Two Weekend Update!

It's been awhile since we have updated our blog so I figured I better get on here and write something.

Last weekend, Ken and I traveled once again to Utila, the wonderful island mentioned in the Chicago Tribune's travel section last weekend, for a little r and r and a birthday celebration of one of our friends. For two weeks in a row school was cancelled on Friday for my kids due to water issues. (The first Friday we had gotten to much rain so the government cancelled school. The second Friday, we had NO water at our school so the administration cancelled school). I'm not complaining though because it turned into a great work day and I got so much done that I had been wanting to do. It was nice also because I was able to leave school earlier than usual to get home and get ready for our little vacation. We hopped on the afternoon ferry which leaves La Ceiba at 4pm and headed out into the open waters. Open waters they were! It was the worst boat ride that Ken or I have ever been on. It was so choppy that you felt like you were on a roller coaster for one hour straight. I was so happy that I was on land at the end of the boat ride that I didn't want to be close to the water for at least a few hours. I was also thankful that I didn't get sick....although there were probably 3 or 4 times where I thought, "this is it!". We made it just in time for the sunset too!






We went snorkeling on Saturday before the rainstorm hit and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon at a coffeehouse reading our books, drinking hot chocolate/coffee (who drank what?!) and just being lazy. It wasn't the greatest weather to be on the island but it was still really nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of La Ceiba. Jesse and Jessie had rented a golf cart for Jesse's birthday too so we took that out and explored the island a bit more. It was really pretty and there were so many places to explore. There were a lot of private beaches and nice homes too and just as much deserted land and trash. An interesting combination.





On Sunday we went out for a dive in the morning with Jesse and had a great time. We saw lots of cool things too! On our second dive we saw a 5ft long moray eel, a blowfish, a stingray, lobsters, angel fish, and a HUGE rainbow fish that just stared at us for awhile. It was really neat to be underwater too while it was raining and to see the raindrops hitting the water. It wasn't so pleasant, however, after we got out of the water and had to sit in the cold rain until we were back at the dock. We ended up taking the afternoon ferry on Sunday back to La Ceiba since Ken had to work the next day and I was definitely a little hesitant. It ended up being really smooth though and I slept the whole way. Scuba diving really tires you out!

I went and got my first haircut in a foreign country on Monday since I had the day off for Columbus Day. Boy was I scared....I went with a girlfriend and we both just used hand gestures to tell the stylist how much to cut. That part went fine but when it came time for the bangs my heart was beating so fast. I gave a gesture to cut diagonally and she said "ok ok" but then cut straight across my eyebrows and I froze. I thought, "OH MY GOD!" Luckily it all turned out ok after I immediately swept my bangs to the side and realized that they were a little shorter than expected but they still had the same effect as before. Phew, that was a close one.

The rest of workweek went alright. Nothing to exciting happening there. Ken was finishing up his first quarter with midterm exams and I was starting my second quarter figuring out the new mimio board I would be using in my class. A mimio board is like a smartboard but it just has different things you can do with it (less I think). I used it for science and social studies this week and the kids loved it. They kept asking me for the rest of the day when we would be using it again. On Friday, the kids had report card pick up so it was only a half day. I had decided to plan a "Reading Party" for this day because I only had a few hours with them and they had reached their goal of reading 10,000 pages. The kids were able to come to school out of uniform and bring their slippers, bathrobes, pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, and their favorite books and read for the morning. I provided decorations (balloons and banners) and hot chocolate and popcorn as a snack. Our principal came in as a guest read aloud speaker too which was a fun surprise. About half way through the party we played "class" bingo too where the kids got a blank bingo card and wrote down the names of their classmates to fill it in. Then I pulled kids names from my popsicle stick jar and they would place a marker on the card if they had the name. The kids loved hearing their names being called and there was such a positive vibe in the classroom. I was very happy it was a half day at the end of the party because they were so hyped up on sugar (and fun of course!).






Yesterday while Ken hung out at home feeling a bit under the weather, I went for a hike at Rio Maria. There was a little gravel road just off the highway which lead you to a trail which was beautiful. The view from up top let you see over La Ceiba and all the way to the port where we take the ferries to the island. There was no one else out there and there was complete silence and serenity. It was wonderful. I went with a small group of our friends and we just hiked for a few hours. We hiked on the trail for a bit and then hiked back down following the river. There were so many pretty plants, trees, and lots of vines. The water was so clear and cool too. It was a great way to spend a Saturday. You can also see how gianormous some of these trees are since one of the pictures is of a friend standing next to one. It's crazy!!!







Now I'm just hanging out on this cool (70 degree) Sunday morning staying dry from all the rain. It's going to be a work day today but I'm hoping to get some baking in as well. We'll see what I can conjure up today!