week, so afterwards around 4:30 we all threw our swimsuits on super quick and hopped in the tender to head to the beach! 

So... I'm not afraid to say that I watch The Bachelor. I have occasionally go on hiatus from the ridiculousness of that show, but I did happen to watch this season! (Stupid Juan Puablo!) Ha ha. Anyways, the season finale was filmed here in St. Lucia! And it just so happens that it was filmed at Vicery Resort on Sandy Beach - which is the beach we decided to play at! So random, right?! I was pretty excited about it, which is sort of embarrassing, but I can't lie! I didn't really recognize anything, but I'm pretty sure I've blocked that episode from my memory...

Anywho, it was a pretty fantastic day! Minus the part where Benji threw up and a drop or so got on my hand and foot. Luckily he's so darn cute I didn't mind too much! I'm just hoping I don't catch whatever he and Matthew have had - although I have been feeling a bit under the weather lately! Cross your fingers for me! 

That's all for now! 

XOXO

{Jenn and I with the full crew - crazy kiddos!}

If You Like Pina Coladas

Today was pretty fantastic. It was my day off! (I'm still a tad unsure about how Saturdays go...) We're just hanging out in the marina waiting for the boat to get into ship shape (see what I did there?), so I figured I'd better get out to explore and have some alone time! I always feel so independent when I'm traveling by myself. (Or alone-ish.) I LOVE it!

I started out the day right by going to church with the Bloods. Benji woke up sick, so he stayed home with Jenn and Baby Alex. From what I understand, we'll only be able to make it to church about 50% of the time - maybe even less. So I'm really glad we were able to go. I tried to do some pondering during the meetings, but during sacrament Matthew was all over the place! We were sitting on chairs that fold outwards and at one point he was bent over backwards over the bottom portion...I was trying so hard not to crack up! He is the most mischievous little boy ever, but it's hard to be stern with him because he is so darn cute! Before Sunday School I met up with a senior missionary couple serving here in St. Lucia. Brother and Sister Gubler are from Tooele, my hometown! Sister Gubler was speaking when we walked in and I totally thought she looked familiar. Her children went to my high school and although I do not know any of them super well, I am really good friends with their cousins, the Dunns!

{Ignore my four eyes, frizzy hair, and sunburn...I'm struggling!}

Relief Society was also amazing. Side note - the Caribbean ironically reminds me a great deal of Tanzania! I was here exactly 1 year ago on a cruise before heading to Africa. I couldn't believe how similar the 2 places were geographically/ethnically. The branch here in St. Lucia made me really miss the people I know and love at the branch in Arusha!  There were only about 9 or 10 women in Relief Society besides three of us visitors. They were in no hurry to get that meeting started - we sat around shooting the breeze for the first half hour! The women were just gabbing away. They were so charismatic, personable, and full of life. I was actually amazed by them. Half of the women had been baptized within the last 6 months or so and most of them were single mothers. (One has actually been a member for 29 years, which is crazy because I think the church has only been formally organized here for 25 years!) At one point we veered off topic and started talking about the Law of Chastity. One of them said "No guarantee that if a man is fine I won't double back!!!" I laughed a lot throughout the lesson, which of course they commented on too. Stupid loud, crazy laugh! The woman who taught the lesson also said she had visions...which included one with me in it last night! I'm thinking that it was most definitely deja vu! So random. Another more or less asked the other two visitors, both a lot older and married, what it was like to be married to a Priesthood holder (also off topic). I also couldn't help but feel sorry for these wonderful women who are so clearly trying to do what is right. Why aren't there more good guys in this world goshdangit?! I guess that's another blog post for another blog at another time. :)

{Crummy picture. YES everyone thought David and I were married and YES everyone always thinks they are my kids. Do I look like I've had 6 kids?!}

After church I took a taxi to Reduit Beach. Little did I know I literally ran to it yesterday! (Who knew there was a beach on the other side of those buildings along the road?!) Gah. I got myself some lunch and the pina coladas were um...buy one get one free?! Or something like that. I love pina coladas SO much. (Virgin, of course - especially since I was already breaking the Sabbath! Ha! Yikes.) 

{Classy pic taken exclusively for Karie Hughes ...please think back to that one time we sucked one down so quickly a dude bought us another at that swim up bar in Cancun.}

Online it said that Reduit Beach was the most beautiful beach here on the island, which made me happy because last time I was on the other side where the Pitons are. It was, indeed, a beach and St. Lucia itself is beautiful, but it was crowded and not the most fantastic beach I've ever been to! No complaints here though. Below are some more shots of my views. I tried read for a bit and did some overall relaxing. This is my zone, for sure! I ended up walking home since it's so close to Rodney Bay Marina, which is where were are currently located. This is the life for me!

XOXO

I'm On A Boat

Remember that time I briefly had a blog when I first moved to DC? No? That's probably because perfectionism got the best of me and I was only able to get about 3 posts in before formatting issues drove me crazy! Remember that other time when I promised everyone that I would keep a blog in Tanzania, but that didn't work out either?! Me too. Let's all hope this one actually works out. Luckily the internet seems to be working well and I'm currently feeling compelled to keep this thing up! We'll see how it goes. I've never really been one to keep a journal!

For those of you wondering what in the world I'm doing, I offer you a brief summary of the past 3 weeks:

Thursday, February 27: My friend, Amanda White, calls to tell me the family she formerly nannied for, The Bloods, are still looking for someone to help them out while on their upcoming excursion to the Caribbean. (Amanda and I became close friends in DC where she nannied for an interesting family and I single-handedly saved third-world countries from natural disasters. Just kidding! Sorta.) Anyways, Amanda was originally going to go with the Bloods while on break from BYU-I, however, the boat wasn't ready at that time. She had asked me a few months ago if I wanted to go, but the boat still wasn't ready at the time. I hadn't thought about it since then.  

Friday, February 28 - Saturday March 7: I freak out about what to do with my life, which just happens to be no different from what I had been doing the previous six months! Yikes. Pro/con lists are made. Prayers are said. Conversations are had. Advice is given. And then...

Saturday, March 8: The decision is made to cruise around the Caribbean for the next 3 months! (Return date still unknown...)

Sunday, March 9 - 17: Continuous freaking out going on...

Monday, March 18: I suck it up, meet the entire Blood family at the airport for the first time, and embark on my next adventure! (I had formerly met David, the dad, and had spoken with Jenn, the mom, for a few hours on the phone. I also got to FaceTime the kids for about 40 min before leaving, but that's all!)

So...yeah. That's pretty much it! So crazy how much things can change in a month or so after nothing really happening for so long. Needless to say, I'm pretty grateful for this opportunity, even though the decision was a hard one to make. It's right up my alley - as many of you know I love kids, I love to travel, and I love the sun, sand, and sea! Combine all of that and I'm set!

I don't have a picture of the whole family yet, but here's a picture of the kids that I took today: 

{From L-R: Benjamin (6), Calvin (9), Isabel (8), Matthew (3), Savannah (11), and Alex (1)}

There are a lot of them! (And another coming this August!) It's a bit crazy, but I'm really getting to know their individual personalities and am really enjoying it! 

Well, I suppose that's it for now. More to catch up on tomorrow! 

XOXO