the sun'll come out - tomorrow!

it rained all night and has been overcast all day - all perfect weather for a mama with the flu.  i've been out of commission since yesterday evening when i realized my sore throat was not from the coating of dust that might have landed there after a sweeping under the bed the night before.  last night i may have gotten one hour of sleep between tossing and turning with chills, fever, aches and pains and a pounding headache.  i tried not to breathe on ezra all night because it would be awful for him and michael to get this right around the time we are about to board an airplane.  fortunately, michael is through with school and has been able to kick the ball with ezra in the house, stay up with him when i went to bed early last night, and try to be both himself and me while i am taking the day off from my usual responsibilities as chief caretaker of the boy, the meals, and the household.  i must be better by tomorrow because i have a lot to do still to pack for our departure and clean the apartment and hopefully get at least one day at the beach before we go.

farewell dinner

me with my dear friend alexi and her sister

the fifth semester spouses

the fifth semester med students (that have spouses)

last night the wonderful s.o. put on a farewell dinner for the fifth semesters at a local restaurant.  i was so excited to celebrate our 5 semesters successfully completed that i got all dressed up.  michael saw me come out and said the place is really casual as he had been there the week before for another 5th semester party for the students.  so i quickly changed my dress, put on flip flops that i've been wearing everyday for the last 2 years and was glad that i did.  it was great to get together again one last time as a group with all the lovely families of AUC who have so graciously supported one another during this time people only "in it" can understand.  alexi and i teared up when we spoke of our goodbyes and promised to see each other one last time instead of saying goodbye that night.  because some of us are still here a week i took that and went with it for most of my goodbyes.  i hate saying goodbye!

the view

 every evening since living here we have enjoyed watching the amazing sunsets from our kitchen.  

 the other day ezra was playing in the shadows made by the sunset while i was making dinner.  i wondered if his play is helping him deal with our upcoming move back to america?  perhaps he is thinking we are in that plane...

 today we spent most of the day at home.  it was one of those spectacular days and i had to run out on the balcony to take these pictures.

 how amazing it has been to see this view each and everyday of our life on the island.  the different boats that go by each day, some the same, some are new, the planes that fly by on their approach to the airport all are players in the beautiful ocean and sky background that itself is ever changing with the different cloud formations and variation in blue hues of the caribbean sea.  blue was always a favorite color of mine but now it is most definitely my favorite color of all.  i will always be transported to the peaceful caribbean beaches when i see the color blue.

ezra and bianca's last day at the baby pool

late afternoon on saturday we met cat and bianca one last time at our baby pool for a swim.  they were being so cute playing together that i went back upstairs to get my camera.  everything these days is a momentous "last time" event that i find myself more propelled than normal to document the occasion.  

they truly are sweethearts.  

they spent the hour playing with this orange raft while i relaxed on a chaise and watched them play.

most of the time they were riding on it together, laying in the middle and kicking their legs to make them go - although i didn't get pictures of that because i had forgotten to bring my camera.  they usually play wonderfully for an hour and then they bicker about what to do because one wants one thing and the other wants another.  i imagine this is what it is like to have siblings close in age and to hear their little fights everyday.  

most of the time though they get along swimmingly.  

we were so happy when bianca and cat came to the island and are now so sad to say goodbye.  thank you for the good times!  we had so many...

karakters

yesterday evening we spent our last evening with cat and bianca at our favorite friday night hangout - karakters.  i have written about this favorite place of ours before and this was our last night to go together for drinks and tapas while the kids played on the sand.  not only are we leaving the island in 10 days, but cat and bianca are leaving in just 3 days for spring and summer in sweden.

the way the light looks almost violet at this time of day makes it a magical time to come here.  the kids quickly found sticks and drew letters and numbers in the sand.

the sun began its descent shortly after we arrived giving the kids a short time to play along the shoreline.

the sun seemed to whisper in their ears that it was time to run back to our spot on the beach.

they laid on stacks of lounge chairs, their "big bed," to look up at the moon that was already in the sky.

and when it was dark they put on a show for us while we sat in our chairs talking away like mamas do. 

i love this place for the freedom it allows the kids to play their way,

to meet new friends,

build obstacle courses,

and let out all their energy.

a sweet moment between mama and daughter.  

i love to watch my boy play and see him growing up before my eyes.  

playing on the grass

yesterday we went to the big lawn of grass at 

michael's school where we recently discovered

ezra can do this!  

he rides his bike down the hill and all the way to the other end 

for a fun ride on his balance bike.

here is the view of michael's school from the shade 

where we spent half of our time because of the heat.

ezra also likes to cling to fences and walk on ledges.

when he first got these shoes he said they looked like presents.

 i love seeing his feet in them.

before we got there, ezra stamped himself all over
with a little stamp that says 'hola.'

he saw an egret and ran over to chase him.

i had my camera ready to catch him in flight.

isn't he awesome?

he circled around

back over the school

and then i heard something else in the sky...

an island hopper plane!

neerrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

it never gets old for me to see planes in the sky here.

when i looked back down, ezra was hiding under a mini palm tree.

then he heard something else up high...

this little yellow breasted bird that was singing his song.  we sat on a picnic bench below him and listened for a while.  i told him he was trying to find a mate to make baby birds with.  when he flew away, ezra said he had found his mate and they made their babies already.

ezra likes to get close to these guys too.  he went over to him and said, "hello!  you're cute!" and came back and said that the lizard didn't answer.  we went to ride his bike yesterday and ended up doing a lot more.  we also saw the little daisies in the grass and ezra gave them kisses to make them feel better.  i think he is remembering the part of eric carle's "the tiny seed" when the kids come over and step on the plants and break them.  he is a very sweet natured boy.  my favorite times with ezra are usually outdoors.  this was a fun break in our day from being inside all day.  when the rest of the world starts to explore more outdoors at the dawn of spring, those of us in the tropics are spending more of their days inside away from the hot sun.  we spent the evening on the beach last night instead of spending the day there.   but, more about that in the next post.