BEACH BASH-- Bahamas style

Yesterday was Erick's second Mini of 3rd semester!  Usually after the first Mini Ross sponsors a beach bash.  However, things were not ready after Mini 1 this semester, so they did it after the second Mini.  

It was so much fun.  We got to the beach about 4pm.  There was football going on, volleyball, and water games.  Kyler brought his soccer ball, so we played that for a while as well.  There were 2 kayaks that you could just take out.  I took Bryn out for quite a ways and Erick took Kyler.  The kids mostly just played in the sand and water and had a great time.  They served hamburgers, hotdogs, and BBQ chicken wings.  It was a great night.  

Kyler and Erick in the Kayak

Bryn's Sand Angel

Bryn and Aspen COVERED in sand

Getting covered in sand

Having a great time in the warm water!

Erick playing volleyball

A cruise ship coming in

Playing soccer with Doug

The beach!

It will never happen to me.....

Have you ever heard a really bazaar story that has happened to someone else and thought to yourself, "That will never happen to me."? Well I have to admit, I think that a lot. When I hear stories, I think how horrible it must me to go through, then I usually think about how grateful I am that is wasn't me, and finally I come to the thought, of "that will never happen to me."
So here is my advice to you- Don't think that, or it probably will happen to you.
I had just heard a story about someone getting their identity stolen and a bunch of money, and at the end of the story thought, "that will never happen to me.".........
Here is our story:
This morning, I got on the computer to check emails, and do my regular morning routine. When I went to my bank account there were some charges that I had no idea what they were. I couldn't imagine Erick had made them, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions before I asked Erick about them. That could be very embarrassing to get the bank on the phone and claim to have never spent the money to later find out your husband had!!! So I sent Erick a message asking him to look and see if he know what they were. He of course sent a message right back that they were not his! While I was waiting for the clock to strike 10am, the phone rang. It was a lady from QVC (where one of the purchases was from). She is calling to verify that I had really ordered the HOME STEREO SYSTEM!!! Okay first of all, I don't even own a couch what am I going to do with a home stereo system. So I explain that I had just seen the charges and that I had not made the purchase. She said she would cancel it. I asked where it was being sent to and she told me she could not give me any information about the purchase other than it was to be delivered in Massachusetts. When I got off the phone it was exactly 10:00, so I called the bank. After waiting for an hour, which come on, you are going to tell me that right at 10:00 "all operators are currently assisting other customers"? I don't think so! I guess what happened was I called as they were turning the phone system on and my call got "lost". I would probably still be on the phone, because I was petrified of loosing my place in line, but thankfully Erick who knew I was still waiting tried to call and got right through, so he sent me a message to hang up. Right after I hung up the bank called me. So Erick is on the phone at the school with the bank and I am now on the phone with the bank at home. She was calling to verify a purchase from Bed Bath & Beyond. I explained to her what we knew, what the lady at QVC had said and that Erick was on the phone with someone else at the same time. As I am talking to her a purchase came through for Forever 21, and iTunes. It was like living a nightmare. The charges wouldn't stop and the thought of someone having ALL my information tied to my debit card was really freaking me out. They kept asking me if I could stop in to a branch and get it all sorted out, but the fact that I am out of the country makes that a little difficult!
Long story shortened a little.. We now have to deal with paperwork long distance to get all the money back and change all the information on our account. I then spend the rest of the day on the phone with the Social Security Administration, the major credit reporting agencies and the bank. Hopefully we have it all under control now, but what a mess!

A really nice visit from Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa Anderson came to visit last Tuesday. The kids were so excited to go pick them up. Luckily we had a birthday party to go to before they came in, or I don't know that we would have survived the wait.
They took the cruise ship over from Fort Lauderdale which arrives on the island around 1pm. The kids and I went to pick them up. Erick of course was at the school and was sad he couldn't go with us. After we got home and the kids showed them around, we went to the beach. It was a very COLD day, so the beach wasn't as much fun as it is some days. But they got to see how beautiful the beach and the ocean is here. On Wednesday we headed out to the Garden of the Groves, it was beautiful there. Kyler's favorite part was the ducks. They had a pond with a few ducks in, and one of the ladies working gave the kids some bread to feed them. I think Kyler could have stayed there all day! Bryn says her favorite was the playground. We also visited Port Lucaya where all the shopping and restaurants are. It was a really nice day. Then on Thursday we spent the day at the Lucayan National Park. There are 2 caves you can see (unless you go in June and July because they fill up with bats and the caves are closed!) They were really interesting. On the other side of the park, was a trail down to the beach. We had a picnic on the beach and collected MANY shells. We all had a great time and enjoyed the day. That night we went to dinner at a place called CaribStyle. It was a local bar with really good food. Then Friday came all too fast. The cruise ship left at 5pm, but they had to be there around 3:30. So we hung around the house in the morming, and then visited the International Bazzar. There is not much left of the Bazzar after the last big hurricanes came through, but the area is really interesting and the buildings are fun to walk around and see, so we saw that and then came home. After one last trip to the beach we headed out to the cruise ship port.
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for a great few days. We are so glad you were able to visit and spend a few days with us. We miss you again already!

A friend we meet at the Lucayan National Park

Inside one of the caves at the park

Feeding the ducks with Grandpa

The Garden of the Groves

The first trip to the beach. Not warm enough for Grandma's swimsuit

Can it really be......

BRYN HAS A LOOSE TOOTH!!!!

First of all, Bryn has been a little jealous of her cousins that are her same age all loosing teeth.  She keeps asking me when hers will fall out.  

Tonight as I was flossing her teeth, I went between two of them on the bottom, and it seemed like a small wiggle.  I got so excited and said, "is that really loose?"  She jumped up and ran to the bathroom and tried to wiggle it, but it was so small of a wiggle you could barely tell.  I thought she would be upset that it wasn't any more loose after the excitement I gave her, but she came back in all smiles and said, "Will it be out by the time Grandma comes?"  I told her probably not by the time Grandma Anderson comes, but maybe by the time Grandma Stowell comes.  She started talking 90 WPM!  She said, "I am only six Mom, can you believe it, and I am going to loose a tooth, Kyler when you get to be six you will loose a tooth too, is that exciting?  I am going to put it under my pillow and guess what?  MONEY!!!!  When Grandma comes she will see my lost tooth.  I will write a note for Grandma Anderson to take back and tell all my cousins that I finally have a loose tooth.  I can't wait.  I will have to write a note for Grandma Stowell too, so she can tell Avia and Madix...............!  She went on and on. 

I hope it really is loose and not just my imagination!  I guess we will find out tomorrow if it still wiggles!

Lemon Sharks and Baptisms..........

On February 1st, A little girl in our branch, Aspen, was baptized.  The Baptism was held in the ocean.  When everyone got to the beach, the Branch President noticed a Lemon Shark in the water.  He told everyone it was there, but it just swam around and was gone.  They did the baptism and as soon as Aspen and her dad were out of the water, the Lemon Shark was back.  He was swimming right where they had been standing!! It wasn't very big, but it was still a SHARK!!!  

The witnesses

The Sunset that evening.

Meet Bear Bear......

For Christmas this year, my Mom and Dad gave each of the grandkids a bear from Build-a-Bear.  They recorded their voices into each bear for each of the kids.  It was such a great gift.  The kids have had so much fun with them.  It is like they are real people.  My kids have named their bears: Bear Bear.  They love to get them dressed and feed them meals, and basically treat them like babies.  So this is a glimpse into a day with Bear Bear......

BREAKFAST

This is Bear Bear helping to make toast (our favorite breakfast)

Ready to eat at the table

By the time we get the bears set down and Joseph Smith, there isn't room for Erick and I, so we usually have to wait until Joseph Smith is done and can take his seat!!!

Getting ready for the day

SUN-BATHING

A quick trip to the courts

A very nice long nap!

Getting Ready for Bed

This was my Favorite!  I walked in and saw the kids doing this.  They use the middle drawer of their dresser as a bath tub.  They get "tub toys" and everything.  And of course they have different items that they pretend are shampoo, conditioner, body wash etc....

Dressed and ALMOST ready for bed.

Combing their hair....

Having a bottle.......

Brushing their teeth.

They talk to the bears like I talk to them.  Kyler will say "open your mouth like this" and then open his mouth as wide as he can.  They even remind their bears to spit!

They get serenaded by Kyler before story time!!!

Then it's bed time.

I went back in to get these pictures, because I love to watch my kids sleep, but I think it is so sweet to see how they snuggle up to their bears and hold them like that all night!

I don't know what we would do all day if we didn't have such great imaginations.  I do know our days would be very boring.  And honestly there is never a boring moment at our house!  

Erick's new RIDE......

When we first got to the island we decided we would get Erick a bike to get to and from school.  We went to the hardware store and looked at ALL the bikes.  They had mountain bikes, beach cruiser bikes, and these little BMX bikes.  It appeared that the BMX bike was the cheapest at $195.00!!!!  Plus Erick was so excited thinking about being able to pump the kids on the pegs, and of course they were excited about that as well.  So we bought the bike and got it home.  Erick took the kids for a few rides and had a great time.  On Monday when he rode it to school, he come home and said it wasn't going to work.  Apparently he is a little big for the BMX!  So we took it back to the hardware store and got the mountain bike.  It was marked at $255.00.  So we were prepared to pay the extra $60.00.  Well when Erick gets up to the counter they charge him $2.11.  We thought we had just made a huge deal.  However, the bike would be delivered on Monday.  So come Monday the guy brings the bike and an envelope with $30.00 in it and said we had been over charged.  We are not really sure what was going on with the whole situation even still, but we ended up getting the better bike and spending even less than we thought we were going to spend when we were getting the cheapest bike they had????  

Notice how Erick gets ready for school.  He has his school back on one side and his tennis bag on the other!!!!