Getz

This is our main form of transportation on the island. Lincoln loves it, to him it's the red race car. It's a Hyundai Getz. If any of you know Josh, you know that he would not be very happy if other people knew he was the owner of anything hyundai. But surprisingly we are both pretty happy with it so far. ALL cars here on Statia look like they have been in a demolition derby the day before. Dents scratches, parts broken off, etc. Might have something to do with the fact that the 2 lanes of the road are barely bigger then 1 lane back in Canada. Most of the vehicles on the island here we have never seen before back home. There are no seat belt laws, carseat laws or talking while driving laws. Lincoln loves it! He gets to ride in the front seat beside mommy or daddy.

Here what the street sign look like here. 

There are  no street lights on the island.

Wrestling Time

Everyday after the kids have a nap. Lincoln loves having Lacey come play on his bed. They love wrestling together. For some strange reason, right after a nap Lincoln tolerates any and all attacks from Lacey. It amazes me how gentle he is with her when they wrestle. They both kill them self laughing with each other. Is so cute to watch! Lacey is always determined to take Lincoln's yellow (soother) from him and she does a pretty good job of getting it from him, most of the time. She also loves to dive on him, steal his monster ( she is abscessed with his red monster and eating his eye ball). I can really see how much Lacey loves her brother. She gets so excited when she sees him, while they are playing together, and being little goof balls.

Cool Corner

Cool Corner is a Chinese restaurant on the island. There are a few of them here on the island, but from what we have been told, this is the best one.  

 I took this picture to show you how the restaurant had put table top fans on the ceiling.

 Lincoln waiting for his noodles. This was what made his evening.
Eating dinner and watching cars and people walk by. 

 This is a street right beside the restaurant.They are hand paved cobble stone roads, done by slaves a hundred or so years ago. The funny part is that THESE roads are the smoothest and least bumpy roads to drive on. I thought that was pretty crazy.

A Frog!

 One night while Josh was at the school studying. I did a load of laundry, remember the washing machines here are out side. I go to open up the spinner side of the washer and there was a frog. So I shut the lid quick and went and got Lincoln to show him. He was so excited to see a frog. As soon as I opened the lid to show Lincoln he jumped out and down our porch, where it then stopped, giving Lincoln a chance to look at it and for me to get a quick poor quality picture, but I got a picture. The frog was about the size of a Loonie,

Zeelandia Beach

Break time from study = daddy time. So we  thought we could go check out another beach on the island. This is Zeelandia Beach. Walking, shelling, and sunbathing are popular pastimes on this 2-mile (3-km) stretch of black-and-tan sand. Its Atlantic-side location makes it dangerous for swimming. Apparently it has really strong riptides that pull people out to sea. There was even a student that died on this side a few years ago. So I don't let the kids swim here. But it looks really pretty!

Linc loves drawing in the sand with sticks that he'd find. I think he got it of the "How to Train your Dragon" movie. But he thinks its pretty amazing.

This was one of my favorite shots of the day. Lincoln's holding a sea shells that he found on the beach and he looks like he is in pretty deep thought about something important.  

Lacey was not impressed that we walked for almost an hour and didn't let her play in the sand. 

Benji The Turtle

 Our friends the Farrell's introduce  us to Benji the turtle. He is over 50 years old and lives in one of the locals front yard.

Benji loves eating bread, that we bring to feed him.
This is usually a stop we make while we are on our morning walks.

Hiding From The Sun

We have a nice porch/deck that has shade in the morning and some shade in the afternoon. We love hanging out on it and you can sit out of the sun and still feel the ocean breeze. 

There is almost always a breeze here which is so nice.

 For some reason with the sand, volcano and such, it feels very dirty here. I dislike that part of the island. You could sweep and mop every day and it would still feel dirty. But it is nice that I can mop the porch since its tiled.

 Lacey loves being able to move. 

She also loves being able to go bug her brother when she wants to.

Morning Walks

We've been going for walks every morning with the Farrell's ( Hannah and the twins, Faye and Eden). It's nice to get out in the morning before it heats up. It's usually 26˚C at 8:00 am in the morning when we go. The kids love it for the most part. 

 Lacey has really grown to love the stroller here and Lincoln loves riding his strider bike while we walk. He's is getting really good on it here. At first it was a bit of a challenge, because the island is very hilly. You usally are going up or down, there isn't much for flat roads. They also dont have side walks here.

These were some flower bushes we passed on our walk that I thought were beautiful.

Art Time

We try to do an art activity each day. Lincoln loves this time of day. Today he wanted to paint on canvas. He loves learning how when you mix two colors together a new color is created.

I'm glad I brought a tonne of art/craft supplies ( one whole suitcase) because there is not much to choose from on the island. They have the basics here, but not much. I sure miss my Dollar Stores. They need one here.

Adjusting to the Statia Life Style

Island life on Statia is a bit different from what we are used to back home. Statia is a Caribbean Island that doesn’t have Resorts, it does have hotels, but other then that, there is the local way of life. To me Island life is what I would call "behind the times". My motto for Statia has become, if it still works keep using it, don’t go buy new stuff. This is a big change from what I am personally used to back home. Form is definitely a distant second to function on this Island.

Roads are tiny, most don’t even look big enough for two cars to fit side by side, but somehow they do. Roads can also be very bumpy, Lincoln is not a fan of them. There are also some cobble stone roads that were apparently built by slaves back in the day. Most cars here are small and have tones of scratches and dents. If you see a nice car it just means that it hasn't been here long.

You will find cows, chickens and roosters wondering around everywhere, they don’t have to be fenced in. Lincoln is a fan of this. He always wants to find a rooster and pet it, not sure if this will ever happen. 

Everywhere on the Island you are on constant water rations, you need to limit the amount of water you use. Baths don’t exist here. Showers do, but its not a real shower, the water just trickles out, it’s just a tease. European washers are very popular here and we are lucky enough to experience one (extreme sarcasm). But in 4 months we will be moving and we will get an American one (yay!). I thought at first maybe the washers are old and out of date, but it turns out that the one we have was brand new last year! So I guess Europeans just like making things complicated. To use the washer your have to first fill the the washer side with water from a hose. Then you put the detergent in with the clothes and let the washer wash them. After its washed you have to take them out and over to a separate rinse bin to rinse the detergent off. Then you put the clothes back in the other side of the washer for the spin cycle, and as for drying the clothes. Dryers do not exist on this island. I’ve learned to do it the old fashion way, put them on the clothesline.

Even with all these differences, we love Statia, the island life. It makes you realize what you take for granted each day. It’s going to be a fun Adventure.

Island Creatures

You can find lizards (Lincoln calls them geckos)
 everywhere here. He is in heaven and has learned 

very well how to spot them in our yard. 

It’s like he’s at the Petstore

 every time he steps outside!

Apparently there are a lot of other 

creatures that we haven’t spotted yet.

 Banana spiders, tarantulas, snakes,

giant wasps, and more I’m sure… 

and these are just the ones on land!

 Lot’s of crazy stuff is going 

on in the ocean as well, 

as I’m sure you can imagine.

Our New Home

Our house is very nice... for Statia. Nice for Statia is different than normal Canadian nice. Our land lords lives above us along with 2 other university students.Our landlords Terry and Mr. Mike are a super nice couple. They take very good care of their house and yard. There is a gate that goes around our house so the cows don’t come into the yard and poop everywhere. From our house we have a very nice view of the Caribbean Sea. Lincoln loves seeing the boats in the water....One thing I should worn you before you take a look at the pictures is things are very dated here, but still functionable. That seems to be the norm. Function is definitely first, Form comes second. 

Our House- We live in the bottom left suite.

 Our Yard 

 Living Room/Kitchen

 Bathroom-There are no baths on Statia. They do have showers, 
but they aren't showers that we know and love back in Canada. 
These showers drizzle a tiny bit of water out, thats about it.

Lincoln and Lacey's Room (Master bedroom)-

The kids have be awesome at sharing a room.

 They got the master bedroom because it was bigger, 

but also because the other bedroom has a door that goes out side, 

and I didnt feel comfortable leaving them in that room.

We love our house, but we will be moving at the end of August into another house 2 blocks away. There are a few reasons for the move: cheaper rent, we will be right next to the Farrell's and an american washer :) 

Hopefully this was a good taste of the Island living for you! 

I LOVE being a mom!

Mother's Day 2013

Happy Mother's Day!

I couldn't be where I am today without my mom. She is an amazing person and has taught me so much. Thanks for all you have ever done for me and my family. Love you lots!

8 Months!

Lacey is 8 Months old! I can't believe it. She has been such a great blessing in our family.
- She has a great personality. She can be demanding at time, she knows what she wants and its usually NOW!
- She's always full of SMILES, unless she is hungry or tired.
- At 7 months she started playing strange with other people, even to to Nana and Papa's.
- She loves playing with Lincoln. Lincoln's still the only one who are get her to really laugh.
- She always wants what Lincoln has.
- At 8 months Lacey has started to army crawl/ crawl (she will switch back and forth between the two), then started to actually crawl a few days later. Along with sitting up on her own. Now she also wants to hold your hands and walk. She is loving being on the move.
- Lacey is also a tummy sleeper like her mom. She loves her food. She would always rather eat what we are eating then baby food, now she just needs teeth.
-She loves morning walks in the stroller.

Fort Oranje

We spent one morning see some local history attractions.

Oranjestad (Dutch: Orange town) is a small town of nearly 1,000 inhabitants, and is the capital of Sint Eustatuis island in the Caribbean Netherlands.

Oranjestad is a historic harbour town. It can be divided into two main sections, the Lower Town along the waterfront with colonial-era ruins, the island's best beach ( where we go to swim) and the still-functioning harbour, and the Upper Town with a restored historic core plus the island's main commercial and residential centre.

 The main historical site in Oranjestad is Fort Oranje, a well-maintained, 17th-century fort in the direct centre of the town, overlooking the waterfront. This cliffside fort has cannons, intact fortifications and a courtyard. 

The town's historical features also include a Dutch reformed church built in 1755, which is partly in ruins but still accessible.