Andi and Tanner taking off on a para-saling adventure

What a trip!

It is now Sunday, December 2nd, 2012.  Tanner and I got back to MN a week ago today.  The time we spent with the girls down in St. Martin was fantastic, and I was profoundly grateful to be back with my wife and two daughters.

Little Piper is growing up so fast it’s scary.  She talks incessantly and acts more like an adult than a two year old.  Andi is doing remarkably well considering all that life is putting her through, and I am deeply impressed with her resilience.  Carina is happily slogging along, and despite the pace at which new material comes at her, she still seems to be enjoying this whole med school thing.  (Thank goodness!)  The first weekend I was there was block weekend so I didn’t really get to spend any time with her for the first couple of days, but after blocks her schedule slacked off a little and we had some good, quality time with each other and the kids. Read the rest of this entry »

Grandma, Grandpa, Andi, Piper and Tanner down on the beach below our condo

Well, tomorrow morning life is going to change dramatically. Again.  Cari goes back to school, and I go back to work.

For Cari, it’s been a fantastic, relaxing, rejuvenating and much needed three week break. For me, it’s been a… (searching for just the right words…) a … an unexpected  but inspired four month weekend.

Just today I got word that tomorrow I will start a short-term contract for a company in Minneapolis to code a new web-based application for them. It’s not a long term gig, but it’s work. And I’m grateful.  On one hand I never thought it would take this long to find a company that would let me work entirely from a remote location, but on the other hand, not working the first semester of Cari’s schooling is exactly what our family needed while we all settled in to this strange new land.

But more on this later.  Right now I want to focus on my Mom & Dad’s visit and on Cari’s break. Happily, my parents were able to arrange there visit to coincide with Cari’s freedom so we could all spend time together.  And we had so much fun!  I’m not even sure where to begin, so, let’s start with Cari’s birthday. Read the rest of this entry »

My mom and dad on the beach down below our condo

A group we stumbled upon playing steel drums in a warehouse in Grand Case

Carina is on break right now between her first and second semester at AUC, and much to our delight, my Mom and Dad were able to schedule a trip down here during her break.  They like to travel and were excited when we announced we were moving to a Caribbean island.  We’ve been looking forward to their visit and were happy that it could coincide with Cari’s break.  I’ll compose a better post soon with fun details of their trip, but right now I just wanted to share a highlight.

Yesterday evening we drove out to Grand Case, a fun little village over on the French side that is well known for it’s cute shops and yummy restaurants.  (Andi, Tanner and I went there a while back and we recorded our trip here.)

As we were walking down the main street we heard the melodic and distinct sounds of steel drums, so we followed our ears.  We ended up in an otherwise unassuming warehouse where we found a group of young twenty-something islanders playing their hearts out on an impressive array of drums.

At first I just took a few pictures, and as I did so I was thinking to myself, “I wish I could record this… it sounds so fun and beautiful.”  And then it occurred to me, “Wait!  I can record this!”  I borrowed my dad’s iPhone (I no longer carry mine with me), put the camera on video mode, and after asking their permission, I started to record.  Here’s a short clip of them as they were finishing up a song. Read the rest of this entry »

Having Michelle come down here with us has been wonderful for Andi.

Next week I plan to do a post about Tanner and his cultural adventures in island Little League Baseball.  But this week I’d like to focus a bit on Andi.

For both of the older kids, their number one challenge since we arrived here eight weeks ago has been their lack of friends.   And we still haven’t really overcome this yet.  It’s not that there are no kids here their age; it’s just that we’re having a hard time meeting them and getting to know them.  Tanner has had an easier time at this because there are boys his age that live close by.

But Andi really has nobody.  Thank goodness Michelle came down here with us, because she’s helped tremendously in easing Andi’s homesickness. Those two have been good friends for Andi’s entire life. Read the rest of this entry »

A panoramic view of Marigot and it's harbor from the hilltop next to Fort Louis.

This afternoon the girls had a play date / cooking date with another spouse, Katie Wightman, so Tanner and I decided to take off and have some boy type fun. First stop: Fort Louis just outside the french town of Marigot.

The ancient and dilapidated fort was built by the French Navy in 1776 and is perched on a hill top right next to the bay and the city. It commands a sweeping view of the area all around it, and the remains of the fort, the rocks and the grass around it, and the ocean below are an absolute treat to see and to photograph. Read the rest of this entry »

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