2009 Island Air Event

Tyson seems to have made some changes in my blog.......I can't seem to be as computer/blog savvy as my sister in law. I am just doing well to post!

This is the 3rd year running that we (Residences at Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman) have been apart of the Island Air Event. Island Air is The FBO (Fixed Based Operation......private terminal) here on the island. It is also where Tyson's office is located. The event is an effort to display the elite options the island has to offer. Cessna is one of the biggest contributors. They bring their jets down for display and allow us plebeians to climb around on them in hopes to make a sale. hee hee, we like to pretend.

There were three jets, and one prop. A few boats....the Riva included....., Audi, BMW, sparkly rocks and of course .... real estate. This year we had a cold front come in ( they keep coming), and it was extremely cold ....for here. The hangar was fairly sheltered, but on the ramp the wind ripped through! I did bring a long sweater which I could have auctioned off and made some money.

A good night....but smaller than the year before, more than likely due to the weather.

Happy Birthday Brayton!

We now have a 12 year old! So hard to believe!

His choice this year was to have a 'prank' sleep-over. We had 7, twelve and thirteen year olds for the night. Equipped with whip-cream, whoopee cushions, pop rocks, hand buzzers, snapping gum, silly string, etc. It might sound overwhelming, but the group is a great bunch of kids. I think they all had a pretty good time. They spent the evening swimming, playing laser tag, water guns, getting each other with silly string and rounded the evening off with fireworks. Monitored by Tyson of course. Snacks, Pizza, fruit soda, buffalo wings, and Brayton's request....a large cookie cake! (my first attempt.....seemed to be a hit!)

It is easy to put aside Brayton's age because of his height.....until you group his friends around him. One of his friends, Alex, is as tall as Tyson....at 12yrs. old! Brayton has some catching up to do!

With me being a bit handicapped this was Tyson's production. We tried to talk Brayton into postponing the celebration a week, but it only resulted in tears. I did as much as I could earlier this week then handed responsibility over to him after surgery. He did a great job.....I was not much help. I think the hardest part was staying up late monitoring. The boys did stay up later than Tyson could last.....that is when the whip cream came out.

We were one less boy, Davin went to his friends house for the night. We do miss him, but it did help to not have the 'strongest' personality in the house. There are times when the age difference is VERY evident!

The party is winding down as I write this, they are still bopping around the house. Tyson has done a bit of clean up. All in all the house is still standing. I don't think there was any property damage and no one was hurt. I take this to mean it was a successful celebration. Tyson has warned me regarding the bathroom........7 boys using one little bathroom.....ew. Maybe I will call a helper in. :)

***as for me.....I had splints removed yesterday. NOT a fun experience, but quite a relief. I think recovery speeds up from here.

Finishing the year out!

Dad and I went fishing on Dec 31st. We went out just north of the reef, along the North Wall. 3-400 yards out it drops off about 3,000ft. Wahoo or Mahi Mahi were the catch in mind that day. We were dragging a rubber squid about 100ft. behind the boat....... all of a sudden the pole bent and the reel started singing. FISH ON!! Dad was the one next to the pole......Start reeling! After a short fight we saw a grey fish behind the boat......I thought Barracuda or wahoo....then the sword was apparent....Dad had landed about an 80 lb sailfish. We did not have any gear for such a catch. Pretty much unprepared! Dad brought it along the side of the boat, while I grabbed a beach towel to grab it's sword.

After two fights in hand we were able to get some proof pictures and release the hook! It then slowly and gracefully return to the depths of the Cayman blue water.

What a way to finish 2008!!

Christmas Day

Merry (belated) Christmas!

There is so much to catch up on, I will take it one event at a time. It was quite a whirlwind holiday.

Christmas Day was incredible! Warm, clear, no wind......perfect! We spent the morning opening presents (Davin did NOT get his two front teeth :))and at about 10am we headed to the beach. We set up camp. Bagels and lox, fruit and drinks......Yummo! We had visits from different friends all day. The beach has a unique feel on Christmas day, very few tourists, and full of celebrating ex-pats. There was even a Christmas tree!

At 4pm we packed up and headed home to grill our Turkey. We had a very simple dinner under the stars on our back patio.

The Holidays are here! We feel it in the vibe of the island.

The one with the red crown!

The Holidays are here! We feel it in the vibe of the island.

One more week of school!

I just had Parent Teacher conferences for both boys. Davin is doing well and his teacher thinks he is the sweetest boy ever. She has moved him up to the higher math class......it seems to come to him quite easy. His reading continues to improve and he likes to help the other students that are struggling.

Brayton has around 10 teachers....Whew! The school held the conferences in the auditorium with ALL the teachers set up at desks around the room. The parents were to 'teacher hop' around the room. I did make it to almost all of his teachers. Funny.....almost everyone of them expressed how impressed they were with Brayton pulling himself together the last few weeks. If you have read my earlier posts, you might see that he had a bit of a rough time with transitioning over to the High Side. We have noticed a settling in at home as well. He seems to have returned to the old Brayton......taking initiative and enjoying his education. We are working on his organizational skills and have drastically cut his extra curricular activities. We started out with a bit too much.....live and learn.

>DaviSPAN>n was a Wise Man in the school play today. He has been soooo excited about it for weeks.........he voiced his reminders AT LEAST twice a day for the last several weeks, in typical Davin fashion. He did very well with his one line, and his singing. You could see his gaping smile from the back row. He now seems to think he is on stage whenever he sings. You can't miss his little voice in meeting or singing grace.

Brayton is busy preparing for his x-mas concert. He has had several before school practices (Ick). The big night is Monday....It is a pretty big night for the school, as the tickets have to be purchased. All proceeds go to their music program. Brayton is inviting everyone to come see him play the trumpet. He is a bit sad that Bacca and Grandma won't make it in time to see him.

Then on Tuesday Brayton is in an inner-primary school sailing race......did I say we slowed down on activities?...........It is supposed to be an all day thing. From what I hear St. Ignatius wins every year. Brayton is partnering up with his buddy Cameron, I guess they are quite the sailors. I will try to post pictures from both events.

As for Tyson and I.......the holiday season keeps us quite busy. Events and engagements fill our calendar. It gets a bit hectic but things soon slow again after the new year..............well supposed to.

******Oh! Almost forgot.....After a the long wait for season opening, and then a wait for appropriate weather.....Frustrating......we got our start on Lobster season last weekend! Tyson brought in the mother of all Lobsters......41inches from whip to tail.....tail was 11inches. Delicious!

'Winter' is here!

I think it is safe to say that hurricane season is over! We had several weeks of windy, rainy weather which has been quite depressing. But I think our 'winter' weather has begun! It is sunny again, in the low 80's with the humidity quite a bit lower. With the weather come the in-flow of the tourists. We are not complaining though, the island seems to 'wake-up' a bit during this time.

We had a great night at Taste of Cayman. The restaurants of the island show off their culinary expertise, and share it with us. I think there was a record turn out. Many of the booths ran out of food. One thing Cayman is not short of is great restaurants. Yummy!

Our thanksgiving dinner was at one of our only American friends (we have 3.......American that is :)). They have just finished building their house in Governors Harbor. Very nice.....great canal views. It felt very weird though....It not being a holiday here. No time off school or anything. Tyson and I went and sat on the beach for an hour that afternoon and tourist watched. Only a 2 fanny pack warning that day ( 2 ships in port).

Lobster season opens on Monday! Tyson is taking the day off work Tuesday and we will go out on the boat while the boys are in school. We are crossing our fingers for good weather.

Brayton continues to improve with the trumpet, and Davin is losing more teeth.

We are all looking forward to Mom and Dad coming!

Whew!

Another one under our belt with minimal damage.....at least for Grand Cayman. Our sister islands did not fare so well.

This one really crept up on us. We did follow our hurricane plan....only had to combine Day #5,4,and 3 into one day. Tyson flew us off island on Thursday and the airport was closed 9am on Friday morning. Shaunna, Tyson's hurricane "buddy", caught up with us on Saturday morning.
We buckled down and monitored the storm, Waiting to see if relief efforts were necessary. Luckily ......there were not! I did get word that a tree fell on my car and the roof was damaged (Small hole, should be able to patch). Yikes! That seems to be the biggest casualty of the storm. There were a lot of trees down and a few power lines as well.

We hung out in Florida while Tyson did what work he could. I got a bit of shopping in......have to get it while I can. We returned home today via American Airlines. Tyson went on to Indiana for recurrent training. We were greeted by a listing island. Trees, plants, and street signs were all leaning to the west. We have been listing to the clean up efforts...chainsaws and gardeners all evening. The only obvious affect of Paloma.

While we were gone Davin lost one of his front teeth. He has got a huge gaping, hole in his mug and he talks with a lisp even more. I will post pictures as soon as possible. There seems to be several more loose.

Next on the agenda..........planning our American Thanksgiving. There are not many Americans here, but we still need turkey!

*****Computer problems last night....I was not able to post. Quick update from today.....I just received a call from Brayton's trumpet teacher telling me that if he continues on the path he is currently on, he will be the best trumpet player in the school and maybe even the island before his time. It is quite amazing because he just started this year. I am told that he is the keenest of keen players.....his instructor is British. At least there is one subject we do not have to nag him to put in more effort!