so we went out against my better judgement to check out our surroundings this afternoon before hurricane earl arrives. but it seemed alright to be outside once we were out with all the other people who were. we ended up over at the sunset bar and beach grill where you can watch the planes taking off and coming in for landing. it was so windy out that michael's espresso blew over before he could drink it.

over the course of an hour or so we saw several planes take off and land much to our amazement. my pilot brother was enjoying watching the planes and even got to see an MD80 (the plane he flies) come in for landing. ezra was still unhappy about all this wind and faced the opposite direction the majority of the time, much to the annoyance of the pouty french lady in the background.

after we came home and i finished preparing dinner, i saw this eerie looking sky out the window. now as i write this the wind is humming along and we're about to go to bed. with the power still on here and internet running, i'm hoping we will still be connected tomorrow and earl will stay far north of st. maarten making this not such a big deal after all. we are very fortunate to be living in a hotel with a backup generator, water tank, and thick concrete walls. the outdoor furniture has been brought inside and the doors and windows are shut. all should be well.

hurricane earl is on its way

tropical storm earl is now hurricane earl. we are expecting 70 mph winds to blow over the island tonight hitting us at its peak by 2:00 a.m. my internet connection is expected to go out soon here and i wanted to put up a quick post before i experience my first hurricane of my life. the forecasters think it will be either a category 1 or 2 hurricane, and all of the hotel employees where we live assure me it's a little one with sweet smiles and gestures of teeny tiny with their thumb and index finger. as they did last year for tropical storm anna (i think that was her name), the maintenance workers have boarded up our open air lobby. that always brings some excitement to the hotel! we left this morning as they started their work to go get some delicious pastries at sarafina's bakery.

then ez rode his bike around the jetty where there were only a few boats left in their slips. he was sad that there was so much wind.

he said it was really hard to ride and i ended up carrying him back to the car and uncle dees (ezra's name for steve) carried his trike back. when we returned the lobby was all boarded up and we took a last peek.

now my adventurous husband and brother want to go out one last time before the hurricane hits. i am ready to be safe and stay inside but i also don't want to be a total sissy. so... maybe i'll post some cool windy pictures of our last outing before the hurricane passes over us. it's supposed to sound like a freight train. it should be an interesting night.

the calm before the storm

i took these this morning. it does look different than it has this last week. we are expecting tropical storm earl to turn into a hurricane by monday when it reaches st. maarten. just in time for my brother who arrived today for a visit. he assures me he is here to see us and not the beaches. but, we're going to try and get there today and tomorrow just in case...

our first hurricane! we're a little excited...

shadows

looking back through my monthly albums i can find pictures from each month of our shadows that i've taken. i think i may be slightly obsessed with shadows.

i love our shadows. i always loved seeing my own shadow when i was a kid and now i love to see our shadows together. shadows are playful and fun to look at. we often find ourselves having fun with our shadows outside. ezra also likes to use flashlights in our bedroom when it's dark so that he can make shadows with his hands.

this particular series of shots was taken 4 months ago during michael's last break between semesters. ezra saw his shadow at orient beach where we had rented beach chairs at one of the beach bars that have music playing through their speakers. he started dancing with his shadow. i wish i could still do that without having people look at me like i'm a lunatic.

this is a rare shot of all three of our shadows. we're at ezra's castle on st. martin.

when i see myself as a silhouette, i am happy at what i see. i think it is easier to look at a representation of myself than a picture of myself straight on where i automatically start noticing lines, squints, spots, and imperfections. i also notice how i will overanalyze the seeming expression on my face and think, that's not what i was feeling... these shadows of mine are my favorite pictures of myself because they show me in a place in time which is usually all i am trying to convey in a picture of myself. it has become more and more uncomfortable for me to smile for the camera unless i am truly happy in that moment. i do not like the contrived look of a smile just put on for show. or maybe i'm just not very good at it anymore. i should've worn my retainer after braces.

this moment

a single treasured moment from the week i want to pause savor and remember

inspired by soulemama

friar's bay

butterflies and the beach

yesterday we spent our day with friends at the butterfly farm and le galion beach. the butterfly farm is next to the beach and is a magical haven for beautiful butterflies. i can sit in meditation on the benches there for a few minutes before the mosquitos biting becomes bothersome. the sense of peace and lightness evoked by the butterflies and their habitat is enchanting. this is one of my favorite places on the island.

le galion beach is the quintessential beach for families with its ever calm and shallow waters. we all spent the entire time in the salty warm waters pushing ezra around in his 'pool patrol' raft while we swam with snorkels and fins. there isn't much to see underwater at this beach, so we swam out farther toward the opening of the bay from the atlantic ocean. we swam over seaweed and urchins in extremely shallow waters and had a small adventure just trying to traverse this might be treacherous zone. the urchins were the ones with short white spikes, so they are not as dangerous as the long spindly ones, but they still could hurt if you stepped on one or fell on one.

the latter half of our day at the beach was spent hanging out and jumping off this dock. erica impressed us with her amazing front and back flips. it was fun to jump from the dock and made us all feel like kids again. ezra was so impressed by all this swimming and jumping that when we came home i heard him playing with his trains making them swim faster and faster and jump into the water! i love listening into his play.

it is so much fun to be together with michael. his presence makes me notice how i breath deeper when he's around, my shoulders are more relaxed, and i'm happier when we're all together! i feel complete when we are 3. loving this while it lasts!

i hope you all are enjoying your weekends!