Mayan Eden Park in Spanish Town

 Please forgive the following posts. I have spent hours trying to figure out why the formatting is screwed up. Sorry, I am giving up for the night. This is JoJo with a boa constrictor. All the kids took a turn holding it while the guide held it's head.
 Gabe was the most reluctant to hold it but after seeing everyone else, we finally convinced him to hold it for the picture. I had no idea he was scared of snakes.

This is a watusa. It is also known as an island rabbit, though it does not have long ears and does not hop. It has normal legs and runs around like a little rodent. They are around our house from time to time but are so cute. I loved finally seeing them up close and knowing how course their fur actually was.

Mayan Eden Continues

What cute kids we have. I feel so blessed that we are in a land where the kids get to learn about culture and see things that they would not normally get to see. It is my hope that they grow up well rounded and educated and that they will know there is a whole world of experiences out there to take hold of.








 These are some of the replica ruins on the grounds of the park we were at.














Gabe had fun climbing and sitting all over the ruins. Luckily the guide was pretty laid back and did not mind his exploration.



















This huge branch made a natural swing at the entrance of the park. All the kids took turns swinging on it.

Monkey Time at Mayan Eden

The Mean Critter

 So, I might need to figure out what he is called before I tell this story in JoJos baby book. We were walking around the Mayan Eden park and JoJo walked over to the cage of this thing. The guide saw her heading there and ran to her, but it was too late. It snagged  her finger with it's razor sharp front teeth and suddenly there is blood dripping down her fingers and all over her clothes. Louis wrapped it in Grandma's hankie, but it still bled all over.






She was brave and didn't shed tears, but we were pretty surprised how sharp the teeth were on that animal. The guide showed us it had 2 super sharp front teeth and it grunts and snorts and growls like a mean boar, rather than this little island animal.

Daddy's Birthday

 I surprised Louis with sushi dinner and a pac-man birthday cake. No, I did not make the sushi. :) There is an amazing chef that works for us at Vintage Pearl. He took the opportunity to show off his artistic talent and wow us with his amazing food. It was truly delicious and soooo beautifully presented.
 The flower is actually pickled ginger and the leaves are wasabi.
 I loved making this cake. Of all of the theme cakes I have made for my kids over the years, this was soooo easy and stress-less. He thought it was so great too.
 It was a great day for him to not have to go to the resort to work. The kids took full advantage of having him home for the whole day too. Thank you all for your birthday wishes for Louis and for me when it was my birthday.

Movie Night

 Guy, Tina and Lynn are going to be staying at our house for awhile. Tina and Lynn will be here for 2 weeks and Guy for 6 weeks. I moved the things around in the loft upstairs to make a bedroom area for Guy and  Tina. The kids were so excited to see a full bed in place of the futon, they were sure it was a cause to celebrate with a movie. Even JoJo was sitting so quietly watching the movie, I thought it was a great time to get a picture of them all together.

The Dock Platform

 

After a while, the kids got finished snorkeling and were ready for the next adventure. Gabe asked....well, actually he begged, if he could jump off the tallest platform at the dock. It is very high and is on the far end of the dock so it is pretty deep open water he is jumping into. He called it the "tippy-top." You are only young once right :) I made each of the kids jump off the middle section first to see if they could brave that height before I let them go off the highest part. Kiah and Gabe still wanted to jump off the high part. Kenda, JoJo and I watched from the lower portion while they jumped.
 This is a cool shot of Kiah jumping off the high platform.
 This is Gabe, full of confidence, awaiting his turn to jump off the tippy top. A gentleman on the dock reminded Gabe to hold his mask when he jumped so it wouldn't come off when he hit the water.
 He is such a cool dude. He just has such calm confidence. When he landed in the water, he looked up and said "Oh yea, ...no mask holdin!" I think he thought he was twice as brave because he didn't hold onto his mask and it still stayed on. Are all little boys this daring? Watch out teenage world. I am in for it!

Snorkeling in Sandy Bay

 Last week we had a long Friday. After playing at the pool for a while the kids were bored and wanted a new adventure. I decided to take all 4 of them down to the dock by our house so they could snorkel.  This was their first time to snorkel off the dock. Normally we just let them snorkel off the shore by the resort.
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 After gearing up and lots of munchy breaks, they hopped in the water and started exploring around the dock. There has recently been an octopus living under the dock and sea turtles near by. I held JoJo on the dock while they explored. They saw lots of fish, but were not ready to venture out far enough to see more without Louis or I.

Pool Time with Dad

 Louis came home from work early the other night and told the kids "hurry and get ready and we will go to the pool". They were so excited. You should have seen them all running around like chickens with their heads cut off to get ready. They had lots of fun until the mosquitoes started to realize it was time to come out and play. JoJo has figured out how to use a floatie in the pool which makes it so much easier for all of us to enjoy pool time.

JoJo's Owee

 For those who wonder if JoJo will be anything like Gabe and Kiah who were constantly covered in ow-ees, I thought you would appreciate seeing her first real war wound after fighting it out with the pavement. She was running along Kiah and lost her footing. She plowed face first onto the ground. Her eye just keeps getting more red and puffy. I am pretty sure it is going to leave a nasty bruise under the sore. Poor baby!