Casa nueva, coche nuevo!

We have had quite the experiences here lately!  We purchased a new-to-us car recently here on the island, which makes for more ease of getting around (back and forth to the beach).  Also, it makes us less needy and I'm sure this makes our friends here happy.  So, after much questioning and surprisingly little time, we found the car of our island dreams...a Toyota 4-Runner, some model made in the late 90s.  It has a few quirks and qualms, for example the passenger side window doesn't lower, rear driver side window doesn't raise, some water under the seats for some reason, right side door leaks (Joseph noticed this, maybe this is why there's water under the seat), and best of all when raising driver window one must count a full 10 seconds before releasing the button or it lowers...not 9, a full ten.  Yes, that's me, the idiot in the car counting to ten.  I type all of this in tears from laughing because it truly is entertaining.  The funniest thing of all is that we've already had four offers from people wanting to buy it whenever we decide to leave. 



We also moved to another house here on the island.  Maintenance is a really big issue here, this is interesting to me as a designer/builder.  If a house doesn't have a property manager and consistent maintenance here, the house deteriorates quickly.  It's very unfortunate, but salty air and conditions tend to have that effect.  Anyway, we've moved to another location and LOVE it.  Definitely God's plan; just wish he would have skipped the first part!  We're still on the West End of the island; but now we have an unobstructed view of the ocean from every room in the house.  The cruise ships pass right in front of our house every Tuesday through Thursday and the kids are thrilled every time.  They wake up in anticipation to see the ships.  Eli even says "boat" and points.  Maybe one day it will get old, but I secretly still like to watch them port into the dock. 



The house was designed beautifully, taking into account the sun and weather.  During the day, the children and I are able to get school done in a breezy and cool area and can also read and lay in the hammocks on the deck...nothing beats that!  As of now, we do not have a tv and this has turned out to be quite interesting for our family.  Monday we lost power, which is incredibly common here, and although usually it is recovered after a few hours it was out all day and into the night.  The children wanted to entertain themselves by playing charades and now it has been the thing to do before bed every night since.  Julianne is exceptionally good at acting out the clues; although she tends to talk more than she should :)  Joseph usually just stands there and laughs and as for Jesse, we all just wonder what it is he's doing. 

Okay, so I probably said the best thing about this house is the view...well, I lied.  The best thing is the gigantic pool!  The pool is incredible.  We find ourselves stealing hours away from the school day to go down to the pool and swim.  It is an infinity pool stolen right out of some California sitcom show...I'm personally thinking of The O.C.  Anyway, the kids love it...and so does Mom. 



We also have a yard...it's practically vertical but that doesn't stop the boys from playing on the grass.  They never tire of rolling down the hill.  It's rather amusing. 



Eli now goes onto the porch to throw a tantrum..it's his new favorite place!  

He is such a ham! 

Until next time...