Summer is finally here

I knew summer was here when I woke up this morning and realized I was still wearing my swimsuit. I can't believe it's only been one day since Max finished school. We kicked off with a bang, making it to the pool yesterday before baseball practice and today we went to the library, had a picnic, went to the Joslyn and a BBQ too. Here are some pics of today's adventures.

Day 6: Um… I knew I should write every day. I think this is the day Twee watched the boys and I went out on the sailboat with Matt and TJ (as captain). The ride was both relaxing and invigorating. TJ did great. Matt is a born teacher. The day also included a LONG nap for Ted, Gus and me, while TJ and Max enjoyed the satellite television without me laying on the guilt. The day concluded with another flash light walk down the beach and more good food with the Alaskans, then back to bed.

Day 7: We started at the pool around 9 and we ended when the sun was down and King closed the bar. We’ve got some pink to prove it too. Fischer, Max and Ted played well, and welcomed the herd of Mennonite children who joined them midday. The parents were very friendly and the dad and son in law joined Matt and TJ for a sail. The mother started childrearing at 15 and was still going! She was at the pool with her 2 month old and her married 22-year old daughter, and the five others that came in between. I really enjoyed talking with her. She was an easy conversationalist and didn’t seem to have taken the slightest offense to Twee and I enjoying our piña coladas wearing very next to nothing. Twee also shared with me poolside that at three years old, she, along with a couple of her 10 siblings and her grandparents had fled Saigon during the Vietnam War in a boat at open sea. She didn’t know the story well, but after landing somewhere in Indonesia and spending 10 months at a US military base, they eventually they ended up in Philadelphia. She “met” her mother at 22. Her father was killed for being associated with the South Vietnamese government. He was a French interpreter. On day 7 the mix of history and culture here 2 miles South of Hopkins, Belize was really apparent—and I’m not even considering the locals-- Mayan natives still living in some regards as they did 500 years ago and Creoles, a blend of two foreign continents. Their music and language hinting at the story of African ancestors brought here as slaves by English ancestors to work the sugar cane fields, not all that long ago. Occasionally someone broaches the topic of poverty and its obvious clash with the luxury we are enjoying, but it’s not something easy to discuss on holiday. I appreciate that there are no private beaches, nor are there high fences separating the resorts from the community. Some staying here are having a lot of trouble with the visibility of the locals.

Day 5: We were all sunscreened and bugsprayed (there is an smorgusboard of mosquitoes, doctor flies and sand flies enjoying March in Belize) and eating breakfast in the lodge, when one of the girls came to our table and said our guide was ready. I looked at TJ and TJ looked at me, both of us baffled. Then she explained that when I had asked if we could arrange something for tomorrow (today at this point) she had asked her manager and he said sure so she signed us up for a hiking trip to the Jaguar Reserve. “Oh you didn’t double check at the front desk last night? You can pay half price to cancel”. Twenty minutes later we were in route to the jungle. The drive was beautiful, through grassy savannahs and then swamps along the Sittee River before entering the Reserve. Max made the 3 km (1.8 miles) to the Falls no problem, Ted had to have a shoulder ride lots of the way. The jungle walk was really pretty and smelled divine, like ripe earth. We saw lots of cool plant life: mahogany trees, teak trees, rubber trees vines and palms, but we didn’t spot any jaguars or monkeys! The river water was cool and refreshing, and Max even caught a couple of tadpoles. Our guide, Tino, is the father of 9, grandfather of 35 and great-grandfather of 3, so we felt totally safe letting him play with Gus while the rest of us swam. With a movie bribe for later in the day, Ted was able to walk all the way back, albeit slowly. We stopped on our return to check out a crashed plane in the jungle. Sort of reminded me of Romancing the Stone, but all the goods were long gone. En route, Tino told us it looked like rain up ahead, but the closer we got, the more apparent it became that the dark grey wasn’t rain clouds, but smoke. The beautiful savannah we had seen on the way to the jungle was up on flames. Big flames. By the time we arrived at Jaguar Reef Lodge the fire department was there siphoning water from the pool to dowse the thatched palm roofs of the resort. Excitement. Now, we’re back enjoying some Central American coffee and Legos Movie. … The night ended with a scrumptious dinner up the beach at Beaches and Dreams, after a lizard spotting on the way there. A couple of ex-pats from Alaska (yes, they’d met Sarah and troop back in the day at their former restaurant) moved south six years ago and set up shop here. The greens were fresh from the rooftop garden and the fish was fresh from the sea. We had barracuda bites to start- I’m pretty sure they were the same ones we saw snorkeling. The boys played in hammocks before their pizza arrived and played checkers after it was gone. Honestly, the most amazing thing about this trip is seeing the kids play. I could drink up the five of us being together for another week, easy. On our flashlight lit walk back up the beach we stopped for beers with Matt, Twee and Fisher. The boys really enjoy each other, and us grown-ups get along pretty well too. Maybe they’ll invite us to Salt Lake for some skiing this winter!

…Boy was I wrong about day four. On the way back to the room, I ran into a snorkel group that hadn’t yet hit the sea. Their small, quiet outing quickly took a 180. Within 10, maybe 15 minutes, the boat was chock full of Twits. The ride out was choppy, but fun, and the guide was super chill. He docked us the first time in a shallow pool-like spot that had the classic Caribbean green sea color. The snorkeling was superb, the coral, out of this world. TJ took Max and Ted out first, and then when they all came back, I headed out. From the boat with Gus, I kept hearing, “I saw Dori” and “that was the giantest manta ray in the world,” (which may be true). We saw barracuda, lobster, conch, trumpet fish, parrot fish and a gazillion others I can’t remember the names of. Then we headed to an island for reapplication of sunscreen and some cookies. Then we headed for the barrier reef, second in size only to the one off of Australia. Here we saw pretty much the same stuff. I think it was at this point that I stopped worrying about ruining the rude lady’s snorkeling trip. Again, Max and Ted were champs- and lower maintenance than the other four adults on the boat! I had a beer at lunch upon our return and the rest of the day is pretty much a blur. I think it was pool and naps and a very early night after pb&js and microwave popcorn. Gus and I were asleep by 7:30 and everyone else followed suit after some Scooby Doo.

Day 1: The boys were complete travel champs. Amazing. They listened. They chilled. They played with their happy meal star wars action figures and they watched movies. They colored with their markers, which conveniently attached to their belt loops (thanks Nana Sue). They behaved so amazingly they even got to sit alone on the plane. Max and Ted that is, but Gus was a happy flier too. The flight from Belize City to Dangriga was exciting. We arrived in a 12-passenger plane, which Ted helped to fly (head phones on) from the very back seat. We saw orchards and jungle and rivers from above. The resort picked us up at the airport and the boys made friends with Fischer, from Salt Lake City, and the three of them fought the bad guy bus behind us the 45 minutes to Jaguar Reef Lodge. TJ and I enjoyed the sights along the way: pastel houses, lush fields of citrus fruit, yellow flowered bushed, roaming roosters and chickens, bicyclers and the skinny and scant livestock. Upon first sight of the sea from the bus, Teddy exclaimed, “there’s Belize!"

Day 2: Boys up at the crack of dawn ready to swim in the sea. Of course, the laborious task of sunscreening all of them, took over “100 minutes”. Then, they had to wait for TJ and I to taste our first Central American espresso of the trip. They both donned their snorkel gear and life jackets and headed to the long wooden dock for a jump into the sea. Gus chilled on some beach towels under a palapa on the beach, TJ took a run, and Max and Ted enjoyed lots of swimming, jumping and sandcastle building until the wind came up and chased us to the pool to swim with Fisher, Twee and Matt. King at the swim up bar was patient with his clientele. February 27, 2010, Hopkins, Belize: Teddy puts it all together and shows us he can swim. J and I were delighted, but he didn’t seem too surprised, as he has thought himself able to swim for a very long time. Gus napped in the suite while the rest of us enjoyed lunch at the restaurant and played on the hammock. After a Scooby-Doo movie break, Teddy and I biked the mile or so into town for some groceries. The five of us took a ride into town later on for a scrumptious dinner at Chef Rob’s. “She” treated us well to fresh fish and we all, Gus especially, enjoyed the Garifuna drummers. – No pics this day, we were too focused on enjoying the warm sun.

Day 3: Water too rough for the snorkel trip. Hike too difficult for a “tree year old”. So, we’re headed out soon on our rented golf cart. …

FUN. We cruised in, TJ and Ted in front and Max, Gus and I rear-facing in the back. Seeing everyone donned in their Sunday best and headed to church was good travel entertainment. We had fruit smoothies at Thongs, where we ran into Chef Rob and his partner. We also saw a book on the shelf written by a guy Uncle Scott knows from Omaha. We checked out some other resorts, the “Sew Much Hemp” travelling school bus, and enjoyed cruising around letting the boys drive, until a man in camo and combat boots told us we were breaking the law. We weren’t aware there were any… It was still really windy upon our return, and we were exhausted from our adventure and “the roughest ride in the world”, so movie time for the boys and Belizean coffee time for me, TJ and GUS. The bugs were gone, but it was also too choppy for swimming, so we spent the rest of the day doing various activities poolside. The day after putting swimming together, Ted masters the snorkel gear. Hopefully we make it out the barrier reef this week. There was some volleyball that picked up and general merry making that TJ and the boys enjoyed while I explored inland with the golf cart as the sun set. The Sittee River totally seems worth checking out. I only went a couple of miles, but the sounds of the jungle were intoxicating. The day ended with a moonlit walk down the beach to a little place crawling with babies and young ex-pats and some live jazz and reggae, dancing welcomed. In between bites, the boys went flashlight exploring on the beach.

Day 4: I left Max reading and everyone else sleeping to head to the lodge and post this blog and enjoy a cup of coffee. Calm waters and little wind—meaning good swimming and lots of bug spray. These little sand flies are pests! We were going to go monkey searching today, until we realized the cost. We’ll save that to put toward a future trip to Costa Rica, going a bit more rustic. On the agenda today: nothing.

February

TJ in his favorite Sunday sweater, and Gus in one of the many hand-me-down sweaters he'll wear just once before packing away for a future cousin to don.

Teddy, helping out with a little pumping.

Here is Gus enjoying his cousin Grant's blogger video. Gus is doing well. Sitting up, spitting up and gearing up for his first trip out of the country. Watch out Belize, here he comes!

Is it Twenty Ten or Two Thousand Ten???

Whichever, it's off to a cold, cozy and SNOWY start. We enjoyed nearly a week in Kearney, with lots of yummy food and good game playing: new board games, cards and lots of super hero creations (Laser hero, Doctor hero, Vet hero, Color hero, Ninja hero...). Much to my surprise (and delight) Christmas Eve Mass was a success, as was the entire stay.

Luckily, Santa brought the boys snow shovels, so despite low temps Max and Ted have been able to get out and help clear the walks and tire themselves out a bit. Gus and I stay inside and prepare the hot chocolate and talk in tongues. Besides sucking on his toes, one of his favorite pastimes is mimicking whoever will stick out a tongue at him. He continues to be very good natured and very well loved by his brothers.