A beautiful adventure

Two weeks ago I went with the spouses to a couple of the tourist sites here on the island.  It was amazing.  It is so beautiful here, and pictures just don't do it justice.  Our first stop was a place called Titou Gorge.  It is a gorge that you swim through and once inside there is a waterfall.  The water is FREEZING!  (The coldest water you have EVER felt, yes Lee that is right, the coldest.)  And it is pretty deep, so you have to swim through it, you can't just wade through.  Once you get inside there is a current from the waterfall, and it is pretty strong.  They did some filming for Pirates of the Caribbean here.  It was so beautiful.

This is the entrance to the gorge.

The waterfall from inside

Swimming up the gorge

One more of the fall

The Gorge.

Our next stop was Trafalgar, it is two amazing water falls.  They call one of them the mother and the other the father.  

The mother

The father

The last stop was Screws Spas.  This is a bunch of warm sulfur springs.  They were really nice to just relax in.  They actually look kind of gross, you can't see in them because they are so yellow, but thankfully they didn't smell.  On the way I was thinking it was going to stink, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Little man with a BIG racket

If you didn't already know- Erick had really gotten into tennis right before we left to come down here.  He had taken a few classes and like everything else he does he went full board with it.  Well Kyler is just like his dad and loves all sports, and since Tennis is what his dad is playing these days, he is just as into it.  Erick and the guys he studies with usually play every night around 5pm.  I know I wonder too how they can find time to play tennis with all the studying they do, but I guess it keeps them sane.  The other day after mini 2, Erick took Kyler to the tennis court and was playing with him, and right from the beginning he was doing a really good job.  But if he hit the ball or not, it didn't matter because either way he was playing tennis!!!

The cutest part is, he thinks he is one of the big boys!

The big news

So- This weekend was a really big weekend for us here in Dominica.

Our "acting" branch President is a fourth semester and will be leaving the island soon, so the mission president came to the island on Friday.  On Saturday he set up some appointments to meet with a bunch of the members; Erick's appointment was at 2:30.  I was at the pool with the kids for a birthday party, and when he was done with his interview, Erick came back to the pool to drop the car off to me. The only thing he said was that he had invited the mission president and his wife over for lunch after church.  So, when we got done at the pool at about 5 pm, I went to pick up some fruit/veggies for lunch and headed for home.  My cell phone rang and it was the mission president.  He asked if he could meet with me for a few minutes.  I said yes, and told him I was on my way home, but that I could turn around and meet him somewhere... The whole time thinking I could just run in the house put some clothes on and comb my hair (remember I have been at the pool for 3 hours).  And he says, oh good, we are at your house now, so I will just wait for you.  Oh great!  There I am in my swimming suit, sitting in the front room with the mission president, his wife and the two elders.  I was so embarrassed.  We talked for a while, and then he said that he wanted to call Erick to be the BRANCH PRESIDENT.  However, he didn't want to make this kind of request without asking if I could support him in this calling. Of course, I told him yes.  He immediately called Erick, who was at the school studying, and asked him to be the Branch President.  President Dewsnup gave me the phone and stepped outside while Erick and I talked for a minute.  Today, Sunday, July 13th they set him and his two counselors apart after church.

Right after they were all set apart, the mission president turned to Erick, and said, "I need to go do an interview upstairs, why don't you go ahead and take care of these temple recommend interviews!"  Nothing like jumping right in!

I know Erick will do a wonderful job, and We are very grateful for him and his ability and willingness to serve in this calling.  We don't really see much of Erick as is, and now it will be even less, but I know he will do a great job!

While we are talking about Erick, he had two exams last week that went really well, one in histology and one in Physiology.  Tomorrow he has his second mini, so we are all hoping it goes well also.

PS I will post pics of the the presidency when I get them.  I forgot my camera at church and the mission president's wife is going to email them to me!

Saturday sayings

Friday came and went before I realized it so.....

Kyler:

"I know"- he says this about 200 times a day.  In fact every time I speak to him he says it!!

Yesterday- mom "Kyler don't dump that milk out on the floor."

                    Kyler "I know"  Then he dumps is out

   mom   "Kyler why did you dump that out on the floor?"

                    Kyler "I don't know"

Kyler really likes to talk as much as Bryn does, which makes for a never quiet house.  I have been trying to help Kyler realize when Bryn is talking and telling him that she is talking first and not to interrupt her, so instead of saying, "Excuse me," when Bryn is talking he says, "BRYN, ME TALKING FIRST!"  One day he will get it, I just hope Bryn survives the learning period.

Bryn-

Everyone morning Bryn comes into our room and says, "Mom can I wake up?"  

The other day at the pool, it started to rain from nowhere, so we were not expecting it, but we had only been swimming for about an hour.  Bryn said, "Mom, I want to get out, I don't want to get all wet!"

This morning for breakfast I made some corn bread muffins, and Bryn said, "Mom, I have a great idea, we can make these from Grandma and Grandpa for christmas breakfast."  I told her okay that's fine.  About 2 minutes later she says, "We can tell Grandpa they are Famous Amos."

(I know it is only July, but we talk about christmas like it is tomorrow.)  Dad they remember everything you tell them!:)

swimming in action

Watch what a great little swimmer Bryn is.  She really is amazing.  At school they call her "the little fish!"  

enjoy!

Milkshakes MMMMM.....

Yesterday Ralna and I decided to load up the kids and go for milkshakes.  The kids have been asking for ice cream for a while, and there are few places where you can get it here.  However, Ralna had heard that Heavens Best Guest House is one of those places.  We loaded all the kids in the car and we were on our way.  The kids had so much fun, and they loved their milkshakes.  We left after school and spent the evening up there.  It was a nice change from our regular routine.

Bryn, Sophia, Kyler, and William 

(John Walker was getting a new diaper.)

ARRRRR........

Some of our friends left the island this week, but before they left they brought a bunch of things over.  One thing they brought for Kyler was this pirate patch, and he has been in heaven ever since.  He is a pirate with a sword, and it is pretty dangerous around here! 

So now Kyler dresses up as a pirate and Bryn is a princess and they are both happy:)