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Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Happy Birthday, PIPER!

Today my 2nd baby is 10 years old. My precious Piper - a sweet, sensitive and wonderful girl with a beautiful voice and all the right dance moves!
We started our day at the beach...which wasn't quite as fun as usual due to the crazy storms over the last two days.

Our usually serene, calm and clear beach...




had a super high tide and was covered in seaweed...not to mention the rather large waves. But at least we had the beach to ourselves...



Chloe and Piper enjoyed the waves...




but Ryder and Lola were none too thrilled, so they played on the playground.







Then we took a walk along the historical trail next to the beach. It was beautiful!


I especially loved the ruins of a home just off the shoreline. It was really cool! Bermuda has quite a rich history, discovered and settled around the same time as Jamestown and even played a role in the revolutionary war. So there are some really cool, really old structures!



Awww....siblings!



And...siblings with a photobomb by daddy!



Then we found a banyon tree and an impromtu photo shoot ensued...seriously, we were there for at least 20 minutes just snapping photos. Only the Huntsman family, you know?
Here's a smattering of photos!







Spiderman hands..not the middle finger!


















We came home and made Piper's favorite dinner - TACOS!!




Followed by PRESENTS! Her fav - her very own iPod!



Daddy had rehearsal, so we had to wait a while for cake. But here it is!




Frosted by Piper herself. And we didn't have any candles...so we improvised.
All in all, a celebration of our sweet Pips!





Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Nothing's perfect!

What a crazy few days! I have been sick, which is way not fun...for anyone involved. I was laid up in bed from Friday night to yesterday afternoon and haven't felt 100% until today. So the kids have been a little beach deprived but they'll survive! We have lots of time still.

The one good thing that came of my illness was that I had to stop. I didn't even want to look at my iPad so if I wasn't sleeping, I actually just watched TV. I've definitely become an info addict, always on my phone, computer or iPad. Having no cellphone service has been so great for me! I'm not a slave to it. I walk to the store without any easy way to call home and I'm fine. And home is fine. We become so reliant on our tech, we forget that we used to get by just fine without it. This 2 month detox is doing wonders for my anxiety level, believe it or not. It's amazing how much less I stress out with less information. It seems counter intuitive, but its working.

I do miss a lot of the conveniences of home. Don't get the wrong idea, Bermuda is a fully developed country, they just have limitations because of their size and government regulations to keep businesses in Bermuda. So basically what I'm saying is that there are no chain restaurants or stores. No Starbucks, no McDonalds or Taco Bell, no Target or Walmart...the only caveat is a KFC in downtown Hamilton. No drive thrus. We don't have car anyway because there are no car rentals in Bermuda. It's fine, we have a beach and a grocery store within walking distance and we can get rides when we need to go somewhere else. There's also a good transit system here, though we haven't ventured on it yet.

It's also a good detox from shopping. The only shopping I get to do is grocery shopping. And when a trip to just pick up a few things at the grocery store is minimum $50, that's enough!

Oh, wait...there is a "dollar" store...





Where everything costs $2.50 and up!

Ok, enough complaining! So the national sport here is cricket - there's a big national holiday next week called Cup Match that centers around cricket between the two on island rivals, St George's and Sommerset. I caught some cricket practice on our way to the beach last week!





I thought it s really cool even though I have absolutely no idea how it is played. It looks like a combination of baseball and croquet!

Lola and Ryder were being adorable on the way to the beach the other day...travel buddies!





We also had a major rainstorm yesterday! Thunder and lightening in the morning, a lovely overcast afternoon, then an even bigger storm in the evening that lasted pretty much all night! It was a lovely cool down.

It's still overcast and stormy, we even got rained on on the way to the store today. The sea was gorgeous! You know how you always read, usually in romance novels, of how the sea reflected the stormy sky? It's true! This was the shoreline across from the market today.













I really just love it.

Now, back to shopping, they also have some interesting new things at the market because some of their merchandise comes from England! Like the chivers jams and this yummy yogurt! It's my new obsession.




Finally, and last but not least, my kids eternally crack me up!

First of all, Steve took Ryder for a walk early one morning and as they passed this....




...Ryder says "Hey, look! A shipwreck!"




Then this weekend when Steve took the kids to the beach by himself, Lola says "I wish the gods didn't put salt in the water." Steve says "Who?" Lola "The gods! The life gods!"

Tomorrow is Piper's birthday! Hopefully the weather will cooperate!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Trouble in Paradise & Paradise in....Paradise

So first, the toilet broke. No big deal, and easy fix, but it's not like there's a Lowes just down the block. But seriously, no big deal.

Then yesterday, the power went out for about 2 hours. Again, not a big deal, though I was a little worried because I needed to get some alterations done for the cast photo shoot that was today. But when the power came back on, the water quit working. Which was a concern. I knew we had a well and the water tank under the house and I wasn't sure what the deal was. But I thought that maybe some pressure just needed to build back up.

The girl who lives in the apartment below our house, Mayeesha, came home and I told her what was going on. She called her brother who came over to look at it. He said there was a problem with the switch and she showed me how to turn it back on if needed.

We had water again for a little while and then nothing again. So I went out to the pump and tried to turn it on. No luck!

When Steve got home, we called the homeowner and she said she'd have someone out in the morning to look at it! Which was good but not too helpful for a sink full of dishes. Not to mention the need of a shower for both of us to get ready for the photo shoot...

So we used our best improv skills and went out in the yard to do dishes, as it was then rain water pump that was out, but the well pump was fine and it supplies water to the yard, toilet and washer.




The girls, washing, rinsing and drying!



Ryder, handing me a knife to put away.

But, a little while later, Steve pulled a MacGuyver to hold the broken switch on so that we could get enough water in the pressure tank to take a shower...



That's my industrious husband!

Then, this morning, someone came and fixed it and we made it to the photo shoot in fine fashion!

We started at a studio with headshots. After getting everyone into costume, we headed out to a conservation area called Spittal Pond. This was our first shoot location.














Absolutely gorgeous! And the photos are going to be amazing! I'll be sure to share them when we get them back.



Walking to the shoot.



I'm just soaking in all of these new environments. I don't think I'll ever get over the gorgeous shade of blue of the ocean.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Bermuda

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Good times in BERNUDA!

One week (and a few days) down!

BerNUDA? Yeah, that's what Lola and Ryder call it, and well, it just kinda stuck!

I'm going to be honest...we don't do a lot here. Lots of chilling out at our little home. And then I really stink at taking pictures. I just don't think about it! Or I forget my phone, because we don't have an adaptor for our camera to our laptop, so I'm relying on phone photos right now.

But here's some snapshots of the week!

Lots more time at Shelly Bay, the beach right by our house. We go almost every day. It's really the perfect beach...calm and shallow.




If the tide is low, the girls can make it out probably over 100 feet and still touch! There are virtually no waves, even when it's stormy out. We really love our beach! The water is just so blue...it's surreal every time we go!



I don't quite know when Lola became such a "poser", but I love it!




I guess it runs in the family!

BTW - Ryder has been fighting a nasty rash around his mouth for about 6 months! Seen here:



While it was getting better just before we left, turns out the cure was BERNUDA!



He is happy! And so adorable.

I have been to rehearsal with Steve a few times now. It's a great way to show some of the unique aspects of Bermuda.




Like they are only allowed one car per household because of the limited roads here, so everyone has mo-peds! Here's a bunch lined up at rehearsal.

Oh, and Lola and her friend Shia! Shia is daughter of one of the producers do the show. Instant BFF's!






Here's a photo of the expensive peppers...these were a little cheaper. $5.99 per lb!



The homes in Bermuda are very colorful! Beautiful, really, though they would probably look ridiculous anywhere else. I'm really in love with the white stepped roofs! But they also share another purpose. They gather the rain which is stored in tanks under the home and provide water for the home! We didn't have much rain at first when we got here so I was a little worried with 6 of us in this small home. But we had some rain the last few days and Steve showed me the tank... we have plenty of water. You do see water trucks that will come give you a fill up if you need it, but I hear it's quite pricey!


Yesterday we finally got out of the house a bit and headed to Horseshoe Bay, one of the most famous beaches here. It's actually right on the coast and it's a limestone beach so the sand is extremely fine! And it has a slightly pink tone to it, so they call it a pink sand beach, though the kids were disappointed that it wasn't actually fuchsia! There is a storm blowing in so the water was extremely rough with severe rip tide, so there were actually advisories not to go in the water. We went in a bit, not to far. Lola, Ryder and I spent most of our time at the cove just off to the side that is completely enclosed by rocks so it's nice and calm and shallow.




Of course we took lots more pictures...on the other camera. Posing' up a storm, of course!

Needless to say, we are enjoying ourselves and the show is going well. I'll try to remember to keep my camera with me and take more interesting photos!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Our Bermuda Adventure - THE BEACH!

So here's where we live for the next 2 months...geographically speaking.




Which happens to be a 10 minute walk...




Along some very narrow roads without sidewalks...(but people drive slowly and they aren't that busy)




And a busy road, with sidewalks...




With this view of water to the left...




And arrival at this beach...




Where we are happy to pose dramatically....




And swim for hours!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad