birthdays & our abode

Summer Time... very exciting!

It has been a while since I sat to put our life on the blog. I have tried many times but my husband or kids are always calling me away from my friend (the computer) haha

Since my last entry we landed in Panama from Honduras in mid March ... 5 days after that we had EASTER. If you remember from last year at Easter... Easter Eggs are almost impossible to find down here. I heard the Easter Bunny searched high & low to find them because for some reason Panama just does not like them. My girlfriend and I even took a taxi to a very local part of town to a store we heard could have some in stock. Needless to say the Easter Bunny did find a very expensive small bag and the kids also got peanut butter cups this year with their eggs. They loved it and that is all that counts.

Easter Sunday the Day family came through town for a few days on their way back to Canada. They left on a Wednesday morning and Ms. Melody Brown flew in Wednesday night... it was busy around here! :-)))

(the kids following their Easter trail to some fun filled baskets of goodies)

(Happy Easter 2008... it's great to be a kid)

(Ev had something yummy & blue)


Melody Brown was Emma & Easton's play school teacher at Sunshine play school in Calgary when they were ity bity squirts. Melody has traveled with us to Mexico as well to Thailand and now has made a trip to Panama. She was looking for more punishment I guess :- ))) just kidding the kids love having her and she is a delight to have join us.

(Melody with our kids on their way to school)

(the kids were so happy to have Ms. Melody down for a visit... they even got to skip a day of school to just hang out with her. It was a lot of fun having her down here ,to see how we lived a normal day to day life. I asked her to write a few words about her time in Panama - please read below)

(you can't come to Panama City with out taking a trip on the canal and going to Monkey Island... It is fun every time)

(our pro boat-man... somehow we got the VIP boat this trip... it was nice)

(it started to rain and it lasted for about 8 minutes but our guides came prepared with our funny outfits)


Panama in Melody's words

Preparing for Panama I had no idea of what to expect. Personally, I had never done any research on the country and hadn’t heard of anyone visiting there previously to the Schmulands. In fact, the only knowledge I had of the country came from either the infamous “wheretokids” blog or from stories that they shared with me while they were back at home. As a result, I was in for quite a surprise (and a nice one at that!)

Driving through Panama City, I was amazed by the architecture of the place. In my mind, I was thinking poverty (which there is quite a lot of) and did not expect to see a lot of modern day buildings. However, there were many high rise buildings and some parts of town reminded me a lot of New York City. I was also surprised by the size of the city; it was very large and seemed to be quite busy. There were a lot of vehicles on the road and people at every street corner selling everything from gum and candy to banana’s and tomatoes, from newspapers and magazines to towels, movies and music – really you can buy a lot just by sitting in traffic. Crazy!

Reaching the Schmulands (every time I type that it sounds so official, but I don’t want any member of the family to be left out!) house, I was again impressed by what I saw. The houses on the street seemed to be similar to what you would find back home in Canada but the backyard was like nothing from here. In fact unless, one of you has a Rain Forest out your back gate, you wouldn’t be able to imagine the beauty of it either. Very cool to say the least!

Shortly after arriving, I was off to bed where I had a great sleep. I only awoke when I heard the Rooster crowing (yes, an actual live one – neighbours down the road have a few in their backyard) at around 6:00 – which actually seemed to be a lot later as the sun was already nice and bright. I enjoyed a nice breakfast with the kids and then they were off to school for 7:30 am – wow that’s early!!! However, it is nice that they get out at 2:00 and have a good portion of the afternoon to play and explore neat things.

While the kids were at school, I was able to get some shopping done with Jody and I must say that Panama is my new favorite place to shop. The prices in the stores are about 50% less then what you would pay at the same stores back in Canada and the local stores are much less. I was able to buy nice tops and even shoes for under $2.00.

We all went to Gamboa to go on the Monkey Island Tour. Now, I know that Jody has written about this tour before but I have to say that it was definitely worth experiencing first hand. Just to be able to be in the water of the canal was a really awesome experience. We were able to see huge Cargo ships up close as well as all sorts of creatures. These include crocodiles, lizards, sloths and of course monkeys. The monkeys were great. I was a little bit nervous about feeding them, but they are really gentle creatures. They have such tiny features and are like little children. I can see how some people would take them home as pets.

Sunday was met with church at Crossroads Bible Church. The service was great and I think that if they were in Calgary, I would definitely consider attending there. After church, we headed out to a picnic fundraiser for the Shriner’s. There we ate really yummy chicken and some traditional fruit/vegetable? That is eaten in place of potatoes. I don’t remember the name but did not like them so that is probably why I don’t remember…

Trent took me to see the Canal. Now, this was really interesting. I didn’t think that I would necessarily enjoy this aspect of the tour but found it really fascinating once I was there. Again I know that Jody has written about this before so I won’t repeat but I must say that I have a brand new appreciation!

We went biking on the causeway and that was a blast. We rented two seater bikes and I took turns pedaling Emma, Easton and Everett around. That was very fun (and a great work out for my pear shaped body to boot!) The scenery was also very beautiful here, I love being near water and smelling the salty air. This aspect of the trip reminded me a bit of the boardwalk in Eastern passage Nova Scotia.

I convinced Trent and Jody to let the kids skip school in honour of my last full day in Panama. However, we did spend much of the morning on school work. Emma was able to buzz through quite a bit of her grade two curriculum from Canada and the boys each completed one full 33 page work-book that I had brought with me. All three of them are very bright children!

After our “school time”, we had some lunch and headed out to the mall. Now this was going to be interesting. I was able to drive Trent’s truck with all three kids in tow through the streets of Panama. Now this was interesting given the fact that Panamanians are not the most courteous drivers. We made it though and were able to pick up a great pool for the kids to enjoy for hours to come.

All in all, it was a wonderful time and I was very blessed to be able to go and share a week in the life of the Schmuland family. Of course it is hard having physical distance from people that you love but if there has to be distance, then Panama is an excellent choice. I am sure that I will go again one day!

love Melody

The kids are doing amazing in school. They just had their first report cards and even in the Spanish taught subjects (math, social, Spanish of course & computers) they are doing great. I can't really read their homework but they seem to get it. They love their school and the teachers have been very patient with us parents since our Spanish is not 100%. Easton is taking Taekwondo as well as swimming and an art class with Emma. Besides an art class Emma is now back in the water swimming, which she loves. Our little man Ev is going to school three days a week picking up more and more Spanish. He will be talking to me and then all of a sudden a Spanish word comes out. I wish I knew what went on in his mind.

(I wanted to show how macho Trent looks beside his big manly BBQ. This is as good as it gets. We were having friends over for a BBQ but we didn't have one so Trent ran to the store and this is what he came home with... we used it once, that is all it was good for :- )

(here is a cute picture of the kids and Emma's best buddy Luiza. They are a wonderful family from Brazil)


Happy 6th Birthday EASTON

Easton said he did not want a big birthday party so he chose to keep it quite at home. I think my kids are overwhelmed with the idea of a Panamanian birthday party... they are pretty wild.

East wanted a Superman party so we had his friend Jesse over, played games and ate his yummy cake. I can't believe my little boy is 6. Time is flying way to fast, but if you are a parent you already know that.

(Emma & I decorated a little bit in the kitchen and when East walked in he said "Now this is what I am talking about" as he yelled in excitement about his birthday. It is funny how a few balloons will make a kid so happy)

(Ev snuck a lick of cake... sneaky guy)

(Here is a picture of the interesting Superman Cake, Panama style)



(They are great buddies. At school they are always together and really rely on eachother because of the language barrier. It is great to see them look out for one another)

(Jesse with East and Ev. Alot of testosterone in the house this day)

(Easton chose to go mini golfing after school to celebrate his actual birthday. There is a good little course here at Albrook Mall)

Our New Pad... I have been asked many times about our house... it was raining the other afternoon & I had some time on my hands so I took pictures to show where we are living right now. We are renting a place in the area of Clayton. It is the old army district that the Americans built after the invasion. Our place has been somewhat updated, unlike some other places around here that are complete original (not very nice at all). When we moved in I had the whole interior repainted to bring a bit of life into our space... it is a great place for us right now.
Four bedrooms, two story and a park across the street, in a safe area outside the city.
We are minutes from the kids school and the Panama Canal.

(the front of the house, I am standing on the street. The big tree blocks the second story)

(our front entrance, to the left is our office and the downstairs washroom)

(our front room. I am missing all my paintings and pictures that we will get when we come back to Calgary in June. I need my pictures on the walls, they look to bare right now)

(our dinning room which is across from the living room. You can see the kitchen to the left and outside behind the hutch is the backyard)

(here is the original kitchen, expect the floors. The house came non furnished so we had to get furniture. I opted to have a picnic table in the kitchen so the kids could do WHATEVER they wanted at the table and not touch my dinning table... I LOVE the picnic table, very easy cleanup)

(the stairwell going upstairs. We need some art, bookshelves and window covering to warm up the space)

(the boys colorful room)

(Miss Emma's room, which turns into the guest room when we have people down)

(our bathroom, it has been all redone)

(the kids bathroom. It is so great having a bath again. It is very rare to find a house with a bathtub here so we are very appreciative)

(it is raining so excuse the shot. I am standing in the boys room looking out back. This is our backyard)

(now I am standing in our bedroom this is what I see. This is a storage shed that could easily be turned into a guest house in the future)

(Trent and Everett playing games in the fourth bedroom that we turned into a TV room. Again I need my pictures to put on the wall, they look so bare with out smiling faces. All we do in this room is play games and watch movies. We have NO local TV or Cable.... no TV at all. Somedays I miss it especially now that we have watched pretty much every movie at Blockbuster. Time to get Cable or Satellite when we get back from Canada)

(I am standing at our TV room window. It is over cast so the picture is a bit unclear in the background... we are in jungle territory. We had 5 parrots in our trees the other morning making very loud noises)

(I snuck in a picture of Easton at soccer. The coach yells all in Spanish and he gets it... It amazes me how much they understand when to me it all sounds like one big word because they talk so fast. East is on the left side of the picture)

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY EVERETT!
For Everett's birthday he did not want any celebration at school he just wanted a cake, a few cars and to go to Spaceworld Amuzment park. I can't believe my baby boy is now 4... time is flying by. It is so much fun to watch all of them grow up and explore life.

(happy birthday Pal. Trent and the kids. Emma is holding Lola the cat, not our cat our friends cat, we are babysitting it while they are in the States. Our cat passed away unfortunately so babysitting another cat is a great solution for not getting another one :- )

(Nothing but McQueen for Ev)

(Huff & Puff & blow your candles out)

(I am not sure if he could get a bigger piece in his mouth. Emma cut the pieces for us)

(my big boys... they are very funny together)

Since Everett's birthday and Mothers Day fell on the same day the kids wanted to take me to dinner. It was a perfect way to end a fantastic day.

(here the kids are at Multiplaza the best mall in Panama with the district Paitilla in the background. Paitilla is full of high rises and this is where Trump Tower is going (Donald Trumps big building). On the left side of this picture behind the hospital is a shanty town. This is a great comparison of other side of the tracks. Rich on one side / poor on the other. Some of the richest people in Latin America live in these apartments)

We are heading back to Canada in less than a month. I am so excited to see family and friends, eat at our favorite restaurants, get assistance in English, see English TV, have a Starbucks and just enjoy the people we miss.

Our flight lands late on June 12th and we have a whirl wind two weeks in Calgary before we had up to Edmonton for a quick visit... then off to the lake for the rest of the summer. Our plane departs Calgary at the end of August to head back south. It will go by way to fast but all worth the memories.

Have a great summer. For all who are in Canada I really hope the weather is amazing and you get a warm, beautiful summer to make up for the long, snowy winter!

Signing off unless something unusual happens between now and June 12th for a blog entry. If not this will be my last update until Sept most likely.

Congratulations to the new babies!

* Congratulations to my cousin Scott & his wife Christa, they had their first healthy baby boy named Desmond in May .

*Congratulations to Felicity & Vito Cortese on their third bundle of joy Mackenzie another May baby.

*Babies are in the air! We are also awaiting the news of the storks arrival at the Olynyk's house which will bring yet another May baby!

Have a fantastic summer, keep in touch and see you soon :- )
love Jode, Trent, Em, East & Ev

Roatan, Honduras

Hello... Hello...

Wow it is already March 2008... Please tell me how to slow time down! I have an answer... watch a sloth. Trent came home and said to me he just watched this animal take over 5 minutes to cross the road that a local called a bear. My response was "there are no bears in Panama". The kids and I ran to check it out ourselves and there we found a sloth S-L-O-W-L-Y crossing our neighbors yard. It was pretty cool, this was our first time seeing a wild sloth just roaming around and let me tell you they are unbelievably slow.

(keep going you can do it! As you can imagine the kids loved seeing this cute little sloth on our neighbors lawn)

March and the kids are back in school (I am happy for them, but I am sad) The kids have started a new school, they are going to a bilingual school Spanish/English with studies in Greek. It is a Greek school so the kids will have twice a week Greek language classes as well as Mass in their Orthodox Church. The first day went great! Everett was unsure at first but when we picked him up at noon he was so happy. We saw Emma & Easton when we picked up Everett and Trent asked Emma "have you met any friends?" her reply very casually was "I have tons of friends". We are so proud of them, they have had a lot of changes and they adjust amazing dealing with all kinds of situations. They are very special kids! Today is day two and they were excited to get to school. Emma has a Spanish test next week and I will be learning right along with her... I have no idea what the words were... wish me luck.

(the kids like these uniforms way better than their last school... Here they are on the trampoline right before heading off to school - their shirts should be tucked in but we were in a hurry. School starts at 7:30am here... early I tell you :- )

Since I last wrote we made our trip to Roatan, Honduras to meet the Richards and two other couples they came down with. Our plane landed on Roatan at 9:30am Feb 23, 2008 to a beautiful island! The first night we were on island we had no hotel booked because we came a day early. Trent found us a place to lay our heads for the night at the new Infinity Bay resort... oh my was it beautiful... the room was amazing, the beach was out of a magazine and the water was for sure some of the best visibility we have seen in a while.

(A view of the hotel from the water... it was beautiful)

(water taxis to venture to other areas on the island)

(the water is amazing as you can see)

The first night we were all in bed at 7:00pm and slept the whole night through since we left our house in Panama at 3:00am to catch our flight. Like any night before we leave on a trip Trent & I didn't really get any sleep packing, locking the house up... the usual stuff when leaving our house unattended for a few weeks.

(No Ginger, the beach and sand does not get old..haha)

The second day we checked into the Mayan Princess resort in the West Bay area of Roatan... again the beach could not be anymore perfect for the kids.... and the pool, well I have to drag the kids out to get them to eat and drink.

The Richards came a week after us as I mentioned with two other families. In total we had 8 adults & 10 kids ages between 18months - 8yrs. The locals around the resort called us the Army.

(Schmuland Family 3kids, Richards Family 2kids, Zeer Family 2kids & Stevenson Family 3 kids... it was fun... & crazy at times)

Trent had been fighting off pneumonia and into week two was still not improving. While on Roatan he went to the doctor and found out he had strep throat as well as an ear infection... it was a very long month around here. I am happy to report now he is all cleared up and back to being a healthy guy.. thank goodness! Trent was so sick that he was in bed by 9:00pm and was not even touching cervezas with his buddy Rob (that is how sick he was!) Trent did muster the energy to relax in the sun though.

(I kid you not, a gentleman came and starting serenading the guys... they look cute together...haha)

I have been asked "Where is Roatan?" Roatan is in Honduras, Central America. Roatan is the largest of the Bay Islands being 60km long and 8km wide at its wides point, the population is about 30,000 people. 126 years ago the British occupied the island so to our surprise many people spoke English on Roatan. There is no other obvious evidence that the British were here other than the English language. The cars drive on the right side of road and the structures are typical island buildings. The people are however very dark skinned and are mix of Jamaican, Antillie decent and some accents are very thick. It is a real blend.

We rented a car to explore at our own free will. The island has only two main roads which acts as a ring road so there is no way you can not get lost here... but is does take a while to get around. The people do not drive as crazy as the Panamanians but you still have to be cautious when turning corners.

Coxen Hole is the main town... it looked very rough the first time we drove through it but not to bad the second time. To the grocery store we went and oh my goodness groceries are expensive on Roatan compared to Panama, to my surprise though the stores had a decent selection of goods.

Cruise ships port at Coxen Hole 6 days/week with two ships on Wednesday. It was funny to see elderly people come off the cruise and arrive at a town that is NOT Americanized at all.. it is very local. When we have been in town the senior citizens walk slowly down the street and they do not seem very interested in going into the little dirty shops.

(some local boys hanging out on the street)

(this house caught my eye by the ocean on our way to Coxen Hole)

(a local street on Coxen Hole town)

(see all the laundry hanging above the deck... I love pictures like this)



(We found the hospital, not quite what you would expect in North America)



(local fruit stand... I thought it was a great example of reusing & recycling. The fruit was delicious and even cheaper than Panama)

Roatan is one of the top scuba diving destinations in the world. Trent did a lot of diving along with the other guys in our group. They started slowly by going on a regular dive then graduated to a ship wreck that Trent said was very cool. They dove down to 110 feet... way to far for me. They could not stop at a ship wreck... they decided to make things a bit more interesting by going on a shark dive. YES shark dive! Trent's exact words were "this was one of the top 5 things I have ever experienced in my life."

The premise of the dive went like this:
*arrive at the dive shop
*have a safety briefing finding out if anyone messes up the whole dive is called off
*jump off the boat and descend to the bottom of the ocean 70 feet
*notice sharks swimming around 10-15 feet away
*dive master signaled to swim with the sharks - CRAZY.... swam with the sharks within 4-5 feet
*prepositioned divers for TREAT TIME
*5 gallon bucket was tossed 20feet away from the divers and the sharks took turns diving their heads into the bucket. One shark got his head stuck on the bucket and thrashed around to get it off.
*sharks took all the food, then they disappeared
*safe to ascend to the top to return to the boat

Trent got a video of the whole things and it is pretty wild. He insists next time I am going with him... I might have to think about that!

NOTE: the sharks that showed up were Grey Reef Sharks traditional non aggressive sharks but they are still wild predators... no Great Whites travel the waters down here, how comforting.

(here you can see just how close the sharks are to the divers)

(this is the real deal... Grey Reef Sharks... none aggressive but BIG, 10 feet long big)

(the three amigos... Jason Zeer, Rob Stevenson & Schmu)

(he is still a comedian under the surface with Sharks lurking all around)

On to the next Adventure:

We heard on the island there was an Iguana Farm.... the iguana's on the island have been hunted to extremely low numbers and this farm is trying to populate the island again. However this is probably one of the most creepy excursions we have ever done to date. The kids LOVED it.

The Iguana farm... the local people hunt the animals for food, they told us they taste like chicken. There was just WAY to many iguanas scurrying around in one place for me. They were disgusting!!!!!!! The gentleman gave the kids mango leafs for them to feed the iguanas, it was just plan disgusting, the iguanas all came running grabbing the leafs and some even were climbing up Easton. I was content staying back and taking pictures. As you can imagine the kids thought it was AWESOME, Trent tired to be funny and put a leaf by my feet to get the iguanas to come close to me... I was not to impressed! Easton slipped and stepped on an iguana's head and I nearly had a heart attack. Trent told me to relax and I said "save it, there is no way I will ever relax here".

(it was interesting to say the least)

(my boys said they would like one for a pet... over my dead body I told them)

(East loved when they crawled up him... disgusting!!!)

(even my baby girl got into the action.. she is not GIRLY when it comes to creatures)

(look at this dinosaur related iguana... I wonder sometimes why God made some of these animals)

(this one liked to be pet, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment)



(Everett could not get enough of feeding them, we stayed forever for them to eat and eat the mango leaves. One of iguana's favorite foods are bananas.. they went bananas for them..haha)



(the kids loved the Iguanas so much that we went back with the Richard Family. Here is Jordyn fascinated with the built in leash of her new friend... it was really funny)

The iguana's mate once each year and this just happened to be mating season. Like any other creature the males fight for ownership if you will... who is chief. When the males are about to fight the large flap under their chin expands and they nod their heads up and down. Emma was in the middle of one of these alpha male episodes and I again could of fainted...

Once the female eggs are fertilized she goes in the hills to dig a hole for her off spring, she then covers them up with mud. It is a 90 incubation period then at night or early morning the tiny eggs hatch and out pop little green iguanas about 1foot long. This farm takes the little babies and keep them in pens until they are approximately 1yrs. old which then they are released around the island for re population. The farm is trying to educate the locals about extinction and the program is slowly working. It was a very interesting day.

The side of the island we stayed on is usually very calm and the wind blows from the east. For a few days though the winds took a turn blowing from the West, making the beach a bit rough. The kids could not swim and it was so cold I was in my jeans and sweater. Since we had a cloudy day we took advantage to explore another local park called Gambalimba . The kids love anywhere Pirates have been and this park displayed a bit of pirate history. At this park the kids held parrots and a few white faced monkeys... what kids don't love that?

(we are about to enter the unknown, the cave of pirates, a picture in case we never made it to the other side :- )

(East with his 1700's pirate buddy)



(This was a long swing bridge... Emma started to rock it and Trent (sorry honey) was yelling like a girl for her to stop... he did not like that AT all. Emma said she was acting like Shrek on the draw bridge over the lava and Trent was acting like Donkey... STOP THAT!



(I present Joshua & Barnie they were heavy. Easton had a hard time)



(these beautiful birds flew all around the park, can you say Free as a Bird)



(Trent made a new friend also, his name is Peter... he was 6months old. Trent mentioned he would like a pet monkey... NO WAY)

The absolute best part of the park was the Canopy Tour or know as a ZIP LINE... I did it again and this time I had two new partners with me ... Emma & Easton. They LOVED it. Easton told me it was now his favorite sport. Emma was old enough to go on her own but Easton was assisted by a guide on most lines. There were 18 platforms and one of the zips we went on we traveled about 60km.. it was fast... They are my thrill seekers, Everett would of came but I think he is still a bit to young to fly through trees.

(Me and my adventure seeking partners... East almost 6yrs. old and Emma 8yrs. old)

(Emma flying through the air... she loved it)

(it is obvious Easton L-O-V-E-D this. I think he will be a life long thrill seeker)

Tori Richards really wanted to go zipping so with a twist of our arm Em, East, & I went again zipping with Tori... I wonder if it ever gets old! However this time we went zipping they put a new twist on it, Easton and I flew like Superman for a few lines. I do have to say I was very nervous for this stunt, I could not buckle in my safety clip for this but I was with a guide. The part that made my stomach turn was not having anything to hold onto and I was unable to stop myself..CRAZY i KNOW!

(here is me flying like Superman... It was FREAKY, but a blast, I screamed the whole way)

(Tori said it was WICKED, amazing, so much fun, she is very proud she did it)

(here the view from up on the zip line, it is truely amazing here)

The view was breathtaking and it was alot of fun with Em and Easton... I wonder what they think about when they lay their heads down at night?

Before the Richards came we met another couple with their little 4yr. old girl from New York. Bless this little girl. She was born with one leg shorter than the other and this was their first holiday where she can just be a kid. Nicolette is her name, she is just learning to run for the first time in her short life because she has had so many surgeries and has been in a wheel chair to accomodate her large casts... The kids have had alot of fun with Nicolette.

(out for dinner at a pizzareia ... it was fun even when the power went out and it was pitch black. So black you can not even see your hand in front of your face.. no joke)

(everyday at 4:00pm we hit the beach for yummy ice cream)

Below are a few pictures from our condo and the amazing sunsets we were witness to each and everynight.

(here is our condo. There are three units ground level and three units above. Our unit was the top left one and the Richards stayed right below us. It was a great set up, you can't get any closer to this amazing beach)

(here is a view from our patio that we took in each day)

(then a picture taken during the sunset)

(Trent & Everett on a stroll at the West End - another little town on Roatan. It is a one dirt road town with huge pot holes, it reminded Trent & I of Phi Phi Island in Thailand)

(Emma doing some school work, she is not to happy about that. I told her to smile because the school setting could not get any better)

The pool area at the Mayan Princess was spatacular. If one day we ever get a chance to build a pool somewhere in this world I know what I would do. We spent every day in the pool with a minimum of 3 hours splashing, playing and tossing the kids around. Our Army seemed to be the only group in the pool most days.

(the kids loved when Trent & Rob tossed them into the sky to fly like birds. Here is Everett being tossed nice and high like he wanted. I had to close my eyes a few times it was so high)

(Rob got Easton so high that he looks like he is litterly flying with the birds)

(Boys will be boys... they could not keep their hands off eachother... practicing all their football moves from a LONG time ago)


(The boys always kiss and make up... It's good have a buddy)



(what is a buddy without sharing a stoggie to celebrate their wonderful lives)

Because of the beautiful pool setting I was able to get the kids to sit long enough for a few pictures, all it took me was a bribe of ice cream on the beach.

(Ev you melt my heart)

(oh how you guys are spoiled... you are sooooo worth it)

(a fun mid afternoon break with all the families - we took a tour of the ocean mysteries on a glass bottom boat, with a submarine like chamber below to look out through. It was fun looking out the windows trying to find all kinds of different fish. One of the best parts was seeing so many scuba divers underneath us)

Dolphin Time: I had no intentions of going to see the Dolphins here in Roatan until I heard first hand from a local and from doing some reading that the facility here is one of the best. The enclosure is large and the dolphins if they wanted could jump out of the pen. Dolphins everyday follow the scuba dive boats out for the fun of the dive and there is no riding the dolphins, which I was happy about.

One afternoon the Schmulands and Richards loaded into the car for yet another interesting day. The kids had such a great time. We were able to go right into the water with the dolphins and learn all about them which again was a great learning experience for our kids.

- Did you know a Mommy dolphin is pregnant for 12 months. The calf sticks with its' Mom up to 6 yrs. What I found facinating was that a dolphins sleeps in two folds, it rolls on its side for one half of the brain to sleep while the other side controls the breathing. When the left side of the brain is finished sleeping it rolls to the right to sleep that side of the brain. Very interesting!

(Rob, Jaymee & Trent on our way to see the dolphins)

(this is Bill, he is 6yrs. old & was very playful... he liked the camera)

(the Richards family taking in the moment)

(Tori & I had the privilage of going back to see & SWIM with the dolphins on an other day. It was amazing! Swimming with the dolphins ment snorkeling all around them and watching them interact with eachother. They are very curious animals. We were told they would come check us out and did they ever, they brushed up against us, wanted us to just play around. There were only six of us snorkeling watching them chase eachother and play around. Among the group was a baby who was a character. It was truely amazing and it was so great to see them just swimming freely being themselves. One even pooped right in front of me... I was not expecting that I tell you.


Trent & his fishing
What would our life be if Trent was not out fishing every chance he had. Sick or not he would be out on the water.

(Trent went flat fishing for Trigger fish, Bone fish & Permit fish. He loved it. In this picture he is holding a Trigger fish which gave a good fight (that is what he is looking for) Trent went out a few times leaving our condo at 5:00am to meet his guide. Nothing keeps this man from the fish! He did try deep sea fishing once while we were on Roatan but I think he has realized it is better to keep his money for where the big fish run in Panama. One day I will be have a picture of Trent & his Marlin)


A few pictures with no particular catagory except I like them :- )


(three munchkins dancing up a storm listening to the live band at the beach... they are great dancers)

(The boys are giving the HARD EYE just for Nick)



(Emma and her new friend Alex. They spent alot of time together in the two weeks the families were together... it was fun)

A few scenic shots I like... just because.


(I LOVE this picture of my little Monk Everett. I love it because I see a little boy walking towards the huge adventures that are before him... so pure, so innocent)

(we drove down to a local community on the otherside of the island and this is where I found this little boat. I wondered what the story is behind it)

(this picture was taken at Coral Cay Marine Park on Roatan. The chairs were lined up perfectly on the beach what seemed to be for a mile. There was not a sole on the beach because no cruiseship came in that day due to bad weather)


GOOD-BYE TO THE RICHARDS... It was a great time and we had so much fun with the girls, they are my little buddies... we spent alot of time together! Until we meet again xoxooxox.

(a nice picture at sunset on our way to Infinity Bay for dinner)


The last supper

For our last night together someone talked to Ramone (the Armies personal waiter basically) to set up a special dinner on the beach. Oh what a picture perfect spot to say our good-byes, enjoy some vino, lots of cervazas, daiquiris and of course rummers. Most of the kids syated up late running around the beach bearing eachother while the babies of the families laid their heads nicely against their pillows.

(our table being set up at sunset)

(cheese everyone... a great meal!)

(the kids playing around way to late... Isabell, Emma, Alex & of course Easton with the girls)


WARNING MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO SOME... IT SURE WAS TO US... WE FOUND TWO MOONS ON THIS NIGHT... SOME VERY white MOONS... WARNING!!!

(I thought I had seen it all. But a bum kiss is the first for me.. p.s I told you I would put it on :- )

(our final picture with the adults & Ramon our server. At our last dinner we all paid and left a good tip for Ramon. He came to us after he counted the money and had tears in his eyes because we left approx. $150 dollars for his tip and he told us that is almost what he makes in a month. Now that puts life in perspective... He has a 2yr. old son & wife and he makes $200/month working 6 days a week)

Our final goodbye. It was a great three weeks. Again I could not be more thankful for my life, the safetly and health of my family and experiencing everything we are blessed with. On this trip we met up with our dear friends the Richards and met some new friends we will see in the future.

To everyone back in Canada... we miss you!!! Before we know it we will be boarding a plane again to come visit.

Thank you for following my journal and for all of you who think I write to much( Trent, Bonnie)... I do :- ) I like to not forget the small details because over time we all know we forget things. I have always been a somewhat detailed person but since the death of my Dad and subsenquintly the birth of the kids I do not want to forget anything... I find for me photographs and words bring me right back to that moment... which I love. One day I hope my kids will look back and the same thing will happen for them.

Take care, give your loved ones a big squeeze and until next time.

love Trent * Jody * Emma * Easton & Everett