The Koopmans

Trent's First Dive

2009-07-29T13:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took Trent to a Bubbler Dive Course. He got to put on dive equipment in a pool at one of the resorts and had a private instructor who taught him how it worked. She also showed him how to take his regulator (breathing apparatus) out of his mouth while he was under so that he could smile for the camera. Then she showed how how to clear his mask incase water leaked in. He did so good!

When he finished, he told us it was the coolest thing he's ever done!! We are hoping to do it again in the beginning of next summer and then after he turns 10, next July, he can take the Jr. Open water course. Until they are 15 or 16 they still have to always go with a Master diver and not past 30 feet deep. We can't wait!!!!

Glad to hear Jace is home and recovering.

Summer 2009 so far.........

2009-07-17T15:58:00.000-07:00

Since Trent arrived over a month ago, we have been very busy. For the 4th of July we flew on a small plane to Little Cayman. The population there is only about 100 people, so it was very peaceful and relaxing. Trent loved the small plane and all of the good snorkeling.

Last weekend we went to Dolphin Cove. I am still not convinced that it is "right" to cage dolphins, but after our experience, I am secretly glad they do. It was one of the coolest things I have ever done. I am sure Travis and Trent would agree. They are such smart animals. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Tonight Travis is taking Trent to see the new Transformers movie tonight. I opted out as they were due for a father/son activity and I am not the slightest bit interested in cartoon robots. Then Sunday is Trent's 9th birthday party on the beach. Yes, we decided to try a beach party again this year. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

Hope you are all well! Enjoy the pics.

2009-06-26T22:22:00.000-07:00

And you all thought we lived in paradise! We actually enjoy rainy days in the summer!! But don't get me wrong I do NOT want a hurricane while Trent is here!!! Looks like tropical storm forming on top of us right now which means if it turns into a hurricane, it will hit somewhere else. Phew!!!

Clara and Sunni's Visit

2009-06-23T07:44:00.000-07:00

My cousin, Clara, and her friend (now our friend) came for a visit over the weekend. We had such a great time with them! Yesterday we went on a snorkeling trip to Sting Ray City Sandbar. I thought I should post a few pictures for my family. :) Notice how when I am unemployed, I update the site more regularly? Ha-ha!

Now that you guys can see how much fun we had, maybe you should all come down for a visit!! Miss you all!

Congrats to Cassie and Erica!!! Remind me never to drink the water at the lodge, I am still convinced that it was is causing all of your families to expand so quickly!! :)

Welcome Back Beach Party for Trent....

2009-06-16T10:20:00.000-07:00

I sure wish we had some control over the weather! This is the second beach BBQ we have had to cancel due to weather. ARG! We lost power for a couple hours so we ended up heading into town to see the movie "Up". It was cute, but a BBQ would have been more fun! With all of the food we bought, we will have to reschedule soon. My freezer is crammed!

My work permit was refused last week. Apparently it's just a technicality because it was only refused because my employer's business license was expired. Supposedly, that will get taken care of and I will be able to start soon. I am not holding my breath. :) Everything takes a long time to "get sorted" here. But good news is, Trent is here so at least I get to spend extra time with him.

And we have our first summer visitors arriving in 2 days! My cousin Clara and her friend are coming for a long weekend. We can't wait!

Hope everyone is doing well! I'll try to post some more photos soon!

May Trip Home

2009-05-26T14:21:00.000-07:00

Because my new permit is STILL pending, I was able to go back to the States for a nice long visit. I flew into Denver April 30th. We mostly shopped because my personal shopper (Sarah) lives there. There is NO shopping here, so I have to stock up while I am home. Travis said I am now stocked up for the next decade... I wasn't that bad!! We did get a chance to make it to a Rockies game (my first) and spent time with Katie, Bradley, Sam, and the nephews. I also met up with a few high school friends that I hadn't seen in a decade. My last night I was a chaperone for Jackson's 10th birthday party sleepover in the mountains. It was a lot of fun! I can't believe he's 10. I had to swear not to tell his friends that we used to call him "poopy pants" before I was allowed to go. It was successful because after the party was over, we hadn't made any calls to the emergency room. :) We had one night out with Sam and the all of the siblings. It was a blast! It's been a long time since we have done that.

I headed to Janesville May 9th and spent Mother's Day with Trent. It was great. We had a scavenger hunt and root beer floats (our usual routine) Sunday night. Monday I kept him out of school and we spent most of the day making and flying paper airplanes. It was sooooo much fun. I highly recommend the paper airplane book I bought at Target to anyone that has a 6-12 year old boy.

www.target.com/Klutz-Book-of-Paper-Airplanes/dp/B000PUCOUE/sr=1-1/qid=1243373408/ref=sr_1_1/178-0143503-6453051?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=0&index=target&rh=k%3Apaper%20airplane&page=1

For $16.95 you can have hours of fun. I hope he remembers to bring it this summer so we can make more. Speaking of, he arrives June 13th!! Travis and I are so excited. I should be posting more often since because I will have something to write about and cute pics to post.

Meanwhile, I am sitting and waiting for my permit to go through so I can start my new job. I can't wait!! It should go though in the next week or so, but you just never know. The waiting game is annoying!

Hope all is well. Check back in a couple weeks!

I am in trouble again!

2009-04-27T08:11:00.000-07:00

I know, I know! I need to update more often! But unless we have guests, I don't usually have much to write about. We just work until friends and family come to play!

I do have some fantastic news...... I finally got a permanent job!!! I am very excited! I will be doing purchasing, inventory, and accounting for a small retail chain down town. With the economy stinking right now, I am very lucky to have snuck into this job. I am extremely thankful! Besides, if I would have kept temping, I think Travis would have killed me because all I did was whine about it. :) You can only sort post for so long before you start going CRAZY! :) If all goes well with my Visa, I will start on May 25th.

In the meantime.......

I am going to Denver and Janesville!!!! I can't wait! I am very excited to see my families! Now that Bradley moved to Denver, I will get to see all of them in one stop! (If my folks can make it down). Then I go to Janesville to see my other family! I just can't wait to golf and relax! Oh and of course, SHOP! Target here I come!

Trent will be coming to stay with us for the entire summer again! I was wondering what we could do this summer for fun with him. Because the island is so small, it seems like we have already done everything a couple times. But with a little asking around, I have a few exciting things up my sleeve! I think I forget how big he is. That is why I added a couple pics of him when he was little. SO FREAKIN' CUTE! Can you tell I am missing him? :(

As for Travis, he just went home for a long weekend during Trent's spring break. He had a great time, but came back with a terrible cold. After an ER trip and strong antibiotics, I think he's finally kicking it. He also got invited to play a show in Bolivia in a couple weeks! It's a short trip that involves a lot of travel, but I am sure he will have a great time catching up with his band mates. Other than that, he's just been working a lot trying to finish up the job he's been working on for the past year and a half.

Travis brought us back a new Mac on his last trip home, so I have no excuses for not posting photos faster. :) It's our first Mac, so I am taking a class in Denver to figure out how to use all the bells and whistles. Then watch out, I may even start posting weekly! Ha-ha!

I hope you are all well! Take care!!

Let's see here............

2009-02-13T11:42:00.001-08:00

.......What have we been up to? After out Christmas guests went back to the frozen tundra, we went back to business as usual. Work, work, work, a little play, work, work, work.

The big highlight was at the end of the month, when I flew back to Wisconsin for corrective eye surgery. I didn’t sleep for 3 nights before the surgery because I was sooooo nervous. If you remember my blog from September, Gayle and her friend (& coworker, Cheryl) came to visit us for a week. So I knew two people who worked in the clinic which was very comforting.

Kristin drove me to Milwaukee on Jan. 29th in the morning. When I went in I was greeted with a “thank you” package from the girls for letting them stay with us. Then I was taken into a patient room to discuss all the eye drops I was going to need to use. While in there, Gayle came in with a stuffed Gorilla (she named Trav) that I could squeeze while I was having my surgery since Travis couldn’t be there. So nice!! Next Kristin and I went into a waiting area for patients where we watched someone else have the surgery done. The process was so quick that it made me start to relax a lot more (either that or the valium they gave me). Then when it was my turn I went into the room and the Dr. told me he had another surprise for me. He had downloaded some Cash Box Kings (Travis’s band) music off ITunes.com and played it during my surgery! It was so nice. I was only on the table for about 10 minutes and it was finished. I fell asleep in the car on the way home and took about a 3 hour nap. When I woke up, I could see!!!! It’s such an amazing experience. I highly recommend getting it done. I also recommend the office I had it done at www.lasikplus.com . They have locations all over the U.S., but I went to the office located in Brookfield, Wisconsin. I spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with Trent, Emma, Kristin, David, Jean, and Jerry and flew home Sunday. It was nice to spend time with them all. Because I had just had the surgery, I didn’t run the whole time, I just relaxed with them. J

The Wednesday after I got back my parents arrived! They are here for the entire month of February. Then on February 18th, Katie comes too! It’s so nice having them here. They love our new place because it’s on a beach. So my mom goes out in the morning while my dad works for a few hours, then he joins her. They are total beach bums!! :) I don’t know if we are going to be able to get them on the plane on the 28th!

I am still searching for a permanent job. I had a very promising interview yesterday, so cross your fingers for me. :) My temporary work permit is up March 9th so I should know by then for sure.

I hope all is well with you all. I should be posting pictures again after our guests leave so keep checking back. Come visit! We love having company!

Congratulations to Becky and Jacob on their engagement!

Wrong Order

2009-01-07T13:57:00.000-08:00

They aren't in the correct order, but I finally got new pics on! Enjoy!

Cayman Christmas

2009-01-07T13:46:00.000-08:00

I won't bore you with everything we did while our visitors were here like I usually do :) This time I will just say we had an AWESOME time and mis them all already. I will also post photos right now like I have been promising for months. Hope you are all well. Happy 2009!

HUGE SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-12-18T12:36:00.000-08:00

I went to pick Jean, Jerry, and Trent up at the airport yesterday after work. It seemed like I was waiting forever for them to come out through customs. When I finally saw them I hollered over to Trent to come give me a monster hug. But he seemed like he was focused on the doors at customs. So I pleaded for my hug and all he could say was, “Just wait, we have a surprise for you!” I said, “No surprise is as good as a hug from you, I haven’t seen you in forever!” So he gave me a one armed hug because he was still turned around staring at the customs doors. I was looking at the doors too because I was trying to figure out what he was talking about. Just then out walks Emma, Kristin, and David!!!! I started bawling. They are staying at a friend of David’s mothers’ house up near Rum Point for 11 days!!! We then had Travis meet us at Sunset House, and we surprised him too. It’s soooo exciting!!!! They just called me at work and said they are having a blast being out of the cold Midwest weather. Emma is snorkeling for her very first time! Can’t wait to get home from work and play! Thank God I have tomorrow off!!

Happy Holidays!

Dolphmanians........ What?

2008-12-16T08:01:00.000-08:00

Here is a letter to the Editor in today's paper. I don't think I even need to comment...... I live with a bunch of morons!

Dolphmanians a new species

Monday 15th December, 2008 Posted: 17:41 CIT (22:41 GMT)
> Comment on this story
So the dolphins have arrived in Cayman.

What a national disgrace! And I do not use the word national loosely because it was our illustrious leaders who granted all the permits for them to be here.

In our society today we do not imprison persons, unless under the law they have been convicted of crimes punishable by that means.

What right do we have then to imprison highly intelligent creatures simply to make a few dollars for a few greedy people?

It is my understanding that dolphins sometimes attempt to mate with their trainers.
It is my hope that some of our illustrious leaders who were instrumental in bringing them here will fall into the tanks and the attempts will not only be successful, but that offspring will result.
This way we may get a few semi–intelligent creatures among us. Since they would be part Dolphin and part Caymanian – we could call them Dolphmanians. Consuelo Ebanks

The Hitmans Trip to Grand Cayman

2008-11-19T12:12:00.000-08:00

Sarah and Sam finally made it. I am not going to comment on how long it took, or anything about the route they chose. ;) I think we are going to give them the name of a travel agent for next time. We picked them up Monday night at 8:30 from the airport. On the way home, my car broke down in the pouring rain. Since we had no wheels on Tuesday we just hung around our house. We flew out for Switzerland Wednesday afternoon. My car still wasn’t fixed, so we arranged a ride for Sarah and Sam to pick it up that afternoon. When they went to get it, they drove it out of the lot, and it was still broke. So they brought it back and walked to the airport in the pouring rain to rent a car.

Friday night a hurricane category 3 hit the Caymans Islands. I am sure Sarah and Sam can give you more details, since we weren’t here. There wasn’t much damage to Grand Cayman. But our sister islands Cayman Brac and Little Cayman really took a hit. I guess Brac is 90% destroyed. It’s devastating! Sarah and Sam were out of power and water for a day and a half. Good thing we stocked up on candles before we left! A couple of our friends checked in on them to make sure they were okay. When we got back, I found a notepad with tons of card game scores on it. I guess that is all they could do with no power!

We haven’t talked to them because they are in Hawaii getting married and having their honeymoon. The weather did clear up for their last 3 days here. Hopefully their experience in Grand Cayman hasn’t discouraged them from coming again. We’d love to have them come back with the boys!

I will write about our trip to Switzerland in my next blog.

Congratulations to Holly and Kenny on their engagement!

Congrats Sarah and Sam on tying the knot!

Our thoughts are with my cousin Aimee and her family as her little boy is back in the ICU. Hang in there Jace!

I finally have news!!!!

2008-10-29T08:29:00.000-07:00

Time to write again because I have lots of news!

We have a very busy couple of weeks coming up. This weekend we are moving to a new condo. I don’t have pictures yet because we don’t live there. But I promise to get some on in a couple of weeks. The place is on the other side of Georgetown and it’s on the beach. We are on the water now, but it’s mostly reef with one small patch of pretty rocky beach. The new place is all nice white sand. Because the place has been available for 8 months, we were able to talk them down (yes, you can negotiate your rent) to the same price we are currently paying. The new place is just fancier. I think any guests will be more comfortable.

Speaking of guests, Sarah and Sam are coming in 5 days! They arrive Monday afternoon and are staying for a week. Sam (bless his heart) booked a surprise trip for him and Sarah a couple months ago. He wasn’t aware that we already had a trip to Switzerland booked. So, we will only have a couple days with them before we leave. We’ll have to make the best of it! I am sure they will enjoy their stay. It worked out well that we are moving only a few days before they arrive because they won’t have to drive to get to the beach. Now my only challenge is getting our stuff unpacked before they arrive so they can find things when we are gone. I might be in trouble if they can’t find the beach towels and sunblock!

Next on the list is our trip to Switzerland! I know I wrote about it a couple months ago, but I will remind you in case you missed that blog. Travis’s band from back home, Cash Box Kings (http://www.cashboxkings.com/), got invited to play at the Lucerne Blues Festival (http://www.bluesfestival.ch/cms/). It is such a great opportunity for us! It’s a nonprofit festival that focuses on “increasing the awareness of blues music and giving blues musicians a platform where they focus completely on them.” What does this mean for us? Well, they pay for everything including flights, hotel (http://www.schweizerhof-luzern.ch/), meals, and a driver! And Travis gets paid to play! They treat the musicians like they are superstars. They have a couple other shows at local venues while we are there, but we will have plenty of free time to act like tourists. We are sooooooo excited! The band has played a lot of gigs over the past 6 years together, so I think they definitely have earned this trip! I might not be saying that if the wives and girlfriends didn’t get to go for free too! We are getting a new camera this weekend so look for lots of photos when we return.

We also have decided to spend Christmas in the Caymans. Jean, Jerry, and Trent are coming for two full weeks! Travis is trying to convince me to make a full turkey dinner, but I thought turkey legs on the grill at the beach would be more appropriate. I think in the back of his head, he thinks that if I make a full dinner, his mom will make him her awesome homemade pie. :) Either way, we are very excited to have them visit again. We really miss Trent! I am sure he’ll get his summer tan back in no time. We talked to him tonight and he dressed up in his new Iron Man outfit on Skype. It even has built in muscles. He looked so cute! Around Christmas both Travis and I have quite a few days off of work, so we should be able to spend lots of time with them. I hope they like the new place!

We are glad to hear Jace is doing well after his surgery. Take care all and don’t forget to check back in a few weeks for lots of photos!

In the past month.....

2008-10-07T13:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I spent 3 weeks in Denver helping Sarah prep her new house to move in. We painted, painted, and then painted more. She is now living there, although she says she is not moved in because there are still lots of boxes to be put away. I also got to spend a lot of time with Harper while I was there. He is in the stage where he will repeat whatever you tell him to say. It’s great. I was a little easier on him than I was to Jackson at that age. I taught him, “Zip it, Lock it, Put it in your pocket!” and “What does an alligator say? Chomp, Chomp, Chomp!” Not quite as bad as teaching Jackson, “Who let the dogs out? Woof, Woof, Woof!” and “I am going ride that donkey, donkey” both with actions to go along with the songs. I think Katie was pleased overall.

Sarah, Katie, Mandy, Courtney, Lacey, and I also all went to see The John Butler Trio (featuring Lacey’s husband) and G-Love at Red Rocks. I have never been there before. What an amazing venue! We had a blast.

My parents came for a long weekend and we took Harper to the Denver Zoo.

I also went to the International Gem and Bead Show with Aunt Lori, Courtney, Sarah, and my mom. We all found too much!

All of my cute photos from Denver got erased on my camera except a few from the zoo. So, I won’t be many, if any, photos from Denver. L

A couple days after I returned from Denver, I started back to work at the same bank I was at earlier this year. I am working in the same department. It’s nice because I already know all of my coworkers and the basic ins and outs. My work isn’t any more challenging, but it should be getting better in the next couple of weeks.

Last week we had guests! Our friends Gayle and Cheryl came from Wisconsin. Unfortunately, they brought some rainy weather with them. They arrived on Sunday afternoon and got some sun the first few days. But Wednesday – Saturday we had completely cloudy and rainy days. It was a bummer because most of the activities to do here are outdoors(obviously). So they had 4 days inside watching the tube. Since Cheryl is a huge Brewers fan, they watched the playoffs most days. The sun did make an appearance long enough Sunday morning that they were able to both get sunburned before they flew out. Since we have never lived here this time of year, we didn’t know it was so rainy. So anyone planning on a trip down here, should not come in the end of September or beginning of October! J

Not much else going on. Travis’s work has slowed a little, so he may not be working 70 hour work weeks for awhile. He is very relieved!

He is going home to visit Trent next weekend. I am very jealous! We miss him so much! He says third grade is boring, but that is what he says every year about school. His favorite class is still gym. Imagine that for an active 8 year old boy.

Well back to work. I will try to add some photos tonight. We miss you all! Take care!

Gustav

2008-09-01T20:38:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to update you all on Gustav. It ended up going just North of us so the eye of the storm wasn't over the island. It was a category one when it passed us. Travis and his friends all stayed together and played cards through the night. He said it got very windy, but not nearly the amount of rain that they had predicted. He was able to move back into our apartment Saturday night. So he is safe and sound.

2008-08-28T08:22:00.000-07:00

Gustav has changed directions and is now supposed to cross directly over Grand Cayman. GREAT! Don't worry, we are prepared. I am safe in Denver and Travis is all stocked up on food, water, and beer. So don't worry about him. It's only supposed to be a category 1 so just cross your fingers it doesn't get stronger after it passed over Jamaica. I'll try to keep you all updated.

Hurricane Gustav

2008-08-26T12:38:00.000-07:00

For everyone who thinks it must be paradise living here....

GUSTAV MADE LANDFALL ON THE SOUTHWEST PENINSULA OF HAITI...

A HURRICANE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM BARAHONA IN THE DOMINICANREPUBLIC WESTWARD TO LE MOLE ST NICHOLAS HAITI. A HURRICANE WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR CUBA...FOR THE PROVINCES OF GUANTANAMO...SANTIAGO DE CUBA...AND GRANMA.

A HURRICANE WARNING MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WITHIN THE WARNING AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 24 HOURS.

A HURRICANE WATCH MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 36 HOURS.

INTERESTS IN CENTRAL AND WESTERN CUBA AND THE CAYMAN ISLANDS SHOULD CLOSELY MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF GUSTAV.

GUSTAV IS A CATEGORY ONE HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSONSCALE. SOME WEAKENING IS LIKELY WHILE GUSTAV MOVES OVER HAITI...HOWEVER RESTRENGTHENING IS FORECAST AS THE CENTER APPROACHES EASTERN CUBA ON WEDNESDAY.

GUSTAV IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE TOTAL RAINFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 8 INCHES OVER HISPANIOLA...EASTERN CUBA...AND JAMAICA...WITH ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF UP TO 20 INCHES POSSIBLE. THESE RAINS WILL LIKELY PRODUCE LIFE-THREATENING FLASH FLOODS AND MUD SLIDES.
COASTAL STORM SURGE FLOODING OF 2 TO 4 FEET ABOVE NORMAL TIDE LEVELS ALONG WITH LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES CAN BE EXPECTED IN AREAS OF ONSHORE WINDS IN THE HURRICANE WARNING AREA.

ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER

How Scary is that? We live on the sea and are expecting to be evacuated from our apartment tomorrow. I am flying out to Denver and Travis is moving inland to a friend's house. We have to pack everything we want to keep into plastic tubs and haul it to our friend's house tonight. There is obviously a chance that it won't hit us, but it is very stressful and scary waiting. I am sooooo glad that Trent is safe in Janesville. Wish us Luck! I will keep you all posted as soon as I get to Denver.

Trent's last Weekend :(

2008-08-21T10:28:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the summer, we sat down as a family and made a list of things we wanted to do while Trent was here. We were worried that the time would go by too fast. We were right! We had crossed off quite a few items, but still had plenty left. So last Sunday we planned an action packed day.

We started off going to the Pirate Caves. Most of the people we had talked to about them, told us they were lame. Well those people must not have children. They were awesome! They had a mini petting zoo outside the caves. We saw a horse, cow, pigs, crabs, birds, goats, guinea pigs, bunnies, iguanas, and much more. Then they gave Trent a flashlight and he led us through the caves. They have fake(don't tell Trent) gold coins and skulls placed all over. He loved it! Then we went back into the gift shop and they let us hold an iguana. Apparently, they like to be high in the air, hence the one perched on Trent's head. He was soooo nervous, but he's become so much more brave with animals this summer. Check out the photo!

Then we went to see the Blow holes. These were a bit of a disappointment because the sea was so calm, that nothing was blowing out of them. Maybe next time.

We had tuna sandwiches in the car on the way to Starfish Point, our final destination. I can't believe we hadn't ever been there! It was really cool. The water was very warm and the starfish lay on the sand where the water is only 2-4 feet deep. So we just snorkeled out and picked them up. Trent was again a little leery at first, but by the end of the day we had to make him put his favorite red one down. My friend took photos of the three of us, but she hasn't emailed those to me yet, so you'll have to wait!

So our list ended up with only one item left. Not bad.... We will have to go to the skate park next time he comes to visit. Enjoy the pics!!

2008-08-11T08:57:00.001-07:00

I have no excuse for not updating the blog this time. I was suppose to start working when we got back from the States in the beginning of July. But my work permit was rejected. They rejected it because I applied while I was still on the island. They have a law stating that you have to leave the island while your permit processes. They make exceptions to that law if you have dependency pending. I did, so I stayed. They, however, decided not to make that exception for me. Someone must have been cranky that day, but since there isn't an appeal process for temporary permits, we couldn't do anything about it. We had already paid for Trent's Karate day camp and he was really excited to go. So he started on July 21st. I obviously don't want to leave while he is here and miss out on spending time with him. So I just booked a ticket to go to Denver on Aug. 27th for 3 weeks. While I am there, they will apply for my permit again and then hopefully I will be able to work again! I have been very bored because during the day because I don't have Trent to play with. I have asked him if he wants to stay home with me a couple times, but apparently playing with me isn't as fun as playing with his new friends at camp, so I always get turned down. :( You can't blame him, he's 8 and his camp isn't just Karate all day. They go fishing, to the turtle farm, butterfly farm, rock hunting, beach pizza parties... I can't compete with that! I will try to get a picture of him in his Karate outfit tonight and post it. He looks so cute in it.

My days have been consumed with beach runs in the mornings and cleaning and watching movies in the afternoon. Not very exciting, so I haven't had much to write about.

This weekend we have a big day planned on Saturday. Travis isn't going to work, so we are going to take advantage of it! We are heading to the East end to see the blow holes, go to the Pirate Caves, eat lunch at the wreck of the ten sails, and finish up at Starfish Point. We will take lots of pictures so check back next week!

My cousin's baby, Jace, was in the hospital and had surgery last week. He's doing much better now. He's in our thoughts and prayers. Add him to yours too, please.

Trent's Birthday Beach Party

2008-07-20T11:32:00.000-07:00

So we decided to have Trent's birthday party at the beach since it is his favorite place to be. Check out the lovely tropical storm we woke up to today.

So the birthday party will be moved inside our apartment and the brats will have to be pan fried instead of grilled. :( I'm thinking pizza delivery is the best option. Trent is taking it pretty well since he gets to open his presents a day early.

It's a little scary since some of the waves have splashed our porch. The sea is usually calm and clear but today it looks murky and fierce! They say it's just a tropical storm, not a hurricane. I don't think I want to be around when a hurricane hits, because this is bad enough! I thought you would all appreciate that fact that it is not always gorgeous here.

Wish us luck on the indoor party.......

Back on the Island....

2008-07-14T08:31:00.000-07:00

We made it back safely from the States. After all of the traveling Travis and I were exhausted! We have finally caught up on our sleep after a week!

We got to Janesville at 1am on Sunday, June 29th. We went golfing with Jean and Jerry in the afternoon, but only golfed 9 holes because the weather wasn't the greatest. They took us for a drive around town to see all of the flood damage. It's not as bad at Cedar Rapids, but it sure is a mess. We couldn't get our favorite lunch (chicken) at the Anchor Inn because it's completely underwater. They aren't allowing any boats on the lake that we always go boating on because the water is too high, and it is filled with backed up sewage from the two towns north of Janesville. SICK! The Rock River that has flooded part of downtown Janesville is also filled with the sewage. It will take a long time to get that cleaned up. It's pretty sad.

Sunday night we met my friend from Germany (Britta) out to play some darts. Her and her sister (Sonia) were at the end of a three week vacation around the States. It was so good to see her and meet her sister. We had such a fun night. When Travis and I go to Switzerland in November, we are going to try to take a few days to drive to her town (5 hours away) and visit. We can't wait to see her again!

Monday we did a little shopping with Jean, Kristin, and Emma. Emma got her ears pierced! She was a little nervous, but she didn't even flinch when they did it. She looks so much older now! :) That night Travis went to meet up with some friends at the VFW Blues Jam, then he met a couple of our friends and myself out at our local hangout, Weirdo's. It was good to see everyone and relax a little. We spent most of the night trying to convince our friends to get passports and come visit (Ice!!!).

Tuesday we drove to Milwaukee so I could have a consultation for Lasik eye surgery. It went very well and I am going to have it done this fall. I can't wait!!! It will be so strange to wake up and be able to see. I have talked with a few people who have had it done and they say it will change my life. :) Trent says I will look like, "Aunt Sarah" without my glasses. Travis also isn't excited that I won't have glasses anymore. He says he likes my glasses but he will just have to get used to it. Tuesday night we had steaks at Jean & Jerry's. Kristin, David, and Emma joined us. It was a nice relaxing dinner.

Wednesday morning we got up and drove to South Dakota. It took us all day because we took our time. It was a nice drive because we weren't rushing. Thursday we hung out at the lodge and then played our annual July 3rd golf tournament. I got placed on Grandpa Bernie's team so guess what? I Won!! For those of you who don't know, Grandpa Bernie's team always wins. It was a lot of fun. It was really good to see all of my cousins and all of their kids. I swear they are running a breeding factory. I think I know all of their names after spending a few days with them, but next year I am sure the crop will have doubled again and I will be lost. They sure are a good looking bunch. Must be the Stoeser blood..... :)

We spent the 4th at Aunt Lori's house. Uncle Steve took us out on the Missouri River to watch the fireworks. It was gorgeous! Usually the boats are full, so I just watch them from land. But this year, Travis and I got on early. Both Pierre and Ft. Pierre have displays but so do all of teh families that live on the river. So when you are on the boat, they are going off all around you. It was really neat.

Saturday we got up and had a fabulous breakfast with the Armstong's. Adam is going to school this fall in Wyoming for nine months, then to Sacramento for nine months. He is going to learn about building Hot Rods. What a great experience. Sarah and I are so excited for him. Bailey gets her driver's permit this summer too. I can't believe she will be driving. We didn't get to see Hope and Harrison because they were in Iowa visiting her parents. But they are doing well. We also got to tour the new Ag Agency. It's a beautiful building. We could tell how much work they put into it. I think Adam enjoyed showing us his cars in the shop. I want to steal the Galaxie!

Later that afternoon we made it to the Stoeser Family reunion. It was a blast! We saw so many relatives we haven't seen in decades! We chatted and danced until 2am! My grandpa has 4 brothers (I think), so each brother's family dressed in a different theme shirt. Bernie's Camo Bunch outlasted all of the other families. Yellow tie dyes were a close second, but in the end the whole place was left with camos! Maybe next time tie dyes!

We headed back to Wisconsin Sunday morning. We hit horrible traffic in Northern Wisconsin so it took an extra 2.5 hours to get home!! AHHH! We got back around 8 or 9pm and had to get up at 3:30am to catch the 4:30am bus to O'Hare. We got to Grand Cayman around 1:30, but our luggage did not. What's new? This is the 3rd time they have lost it. Fortunately it arrived later that night, so Trent and I picked it up in the morning.

The rest of the week we just caught up on sleep. We did make it to volunteer at the Humane Society on Wednesday. But because of the heat, we decided to play with the cats instead of walk dogs. We were there for 2 hours. They were all so nice. We tried to take "Mouse" home with us, but we aren't allowed to have animals at our apartment. So Trent says we need to move. Our lease is up here in October so we'll see. We like it here but it's the first time in my life I haven't had a kitty and I really miss that. Unless we can find a place on the sea, that takes pets, for the same price, we won't be moving. I'll just have to wait to get a new cat when we move home.

I hope you enjoy the photos, I will be adding more as my family sends me them. I didn't take very many so I am relying on them. My New Year's resolution will be to remember to use my camera. Last year it was to remember to bring my camera and now I am great at that, I just have to remember to get it out of my purse and use it!!

Trent's First week

2008-06-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Trent finally arrived last Sunday (June 8). Since he got here, we have spent almost every day at the pool or the beach. It is all he wants to do. Swim, swim, swim! I don't mind because I enjoy the beach and pool, but I am going to look like a piece of leather by July if I don't start limiting our time there. I wear SPF50, and I am still getting color. Trent on the other hand has the most gorgeous tan. Five days in the sun with SPF30 and he's golden. His skin reminds me of my Dad's. They walk outside pale from winter, and head inside an hour later looking like they have been tanning for months!

This past Saturday we decided to participate in the 16th annual Flowers Sea Swim. It is a one mile race in the sea. They are sticklers with the rules! They wouldn't let kids wear snorkels, fins, or even life jackets. And they didn't have a race just for the kids. You know something shorter, or give them more time..... You had to complete the race in under 75 minutes to get a medal. I didn't think it was even possible for Trent to finish in that amount of time. So I told him he could get out after 20 minutes, then I would swim the rest and give him my medal since he tried. But after 20 minutes of swimming he said he was going to keep going. Travis was on the beach a few feet from him, so we let him keep going and I swam ahead to get him his medal. I finished, got out, and waited. But I didn't see them walking anywhere on the beach. I went to the ceremony stage and set out a towel for us all to sit on. Next thing you know Trent came walking around the corner with his own medal! Apparently the little stinker wouldn't give up, Travis was cheering him on the whole way and he just kept going! He finished in around 68 minutes. Travis said he was so proud of him that his eyes were watering when he swam over the finish line. He was the youngest person to finish the race without being disqualified. In the rules it says you can not push off the bottom or walk on the bottom. So every time he stopped for a break, he followed the rules. I still can't believe he did it. He is very proud of his medal!

Yesterday was the Queen's birthday so we had a three day weekend. I went for a dive with a friend. Travis and Trent snorkeled above us so Trent could see me dive. He thought it was neat. We saw a 6 foot Green Moray Eel!! Scary! We also saw 2 sea cucumbers and a baby trumpet fish.

We spent most of Sunday and Monday at the beach with friends. Trent won't even get out of the water to eat.... He's such a fish! We decided to stay inside today (well, I decided) because it is cloudy and windy. I thought we could use a break from the sun! I will add some photos of the sea swim, but our camera's battery died before Trent reached the finish line. So you will just have to imagine his proud face. :) I also added a few photos from when Jean & Jerry visited.

I have been keeping up with the flood in Cedar Rapids. It's unbelievable! 1300 city blocks flooded? Some of them 31 feet deep! It's so sad. A lot of people don't have flood insurance. Keep them in your thoughts.

2008-05-26T13:33:00.000-07:00

I added pics!!! I will try to add even more tonight.

Overall, we didn't have a very busy weekend. We had a going away party for my Canadian friend Eryn. She is moving back home. That is one thing that is so hard about living in an ExPat community, everyone eventually moves home or somewhere else. It’s such a bummer!

Saturday we went to a BBQ on the beach at Charlie’s (Travis’s boss) house. It was really nice. They had a huge grill on their private beach. The stars were very bright when it got dark. Travis had to take me home at 10:30 because I was falling asleep in my beach chair. It was just very relaxing listening to the waves.

Sunday we took care of household chores. Then we went for a snorkel outside of our apartment. The reef is about a mile out, so it’s quite a swim. We were fine until a barracuda started following us. I basically drug Travis to shore. He wouldn’t turn around and swim because he wanted to keep his eyes on it. So I grabbed his hand and pulled him while he was turned backward. Talk about drag!! We see them all of the time when we dive, but this one seemed particularly interested in us. On the way back to shore we saw a huge sting ray, so that made the trip worth it. Travis said he got his exercise in for the month, but I am the one who did all the work so I don’t think it should count!! J

We don’t have a lot planned this week. We need to prep our house for Trent’s visit. He comes in less than two weeks!!! We are soooooooooooooooo excited!!!! Other than that, we are hoping to have a nice relaxing week with a few dives. We have both become quite addicted and we won’t be able to go much over the summer. So we need to get a few in this week!

News From The Past Month

2008-05-21T08:25:00.001-07:00

I have had quite a few complaints because I have not been updating the site. I promise I will be better this summer. Trent will be here so I am sure I will have lots of great pictures to add. I downloaded all of our photos from the past month last night, so I will try to add some in the next few days.

Since I last wrote…….

I had a great trip to Wisconsin. It was a short trip, but it was still fun. I did a little shopping Kristin. The rest of the time I spent with Trent and visiting with family. One night we had a slumber party for Trent and Emma. I made a scavenger hunt for them and we had root beer floats and watched a movie. They loved it! It was good to be back for a couple days. Travis was very jealous!

Batabano Carnival was a fun weekend. It is a Caribbean tradition. I guess it’s a lot bigger on other islands, but I thought they did a pretty good job here too. It was the 25th anniversary of celebrating the carnival in Grand Cayman so I think they hyped it up a little more than usual. A lot of people dress up in costumes and paraded the streets. I don’t think I will participate in this event ever because the outfits are sooooo skimpy. I will just watch like we did this year.

We just got back from Cayman Brac. We had a public holiday on Monday so we flew to another Cayman island with two other couples. It was beautiful. We stayed at a dive resort. The food was great, the diving was amazing, and it was absolutely relaxing! We did a dive at a sunken Russian ship on Saturday. It was really neat. We were able to swim inside parts of it. SCARY! But other than 4 dives, we just sat by the pool and had a few rum punches (sorry to rub it in, mom). It will probably be a week or so before I get any photos up because we have to get them from our friends.

Travis will be going back to Wisconsin on June 6th to pick Trent up. Then the three of us will come for a visit in the beginning of July. Travis and I will spend half of the trip in Janesville and half of the trip in Ft. Pierre! We are excited to be able to make it back for the Stoeser family reunion. Trent will spend time with his Mom, Step Dad, and brother. We will all return on July 7th and Trent will stay until the 3rd week in August.

When we return in July, Trent will start summer camp. We signed him up to go to a martial arts camp. They also go on field trips all over the island. I think he’s going to love it! June is still in limbo. I may be able to be with him, we may have a friend coming from the States to watch him. We should know in a week or so.

It looks like I might have a full time job lined up. I am waiting to get a contract to see if it is enough $$$$. I hope so because my work permit is up in 2 weeks and I don’t want to temp for another 6 months!!! My temp agency put my resume in for another position too, but I don’t think it is very good money. So cross you fingers for me!! At least there is finally a light at the end of this boredom tunnel!

Hope all is well with everyone. I promise not to wait another month before I write again! Don't forget to check back in a week or so for new photos!