Summer Stayin' on the Rock

We were a little sad that we couldn't make it home over the summer break to see family and friends, but it has been one of our most memorable times in Grenada so far. Many of our island friends stayed over the summer as well and we got to know people so much better, and played tourist around a bit of our island. 

I don't know of a better way to kick off the summer than with some good, wholesome bingo. In Grenada, the stakes are high...you could be walking away with your very own pig or goat!  

Reed and I discovered a resort called Mount Cinnamon, which offers a ping-pong table and other outdoor activities. We went to celebrate with some friends leaving the island, and had a great time. Reed hadn't played ping pong in quite a while, and totally schooled our friends. Proud wife moment! 

Our best find of the summer was this...our secret beach! We got a little lost trying to find a beach recommended to us, but after hiking down a sketchy trail through knee-high weeds, we found this beauty. We have never seen so many fish and other marine life. I wish we had an underwater camera!






















I didn't know if we would have the chance to celebrate the 4th of July this summer, but the American students proved me wrong! We had a fun little party with other students and families in our branch. There was even an American flag flying on the beach!

After Reed finished his summer semester of classes, we took full advantage of our vacation. Many days were spent being lazy at the pool...under the protection of shade of course.



































We had a birthday party for a friend and got to explore a couple of the old military forts downtown. The view of the city was pretty amazing, but the forts felt like they should be made into haunted houses. Just a little creepy.

Our last hurrah of our summer vacation was planning and participating in The West Indies Mission celebration. The church has been established in this area of the world for 25 years now, so naturally we threw a party of sorts. We had local members singing and dancing and sharing part of their culture. Reed was the MC for the show and did an amazing job.   

Spring Celebrations 2014

This semester has been a really busy one for Reed. Most days he is gone for lab all morning and has class all afternoon! Needless to say, our number of outings (and pictures) are more limited. However, we still made time for two of the most important holidays of Spring...our birthdays!

We have some great neighbors that came and decorated outside for my birthday,

Reed also spoiled me with decorations inside! If only we could have gone to Cafe Rio for dinner...then my day would have been perfect!

Reed made a pretty stellar cake, complete with chocolate frosting. No way to go wrong there! I was super impressed, and to make it even better, he cleaned the kitchen afterward. I am spoiled!

I had to try extra hard this year for Reed's birthday. It's hard to throw a high caliber party for someone when none of their favorite things can be found on island. Needless to say, we improvised a little. I may have saved and reused the same decorations...don't judge.

I was able to find a sunhat and a couple little souvenirs that I thought Reed would like. I was quite the spectacle though, trying to estimate Reed's head size while trying on hats.

I knew a had a couple winners though...skittles and mentos never disappoint.




















We invited some neighbors and friends to dinner at our local Chinese restaurant...it seems as though we don't eat anywhere else, we really do. We ended the night with our favorite game, The Great Dalmuti, and cake and ice cream. Not too shabby I'd say.

The last month of the semester consisted of lots of studying. We took advantage of evenings when we could have a dinner date on campus. Grenada has breathtaking sunsets, and we took full advantage of watching them.

One of the last weeks of the semester we found this bouldering wall on campus! Reed and I both are really excited to try it out this summer. Hopefully the holds won't break on us!

The Holidays Back Home

We were so excited to be back for the holidays! I know it has only been a few months since we left, but the holidays are a hard time to be away from home. The constant treats and holiday candies are quite enticing as well. Reed and I were both working and enjoying our time off with family and friends. We really dropped the ball on getting pictures, but we had a wonderful break.

We were so happy to be able to visit Reed's sister Aerie in Denver for Thanksgiving. That has become a wonderful tradition that we love! Here is our impressive Thanksgiving spread.

We also had the chance to enjoy the beautiful mountains while we were home. The temperature was in the 40's, so naturally it was shorts weather. We hiked, had a snowball fight, and even saw a bear print in the snow! We promptly left, I wasn't going to stick around after that.

Our last night before returning to the perpetual sunshine of Grenada, we were able to see some friends in Dallas. You can always count on a good time with these two! 

Post Finals Partying

The last couple weeks of the semester went by super fast and finals were now upon us. Reed studied constantly and after they were finally over, we found we had free time again! We deemed this worthy of some partying, and I for one was ecstatic to see Reed more often!

We started to explore more of our little peninsula...we hadn't ventured too far by this point. We had seen an old lighthouse on the tip of the peninsula, so we decided to check out the area. It is so beautiful out there, and the cliffs are enormous! We all experienced a little vertigo standing on the edge. 

The view up here is breathtaking, and I am once again grateful to live on an island in the sun. 

Reed informed me that some day he will free climb these cliffs into the ocean, but I want to keep him around for a good long time and don't believe that is the best way to do so. Maybe we can just sit on the edge instead...

Our good friend Alex had her birthday the day after finals, so of course we added that to our celebrations! We had a great weekend eating good Chinese food at our favorite restaurant and ended with cake and games. What a great ending to our first semester here in Grenada!