I Love New York!

Of course we had a great time going home for two weeks to visit our family and friends. It was Cody's first trip back home since moving to St. Maarten, so it was really nice for him. We got to eat at some of our favorite restaurants (definitely a highlight), and enjoyed just being back in good ol' East Texas. While Texas was fun, this blog is dedicated to our trip to NYC. We decided to fly back to St. Maarten on Jet Blue airways... which meant we had to spend a night in New York, but everyone knows that one night just wouldn't be enough. Soooo we decided to stay an extra day! We also decided to invite whoever else wanted to come just to hang out in New York for the weekend. Cody's parents decided to come along with us which made the trip extra fun. 

This is a picture taken during our very daring cab ride. I think the best part of the trip was the double decker bus tours. It was so amazing to see the sites and especially the architecture. Other fun things included checking out Central Park, visiting the American Museum of Natural History, and eating hot dogs from the street vendors. Overall, it was a great mini-vacation and I am definitely going to make plans to do it again sometime.

 

On a side note, Jet Blue is awesome! They had lots of legroom, great snacks, and even little t.v.'s in the back of each headrest. We are using them as much as possible in the future.

Long Time No See...

I know it's been a while since I posted, but I figure better late than never. Right? Lots of fun and exciting things have happened since my trip to the St. Maarten Zoo, and I'm not even sure where to start... I guess the best thing to do will be to highlight the best parts for ya! Just before Cody's break from school in April some the girls got together to throw a surprise wedding shower/bachelorette party for one of the girls who took the plunge over the break. I think somewhere between the jello shots and the tactless games she had a great time. Thanks for playing along, Ashley!

Color Me Happy!

Today was an exciting day! Jill picked me up this morning and we headed to the St. Maarten Park, which for clarification is the tiny zoo here on the island. There wasn't much to see, but they had a lot of birds and monkeys. My favorite was the peacocks! I have never seen a peacock up close before and this one was showing off for me. Big thanks to Jill for taking the picture after my camera had died. Anyway, if you can't tell, I was super stoked! After we finished walking the zoo I went home and headed to Stephanie's pool party. A lot of the girls were there that I haven't see since I got back to the island and a couple of newbies too. We had a great time. On a side note, Cody found out that he passed his Biostatistics exam, so that class is over with. I'm so proud of my hubby! Good job, babe.

Our "ghost"

Okay so there have been a few nights when Cody and I have woken up to something tapping on our door. Since the door is made of metal, the sound carried easily. So at 3 a.m. the other night we hear this creepy noise once again. I must admit that in the past we were a little chicken and just waited for it to go away. Well this time I sent Cody out to investigate (I waited safely in the bed just to make sure it was okay). Here's a picture of our ghost.


We aren't really sure how he got down to where our door is considering the entire house is fenced off, but this not so little guy was sure enough on our front steps. It took a little while to get him in the pan, but Cody was persistent. (I stayed a safe distance away) He was interesting to watch for a minute until he figured out how to climb out of the pan. Fun stuff here on the island!

Merry Christmas!

Okay, so with all the Christmas time activities going on around the island I'm really missing home. My mom come to visit us last month and we had a blast, but it sure is hard doing this without her. I hope she knows how important she is to me.

Anyway, that being said I hope every one is having a very merry Christmas back home. I hope you eat lots of yummy treats, that Santa brings you everything you wished for, and that your time spent with family is cherished. Happy Holidays!

Other funness

Cody passed all of his classes with flying colors! We have been celebrating all week. First we bought ourselves a Christmas present. We hunted Front Street for hours looking for the best price on a Nintendo Wii. I figured we should go ahead and entertain ourselves while we can before Cody has to get back to studying. The Wii has got to be the neatest innovation as far as video games go. It is so entertaining to watch each other play tennis, or practice our bowling technique in our living room.

We also got the privilege of having dinner with two of our new friends on the island (Chuck and Geneva). We went out to dinner at a place called Soprano's. Cody and I split the Prime Rib. We had heard that this thing was big, but sheesh! For $29 we probably shared a 30 oz steak. It was really delightful to get more than you expected for a decent price on this island. Needless to say we will be going back there again soon. Afterwards, we all headed to the local movie theatre to see Enchanted. It was the cutest!!! I made Cody take me to see it again the next night. Haha. Poor guy.

UMMM... Perhaps it's time for an update....

Okay, so it's been forever since I last posted anything and I thought maybe our fans would like to know a little about what has been going on around the island. We have survived what I feel has been our "initiation" to island life. It started with power outages followed quickly by a massive water outtage. As it turns out the old water plant was shut down before the new one was up and running! Sounds like great planning, right? Eventually the Dutch side of the island bought water from the French side which resulted in a somewhat sporatic supply of water. Things seem to be working better in that area anyway.

So what could be worse than water and power outtages you ask. How about earthquakes...

Yep, that's correct. I happened to be talking on the phone to a friend of mine at the time. I think my initial reaction was "Hang on. I think I am either seriously hallucinating, or I'm in an earthquake." They thought I was kidding. So yeah, fun stuff. I'm just glad Cody wasn't injured by any sharp medical instruments considering he was in anatomy lab with loads of other first semester students.

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The following is a release by the United States Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center...this earthquake may have caused damage due to its location and size.

... TSUNAMI INFORMATION STATEMENT ...
AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS ORIGIN TIME - 1900Z 29 NOV 2007 COORDINATES - 15.0 NORTH 61.3 WEST DEPTH - 142 KM LOCATION - LEEWARD ISLANDS MAGNITUDE - 7.3

A strong earthquake has occurred, but a tsunami IS NOT expected along the coasts of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico states, and Eastern Canadian provinces. NO tsunami warning or watch is in effect for these areas.Based on the depth of the earthquake within the earth, a widespread damaging tsunami IS NOT expected along the Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, U.S. Atlantic, Eastern Canadian and Gulf of Mexico coasts. At coastal locations which have experienced strong ground shaking, local tsunamis are possible due to underwater landslides.