Bermuda Vacation 2011: Last Day in Paradise

What do you do when you have 24 hours left in paradise?  Do you just sit in one place and try to slow the clock or do you run at full speed and absorb all you can?  We just weren’t sure what to do.

We had a good rain overnight, the humidity was really high but the skies were clearing very nicely. So, all in all, it looked like a “go” day.

Bermuda Vacation 2011: Fancy That!

Another great day!  I think we’ve come up with a great plan for the perfect vacation…it’s called RELAXING!  No worries…no schedules…no cooking…no cleaning…!  Ahhhh.  Is this how all the other people have been doing it all along?  Why didn’t someone tell me!

It was my running day so we started at the beach. The wind was really strong and the waves were big again.  With the rough surf comes seaweed…about a ton of it!  It had blown so much overnight that the beach had little dunes over by the beach house.  We stayed down at the beach just enjoying the waves and rough surf.  There weren’t lots of people there which is just my cup of tea.

Bermuda Vacation 2011: Storms are Brewing

Today was the day to go to town.  The skies have gotten dark and something is coming…not sure what but knowing our luck it’s a huge pile of rain! So, we thought we better scoot off to town now rather than tomorrow.

Tami & Mark stayed home and went to the beach.  They’re getting awfully brave.  They drove the moped to town all by themselves at noon to meet us for lunch.  I think they’re getting the hang of it! I believe I heard Tami say, “I think we need about 3 weeks.”  That’s what I always say!  It’s a 3 week minimum…it takes me one week just to get over the fact that I’m really here!  The 2nd week I’m really having a good time.  By the 3rd week, I’m ready to move in permanently!  That’s usually when the voice-of-reason tells me to pack up and go back to Oklahoma.  I hate when he does that.

Bermuda Vacation 2011: The Perfect Day

This was truly the best day by far.  I’m not bragging because it’s Darin’s birthday…it simply was a great day.  The weather was perfect. The beach was perfect.  The boating was perfect.  The meals were perfect. The company was perfect.

We’re going to totally forget the fact that I had to run on the sandy beach at high tide. I lived…it was touch-and-go at times, but I lived.

Bermuda Vacation 2011: Love on the Rocks

Paradise isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.  Sometimes it can get a little rocky.  It’s all part of what makes us strong!  Today we had a few rocks.

I started the morning bright and early with my “walk”.  Since I’ve been banned from the Railway Trail without my personal body guards (Jesse & Brock), I walked up and down the hill to the house (and up and down and up and down). Actually I went up and down the front hill twice and the back hill 3 times.  It was only 2 miles but it was that stupid hill (I know…I’m not supposed say stupid!  I owe you $0.25). Maybe it’s my problem with the altitude…maybe my blood isn’t used to sea level yet?  Can I possibly be suffering from low altitude sickness?

Bermuda Vacation 2011: Day 2 in Paradise

Those are some happy “pigs”!  You have no idea how happy your feet can be when they’re in that soft white sand…ah, paradise.

Bermuda Vacation 2011: Childless in Paradise

We did it!  We made it to Bermuda without children!  It’s the strangest, most peculiar feeling to be here on vacation without them.   Bermuda just doesn’t quite look the same without the kids here to sift through the details with me!

Our flight from Tulsa was good.  Tami & Mark were ahead of us and we met them in Atlanta with just enough time to grab some lunch and make it to the gate to board.  Our in-flight movie was “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” so now I’m caught up with the kids who already saw the movie with Grandma!

It was so good to see Bermuda again.  We made it through Immigration and Bermuda Customs with no problems.  Actually, the plane was a bit early and we stepped out of the airport doors and onto the portico at 3:05 p.m.. We made really great time.

Fall Ain’t so Bad…

That time change came just in time to save my sanity!  I’ve enjoyed waking up in the SUNLIGHT for a change!  Of course, the trade-off is driving home in the dark every night.

But, the leaves have really become  so absolutely gorgeous.  The kids have been playing outside and we’ve been taking bike rides just to enjoy the cooler weather and beautiful views.   Here is some of what we’ve been doing the last few days:

Technically this is an "Ali-Alley-Oop"!

Swoosh!

Lies, Lies, Lies..

I’m not in the habit of lying….well, until recently.  And I’ve told enough lies in the last 6 months to put Pinocchio to shame!  But, it was for a good cause.  It just got VERY confusing towards the end when I couldn’t keep my lies straight anymore.  Which is why you should NEVER LIE!  Oh, what tangled webs we weave, when we practice to deceive!”.  YIKES!

It all started about 3 years ago.  We lied then too.  We told Jesse and Jacob we were meeting Mom at PF Changs for their 13th birthday.  We loaded up in Mom’s motorhome and headed towards Tulsa.  But, then we turned east and kept going.  We ended up in Chicago!  It was a great way to celebrate their passage into the teenage years.  We visited friends who were living in Joliet that were involved in a “church plant” mission that Jesse & Jacob had been financially and prayerfully supporting.  We wanted them to have heroes like this.

Jesse & Jacob in Joliet, Illinois for their 13th birthday.

We’ve Had a Breakthrough…

After years of living this way, we’ve finally had a breakthrough…an epiphany of sorts…or a birth of something wonderful….more like a dusty, dirty disaster!   Progress has it’s price!

Years ago, when we were living in our little camper-trailer (emphasis on LITTLE), we (the kids and me) guilted Darin into turning his shop into our living room/school room.  It worked really well.  We had room for our couches, dining room table, book shelves and even our washer/dryer and deep freezer.  We settled in very well…sleeping in the camper at night but basically living in the 15×30 foot room by the day.