happy thanksgiving

this was our second thanksgiving living on st. maarten and also our second thanksgiving as vegans.  i prepared all the food while our guests were at school either studying or teaching.  

ezra helped me to bake this special train cake for our dessert.  i know he doesn't like pumpkin pie, but he loves this applesauce cake from the waldorf snack book.  the stencil was made on the spot at ezra's second birthday party by his aunt annie.  i have saved it for future cakes for its adorableness.  ezra loves it too.

i continued to work in the kitchen 

while the rest of the gang enjoyed the view.

   

here they are

and this was what they were looking at

rahul digging in

we are ever so grateful for these sweet friends of ours.   rahul and erica have been studying with michael since the beginning of school.  erica's boyfriend jon moved here in april and has become a good friend not only of us adults but of ezra too.  

the day after thanksgiving was beautiful and a perfect time to spend the day relaxing on the beach.

ezra and i met up with some friends at local mullet bay.

ezra and bianca loved rolling down the sand slope.

on saturday we went to get the car washed (for the second time since moving here) and spent the 40 minutes waiting at the simpson bay lagoon.  it is nice and breezy and always fun to check out the cool boats that have arrived since it is almost high season.  this was a lucky shot as i captured a united airlines plane taking off.  there are so many awesome sights to see everyday on st. maarten.

this was our favorite boat with its sleek 

stainless steel siding and super tall masts.  

even though it's a bit stressful for michael to be away from his studies, with blocks a week away, and finals two weeks away, we love every minute we get to be with him.  i love seeing ezra and michael together.  it always fills my heart up.

i liked this aussie boat's name 'secret love london'

ezra squinting in the windy sunshine 

watching some sailors jack up a pretty spiffy dinghy

palm fronds swaying in the trade winds that have returned

i am so grateful the breeze is back!

in the afternoon ezra and i went to baie longue with jon, cat, and bianca.  jon dug a huge hole near the shoreline for the children to play in.  they first called it a bath and then later a pool.  they jumped in splashing each other and squealed each time.  they sat in it and screamed when a big wave of white wash would spread over them.

we took a walk along the shore and on the way back the children made foot prints and tracks

we left just before the sun set 

and by the time we were home it was dark out.  

we had a wonderful long weekend of celebrating our blessings in life.  we have each other, loving family, friends, our health, and a beautiful island life experience that we will cherish our memories from forever.