Four years in Cayman

Governor's Beach on May 28

May is the month for significant dates in our family.  We just celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary.  May is also the month we met and is the month we moved to the Cayman Islands. May 31, 2007 saw us take the leap and move down here to start our work at the International College.  Four years later we are still here and now with a new addition to our family as well.  As we look back over the past four years there are a ton of memories that jump out.  Going through Hurricane Dean just three months into our move was a sharp introduction to the reality of hurricane season down here.  Dealing with the high cost of living while enjoying all the island has to offer has been quite an experience too.  Where else could we live and only have to drive 5 minutes to be on a beautiful beach.  The work at the college has been both difficult and rewarding and seeing the college doing well today is something we take great pride in as we played a big role in that.  And of course Baby 2010 and the birth of Arianna.  No matter what happens to us this will always be the place our daughter was born.

Fifth Anniversary

To celebrate our fifth anniversary we headed up to Papagallos in West Bay.  Arianna's grandfather is on island for some work at the college and pulled down babysitting duty for the evening so we could have a nice romantic dinner, just the two of us.  Papagallos is at the very top of West Bay near Barkers national park and is in a somewhat secluded area giving it a real natural feel.  As we talked over dinner we realized we hadn't been up there since the graduation banquet for 2008.  So much has changed in our first five years together from where we live, to our jobs and now even to the composition of our family.  Thanks to all the folks who sent us congrats and who relived memories with us of that special day.  Katie officially graduates next Friday with her Masters degree so we have another celebration coming up next week.  Making the day even more special Arianna decided to say her first word "Mama" though whether she meant Katie or just that everything is "mama" we couldn't tell.  She did say it several times so we didn't have to ask ourselves are we really hearing this.

Five Years Ago Tonight

Five years ago tonight I was in my last few hours of being single.  I remember getting back to our apartment relatively early in the evening from the rehearsal dinner.  It was an early wake up call the next morning so I hadn't intended to stay up late but the combination of anticipation and a good basketball game kept me up into the wee hours of the morning.  Earlier in the day we had done the rehearsal out at the Ranch and then the rehearsal dinner at Billy Bob's.  Katie was staying at the Ranch and had the car we planned to use to drive back so my ride was one of my best men Gary who was to meet me the next morning at the break of dawn.  I kept reminding myself of this fact as I stayed up later and later.  Most of the night is a blur but I do remember not being nervous even though I thought I was supposed to be.  I was completely at ease with what was going to happen and I can distinctly remember thinking you should be nervous now, why aren't you nervous.  There was a lot of anticipation but not the questions I thought you were supposed to have the night before you get married.  Five years later there still aren't any questions and its even more clear now than it was then how fortunate I was to have met and eventually married Katie.  I love her even more now than I did then and look forward to the next five years, and the five after that, and the five after that............

Home from Atlanta

After five days in Atlanta for the spring seminar I am back in Cayman.  Katie and Arianna did not come with so it was all work though I did take the time to go pick up a high chair to bring back.  I got to see my brother Kevin who helped out with the field trips in downtown Atlanta on Friday and overall the seminar went very well.

Solid Food at Last

With the Pediatrician signing off it is time to start introducing Arianna to solid foods and Tuesday morning was her first such meal.  Katie ground up some sweet potato into a mush that was soft and safe for Arianna and this time while Arianna sat at the breakfast table she got to participate.  At first she was a little confused but she quickly got the hang of it and at one point even wanted to take the spoon herself and put it in her mouth. 

Six Month Birthday

Six Months Old Today

It hardly seems possible but today is Arianna's six month birthday.  To celebrate she is seeing the pediatrician and possibly tomorrow may start solid foods.  All morning we have been singing the song from Alice in Wonderland (with a slight change) "A very Happy Half Birthday to you....".  She is also coming up on her six month shots later this week so we are a little worried about her getting sick as a result though she has come through each previous set of shots in good shape.  The cliche that "it seems like only yesterday" is so appropriate with her, it really seems like just last week we were bringing her home.  In other exciting news, we got a message from the University of Denver about the capstone which is now being submitted for approval (hopefully just a formality as it has been vetted by the advisor and academic director already for any necessary changes) and graduation is now set for June 3, 2011.

Happy Mother's Day

For us this is a significant Mother's Day as it is the first one for Katie with Arianna.  We want to wish a very Happy Mother's Day to our Mom's, you are in our thoughts.  For our first family Mother's Day we plan to head up to Rum Point and spend some time on the beach and in the water.

Afternoon Update

We had a great time out at Rum Point and Arianna went swimming not once but twice.  She is definitely a fish as she took to the the water like it was a second home and was angry when we took her out. 

First Mother's Day as a family

Other odds and ends catching up

Before we left for our trip to the USA we had a busy week in Cayman highlighted by a visit from Governor Duncan Taylor.  As many of you know, the Cayman Islands are a British Overseas Territory and while it has its own legislative assembly and Premier they ultimately must get the Governor's approval for all actions and his signature on all laws.  It is a subtle but firm reminder that the British are the ultimate government here.  He is the Queen's representative and is referred to as "His Excellency" the Governor.  We had been trying to set up a visit to ICCI for several months and had cancelled an earlier visit at the last minute when he got stuck in budget meetings.  This time he set aside a large block of time and came with his wife to visit the college.  He was given a tour as well as a chance to meet our staff and interact with a couple of our early classes.  He did a question and answer session with one of our classes and seemed to have a good give and take with the students during that session.



Governor Taylor and his wife with Friends Hall
in the background

Governor Taylor takes questions from students

Headed Home

A happy Cinco De Mayo and happy birthday to Arianna's Aunt Melanie.

To finish out reviewing our trip home, Friday April 29 was royal wedding day and the real reason we were doing what we called Arianna's North American tour since it meant we could do a ten day vacation and only miss three days of work (combined with the Easter holidays).  We didn't wake up early to watch it but did catch the balcony scene before leaving for our flight.  If the flight to Chicago was a good example of Murphy's Law the flight home was karma paying us back as we had no problems and Arianna even slept most of it.  Back in the metroplex it was time to do some shopping that we needed done and to spend some final quality time with the Loski grandparents and Aunt Stephanie.  We hadn't bought new running shoes in over three years and the folks at run on sports gave us funny looks when they saw the condition of our shoes.

 

As the long week came to an end we packed up the stuff we had bought and the stuff we had picked up from the storage facility and got ready to head back to Cayman.  The flight home included a layover in Houston so Aunt Melanie came out to the airport and brought us Indonesian food for lunch.

We got back to Cayman around 4 p.m. and were met by one angry cat who proceeded to yell at us for the next 6 hours until we went to bed.  We are back into our routine now and sliding back into our normal activities.  This month includes the spring seminar in Atlanta and we hope for certain milestones with Arianna like her first crawl.

Chicago

On Tuesday April 26 we headed up for the Chicago portion of our trip.  We had an early morning flight and were at the airport before 8 a.m.  Our flight left a little after 9:30 but as a result of mechanical difficulties it actually had to turn back to DFW twenty minutes in and when we landed we were met by emergency vehicles. It was not the way we hoped to start a quick trip to the windy city.  We were re-booked on a later flight and ended up having to spend the day at the airport.  We finally got to Chicago after 7 p.m. and to Johanna's after 8 p.m.  Arianna's cousins were already asleep but she did meet her Aunt Johanna. The next morning she got to meet Zach and Nick and started playing with them like they were lifelong friends.  She also got to meet her Uncle Brent who immediately tried to show her how to ride Winston the dog and her Grandma Cummings who flew in from Whidby Island to see everyone. 

On Wednesday we spent the day with Grandma Cummings and the Spetter's at the Shedd Aquarium.  Our cousins Denise and Mary Kay had both taken the day off and they were joined by Eileen and a bunch of the next generation Natalie, Michelle, Dan and Jack so we headed out with a full crew.We had to bundle Arianna up as it was quite cold and she gave us strange looks as we put on layer after layer of clothes.  On our way downtown, we passed the Obama Motorcade on the other side of the highway (closest any of us have gotten to a sitting President) and then got to see the four Marine One helicopters that he flies in at the Soldier Field Parking Lot.  Arianna really liked the fishies at Shedd and we saw a couple of different shows.

After a long day at the aquarium we went back to our Great Uncle Hank and Great Aunt Mary's for Chinese food and Arianna got to meet her oldest living relative.  We had a great time catching up with Aunt Mary and Donnie made it over too to meet Arianna.

Uncle Hank

Spetter's, Kaminsky's and Cummings

On Thursday we spent the day with our cousin Chuck and his wife Twila along with my nephew Nick.  We had breakfast in downtown Naperville, went and saw Aunt Tina and later that evening had a big family dinner with even more relatives.  Arianna was great about letting everyone hold her and meeting so many new and exciting people

 

Friday morning it was time to head back to Dallas.  We got through checking in and security so fast we had time for a nice sit down breakfast and to explore.  We found a Children's Museum and Arianna got to play a little before getting on the flight and very courteously sleeping almost the whole flight back.

We had a fantastic time in Chicago and cannot thank enough everyone who made it such a wonderful part of our trip.

Beauty and the Beast and the Fort Worth Zoo

On Sunday April 24 Katie and I celebrated our anniversary a month early by returning to the spot where I asked her to marry me, Bass Concert Hall in Fort Worth.  We went to see the musical Beauty and the Beast and for dinner went to the same Pappadeaux's restaurant that we had gone to on the evening of our engagement.  To be completely candid it was also where we went on our very first date, so yes I am a creature of habit.  While we were out, Arianna had no less than four babysitters as her grandparents and both of Katie's sisters stayed with her to entertain her.  Katie's favorite musical is Beauty and the Beast so it was a very happy coincidence that it was playing in Fort Worth the week we were home.

Bass Concert Hall

On Monday we headed to Grapevine to sign our wills and then back to Fort Worth with Aunt Stephanie in tow to visit the Fort Worth Zoo.  As real zoophiles both Katie and I were excited to see how Arianna would react.  We knew that she loved to watch the fishies and was fascinated by Gypsy so a place full of animals promised to give us a lot of fun moments and we were not disappointed.

Arianna really interacted actively with several of the animals and we had a good time experiencing the zoo through her eyes.  The zoo had changed a lot in the four years since we had last been so it was something of a new experience for us too.  We spent almost four hours there and still had a lot to see that we couldnt get to, so we definitely have another zoo trip on tap next time we are in DFW.  Monday evening Aunt Stephanie again baby sat while I went to a Rangers baseball game with Russ and Katie went to a painting class with her Mom.  We had a great time in DFW early in the week and headed out Tuesday morning after saying our goodbyes to continue on for the Chicago portion of our trip.

Houston and the drive to Dallas

With Easter and the royal wedding providing three national holidays within a week of each other we decided it was time for an extended visit home.  For Arianna this would be her second flight though this one would not be a short hop to Miami but an almost three hour long one up to Houston.  She did very well and though she fussed more we chalked it up to the fact that she was expecting the flight to only last an hour like the last ones did.



At the Airport in Grand Cayman

We arrived in Houston late on Friday April 22 and stayed with Arianna's Aunt Melanie our first night back.  Saturday morning was breakfast with my roommate from college Gary and his family.  I hadn't seen his children in a couple of years and Katie had not yet met his youngest daughter Sarah.  We got a chance to catch up on family news and a little Longhorn sports.  We also picked up some stuff he had been storing for us these past four years to take to our storage facility.



With Gary and his family

After spending some time with them it was time for the longest leg of our trip, the four plus hour drive up to Dallas.  We tried to break it up with constant stops for feeding and for Arianna to get out of her new car seat.  One of our stops was at the Sam Houston statue in Huntsville.  There is a state park and visitor center there which provided a great rest stop.  We took Arianna out to the statue and she was pretty entranced by the crowds of people and the big marble man.

Full statue with us at base



The car ride itself was hard on Arianna.  We got her a new car seat which had been delivered to her Aunt Melanie and which is huge.  Even with her new "throne" though, she really doesn't like being in any car seat so long and she fussed most of the trip.  We eventually made it to Dallas after an almost five hour trip and Arianna's reunion with her grandparents and first meeting with her Aunt Stephanie.

Ten Days in the United States

We are back from our longest visit home since we moved to the Cayman Islands. Ten days spent in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Chicago and then back in Dallas.  Over the next couple of days we will post a couple of entries on some specific things we were able to do with family and on Arianna's first meeting with several of her Aunts and Uncles and her cousins as well as getting to see grand parents and relatives who had made the trek down here to meet her already.  It was a great trip and it was fantastic to see everyone and spend some extended time back in the USA.