Neighbors

Neighbors are great!  Especially when they become your instant friends because no one has a job.  Especially when they are Kittitian American and Kittitian Canadian and can easily adapt to the Island living lifestyle of lazy summer days and lazy customer service.  Especially when they live 5 seconds away and are available at any time to socialize when the husbands are hard at work studying.  And yes, even when they move away and watch me leave crying on the way to the airport.  But mostly, neighbors are great because they let me take 10-second timer pictures so that I can write a blog about them!  Enjoy!

This week the neighbors and I enjoyed some wonderful pool and beach time soaking up the sun and playing with the Kiddos!  Our backyard pool and the Marriott beach are a few popular hangouts for the residents of the Crackhouses!

What else are neighbors great for?  Fixing cars of course!  Our Med Student/Mechanic neighbor as well as Andee were able to help us this week working on our car Jamal in between their busy studying schedule!  What can I say, neighbors are great!

Today was a special day for one of our neighbors!  One of the tiniest neighbors we have, little Aliosha turned two this week, and today we celebrated her birthday!   Cupcakes, snacks, and lots of great company led to a great St. Kitts birthday!  When family isn't on Island to participate in the celebrations, neighbors make for great guests for a great party!

And lets not forget our neighbors down the street and a short car ride away.  Heck, St. Kitts is so small that is seems like everyone is our neighbor!  Oh St. Kitts, how I love you!

In other news, Hope and I organized a "Mexican Fiesta" Bible Study for the girls of Caribbean Christian Fellowship.  After almost an entire day of cooking, the food was quite a hit!  Who doesn't love hot, flavorful food smothered with cheese!?

In UMHS news, on Monday Andee wrote his Microbiology Final, and ended up receiving a 100% in the course!  PTL!  He started another short course the following day, and will be finishing up with the semester in under a month!

To be a little more specific, our arrival in Canada is a mere 26 days away!  PTL again!

Sunfest!

This Saturday Andee and I attended Sunfest, the mid-semester UMHS Beach Party at Cockleshell Beach!  Andee got to relax a little in between studying, and we were both (especially Andee) able to work on our tans!  A free lunch, sand, and the Caribbean Sea made for an excellent afternoon! 

Just a five minute walk from Cockleshell Beach is Reggae Beach - the home of Wilbur the Pig, and the caged Monkey and Goat!  Andee had never been to Reggae Beach (sad, yes), and so we ventured out to see the animals and snap a few pictures!

We also took advantage of the many kayaks that were available to the students to use for the duration of the beach party!  I never thought that Andee and I would be kayaking together in the Caribbean Sea!  It was so much fun!

When we arrived back home after our day at the beach, we were a little hungry from all the fun in the sun.  We then decided to head into our backyard and pick a 'few' bananas for dinner.  Just kidding!  A recent stormy day of rain and wind struck the banana tree in our backyard causing an entire bunch of bananas to fall, and so we brought them all inside for future consumption!  We are planning to divvy them up with some fellow islanders, that is of course if the monkeys don't get to them first! 

Today is as good as any other day to start the Canadian Vacation Countdown!  According to my cute cat day-planner that I received for Christmas, there are just 37 days (or 5 and a half weeks) until some much needed time up North!  I hope that everyone is enjoying the brief but beautiful Canadian Summer that we will be joining in August!  See you all soon!

Happy Canada Day!!

So, our first Canada Day celebrated outside of our beloved country!  Fortunately, there are quite a few Canadians scattered throughout the Island, and so the holiday was not neglected!  Andee and I celebrated Canada style by dressing in our patriotic red and whites, watching the Canada Day Blue Jays game at Home, and, of course, eating some delicious Canadian Kraft Dinner for lunch!  Perf!!

As for this and last week, mostly the usual activites took place - pool, beach, studying, etc.  Last night, we had a "Ladies Night" with a bunch of the VIP's and DH's.  A great way for us to get out of the house and leave our busy students alone!  We all had a great time!

And oh yes, on this wonderful Canada Day, Andee took a few hours (the entire day) to study for his six, yes six block exams that he has on Monday.  Six exams on one day?  Student Cruelty!  Pray for Andee, the Med 3's, and the rest of UMHS that are enduring the ridiculousness that is Medical School!

Block Exams aren't the only event happening on Monday, for Monday happens to be the 4th of July!  Looking forward to celebrating our neighboring country of America with the many Americans I have met in St. Kitts!

To all my Canadian Friends and my Canadian Family members that are celebrating up at the Aldridge Cottage today, we miss you so much, and wish that we were up there celebrating with you!  However, I am skyping with you all as we speak!  Oh the joys of technology!  Today marks 7 weeks until our Canadian visit in August, and we are incredibly excited to enjoy some much needed cottage and home time in Canada!  See you then!!!