(pic taken right before Kevin flew out to Grenada)
Let me quickly back up. Like I mentioned in past posts, we've had so many friends-who have done this program before and lived in Grenada- reach out and help prep us before coming. They set our expectations low, which has been a good thing. haha! We are alive and have been on the island for about 12 days now. I've been keeping notes in my phone so I can back log here and write everything down. So here we go...WEEK ONE!
Tuesday 8/20/19
Today is the day we fly out! I've been a nervous anxious wreck the past month, and especially the past week. Kevin flew out on the 10th. It's been reassuring to talk and face time with him.
We (my parents and the kids and I) flew out of SLC at 11:59pm. Our flight was delayed about 30 minutes. I'm SO glad we had the red eye because Bronx and Tinley thought the airport was a park and were running and playing all over the escalators. It was ridiculous. And at one point Bronx got Tinley laughing so hard that she peed her pants. I actually have a vid of it. So embarrassing but hilarious...now! Definitely not at the time. Tinley already has underwear issues (she says everything is too tight even though i buy 2-3 sizes bigger), so standing in the stall of the airport bathroom and making her change into new underwear was soooo fun. In the end she told me: "Mom. I'll make a deal with you. You let me wear my new sunglasses right now, and I'll put on some fresh underwear."....haha okay you win deal.
Our zillions of bags.
Luckily we could take our carts with us through TSA.
The second we could board and got settled on the plane, Bronx and Tinley were out. I honestly thought they'd be so excited (which they were) to be awake for takeoff, but sleep crept in and came fast. Ryder was a different story. I thought he would be completely out, or at least that the takeoff and hum of the plane would put him to sleep but nope, he was wide awake and screaming/crying. I felt bad for everyone on board with us. Luckily we had bought him a seat/ticket and had him sitting in his carseat for both flights. There was no way I was battling him on my lap for 10.5 hours. My mom and dad were sitting by him and tried passing him back and forth to get him to go to sleep. I felt so bad. I was sitting between Bronx and Tinley. I made my mom switch me finally and tried to get him to fall asleep. I think he finally fell asleep the last 45minutes, if that!
Wednesday 8/21/19
We landed in JFK (New York) around 6:30, which was 4:30 our time. Yikes! My parents and I were running on...no sleep. haha. Bronx and Tinley had slept the whole way thank goodness and they were at least happier. We hung out, tried to find some breakfast, which I somehow managed to buy 4 hotdogs for my kids....haha. I don't even know how to explain that one. But my kids ate 2 of them as soon as they had ketchup for them. So gross.
(JetBlue had this cute/fun little area for kids right off our gate, which was kinda lifesaving)
Our next (second/last) flight took off around 11. Thankfully Ryder slept for half of this one. It was 5.5 hours long. He did pretty good in his carseat for an hour, then started getting fussy. Aaaaannd then he threw up. Good times. It wasn't super horrible (but again, I felt bad for everyone around us! gah!). I cleaned him up, changed his diaper, threw some new clothes on him, and he was fine. He played around unbuckled until we had to land.
Good times right here. Anyone jealous yet? Or maybe I should ask: do you feel sorry for me?
hahaha
There's the island of Grenada!
(pronounced: Gre-NAE-da...not to be confused with the other Grenada over in Spain. haha. that one is pronounced: Gre-na-da)
Cute little faces not sure what to expect!
My dad, mom, and I just felt like zombies. Our main living area did not have AC. It was soooo hot. I can't even help you understand how hot unless you just come visit. hahaha. We had only one fan to help cool us all down too. We were all constantly wet and sticky and hot. Even Ryder started sitting in front of the fan to cool off. He knows what's up. Erin left us with dinner, which was lifesaving. We all went to bed around 10 (8pm Idaho/Utah time), and every single person slept past 10 the next morning. I don't know if I've ever slept better! AC blowing on my the whole time. Man AC is so wonderful. haha.
Thursday 8/22/19
Kevin had school and we cleaned. My parents were the biggest help. My mom and dad scrubbed everything down, played with the kids, and did the dishes (we don't have a dishwasher). While I unpacked and tried to find a place for everything. Kevin and I are definitely the type to get things put away quickly. We want it to feel clean and organized, and like everything has a place. We like to feel settled. That evening Kevin took us to the grocery store (IGA) and we quickly realized how dang expensive everything is here. It's insane. like 2-3x more expensive. eeeek! Really, it wasn't that shocking because our friends and people from the island had been telling us this for the past 7 months. The reality of buying a box of cereal for $7 US dollars is crazy. Definitely won't be eating a lot of cereal down here! I'm sooo thankful we packed other random food items like fruit snacks now. They're like gold. Forget about letting my kids have 2 or 3 packs a day (if they sneak em). Now they MIGHT get one pack to split between them if they're lucky! hahaha
Watching dad go to school!
He walks from our house to the bus stop down and around the corner. Then I'm able to have the car during the day with the kids.
If you know Tinley, you know she hates the heat...she was in her swimsuit and in front of the fan nonstop.
This evening after Kevin had classes and studied, we went out to the Grand Anse beach. Our first time on a beach as a family I think with Ryder! The last time was when we lived in Oregon and Bronx was a baby. Definitely prefer this type of beach. The sand is so white and so perfect and soft! Perfect for playing in. Then kids ran right out into the waves and have loved every second in it they can get. Even Ryder! It's so fun to see them playing and snorkling and back floating in the pretty blue water. After playing for a while we got dinner at Umbrella's. A popular restaurant that had been recommended by a lot of people. We can see why and liked the burgers! Need to go back and try more of their drinks now!
We got a "buried in the sand as a mermaid" pic. haha!
Friday 8/23/19
Friday was the day Kevin took me to get my drivers license. And then he made me drive home. Nooooooo I was so nervous to! This was probably one of the things I was dreading most! You drive on the opposite side of the car as well as road here. Everything is backwards. The blinker is on the right side, and the gear shift is on the left. That was weird getting used to. Lots of window wipers have been turned on instead of blinker signals! haha! There are literally no speed limits, and you'll often see buses/taxis and random other cars just stop in the road to talk to people/walkers and pick them up see if they need a ride. It's nuts. People here honk at and for everything too. So if you want to let someone know you're passing them, you honk(because remember there are no painted lanes).
This car just sits on the side of our little road.
Gives us a good little laugh as we drive by it everyday.
Our ghetto car that has glorious AC.
And a sweet paint job (you guys can tell when i'm being sarcastic right?)
Honestly I am super glad Kevin forced me to just learn and do it. I was able to drive around town lots for errands with my dad and mom while he was at school, and driving around more only helped me feel more confident.
It rain stormed off and on this day, which was cool to see because it just starts down pouring out of no where! Kevin had classes again, and we did more cleaning and organizing.
Hot and sweaty. Cleaning and tired. and that red fan in the background wasn't working (my dad looked at it and got a new fuse for it and got it working later in the week! so thankful!).
Saturday 8/24/19
Saturday I had an SO (significant others) meeting/orientation I had to go to. This allows me to pay my dues for the kids and I to use the SGU clubhouse pool, gym, go on campus, ride the buses for free, and do a lot of other stuff.
Always hunting for lizards.
Standing under our mango tree!
We went back home (our house is literally down the road from the school which i love) to pick up my parents and brought them back up to walk around the campus a little bit. We went and got smoothies at a little bagel shop (NY's Finest Bagels) inside the student center. We ate dinner also right there on campus at Subway (ahh something familiar..ish-ps there are zero fast food places here).
This dock is right on campus by the new gym and study hall.
After dinner we decided to make a stop at a new beach. We went to one over by the airport called Magazine beach. Ran into the cutest and sweetest family, the Morgans, who also happened to be in the ward (er, branch)! Also random: they were on the same midnight flight with us back in SLC and we didn't even know it!
(i feel these pics don't even do the sunset or sand or water justice. i also haven't edited any of them. straight from my phone. but man the views are definitely what makes this whole experience worth it.)
We stayed a little too late here after sunset/dark and got eaten alive by mosquitoes. Torture is right, I know you're thinking it cuz we were too! haha. I think we've all gotten pretty good at just ignoring the itch and not scratching them, but man those dang mosquitoes got us good that night.
I'm so glad you're documenting.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you parents were able to fly over there with you! Nolan screamed from Hong Kong to Seattle. It was the longest 12 hours of my life and everybody on the plane hated us. With a capital H. Seattle to Denver he slept so hard, ha ha ha.
Keep posting as you get a chance! Your place looks nice.