Spring Break - 3

On Wednesday, we sailed on a catamaran and tried our hand at snorkling.  The ride to the reefs was pretty smooth which is good even though I took Dramamine before we left.  Included in the price was beverages, including rum punches, and a sandwich and salad buffet lunch.  There was also a great fruit tray with something we had never tried before - tamarind is what I think it was called.  It was like a date or fig.

The aforementioned bar.

This is the best picture I have to show how blue and clear the water was.  We didn't take any pictures snorkling because it was all I could do to manage the equipment as it was.  And my glasses didn't work in the goggles, so I am sure there are things I missed seeing!  Kyle's top of his snorkle went underwater several times, so he drank the salt water, and I would forget and try to breathe through my nose, breaking the seal so that I got a nose full of salt water which might have been like a neti pot cleansing without the price of going out and buying one.  However, my ears also got full of water, and I couldn't hear worth a darn for a while and didn't think my camera was taking pictures, so I have about six of Kyle in the same pose with different people walking past him.  Here is a great series of shots.

Lady from Philadelphia.

Lady from Boston.  Came with her mom and mom's friends who just wanted to stay at the resort casino.

Girl in bikini.  Not with our group in the boat.

What a great shot!  The most impressive thing is that I kept them all on my SD card.

Spring Break - 2

While in Puerto Rico, we had to try plantains in many ways.  I forgot to take a picture when the food was delivered to us, but you can see the different things on the top plate and they all contained plantains in some way.  The bottom is the rice and beans which is served separately in PR.

Then we went to a restaurant called The Parrot Club and ordered the nachos.  The meat was delicious but was served on the plantain chips.  It just wasn't the same as salty tortilla chips.  The drinks two flavors of martini drinks that taste nothing like real martinis.  The one was coconut, but I can't remember the other flavor or it was pomegranite and I don't think I spelled that right and don't want to bother to look it up.

The next day as we were driving to the rain forest, we stopped along the road to buy fruit from this lady.  She was about the only person we encountered who didn't speak English.  We bought bananas, mangos, and a papaya.  There were others set up along the highway and also people selling sandwiches, etc.

We went to the visitor's center at the El Yungue Rain Forest.  The flowers are orchids that just grow on the poles. 

Spring Break - Part 1

Kyle and I went to Puerto Rico for three days over spring break.  It was good to get away, and nice to not need our passports, or worry about drinking the water.  Since they are a commonwealth, they use US money so we didn't have to exchange when we got there.  English is taught in all the schools and we met very few people who couldn't converse well enough to have enjoyable conversations. 

We stayed at the Marriott in San Juan.  It was on the beach and had a beautiful pool too.  The Marriott provided towels, loungers, and umbrellas for their guests.  There were also many interesting restaurants within walking distance.

This restaurant was about a block from the hotel and had omelets, etc. for between $3-$5.  When you ordered coffee, they assumed you wanted it with milk, and I must say it was a tasty luxury.

While we were there the first morning, a man delivered plantains.  The Puerto Ricans eat a lot of plantains.  We tried several but didn't really care for them too much.

We spent some time on the beach the first morning.   The water is a beautiful blue and the waves were rolling in.  It was windy, but people still went out a ways into the water.  Not me. 

In the afternoon, we went to Old San Juan and toured the fort built by the Spanish to protect the bay into San Juan.  It is hard to believe how old the fort and city is - I think it was in the late 1400s.  Columbus did not land in San Juan, but there was a statue honoring him.

The view from the fort along the coast. 

More later.

Babies and Showers

Sunday was a shower for Paige.  She doesn't know what they are having, so she got some good, practical gifts that will fit either way.  Thanks to Tiffany and Beth, one of whom had a baby two weeks ago and the other is due in April, for the great shower.  We had a lot of family able to attend which was fun.

This little girl is Russ's cousin's child and she is a talker!  She called Paige "Princess Paige" from the wedding two years ago. 

Even this little guy got to go.  He was a little bit of a fuss budget, but still had a few smiles.

I think the horizontal stripes add a little width to his body.  There will be a day when he might  need that if he is anything like his father.

Three of us from the middle school hosted a shower for Colby who is due about the same time as Paige.  She knows she is having a girl and got some of the cutest outfits.   I had to laugh when she wondered where she was going to put everything she got.  The fun of that is just beginning and will last about 18 years.

Summer Job

This was my summer job between my junior and senior years in college.  Crick's, in downtown Pratt, sold children's wear and supplies on the main floor and women's clothing in the basement.  I was not tempted at all to buy any of the baby clothes, and as I was looking through the old album, I thought, "Wow, I would have a hard time working there now and bringing any money home!"  As part of a graduation requirement for vocational home ec. ed. I had to work in a related occupation.  It was a good place to work, and I have pictures because we had to complete some kind of paper to explain what we did.  You can tell my looking at the cars that this was a few years ago! 

Here I am behind the cash register.  I look fairly tan, but I think that is because I spent most weekends at Clay Center and we went to the lake. 

Hmm - pretty serious about the little girl's dresses.

My biggest day was when a lady came in and bought a lot of stuff because they just found out the were adopting a baby.  And it was a relative of mine - kind of down the line but still a relative because it was on Grandma Neelly's side and she counted relatives way back.  Otherwise, there were many days of reorganizing socks with ruffles.