Here are a few pictures of our little Kimber. I realized I have TONS of pictures of Holdyn during her first few months and not many of Kimber. So here are a couple that I took today.
Yesterday, the branch had a "beautification day" We planted a bunch of plants and flowers in the church yard. Holdyn loved running around on the lawn and 'helping' with the digging and especially the watering.
Here is the group of us that were there. We are sure going to miss these guys!
Ben took Elder Platt snorkeling yesterday morning and found another good stash of conch shells.
We got the car and scooter washed up. Again, Holdyn loved 'helping' mostly playing with the water.
Ben caught snook #2! It isn't as big as the first but still big enough for some good meals! Let me just say that this is the best tasting fish I've ever had!!!!
Also this past week Ben has had to stay at the school until 8pm for a class. So Holdyn, Kimber and I took him lunch almost everyday so we'd at least get to see him a bit.It's been a good week! It is hard to believe we've got less than 3 weeks left!!!
We woke up and had pancakes covered in powdered sugar for Holdyn's birthday. She'll eat anything it if is drowning in Powdered sugar :)
Ben came home from school and took her fishing and to the park while Kimber and I decorated the apt for Holdyn's birthday!
We had a little party with the neighbors and Cody and a pinata. Holdyn wasn't sure what to think about it all but she sure had fun!
Here is HOldyn's stash from the pinata.
She partied until she dropped!
We arrived after Dark on Thursday evening and got our rental car all situated. Since we were on another foreign island in the dark... we had no idea where to go. But with my sweet skills in navigation and Ben's island driving skills... we made it to the Plaza Hotel, after only a few wrong turns :)
We didn't realize how beautiful everything was until the next morning. Yes, it rained most of our visit there, but we still had a great time. This is a bridge we went over about a dozen times trying to find the hotel and the embassy. It was pretty neat to see the huge boats just beneath us as we drove over. It was nice to be on REAL roads again. Roads that didn't have speed bumps every 100 yards and not many pot holes that can swollow your car whole. There were even two lanes in some places.... wow... a real step up from St. Maarten!
Here I am with Kimber on our balcony. It was a very pretty and clean island compared to St. Maarten. The only problem was that not everyone spoke English and we don't speak any Dutch, Creole, Spanish and whatever else they were speaking.
These pictures of the Coy pond were inside the lobby of the hotel. The lobby was VERY nice... the room had some issues and a foul smell but we were just glad to lie down! There was a live band playing just outside beneath our balcony until about 2am. We definitely could have done without that, but we were so tired that we slept through some of it anyway.
Here is the view from the US Embassy. If it had been a clear day we could have seen Venezuela in the distance over the ocean. Our hotel is the tall building almost in the center of the picture. I didn't get any good pictures of the embassy because it was just surrounded by a huge gated/wall and we couldn't take our camera inside. We did meet up with the consulate, who was a very nice guy from New Orleans. He took great care of us and we were on our way in just about a half hour. It was nice to be on US soil for just a short time. You definitely feel a difference when you walked in the gates. We sure love the USA!
We also got to go see one of Kimber's St. Maarten Grandma's. This is Gladys Busby. She just had knee surgery in Curacao and was staying at her sisters until she recovered enough to travel back to St. Maarten. We visited with her and her family for a couple of hours before heading to the airport.... where we sat again and waited for our delayed plane :) We made it safe and sound... even flying through the tropical depression which gave us just a bit of turbulance. But hey, if the plane would have went down there was a floatation device under the seats :) 
Ben and Dad found the 'mother load' of conch shells! If you've ever wondered what a conch looks like before it becomes a conch fritter.... here ya go! Looks tasty to me!
On their flight out they took a couple of pictures of the island. If you look past the bird poop on the window you can see the island.
Here She is! What a cutie!! I do feel awful that she has been eaten alive by mosquito's! She has bites all over her face and head!!!! But, she still looked great for her big day!
We miss watching fireworks....but when you aren't in the U.S. I guess you can't complain.
