Our last week in Cayman we stayed in a vacation rental in West Bay. Jeff’s Resort is a really nice place. They are houses and there is a huge yard with chickens running around. The kids love their chickens so had fun their last week since they were already out of school. Eric worked the last week and managed to get everything wrapped up. It was much easier wrapping business up than it had been in Oman. It was sad to say goodbye to all the kids and friends at school but we didn’t have much time to reflect. On Sunday, July 4, we were off to Minnesota to see the family.
We have all enjoyed our five weeks hanging out at the lake with family. The kids are exhausted at the end of every day after chasing around with their cousins from the Kirby and Hodgins clan. Playing with the toys and dressing up in the basement, swinging, playing on the beach, running all over the place and even smores by the campfire keep them going until well after bedtime! Alex has only been for one swim as he proclaims the water is too cold, so Ellie hasn’t even really tried. I think the water is really nice and even watching all the other kids swimming can’t coax them in. The weather has been really nice, not too hot and not too much rain. We did have a tornado warning one night. The kids were asleep so I carried them down into the basement. A couple hours later after the all clear I carried them back upstairs to their beds in the library. They stayed asleep the entire time so don’t even remember their first tornado warning! We make room in our daily routine to go to the Dorset House for ice cream everyday. Eric loves his milkshakes and Alex is reliable everyday with “vanilla in a cup, no sprinkles”. Ellie is always having something else, different flavour, cup or cone, always with sprinkles. Her favorite is the clown sundae. All the girls at the ice cream counter know the kids and they love sitting on the old-fashioned stools at the counter and watching the girls work behind the counter. Ellie insists when she gets bigger she wants to work behind the counter.
We went with the Grandma and the Kirbys to the Hubbard County Fair. The kids love seeing all the animals and eating lots of junk. They even went on their first ferris wheel ride. We all went to Bemidji to see “Toy Story 3” in 3D. This was Alex and Ellie’s first movie in a theatre. They loved the movie and were really good. They took off the 3D glasses half way through but didn’t mind. They are still quoting lines from the film and asking questions about different parts of the film. I loved it too so we can recommend it to people of all ages. We have also been to the Logging Camp twice for breakfast and the kids enjoyed the whole experience, especially seeing the chickens and eating at big tables with unbreakable dishes.
We have all been to Zhateau Zorba’s twice on a Sunday afternoon to watch grandma Gwen and papa Denny with the Upper Mississippians. ( The kids refer to it as “The Dancing Restaurant”) The first sunday the world cup football final was going on so there was double the entertainment. The kids love the music and the pizza. The second time we went down on the Hodgins pontoon boat. Alex and Ellie just love being out on the pontoon boat and Uncle Brad is an awesome captain, making sure everyone has a great time. We have had a fantastic time getting to see so many of our wonderful family: besides Grandma Gwen and Papa Denny, we have had a fab time with Herman, Patty, Melanie, Jay, Tricia, Jimmy, Barbara, Matt, Tam, Brad, Roro, Maia, Reese, Siri, Leah, Elyette, Jona (I saw him for just a couple minutes), Benji, Bronwyn, Luca, and Buzz. Everyone has been so helpful and we can’t wait to see you all again somewhere and soon!
It hasn’t been all fun and games. While we are having fun at the lake, Emma has been working hard in Brisbane. Besides being really busy at work again, she has managed to find a rental house for us, furnish what is not coming in our shipment, find a minivan, and get out with family and friends quite a lot. She also finished up Ellie’s Australian passport which we now have in hand. Ellie has now joined Alex as not only being American, but also Australian.
A couple weeks ago Benji came down with Lyme disease. I think last year only about 39,000 people in the US came down with Lyme disease. Not many days after he was diagnosed Ellie started getting red blotches. At first I thought it might be an allergy again as she has several allergic skin reactions to unknown things. More developed and finally the owner of the Ice Cream place even started saying Ellie should be checked for Lyme disease. The red bulls-eyes on the her skin were increasing so we decided to take her to the doctor. Friday was our last chance before the weekend but Eric was driving the Kirbys to Minneapolis as we needed to have the van back up north. Grandma Gwen took Ellie off to the doctor. The doctor pretty quickly confirmed Ellie had a classic case of Lyme. (The doctor said ten years ago she almost saw no cases at all in this area and now she sees cases almost daily!) State law requires a blood test even when it is obvious. Since she is so young, instead of having her go to the lab, the lab sent three people over to the doctor’s to draw the blood. They sent three people because they assumed they would be needed to hold the little girl down as she screamed and writhed. She lay there quietly while the put the elastic strap on her arm and drew the blood from her arm. There were no tears and no screaming, the extra people were not needed at all. Ellie even told the doctor how much she liked her pony tail and commented on someone else’s nice shoes! The next morning we could have used the extra people as Ellie screamed and refused to take her antibiotics. We have worked out a solution and she eagerly takes her medicine now. All that was required was to give her very small spoonfuls, so what should be two spoonfuls of medicine now takes 10, but she smiles the whole time! The red bulls-eyes on her skin are long gone and she should be fine after completing her medicine.
I have really enjoyed spending so much time with my kiddies. We are having a great time but the kids have initiated a new form of family time that I don’t know I am so keen on. I now refer to it as family poo time. Any time any of us has to use the toilet, everyone else is required to come. (This is not at my insistence, but at theirs.) We have family discussions on all sorts of topics while we sit in the toilet waiting for one or the other to finish their business. Fortunately here in the States, there are a lot of large family and handicapped toilets so we have space. It is not nearly as much fun when we spend our family poo time on the airplane toilets. In an attempt to make my blog more interactive, I have a literary competition for all our loyal readers. (I am sure that number is going down as I spend more time discussing poo!) I believe there is a saying “A family that plays together, stays together”. My challenge is to complete the new Block age -old wisdom. “A family that poos together,...............”
I have been married to my lovely wife for just about 8 years now (2 days short) and we have lived in four different countries. ( It is a good thing I got out of the military so I wouldn’t have to move around so much!) We won’t be together to celebrate our 8 years on August 10. The good news is that on August 11 we will start year number 9 together in our fifth country. Alex, Ellie and I fly out of Minneapolis to Brisbane on Monday afternoon, Aug 9, and are scheduled to arrive in Brisbane on Wed morning, August 11. Wish us luck, I am going to need it on the trip....catch you on the other side!
We have all enjoyed our five weeks hanging out at the lake with family. The kids are exhausted at the end of every day after chasing around with their cousins from the Kirby and Hodgins clan. Playing with the toys and dressing up in the basement, swinging, playing on the beach, running all over the place and even smores by the campfire keep them going until well after bedtime! Alex has only been for one swim as he proclaims the water is too cold, so Ellie hasn’t even really tried. I think the water is really nice and even watching all the other kids swimming can’t coax them in. The weather has been really nice, not too hot and not too much rain. We did have a tornado warning one night. The kids were asleep so I carried them down into the basement. A couple hours later after the all clear I carried them back upstairs to their beds in the library. They stayed asleep the entire time so don’t even remember their first tornado warning! We make room in our daily routine to go to the Dorset House for ice cream everyday. Eric loves his milkshakes and Alex is reliable everyday with “vanilla in a cup, no sprinkles”. Ellie is always having something else, different flavour, cup or cone, always with sprinkles. Her favorite is the clown sundae. All the girls at the ice cream counter know the kids and they love sitting on the old-fashioned stools at the counter and watching the girls work behind the counter. Ellie insists when she gets bigger she wants to work behind the counter.
We went with the Grandma and the Kirbys to the Hubbard County Fair. The kids love seeing all the animals and eating lots of junk. They even went on their first ferris wheel ride. We all went to Bemidji to see “Toy Story 3” in 3D. This was Alex and Ellie’s first movie in a theatre. They loved the movie and were really good. They took off the 3D glasses half way through but didn’t mind. They are still quoting lines from the film and asking questions about different parts of the film. I loved it too so we can recommend it to people of all ages. We have also been to the Logging Camp twice for breakfast and the kids enjoyed the whole experience, especially seeing the chickens and eating at big tables with unbreakable dishes.
We have all been to Zhateau Zorba’s twice on a Sunday afternoon to watch grandma Gwen and papa Denny with the Upper Mississippians. ( The kids refer to it as “The Dancing Restaurant”) The first sunday the world cup football final was going on so there was double the entertainment. The kids love the music and the pizza. The second time we went down on the Hodgins pontoon boat. Alex and Ellie just love being out on the pontoon boat and Uncle Brad is an awesome captain, making sure everyone has a great time. We have had a fantastic time getting to see so many of our wonderful family: besides Grandma Gwen and Papa Denny, we have had a fab time with Herman, Patty, Melanie, Jay, Tricia, Jimmy, Barbara, Matt, Tam, Brad, Roro, Maia, Reese, Siri, Leah, Elyette, Jona (I saw him for just a couple minutes), Benji, Bronwyn, Luca, and Buzz. Everyone has been so helpful and we can’t wait to see you all again somewhere and soon!
It hasn’t been all fun and games. While we are having fun at the lake, Emma has been working hard in Brisbane. Besides being really busy at work again, she has managed to find a rental house for us, furnish what is not coming in our shipment, find a minivan, and get out with family and friends quite a lot. She also finished up Ellie’s Australian passport which we now have in hand. Ellie has now joined Alex as not only being American, but also Australian.
A couple weeks ago Benji came down with Lyme disease. I think last year only about 39,000 people in the US came down with Lyme disease. Not many days after he was diagnosed Ellie started getting red blotches. At first I thought it might be an allergy again as she has several allergic skin reactions to unknown things. More developed and finally the owner of the Ice Cream place even started saying Ellie should be checked for Lyme disease. The red bulls-eyes on the her skin were increasing so we decided to take her to the doctor. Friday was our last chance before the weekend but Eric was driving the Kirbys to Minneapolis as we needed to have the van back up north. Grandma Gwen took Ellie off to the doctor. The doctor pretty quickly confirmed Ellie had a classic case of Lyme. (The doctor said ten years ago she almost saw no cases at all in this area and now she sees cases almost daily!) State law requires a blood test even when it is obvious. Since she is so young, instead of having her go to the lab, the lab sent three people over to the doctor’s to draw the blood. They sent three people because they assumed they would be needed to hold the little girl down as she screamed and writhed. She lay there quietly while the put the elastic strap on her arm and drew the blood from her arm. There were no tears and no screaming, the extra people were not needed at all. Ellie even told the doctor how much she liked her pony tail and commented on someone else’s nice shoes! The next morning we could have used the extra people as Ellie screamed and refused to take her antibiotics. We have worked out a solution and she eagerly takes her medicine now. All that was required was to give her very small spoonfuls, so what should be two spoonfuls of medicine now takes 10, but she smiles the whole time! The red bulls-eyes on her skin are long gone and she should be fine after completing her medicine.
I have really enjoyed spending so much time with my kiddies. We are having a great time but the kids have initiated a new form of family time that I don’t know I am so keen on. I now refer to it as family poo time. Any time any of us has to use the toilet, everyone else is required to come. (This is not at my insistence, but at theirs.) We have family discussions on all sorts of topics while we sit in the toilet waiting for one or the other to finish their business. Fortunately here in the States, there are a lot of large family and handicapped toilets so we have space. It is not nearly as much fun when we spend our family poo time on the airplane toilets. In an attempt to make my blog more interactive, I have a literary competition for all our loyal readers. (I am sure that number is going down as I spend more time discussing poo!) I believe there is a saying “A family that plays together, stays together”. My challenge is to complete the new Block age -old wisdom. “A family that poos together,...............”
I have been married to my lovely wife for just about 8 years now (2 days short) and we have lived in four different countries. ( It is a good thing I got out of the military so I wouldn’t have to move around so much!) We won’t be together to celebrate our 8 years on August 10. The good news is that on August 11 we will start year number 9 together in our fifth country. Alex, Ellie and I fly out of Minneapolis to Brisbane on Monday afternoon, Aug 9, and are scheduled to arrive in Brisbane on Wed morning, August 11. Wish us luck, I am going to need it on the trip....catch you on the other side!
