USS Kittiwake

This afternoon we hired our regular sitter who watches Arianna while Katie teaches for some weekend work so we could do a snorkel together of the USS Kittiwake.  The Kittiwake is an American naval ship that was in operation from 1945 to 1994.  It is a Chanticleer Class Submarine Rescue Ship and its most famous duty was the recovery of the black box after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.  After it was retired, it was donated to the the Cayman Islands by the United States Government and was refitted over a fifteen year period to become a man made reef.  It arrived in late 2010 and was sunk off of Seven Mile Beach in January 2011.  It sits in 65 feet of water but because it is four stories high, it is a fantastic snorkel (as well as a world class scuba dive).  We rode a catamaran out to it and spent a good thirty minutes swimming over, around and when we free dove almost in the upper parts of it.  The trip also included a second snorkel out to a site off West Bay that we hadn't been to before called Boggy Sands.  Katie and I realized as we were riding the boat out that it had been several months at least since we had last snorkeled together so this was a great early Valentine present to ourselves.

National Heroes Day

Today the Cayman Islands celebrates National Heroes Day with a ceremony at Heroes Square in George Town.  It is  a national holiday and the celebration this year honored educators.  Among the honorees were the founders of ICCI.  Arianna got to attend part of the ceremony and posed with a few of the honor guard members after they left the square.  The heat forced us to leave early but not before Arianna gave a running commentary as we walked down Fort Street to all the people off the cruise ships who were walking in the area about the sights she had seen. 

La Dolce Vitta

Yesterday evening Katie and I did another of our baby (really now toddler) swaps with Andrea and Darren and got a date night out just ourselves.  We decided to try a new restaurant in George Town on the water called La Dolce Vitta.  An Italian place that from the road side almost looks abandoned it turned out to be really good food with an incredible view of the water and the harbor.  We had two wood grilled pizzas with seafood on them as well as a combo calamari and shrimp appetizer.  Like all down town restaurants it was on the expensive side so we ate on a budget while others around us had some incredible looking dishes that we didn't even want to know the price of.  It was great to have a night out just for ourselves and Arianna was nice enough to stay asleep the whole time Andrea was with her.  This weekend is a three day long one as Monday is Heroes Day in the Cayman Islands, a national holiday.  We are working on finishing our paper to be presented at a conference in March over at the University College and plan to also get in a little beach time.

Friday at Motions and Saturday on Seven Mile

As Katie's sister Mel finishes her visit, Arianna is getting in some real quality Aunt time. Yesterday she went to motions and this morning we all headed over to Seven Mile for a couple of hours on the beach and in the water.

Several of Arianna's baby group joined us this morning and so it was like an impromptu baby group.

Tomorrow morning we put Mel on her flight home.  We had a very good first week of classes and a ton of late registrations and new admissions meant our winter numbers were not as bad as they looked like they might be two weeks ago so we were feeling pretty good by Friday.  With both of us teaching this term Arianna will be getting a helper two nights a week and we are interested to see how she reacts to that.  This week I am getting to experience the Cayman Islands court system as I am a witness in Grand Court.  Hopefully it will be quick and the experience not too painful.

First week of classes and Last week with Aunt Melanie

This week we started classes for the winter term and there was no pause after the rush of graduation as we jumped right into teaching and all the administrative work that goes into getting a new term started.  It is also the last week for Katie's sister Melanie here on island.  We have taken advantage of her presence to get a lot of baby sitting time in (mostly for work and for time on our paper for the conference that is due in a couple of weeks).  We also have probably insured that there wont be any cousins for Arianna for a while from Loski sister number two.  It is not that Arianna is so difficult its just that any 14 month old can exhaust you in a single afternoon and the experience of it over several days adds up.  Yesterday, Arianna got to paddleboard with her Aunt Mel up at Cayman Kai and found the whole experience very exciting.

2012 Begins

Though only seven days old this has already been an extremely busy year.  Literally every evening this past week we had events for the college from the faculty meeting to orientation to graduation and last night the U.S. seminar meeting.  We also have house guests finishing their visit to the Cayman Islands that include Katie's sister Melanie and some friends of hers.  That has caused this week to pass with a blur and we are just beginning to catch our breath.  Next Monday is the first day of classes for the college so there wont be much of a break this weekend before the insanity begins anew.  We are also both teaching this term in addition to writing a paper for submission to a conference that is due at the end of the month.  It has been a bit of an adjustment moving back to 80 degree weather after our visit north but we are acclimating back.  The winds this past week here helped as it cooled down into the low 70's for a couple of days.  We took the opportunity to turn off the A/C and open all the windows.

Happy New Year

Today is our last day in Seattle as we head back to Chicago this afternoon and then on to Cayman tomorrow afternoon.  Yesterday, Scott and Arianna got a day together while I went shopping with Stephanie to celebrate finishing our sugar challenge (we didn't eat anything with sugar for 15 days).  The sun finally came out for the first time since we arrived in the Pacific Northwest and Arianna got to see her first snow, though it was in the distance on the snow covered Olympic Mountains.  Here she is at the Aronson's grand parents home which is right on the water in West Seattle with her "Aunt" Erika.  You can just see the mountains and while it is her first time seeing snow, we will have to wait for her first experience in it.

In the evening we went downtown to the Crab Pot Restaurant with all the family and had a huge seafood meal for our last dinner up here.  Arianna tried her first clams and loved the clam chowder.  After dinner Arianna got to ride on a huge carousel downstairs with her Aunt Stephanie and "Aunt" Andrea. 

We have had a great time in Seattle and want to especially thank Uncle Paul and Aunt Kris for letting us stay with them and the rest of our Seattle relatives for a wonderful week.

Whidby Island

Today we headed up to Whidby Island for a day with Grandma Cummings.  It was also to be the day that Arianna met her Uncle Alex but the U.S. Navy and emergency work interfered with the best laid plans.  There were some firsts though. Arianna got her first ride on a boat as we took the ferry from Mukilteo over to the southern end of Whidby Island early in the morning.  After breakfast and grandmas, we got to see her new thrift store and also went down to City Beach.  In the afternoon we went to Deception Pass and got to recreate my favorite photo of Katie and I with the bridge in the background.  I was paranoid about our little thrill seeker out on the bridge so we didn't do the walk across the pass.  After walking under the bridge in the Whidby side we had lunch at an all you can eat Chinese buffet.  Then we visited a farm and Arianna got to feed some animals and see a camel who loves to drink Pepsi's.

It was a great day and really good to see Grandma Cummings and spend some time on Whidby.  We headed home around five and got back to West Seattle in just two hours with Arianna sleeping the whole way after her exhausting day.

Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium

This morning we headed down to Tacoma and the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium.  It was a rainy Northwest Pacific kind of day but we didn't let the rain stop us from seeing the whole park and aquarium.  Arianna spent most of the day trying to get her shoes and socks off in spite of the cold weather.  The view overlooking Puget Sound was incredible and the clouds were kind enough to lift for a little while so we could take it all in.

 

This evening Russ, Paul and I headed over to a West Seattle sports bar to watch the Horns beat Cal in the Holiday Bowl 21-10 while Katie stayed back for a girls night at the house with her Mom, Aunt Kris, Andrea, Steph and Erika.  Tomorrow we head up to Whidby Island while Grandpa Russ and Grandma Gail head home.

Seattle

We arrived in Seattle Sunday evening after a four and a half hour flight from Chicago that was surprisingly good as Arianna slept for a good three hours of it and was distracted by presents for most of the other hour or so.  Arianna had charmed the gate agent for Alaska Airlines who moved us to a row where no one else was sitting so Arianna would have her own seat.  After landing we headed right to the Aronson's and got to have dinner Christmas night with the Loski and Aronson clans.  We got to introduce Arianna to her great Grand Parents Jim and Charlotte Loski as well as her newest cousin Olivia who was just born 13 days ago.  Arianna got to meet Katie's Aunt Kris and Uncle Paul Aronson and their daughters Andrea and Erika with whom we are staying in West Seattle. She also got to meet her mommie's Uncle Don and Aunt Julie Loski.  Grandma Gail and Grandpa Russ along with Aunt Stephanie also flew up to Seattle from Texas for the big family reunion.

The entire extended Loski clan (now with Aronson's and Cummings')
 with Jim and Charlotte in the middle

We had a restful day yesterday and the big family dinner yesterday evening.  Today we headed into downtown Seattle and went to the Pikes Place Public Market.  We got Starbucks from the original Starbucks store and had clam chowder on the waterfront. 

After the Market and lunch at Steamers we headed to the Aquarium which is also right there on the waterfront.  Arianna enjoyed seeing her fishies at the aquarium but was most enthralled by the Sea Lion and Harbour Seal literally climbing onto the ledge to look down at them swimming around.  She called out to them and was in a much better mood after seeing them.  Tonight we have dinner at the Great Grandparents and tomorrow is the zoo!

Merry Christmas

We have started our day here in Naperville, Illinois sharing Christmas morning with the Bernard family and with Grandma Cummings. Even though last year was Arianna's first Christmas, this year is really the first time she is experiencing it.  Arianna loves opening presents though it seems the presents themselves are far less important than the experience of opening them.  Yesterday, Aunt Johanna hosted a Christmas Eve brunch that went from 9 in the morning until about 1 in the afternoon, and many of our Koclanes relatives and family friends made it over.  Later, we went to Christmas Eve Mass at St. Margaret Mary Church and then had Chinese food for dinner before turning in and convincing the kids that Santa was on his way and we had to sleep so he could come.

Here are some shots from the Brunch.

And from this morning:

Later this afternoon we board our flight for Seattle and Christmas evening with the Loski's.

Chicago and Seattle for the Holidays

This year we are spending the Christmas holidays with family in both Chicago and Seattle.  We flew up to Chicago on Wednesday taking advantage of the seasonal nonstop flight from Cayman on Cayman Airways.  The flight was only about half full so Arianna got her own seat and she did well for a four hour flight only getting restless as we got near the end of the long flight.  We have been enjoying the first part of our trip in Naperville with my sister Johanna, her husband Brent, and sons Nick and Zach.  Grandma Cummings also flew in from Washington for the holiday.  Arianna has been adjusting to the cold but really doesn't like wearing multiple layers of clothing and walks around like a mummy slowly maneuvering in the heavy garments.  She has been happily playing with her cousins though she and Zach are definitely getting into territorial disputes over who's mama and dada are whose.

Last night we left her with Grandma and her cousins while Katie and I went downtown and saw the Joffrey Ballet do the Nutcracker.  Our cousins Chuck and Twila treated us to dinner at a downtown restaurant and we got to walk around inside the loop for an hour or so seeing the lights and other Christmas attractions.  Then it was over to the Auditorium Theatre for the show.  It was six years ago now that I asked Katie to marry me at the Nutcracker in Fort Worth so this was a restart of an important Christmas tradition in our family.  Watching the families at the ballet both of us were thinking of when we would be able to come back with our daughter to enjoy the wonderful show.

This morning Johanna had an appointment so we bundled up the boys and took everyone else out for pancakes at the restaurant that the Bernard family goes to every Friday.

Then this afternoon we drove over to Lyons and visited with our Spetter cousins and got to see Uncle Hank and Aunt Mary as well as many of the Wolfe, Kaminsky and Spetter cousins.

We are here for two more days then on Christmas spend the morning in Naperville, fly out in the afternoon and the evening with the Loski family in Seattle.  Arianna will get to meet her great grand parents on the Loski side as well as a ton of cousins etc.  She will also get to meet her Uncle Alex as late next week we head up to Whidby for a day to see him and Grandma Cummings who gets a double dose of Arianna her for Christmas and then late next week for her visit.

Aunt Melanie and the ICCI Toy drive with Santa and Rudolph

Katie's sister Melanie arrived on island last night for her month long stay.  To get the visit started off right we headed up to Rum Point this morning for a first dip in the Caribbean.  Melanie will be here by herself for ten days so she is learning to drive on the left and to practice she was our driver up to the north side.  Before going to Rum Point we headed into Cayman Kai and down to starfish beach.  This time we were lucky and saw a couple of starfish.  Then, it was over to Rum Point and a couple of hours of beach and sun.

This afternoon and early evening was the ICCI toy drive with Santa and Rudolph in attendance.  Arianna was fascinated by Rudolph and followed him around pulling his tail and generally trying to hug him as much as possible.

Santa on the other hand didn't merit much interest when he came out and merited some tearful scared looks when it was time for pictures with him.

It was a fun evening though and we got a lot of toys donated for needy kids in the Bodden Town area.

We have two days with Mel before we head north for our Christmas vacation and with any luck introduce Arianna to snow.

Christmas on the brain

All this week Katie has been furiously getting our house ready for Christmas.  One of the real benefits is that she is making cookies almost non-stop leaving the house smelling wonderful all the time.  The stockings are hung on the stairwell and lights are on the window and of course the Christmas tree above the television set.  With no classes going on our schedules are a little more normal so we are actually getting evenings during the week together.  We have also started to finish some of the smaller tasks we have been putting off all fall.  We finally got around to putting up the rest of the fishy photos on Arianna's nursery wall.

The Christmas winds have started down here and for almost a week we were able to go without A/C and just the windows open.  Unfortunately that has slowed and so it was back onto the A/C late last week.  Katie's sister Melanie is coming down next weekend and will be here for a month to house sit while we head north to Chicago and Seattle.  She and Gypsy wont have to worry about being lonely though as several of Melanie's friends are also coming so the house will be full the whole time.  We get the benefit of house sitters (and some babysitting) while they get the free room for their Caribbean vacation.  Next weekend is the big ICCI Christmas party with Santa coming so we are looking forward to some cute shots of Arianna.

Olympic Beach Volleyball on Seven Mile

This weekend Cayman is hosting the NORCECA Olympic Qualifier for beach volleyball at Seven Mile Public Beach up in West Bay.  Saturday morning Arianna and I drove up there to catch a little of the action.  They had three different volleyball courts set up and we managed to catch a little action at all three.

We got to see the men's teams from Cayman and Barbados play a match that went three sets with Cayman pulling out the win 18-16 in the third set.  The top five men's and women's teams in this tournament advance to another tournament where there will be five more teams and the winner there gets an Olympic invite.  It is a way to guarantee that a Caribbean team makes it to the 2012 London Olympics.

Arianna was clapping with the crowd after every point and was genuinely fascinated by the action for much longer than I expected.

Christmas Decorating

If she had her way Katie would start decorating for Christmas in late September.  To avoid overload we have a family rule that we wait until after Thanksgiving.  This year we had a third helper as we set up the decorations and tree.

Arianna loved seeing her penguin from last year and danced with it to music but really liked her new Rudolph.