Sea Turtles, Sand Fleas, and So Much Stuff!

So I'm finally getting around to updating the blog. We have been busy moving into a new apartment, that so far has proven to be a much better place to live. Who knew we had acquired so much stuff in just 5 months in Grenada. This move took a lot of work! At some point I will post some details and pictures of our new place, but for now that can wait. I must write about our turtle excursion this past Sunday.

A few weeks ago we drove almost 2 hours with some friends to the northeastern coast of the island in hopes that we could watch sea turtles lay their eggs. We arrived at 8 pm and waited. We waited for 3 hours and not a single turtle came to shore! Thankfully our guide did not charge us and said to give him a call when we were ready to come back. It was a long drive and a disappointing experience but we decided to try again Sunday evening. Once again our family and our friend Zach as well as his friend Ali arrived at Levera Beach at about 8 pm. Right away we headed to the far end of the beach to see a turtle who was just finishing her task. On the way to that turtle Jerod spotted a Giant turtle coming out of the water right in front of us. We waited there and watched this turtle find the right spot, dig, lay her eggs, and descend back to the water.We even got to touch her after she laid and covered her eggs.

As this turtle was heading back to the water another one came out just a few feet away.  This was a new turtle that has never been tagged and so the guide and research team asked our group what we wanted to name her. Everyone agreed that we should name her after Emma since she was the youngest in the group. So now there is a 5.5 foot long leatherback turtle in the sea named after our little Emma. Pretty Special! When "Emma" began digging to lay her eggs she dug up another nest, breaking eggs with her back flippers and Jerod helped gather the baby turtles so they could be saved. Meanwhile our guide kept filling the hole back in to discourage her from digging any further. Eventually she got frustrated and moved down the beach to another spot. The entire time we were there turtles were coming out of the water to lay eggs. Jerod and Zach were having a competition to see who could spot the most turtles. This was truly one of the most amazing things we have ever done and totally worth the long drive and late night on the beach.

I will however share the down side of the experience, and that was getting eaten alive by sand fleas. Thankfully Emma avoided these nasty insects as she was in our arms most of the time. They come alive at night and because they are so small you hardly know how bad you are getting bitten. The welts they leave show up the next day and the itch is almost unbearable. The worst part is you can't scratch or shave because they scar easily. We did wear bug spray but this was not enough to keep them away and realize now why all the researchers were wearing long pants, jackets, and tube socks. Now my days are spent rinsing with bleach water, feeling loopy from benadryl, and applying calamine lotion to hundreds of the worst bug bites I have ever had. Besides the constant nagging itch and unsightly red welts on my legs, seeing these enormous sea creatures was an experience we will never forget!

Head of the turtle and shell covered in sand

(sorry the pictures are so hard to see, the turtles and only be illuminated

with red light and no flash photography is allowed.)

Jer and Emma touching the turtles head.

Emma has not stopped talking about "big turtles."

This turtle laid 98 eggs!

Note to self: Never sit in the sand at night in shorts. Ouch!!

Summer Break in Grenada has Begun!

On Friday of last week Jerod took his last final for term one. Hooray and way to go Jer! Now he has 12 weeks of summer break to spend with us. Since the cost of airfare is so high we decided to stay in Grenada during this time off and look forward to all the fun things we get to do. Yesterday was spent at the U club pool with friends, many who have completed their first 2 years. We were sad to say goodbye but wish them the best of luck, and thank them for their friendship and also for all the stuff they gave us before leaving!

Some of us enjoying the pool ....

 

and the view.

Today we ate biscuits and gravy with friends for breakfast and then headed to Grand Etang National Park. There we hiked on a muddy and rocky path to the Seven Sisters Waterfalls. When we arrived it was raining fiercely but that didn't stop our adventurous group from making it to the falls (we are in the rainforest at the beginning of rainy season after all). Emma was as happy as can be in her pack on Daddy's back. Here are some photos of our fun day.

Shelter from the Rain

Emma in her pack

Starting the hike. They have hiking sticks you can borrow to help prevent you from falling but according to our friend Blair you shouldn't feel bad if you fall, it's a pretty slippery and muddy trek, hehe!

We made it!

So amazing!

The guys hiked to the top to jump in. The water was freezing!

Feeding the monkeys bananas before heading home. Emma loved seeing these crazy monkeys!

Noisy Neighbors, Barking Dogs, and Sleepless nights!

Neighbors, can't live with em' ...can't live without em'. I believe this statement has been reserved for men but for the sake of today's post I'll borrow it. Before I go any further I must make it perfectly clear that my landlords are incredibly nice people. They are always helpful, kind, and they keep to themselves. The only problem is that they live above us and I honestly don't know how they function day to day. I hear their TV on until midnight or later and then they are up again at 5:30 getting ready! I don't think for a second that they are loud on purpose. It's just the way the house is built, they could drop a pin upstairs and it would sound like it happened in our bedroom. Thus every opened door, closed dresser drawer, high-healed footstep, and squeaky facuet is heard. I am used to this. Jerod, who obviously is gone a lot, still is jumpy about it. Every time there is a strange noise upstairs he walks to the other room, "what happened?" I then sleepily assure him it was just something upstairs. Now this if all fine and good except that I have failed to mention their six yappy dogs who think they own the neighborhood. They are outside dogs, free to roam about. It is so hot during the day that they spend most of their time laying underneath my car or on the porch upstairs, but at night they come alive. Sometimes they bark until three in the morning and I swear they are standing right outside our bedroom window. Last night Jer swore he was going to ask my sister Jen (who is coming to visit next month-yay!) to bring us an airsoft gun. My response, "I'm pretty sure that falls under animal cruelty." What I didn't say was what I happened to be thinking, "maybe I can accidently run them over one day when they're asleep under my car." Okay, all kidding aside, I would feel more than terrible if this actually happened but sleep deprivation has caused me to think this way at 4am. I long to move but so far we have not found anything with the same price tag and amenities as we have here, and by amenities I mean air-conditioning in every room. Looks like we are in for another term of noisy neighbors, barking dogs, and sleepless nights! Oh, and Kensi... I love you dear but this still is not enough for us to want to move to the Flats!!


P.S. Emma's new favorite question is now "What Happened?"
P.P.S. The dog posted above is Emma's favorite, she really is sweet but at 3am..well you know what I'm thinking!

Emma's Puppy Pawty!

Last weekend we celebrated Emma's second birthday with a puppy pawty! She was super excited about having her own party and the puppy balloons, presents, and pupcakes. As promised here are some pictures of the fun. I also posted the invite we sent out to our friends. While we miss our family we are so lucky to have good friends to share these important life moments with. So thanks to all of them for helping make Emma's day special for her and memorable for us!

Emma so excited about her party

Opening Presents

Playing with new punching balloon from friend little Zane

Practicing her stethoscope skills on the future Dr. Schaeffer

Hiding under the table with her not so secret admirer Zane

"Pupcakes"

Blowing out TWO candles

All the kids playing with "Uncle Zach"

Personalize your own free invite

Has it really been a month?

So obviously I have a lot of catching up to do on this here blog. Just when I think I'm fresh out of ideas to write about I realize that I am to far behind to get caught up on everything that has been going on the last few weeks. These photos are my best attempt...

Emma holding still for her very first haircut

Me helping Emma Race during Sports Day at the GAP

Emma enjoying icy, red punch after her race and someone's behind in the shot!

My crazy Grenadian hairstyle
given to me by one of the young women

My cute little bunny,

who wore this mask for the entire afternoon after an Easter party

and kept jumping around saying "Hop, Hop, Hop"

Sunday Thoughts, Walks, and More...

Today my heart is full of gratitude. We had an excellent week and I feel so lucky to be here. It is afterall a once in a lifetime opportunity. I want to take the time to thank all of my family members (hopefully you know who you are) who have made it possible for us to be here. So many of you have helped us in countless ways and we have not forgotten about it! We have been here for just over 2 months and not a day goes by without us realizing how grateful we are to be here, sharing this experience as a family. Each Sunday we usually go for a walk on the beach or in our neighborhood and we still look at each other and say, "I can't believe we are here, and that this is where we live." Grenada is such a beautiful place full of amazing people. We will indeed come home with a different perspective on life. I wish sometimes that I could place all of my experiences and feelings in a jar and send them home to you so that you could understand what it's like to live here, but my blog explanations and skype calls will have to do.

 I am also incredibly grateful for the new friendships we have made here. We have a network of support that I know I can count on. They are my Grenadian family that I love so much (again, hopefully you know who you are). I have enjoyed learning from you, crying with you, and most importantly laughing with you. We are all so far away from home but so blessed to have each other. Thank you for being there for me.

Okay, now that I have all the touchy feely stuff out of the way.... Have a great week everyone!

(and for the Grandmas here is a picture of Emma on our Sunday walk last week, she wanted Dadda to write her name in the sand)

Guide to Becoming a Granola Girl in Grenada

Definition of Granola Girl: a female human who is more in tune with inner beaty rather than outside appearances. One who could care less about others views of their outward form. One who feels exterior maintenance is time consuming and not always important.

Tip #1: Wear your hair up in a pony tail or down without actually being dried, who cares, hair does not hold well in humidity so don't bother fixing it.

Tip#2: Makeup is not necessary in this kind of heat; you are who you are, looks included.

Tip#3: It's okay to stay in your wet, sandy swim clothes all day if you feel like it; live like you are on vacation.

Tip#4: If you are loosing weight and your clothes are sagging-its fine. The baggier the better; comfort is what matters most.

Tip #5: Though clothes are required there's no need to look nice everywhere you go. Just throw on some old gym shorts, a T-shirt, and any color flip flops and that will be just fine.

Tip #6: Bugspray is the new perfume and bugspray over sunscreen just adds to the scent you should be

going for.

Tip#7: Black feet and chipped toenail polish are perfectly acceptable. There is no such thing as clean floors

in Grenada.

Tip#8: Facial oil blotting sheets are a waste of money. The more you sweat the more you glow.

Tip #9: Bug bites are now equivalent to beauty marks. Embrace them. If itching causes a scar it's just a reminder of how tough you are.

Tip #10: No need for expensive skin exfoliants and creams. These are products only doctors wives can afford and you will not be one for like a billion years. So go to the beach and scrub with wet sand followed by a salty sea rinse.

Disclaimer: Clearly this is not a complete guide to Granola Girlism. I have not been able to forget about shaving, wearing a bra, or applying deodorant daily. I will also admit that I don't always follow all of the tips listed above, but most days I feel pretty Granola!