Last Weekend Before School

Summer vacation has come and gone in the blink of an eye. The girls are back out to school but we had them for the last weekend of their summer vacation. They've grown so much over the last couple months that I need to break out the camera more often to capture every inch. Lauryn's starting the 4th grade at a new elementary school with spanking new braces and Leeana is a freshman at High School already (Lee started young!) with a brand new brace-free smile. This weekend was full of laughs and last minute school supply shopping. Leeana's trying out for the swim team so we ran ourselves ragged on Saturday looking for a black, speedo, one-piece. Lauryn could care less about what she wore because she's in uniforms now. I think ALL schools should have uniforms, but we won't go there - that's a whole different blog by itself. Sunday we chilled out at the pool horsing around and working on their diving technique.

I called them after their first day of school and they said it was good...Lauryn made a friend and they both like their new teachers. I wish I was starting school as a teacher but I'm still about a year away from that. Lee's starting his Masters in September with his company paying 100% of it. Who could pass that up?! So everybody has an academic routine now after a great, long, hot summer. Soon Xmas will be here and we'll be freezing our butts off wishing for hot weather!

Family Fun Fotos

Another great day at the beach for us. Spent 6 hours at New Smyrna; Weather was perfect and the water was the cleaniest I've ever seen New Smyrna. Due to some camera difficulities, I only was able to retrieve some pics to tease you with...

Trini to De Bone

Our last visit to Trinidad was in March; a whole 5 months ago and I've been getting those nostalgic feelings again. They come and go but lately they've been coming more than going. Then I resort to watching my Tobago pictures reliving every snapshot, busting my car speakers with soca, and wining to Lee " I miss home, I miss home!"

It's funny how much more patriotic you become when you live in another country. You never miss the water until the well runs dry I guess. I love to reminisce about the good ole days...living on Waterfall Road, St. Monica days, Carnival, High School friends, and OH - THE FOOD! If you know me, you know my love affair with food. Good, home cooked, Trini food. Aint nuttin like it. My favorite (in this order) is Creole, Indian, Chinese, and then everything else! God blessed me with two parents who could cook everything, and cook everything great. Mom's the best at Chinese & Indian food and Dad's got the Creole thing down. I always tell them they could sell at the side of the road and make a mint!

I also miss the landscape I grew up with. Driving along the side of the mountain with a river below, the faint smell of smoke in the early morning and the BREEZE. The last time I felt a breeze in Orlando was during Hurricane Charlie. I love a cool, Caribbean breeze. You have to feel one to know what I mean. I wonder if to even begin on the beaches over there...is there enough room on this blog to describe the sand, sea, and sky? Probably not. But I definately miss Maracas Bay, Balandra, Toco, Las Cuevas and the myriad of inlets, bays, and breathtaking views.

I even miss the people themselves. Trust me, there are some ignorant ones but generally I miss the friendly, warm people of Trinidad & Tobago; Nobody is ever a stranger for long. I love how everybody says Good Morning and Good Afternoon in passing or as a greeting. I miss hearing the accent, the colloquialisms, and the old-time sayings. It's funny to see Lee's expression when I bust a new saying on him and then he copy cats it in his American / Trinidadian accent!

I moved to the USA to broaden my horizons and get off the "small rock" mentality..but I miss the small rock mentality. You could get very caught up with the materialisms of America and forget how unimportant what you have is versus who you are. Whenever I visit home I always get grounded because I see how simply people live and how they make do with what they have.

So why don't I go back? Good question. The only reasonable answer I could provide is the crime. It has gotton bad over there and it's a major deterant for me..plus my mother would 1/2 kill me if I came back.

I hope I get out of this funk soon or else I'll be planning an unbudgeted trip soon!