CHRISTMAS!!!!!

This was our first Christmas in Grenada. And let me tell you that it was a unique experience. For our Christmas tree we had few options. Of course they don't have real pine trees here so we could either buy a fake one (for ghastly amounts of money) or we could make one. So being the poor college student family that we are, we opted for the craft approach and decided to make our own Christmas tree. We did this by outlining a tree in black marker, then we all painted it, even the boys. I cut it out and Jas and I made decorations out of construction paper and glitter. And we taped it to the wall beside our bedroom door. All in all I think it turned out pretty well. In fact, I liked it so much I think it will be a tradition in the years to come.
On Christmas morning around 6:00 AM Dyson came into my room and expressed his need of help to use the bathroom. He walked right past the presents sitting on the floor and didn't say anything. After helping him use the bathroom he went back in his room and back to sleep. It was pretty awesome.
Our present opening didn't start until around 7:30, after both of the boys were awake. We all had a wonderful time and received many wonderful gifts. We truly felt blessed to be together as a family.
Jason and I spent our first Christmas together in our own home, but after that year we were living with family. Up until this year. It was a crazy task to try to figure out what traditions we wanted to keep, get rid of, start. This was truly a magical Christmas!

Branch Chritsmas Party

Wow, it has been a long time since I added to this. Since the end of the term I have neglected almost everything except my family. We now get to have Jason around and we LOVE it. He did really well in all his classes so that is an added bonus to the good feelings of the holiday season.
These are pictures of the branch christmas party. Jayson Weir was playing the piano and Ridge was helping. It was so cute. He is going to be a natural!
And the other pic is of Dyson and his friend Ethan. They were angles in the nativity story. They were so cute. This party was right before finals so Jas couldn't make it, but we had a good time without him.

A Hairy Situation

Today Dyson got a new hair cut. I decided that it was time for him to grow up and sport a new look. I have been asking him every few days if I can cut his hair and he would always say "no". But today when I asked him if I could cut his hair, much to my surprise he said "yes". So I sat him down in his chair and pulled out the clippers and set to work. This was the first time I have used clippers on him and he was a little scared but I showed him how they don't hurt and after that he was an angel. He was so brave and sat still for me the whole time, even though he got a little scared at times.
So here is the new and improved Dyson! I think he looks pretty handsome, don't you?

Bali Hi

We kicked off the the holiday season by doing the only thing that made sense. Go to the beach! Of course back home not only would this not have made sense, it would have been impossible. But lucky for us we are living on a tropical island and so instead of bundling up to brave the newest cold front, we are stripping down to our bathing suits to brave the banana boat.
It was the end of term party that happens...well...at the end of every term. It is called Bali Hi and it is the biggest event put on by the SOs. We normally have it at a beach called...you guessed it, Bali Hi Beach. It is property that is owned by the Chancellor and he is kind enough to let us use it each year. This year however, the man who maintains the property was off the island and so we couldn't use it. This would have been a problem but, again lucky for us, we were able to secure a spot at the University Club. It was so much better to have it here. There was tons of shade and seating, kayaks, and a pool! It was awesome!
Jason took Ridge and Dyson out in the kayak (one at a time). Ridge had fun for a min but it really didn't last to long for him. Dyson on the other hand had a wonderful time. Jason took him way out into the ocean and he really enjoyed it. That was until he realized that he was riding on top of a wave and freaked out! This of course caused the kayak to tip over, thus throwing both men into the ocean. Jason thought it was fun but Dyson had other opinions on the subject. Needless to say, they came back to shore after that.
I went on the banana boat again this year to see if I could keep my perfect record. Last term I went twice and I didn't fall of either time. This year was a little different. I was "lucky" enough to land a run with 4 other people 2 of whom wanted to be thrown off. This of course causes problems for anyone who wants to stay on....like me. By the time we were done and heading back to shore we had been thrown off TWICE! Oh well. It was definitely the more fun of the two rides.
We all had a great time at the beach, and hope all of you had as much fun bringing in the new month as we did!