Going Out

Going Out, originally uploaded by kidsideup.

This was taken on Provodenciales - TCI/BWI
I took this pic on the night that Mike and I spent a ridiculous amount of money to have a dining experience we will NEVER forget. Seriously? Best meal EVER.
So, the reason I took this shot is two fold -
1 - My lower lip was still incredibly swollen from being sunburnt (NEVER sunburn your lips)
2 - My legs are NEVER tan, I mean, my legs have been tan very, very few times in my life, despite the number of years we spent living in the desert.
There are some of you out there, who would look at my legs in this picture, and then look at your own and think that I really don't have any color in them at all, BUT what you have to know is that at any other time of the year? My legs match the boat ;)

(Great shoes huh? They're mom's, I'm SO SO glad I have a mom who wears the same size shoe as me and has such great taste. All I brought were flip flops.

Some Cabin Pics

These aren't new to me, just new to you.  All were taken by Grace.  Thanks!

The kids both wore really interesting winter outfits, this was the trip that I forgot ALL of their winter gear.  Fortunately I made them both wear their shoes in the car - I don't always on long drives.

Emma with the dog in her princess nightgown, she comes up with some pretty interesting outfits when we're out and about.

Why I Haven't Posted

Been sewing.  Now I'm cleaning after letting my children run amuck for days.

www.flickr.com/photos/kidsideup

My Parents are Awesome

The Weekend after Christmas

I LOVE this shot of all of us!

Merry Christmas

The great thing about only taking 5 pictures on Christmas morning, is only having to sort through 5 pictures of Christmas morning. I think I picked the best ones, what do you think?





Emma and Mike on the far left. My dad reading the new Skippyjon Jones book to Jack, my mother sitting with her dad and my brother who dared to expose his really awesome girlfriend to his crazy family.

Emma Helping

The other day the kids got out of the bath and I was downstairs cooking dinner. I heard Emma from upstairs, "Don't worry Jack, I'll help you get dressed."
This is what he showed up with. He was pretty pleased with himself.





No proper girl outfit is complete without panties.

Boys (Exasperated Sigh)

The Scene


The Culprit (a satellite dish obscured by snow - which was blowing away at the time)


The Attempt


The Landing


The result


The amount of sympathy he got from his wife.

Jolene and Mike Take a Trip

On one of our days in TCI (Turks and Caicos Islands - British West Indies) Mike and I took off on our own. We took a shuttle ferry, at this time of year we THE ONLY white people in site. We were handed the keys to a small rental car and given instructions to leave it unlocked with the keys under the mat when we left the island.
Our first stop was these really awesome plantation ruins. Many American loyalists left with their slaves when the American Revolution began. This is what's left of one of those plantations. This island (as well as many others) boasts being the landing point of Christopher Columbus.
We drove down this small dirt road for a very long time in a very small car, then walked up a very long rock-walled entrance to come to a locked gate. There was NO WAY that I got up at 5 am to photograph ruins in the morning light for no reason. Fortunately, the gate was sturdy.





One of the coolest places we went was Dragon Cay - Google image has some way cool pics of this amazing spot. The "resort" here is really great and the spot was just amazing. The ocean is roaring on both sides and it's shallow enough to walk out to dragon cay.


After Dragon Cay we went to the bat caves. Huge limestone caves. There's this older guy who sits outside of the caves with a book and a radio - he was really nice and gave us a great tour. And yes, there were bats but the pics aren't great.




This last spot in Sapodilla Bay. There's a lot for sale here. If I had 250,000, it would be mine. You can see Moonshadow anchored out in the bay.


On the hill where Mike and I are standing are these carvings in the rocks. Many were done in the mid 1700's by sailors who were stranded, boat names, dates and where the ship wrecked are written down. People came later - 1800s to put their marks on the rocks, the first leader of the TCI as well as some other prominent figures. It was fascinating.

Pet the Pet Sharks

I have to say, the sharks were definitely high on the list of favorites. I have LOADS of pics of us petting the sharks. They were awesome. Mike, my mom and I all went snorkeling there, it was amazing to be in the water with them like that, but also a little scary. They're big and move way faster than us when they're not even trying, they're wicked fast when they want to be.


Don't pull the tails?? Are they just TRYING to ruin Jack's fun??








At high tide, the lazy beasts would lounge on the dock. Just before we left, I walked out there with them. Really cool.