Recent Outings

Well, we've been busy since Mom and now Dad got here! We've seen lots of sights, took them to the beach where I was the only one who got completely eaten by sand fleas (my legs look like I have chicken pox), Dave and I both got slammed by waves and have bruises on our right shoulders and we have done some sight-seeing! We've eaten a lot of good meals and it's been really great having both of them here. I must say that I will miss them terribly but it won't be long before Wilma & Terry come down then HOME! (For a few weeks anyways). We are also going in October to Barbados with the Brenzenski's. (Family we have met here) so that should be fun! We will have more adventures to write about as this weekend is a 4 day weekend for Dave and we are going on one or two roadtrips!

We got to see what a Sunday afternoon lime was like yesterday--cars lined up probably 2-3 miles deep to get to this beach club in Chagaramus, but fortunately we were going the other way!!

I hope you like the pictures--there are more on my facebook page! We saw some wicked spiders, which of course, the girls loved (but wouldn't get near). And TONS of butterflies EVERYWHERE--just beautiful. I got some shots that I think we will have printed up and framed at Fort George (built in 1804 and has spectacular views of Port of Spain).

Dad goes back tomorrow, I get to take my driving test (written) this week and Mom goes back Sunday. We've had lots of fun with sleeping arrangements! Mom needs a nap so she and Sophia get one each day. :) Looks like Dad is going to take Natalie swimming, now that the pool is (hopefully) warm enough--it's been raining a lot in the afternoon and some wicked storms all night last night! That's the rainy/hurricane season for you!

The girls start their nursery school up on Sept. 10th so we get back into a little bit more regular schedule. Natalie has been blowing my mind--we've been working on reading and she can read 2 of her beginner books already! I am so proud of her! Sophia is working on colors--she is just a hoot! That's toddler speak for you.

We are doing well, Dave has made some great inroads with his team and got a lot of praise for getting out a 2-page document ahead of schedule. If they hadn't, it would have cost BP $40 Million! (So is reported to me), so he is doing well and adapting to the different working styles of his team. He is really growing, I'm very proud of him.

I'm trying to keep it on the straight and narrow, some days are good, some are not--hopefully my foot will be well enough to start running again next week!! I had just started back up again when I fell down. Pilates till then.

Talk soon!

AV

Sophia got clipped!

There is just no easy way to explain it. Well, the hair was just outrageous so we took advantage of being out by the place where I get my hair cut. Kimberley was so sweet to fit us in, and Sophia sat on my lap and got her first haircut! About 18 months sooner than when Natalie first got her hair cut but hey, you live and learn. See you what you think and let me know! She is too cute and Dave "says" he likes it but I know him. He doesn't! :)

And another first! As I was typing this blog entry, she wandered up and was looking at the pictures of herself and said "SU-PIA" which is the first time I can ever remember she said HER name, unprompted, and didn't say her name was "NA--EE!"

Pretty cool night, huh?

You have got to be kidding me

So, Mom is here! Yeah! We rested for the first few days, to let her recover from her trip and had a full week planned. Until I walked down the stairs on Sunday night! I fell, not far from the top--I actually missed a step and landed with my right foot bent back behind me, pinned against the wood steps. No Carpet. Pretty painful. You always imagine yourself as being strong in a crisis but I howled like a wild animal. While Mom and Dave & eventually both girls stared at me. Boy, it hurt. Like no pain I've had or can remember. C-section pain I can deal with but this was so localized and I couldn't get comfortable or alleviate it in any way.

Eventually, thanks for Motrin, it did settle and we had a fitful night's sleep. My wonderful husband then carted me around the city, getting examined and x-rays. All thanks and praise goes to The Good Lord who shepherded us and made our way very smooth. He also protected my foot in the fall and it is not broken or fractured, just severely bruised.

It is a bit depressing to be hobbling around on crutches and not able to do all I want/need too, but Mom is great, Janelle is here today and thankfully, we've made some friends that have offered to help.

We are going to try and get out today--we haven't been out of the house since Friday (other than on walks) and need to go to the store, etc. Mom may have to drive!

So, more to come. My foot is already more flexible today, albeit still very swollen but I should be walking on it by this time next week (or sooner!)

Thank you SO MUCH to all of you who have been praying since my email yesterday and more to come! Just another part of the T&T Vogel Adventure!

Guess who?

Well, I'll let the picture next door speak for itself, but Dave has a very creative way of teaching Natalie how to write! I love it! Definitely doesn't come from my side of the family! Ok, not ME anyway!

Not much going on this weekend, defensive driving all day yesterday. Learned more about how Trini's drive and saw some pretty gruesome pictures!!! Then went to play rock band but the magic had left my voice this weekend. Oh well, I'll let it recover.

Watching the Olympics today as well as some movies. Got some much needed rest time while Dave took the girls swimming and then we've just been hanging out. Went for a walk, played hide-n-seek, you know, the normal Sunday night.

Only 5 more sleeps till Mimmy comes!

Low-Key Day

We made it through! We went to the Teddy Bear Cottage (cute picture attached), although it took us awhile to get there. It was a great driving experience, I will tell you! I know where a bunch of stuff is now. :)

It was a nice excursion, although we probably won't go back. It wasn't all I'd hoped it would be and it was SO hot! No A/C so we sweated the whole time! But we got some good pictures, the girls had fun. They then went to Emma's house and painted/watched a movie/snuggled, while I got my hair done (which I love--if you need a great cut and color for an AWESOME price, come to POS! $55 for color, cut and style, no kidding! You pay about 3x that in the States, or I did anyways. One of the pluses of living here!). I picked them up, rushed home, got all the food ready and then the Herd's joined us for dinner. It was nice and crazy but we were glad to have them. Got Jack in some relatively boy-ish looking clothes and Kate in some a well-worn PJ set!

They left and then Dave went to watch the NFL preseason game--apparently the Saints did well! I chilled out but was VERY disappointed to learn we don't get CNN here and was unable to see the Steven Curtis Chapman interview.

I did have a very humorous incident with Dave's beer (he brewed a batch) though--I brought 2 bottles down to chill and went to open up one. It sprayed ALL over kitchen and I just stood there in shock and held it!! So, that kind of dampened the mood on beer drinking! Learned my lesson--Dave booby-traps his beer!

Sophia got up EARLY this morning, so we are all about low key. Have some cleaning to do and just going to play. Natalie is still asleep but Sophia and I have already talked to Me-Maw and Pa-Paw.

Only 7 more sleeps till Mimmy comes! :)

All is well here, 8 hour Defensive Driving course tomorrow--hurray! NOT!

Love to all--AV

Off to the Teddy Bear Picnic

Quick update...more later (with pictures tomorrow)....Today we are going, with Emma, Jack and Kate and another Mother/son/daughter pair (Jane, Alfie and Abigail) to the Teddy Bear Cottage. Over 1000 teddy bears supposedly, they can touch and there is story time at 10:30 am. So, we have to get ready to leave--traffic here (as it's by the airport) can be pretty bad!

Only 8 more sleeps till Mimmy gets here! And I'm actually getting a little "me" time today--Emma is watching the girls this afternoon while I get my haircut and colored. HURRAY! It's a mess, especially the color, let me tell you. 1/2 light brown, 1/2 dark brown. Time in the sun, sand and pool have NOT done me any favors!

Then Emma and Andy and the kids are coming for dinner--enchiladas! Andy and Dave are then going to Trotters, a sports bar here, to watch the Saints play in pre-season action. I'm going to watch Steven Curtis Chapman and his family on Larry King Live at 9 pm EST tonight.

Lots going on today--going to discuss it all tomorrow!

This picture is worth 1 million words

Not much to say, other than we got up at 5 am to make a 7:30 am immigration appointment. Technically, me and the girls had to be there (and Dave too) but really, they didn't even look at us or ask any questions. Just talked to Pat, our Fluor TT liason to everything Trini. And we were home before 9 am! So, we've been trying to stay awake the rest of the day, and it's been low key. Some play, mostly coloring and chilling but we did have lunch with Dave. Thursday will be another busy today so tomorrow is low key too.

The pictures to the right are from last night--the girls had a treat, you can see the result. :)))

Zoo Day

We've made some new friends. We met through the mini-camp we did at the nursery school the girls will go to in the fall. Emma, Jack and Kate Herd (Andy is the Daddy). Jack is 2 3/4 and Kate is 12 months. They are from Leeds, England by way of Virgina. They lived in Virgina for 5 years and moved to POS, TT the same week we did--even the same day, June 16th, I think! We have a lot in common so far and it's nice to have another family to get to know and widen our social circle. Emma and I took the kids to the zoo today, it was fun but HOT. Then we had a little lunch out and Jack is hanging with us while Emma and Kate went to get Ferry tickets for their trip to Tobago. Depending on how long the line is, maybe he will have dinner with us too! :)

We are also going to the "Teddy Bear Cottage" on Thursday morning with Emma and another friend. Supposedly over 1000 Teddy Bears in this one house and a story time. Neato! Emma pointed me to Facebook (well, lots of people have) and a group called "Trini Moms" where you can communicate with other Moms here, sell stuff, ask questions and get good ideas on stuff to do with kids, beyond the normal.

Emma is also returning the favor of me watching Jack by watching the girls while I get my hair cut/colored on Thursday afternoon and then they are all coming for dinner (Enchiladas!) Thursday night as Andy has to work Friday night. They are going to try Dave's home brew with us! They will have enough of us by the end of Thursday anyway, so they will be happy to have a break! That seems to be the way of it here though, thus far. You spend a lot of time with a small circle of folks, which makes sense. The social events mostly take place at people's houses, it's hard to drive around, especially with kids, in the evenings. And there are not that many kid-friendly restaurants here, not like Houston where you can just go out!

I was highly missing the ease of dining out in Houston last night--boy am I TIRED of cooking! Maybe I loved it so much in Houston because I knew I didn't have to do it every night. But 95% of the time, the girls and I eat in EVERY DAY FOR EVERY MEAL, so that gets tough when you are used to a cushy life like I am. HA!

Dave and I have an all day defensive driving course on Saturday. Called in trusty Roselyn, our babysitter. The girls love her, we are REALLY lucky to have found her!

Anyhoo--enjoy the pictures from today at the zoo, more to come, I'm sure!