Saturday, August 21, 2010

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!

Friday, August 20, 2010

beach bliss




beach bliss ..... peace out ....

this moment


this week i am grateful for:

michael's successful completion of his 3rd semester of medical school

our 2 weeks vacation time together here on this beautiful island

ezra saying, "i love you too peoples" after michael and i telling him and each other "i love you"

michael helping ezra and i

ezra's call for group hugs

good friends




Monday, August 16, 2010

what ezra says...

after i climbed these stairs with my 35 pound 3 1/2 year old on my hip, i set him down to walk the rest of the way. it is so hot here. and humid. and a lot of the time, ezra does not want to walk when we are out and about. when this happens i can be carrying 3 grocery bags in each hand and be at the bottom of the two flights of stairs that take us up to our lobby. i have often said to him, "you are a big boy! you can walk!" with as much enthusiasm as i can muster. but, ezra says, "i'm a small kid now! i can't walk!"

i took about 7 shots of his cute stubbornness before i picked him up and carried him back to the car. sometimes i wish i were 3 1/2 again and stubborn still looked cute on me.

ezra still insists that cookies will make him grow up big.

he is looking pretty big here (too big to smile even) don't you think?

p.s. ezra has said some funny things in the car lately:

"daddy is a big man and mommy is a small man."

when jon complimented ezra on his crocs he told him they were from santa claus quickly followed by, "thank you daddy."

Sunday, August 15, 2010

sint maarten skies



it seems everyday this week i have pulled out my camera to capture the amazing skies we've been having. from lightning storms at night to the beautiful puffy clouds dotting the sky during the day, my eyes have been drawn up to the skies a lot this week. these skies make me cheerful while driving in the car as my mind is drawn to the heavens above. at the beach they have shaded the hot summer sun for a while. at night they have lured us all out to the balconies to stand in awe at the beauty and power of mother nature.

this week i am grateful for:

these beautiful skies i live under

my morning swim in the ocean today

the delicious summer fruits we've been enjoying

the nearing end to michael's 3rd semester

fun beach days with friends

long skype sessions with family

my body's responsiveness to the raw food diet

my life, my family, my friends


this was what i saw before i went down to swim this morning. it is such an enticing view!

this was taken last night from our main balcony and it looks like a painting to me

also taken last night from our kitchen balcony

michael pulled these from my camera by making freeze frames of a little video i shot

this was taken earlier in the week from the kitchen balcony
you can see the island saba in the distance

also taken earlier in the week
i will never tire of seeing cruise ships go by


taken from where i sat for lunch earlier in the week


the evening sky at dawn beach