Swimming with Dolphins

Keagan’s Bucket List:

✅ swim with dolphins

Christmas money well spent I’d say. Just another example of how an experience is far better than a material item. Thank you, Oma, Opa, Nonnie, and Grandaddy!

Day #5: Tourist Trap

We took the car to Starfish Point and in water no deeper than our knees, we found a dozen starfish. Much like what we saw in the shallow waters of Belize.

From here we drove to Rum Point to snorkel, but Keagan got plastic wrapped up in his snorkel tube and no fish were present. Although the water was beautiful and there was stellar WiFi access (Evan’s first priority in visiting any new place), there were really too many people for our liking. We dubbed it “The American Tourist Trap.”

We drove to Old Man’s Bay for lunch and again had superb views of the water and great jerk chicken.

Then we headed to Barefoot Beach for snorkeling. It was secluded and hard to find, but we were promised great snorkeling. However, the current was too strong and the view was compromised. Not much was seen. 

I want to make note that both boys have noticed that the local teens wear great shoes - better than those of kids in the States. Therefore, they have asked for us to take them to the Shoe Center Cayman Island. I.Am.Speechless!

Day #4: Livin’ the Dream

Keagan and Wes were up bright and early for a snorkeling trip to Devil’s Grotto. They spotted sharks, parrot fish, and angel fish. These are some my favorites but early wake-ups are not on Evan’s vacation itenerary, so he and I stayed behind. I’m on book number three of vacation and couldn’t miss chapter 22. Sitting in a lounge chair in the sun with a Dr. Pepper and my Kindle is what my dreams are made of. 

After lunch, the boys went for a swim in the pool. 

The highlight of Keagan’s day was his swimming with dolphins tour. He’s wanted to do this for two years, so this has been a longstanding dream. 

After swimming with dolphins, we drove to Hell. We had to take this picture at the local post office.

What would hell be like without some heat? The lava fields make for a great backdrop to the tourist trap.

Evan wanted to buy “I’d rather go to Hell than school” t-shirt at the gift shop. Since he did not bring his own money and I didn’t share his sense of humor, he left empty handed. 

We finished the day at another low key restaurant eating conch and snapper. Please don’t tell me we have to leave!

Cemetery Beach

This morning we took the rental car to West Bay and snorkeled at Cemetery Beach. This part of the island has the most beautiful blue water - very reminiscent of Turks. We also met our goal of seeing a spotted ray! He was beautiful!

We had lunch at a shack on the beach and had the best coconut grouper. 

Then we drove east to see The Blowholes, a series of volcanic rock that has formed air pockets that water shoots from. 

It was - and I can’t believe I’m saying this about rocks and water - captivating. 

The late afternoon is being spent by the pool, by me anyway, watching the waves crash while the boys nap. These boys have slept as much as they have been awake. It’s like they are ages 4 and 2 again with this need for daily naps. God forbid we miss the coveted nap time. 

Sleep or awake I still am having another perfect day!

A Little of This and That

Our day included a little of this 

And a little of that.

I read a book, produced Vitamin D, and took a walk on the beach. My day is done and it could not have been more perfect!

Christmas at the Beach

People, I hit a homerun this year. Isolated, beach front, two bedroom/two bath, and beautiful white sand. This year’s Christmas trip condo is so perfect I have awed myself. After today’s travel adventures, I needed this view. 

We woke up at 4:00 this morning, and at 5:00 we were texted that our first flight was delayed and we would miss our connection to the island. We were encouraged to rebook a flight for tomorrow. Tomorrow?!?! Uumm, no! We continued to the airport hoping for good news. No changes, though. The flight was still delayed. We spent a good hour and a half with an AA agent in Nashville looking for another connecting flight. It was determined we would need to spend the night in Charlotte and try again tomorrow. No offense to Charlotte, but I have zero desire to see that city and I packed no warm clothes! My heart sank! Just as we headed through security, we were texted that the first flight was now leaving earlier than anticipated - so there was a slight possibility we could actually make our connection. But it was too late. Our bags were checked to Charlotte, and although we might make it to the Cayman Island, our bags wouldn’t! 

Fast forward 45 minutes, we landed 15 min early in Charlotte, and then we learned our original flight to Cayman was now delayed. With the change in departure times, we could have made the connection after all! In the blink of an eye, Wes headed to baggage claim to get our luggage, and I headed to the ticket booth to get our original tickets back. I was stunned to learn our seats were taken in that 45 min we were in the air! We were told we could fly standby. Since we were flying standby, Wes had to bring the bags from baggage claim through security. All of my hair products, 6 bottles of sunscreen, and my lotion were thrown away. Wes had to throw away his knife because we couldn’t check the bags (and knife) to Cayman  if we didn’t know if we had made the flight. 

Then a miracle happened! The flight to Cayman had six open seats and we were able to get four of them! I called Wes and he was stuck in security trying to save sunscreen. I told him to toss it and run. Meanwhile, the AA boarding team was breathing down my neck, “Five minutes...only five more and we close the door.” I pleaded that they give me ten more minutes. I promised the boys were running to the gate. Sure enough in the far distance I can see the guys running with all four bags and three carry-ones! With a minute to spare, we made it to the door just as it was closing!

Tonight we are in 84 degree temps, wearing our shorts, eating jerk chicken, and thanking God for flying standby! With today’s stress, we’ve determined we won’t leave our beach chairs tomorrow!

Merry Christmas

Santa made it! Like every good soccer family, the boys were gifted cleats, spirit wear, and running gloves to wear on cold game days.

Evan got the coveted Cowboys blanket and exclaimed, “I finally have a blanket big enough to cover my body.” 

Keagan got his John Wall jersey and Jordan shoes. He sniffed the shoes but was disappointed to report that they didn’t smell as good as they do in the store.

I’m not sure what this means!?!?

This ones better. Isn’t he handsome? 

I ordered for myself and put under the tree a new pair of Vince Camuto booties. Wes ordered four shirts for himself, then forgot about them, and opened them with surprise. Bring 40 something is grand!

Best part of today, though, was checking my email and finding this from American Airlines, “It’s time to check in!” 80 degree temps, the sand, and the sea are 24 hours away! Eeek!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

The candlelight service on Christmas Eve is my favorite time to be in church. 

Sausage balls, loaded baked potato soup, and peanut butter blossoms make for one of my favorite meals. 

Watching the Cowboy game in the afternoon and praying for a win is a tradition as old as I am young. Finding Dak’s jersey wet and drying in the bathroom might be a new twist on an old tradition. When I asked what happened, Evan replied, “We baptized Dak and cleansed him of all those interceptions. Now we got a clean slate for next year.”

Decorating sugar cookies for Santa means Keagan tries to make the ugliest cookie and the biggest mess, Evan cares just about eating them, and Wes and I are the only ones attempting to make a pretty cookie.

Traditions. Merry Christmas Eve. 

Christmas Family Fun Day

Evan and I spent our morning serving meals to the low income and homeless in our city. It was a very rewarding day; even Evan commented that he didn’t mind the day (as long as he didn’t have to clear dirty place settings and empty plates of food.) Once our shift was completed, we started our family fun day.

Few places are more beautiful at Christmas than the Gaylord. The poinsettias. The lights. The waterfalls. The decorations. All perfect!

We wrapped up our late afternoon with German food and Radlers. The only thing missing was our extended family.

Christmas Break

I don’t think I have ever had to go to work on December 21, but I did this year. The boys were out a full week before I got to sleep in past 5:00. Today Evan and I volunteered at the local Christmas event for low income families. We were tasked to put up a tree for tomorrow’s party. This is about the worst thing they could have asked us to do.

First, we don’t care to put up our own Christmas tree, much less a tree in no fewer than 100 pieces with some archaic hook and hang system for the branches. It took three tries just to get it the center pole right. To make for an even more fun morning, the supervisor was caring for five grandchildren under the age of five. There was screaming, crying, empty threats, and chaos. It had me dreaming of the Jose Cuervo in the cabinet and Evan wishing he was old enough to drink.

But we did it! Two and a half hours later, we had a tree with no lights, silver tinsel, a golden angel, and black and white ornaments. It was hardly a beauty.

Evan left the building mumbling, “The things white boys have to do to get into college.”

Victory is Sweet!

Unlike Evan’s basketball team, Keagan’s team hasn’t won one district game. The poor kid loves basketball and can’t even find a team that can win. It never fails, though. At the beginning of each game, even on crutches when he couldn’t play and had every reason to be mad at the world, Keagan rallies the boys. He gives the pep talk and says the pre-game prayer.

We were not hopeful with a win tonight. In fact, at the end of the first quarter we only had one bucket and I told a fellow parent, I would be happy with a score in the double digits. At half we were down by thirteen and, again, I was just hoping for us to be able to leave our home court with an ounce of pride. I was praying we wouldn’t lose by more than twenty.

But then a Christmas miracle happened. We came from behind in the third quarter and tied the game. With two minutes left in the game, we actually had a five point lead. When the buzzer went off, we were tied. This took us into three minutes of OT. Surprisingly, we left with the win! 41-38! 

My #14 did not play in any of the OT, but he took his role of encourager seriously. He was the first off the bench at time outs and the first to cheer when someone else scored. He also did his fair share of sideline coaching. Sometimes, your team wins and your role on the team is to be on the bench. Tonight was a great example of how you can contribute to a team’s win by sitting on the bench.

We now have two full weeks off and we will lose the momentum that would have followed us after tonight’s win. I’m hoping Keagan will be the sixth man needed in January to see to another win!

Together Again

This rag-tag group are all from Clarksville, and two years ago they played soccer together. However, they eventually parted and went their separate ways playing for various clubs in Nashville. Lucky for us, they are back together this winter playing indoor. 

Friday night they had their first game. Our boys arrived in mix-matched colors while the other team arrived in matching uniforms and tucked in jerseys. They thought they had it in the bag when they saw our boys walk in. Nothing could be more deceiving. Our boys won 40-4. 

Keagan reported that after 7 goals the parents stopped cheering. At 15 goals, they stopped clapping. At 25 goals, our parents got up and left. Goals scored with heel flicks made us look like Golden Boot winners; Keagan’s 14 goals made him look like Messi. The other parents just stared in disbelief! Keagan said it was nothing short of spectacular. 

I’m anxiously awaiting our first tourney in January!

St. Nicholas Day

St. Nicholas was delayed this year - something about a delay in finding xl soccer pants even though I placed my order as early as October 27. He arrived just as soon as UPS was able to make it to our house. The boys didn’t seem to mind. They would probably forget if I didn’t say anything about it. However, the boots just don’t hold adult size sweatshirts and the boys associate shoes with sweat, so we skipped the traditional boots.

Keagan’s Spurs sweatshirt was deemed “fire” and carried “heat.” I think this means he will keep it and not burn it. 

Evan dumped all of his candy in his backpack and said it was all gone by second period. I want to say sorry to his morning teachers.

Eighteen days until Santa arrives and twenty days until  I’m on a jet plane to the Caribbean!

Teaching a Teen to Drive

I have seen many friends post pictures of their kids learning to drive. I always thought that was too far away for me to worry about. I filed it away as a future parenting task that I needn’t worry with now. Afterall, in our state your child must be 15 to take the wheel. Then it hit me! My boy IS 15 and he needs to learn to drive NOW! After basketball practice, I let him take the wheel through the neighborhood.

It was the most stressful ten minutes of my life. When a young child ran from his garage into the driveway, just as we approached the house, Evan said the event caused him to suffer PTSD. I guess I wasn’t the only one stressed.

I can’t believe I was 13 when I drove for the first time -  and on a hilly, two lane road at that! After today, I really feel drivers ed is in our future. 

Family Fun at the Holidays

Last week a photo popped up from our trip to the National Botanical Gardens and holiday train show from ten years ago. It was such a sweet memory! The boys were 5 and 3; Thomas the Tank Engine was on a first name basis in our house, and we just had to take the boys to see the holiday train displays. 

I was lamenting that recently the boys’ winter sports schedules have precluded us from doing many of the local holiday events. I have a list of places to go and things to do, but we just don’t usually have the down time. So with a rare, free Saturday afternoon this weekend, I bit the bullet and bought tickets to see a holiday production at the local theatre. 

It was supposed to be a great family fun day. Evan fell asleep within the first twenty minutes - a hard sleep that had his body twitching and his mouth drooling. We let him sleep. At the finale, the audience began clapping. Evan awoke with a start and started clapping, too, even though he had no idea where he was or why people were clapping. 

It was hilarious! Note to self, some weekends should just be for sleeping!