Nuts Over Coconuts (8.25.10)

The Finks are on a mission. We want to find as many island trees that bear fruit that we can and taste each and every one of them. Today was a day that brought forth coconuts. Instead of Grayson climbing the tree, (which wouldn’t have surprised me one bit), the kids brought down 4 coconuts with a single throw of a rock. Lucky no one else was around when the coconuts fell! The chef at the restaurant was pleased to serve coconuts at our table for appetizers (first course milk, second course fruit with brown sugar)… yummy!

Pools of all Shapes and Sizes (8.25.10)

Who needs a pool when you have the ocean, right? The kids, however, are content hopping from one tiny pool into the great big pool and back to another tiny pool again. At the University Club, where the Visiting Professors stay, we are right on the water. They’ve recently renovated their pool side area (which is gorgeous) and so we are hard pressed to do much island exploring on this day. After all, pool hopping can be considered a sport. And after a long day of travel, that’s all the exercise we need.

Hello Grenada! (8.25.10)

First order of business on this day was to find Grayson a swimsuit. We had other important things, too, like contacting the faculty to let them know we’d made it to Grenada safely, setting up internet access so that I could document the trip on our blog (and keep up with the occasional email), changing money over to E.C. (Eastern Caribbean dollars), etc. But as far as Grayson was concerned, today involved nothing more than obtaining the proper clothing in order to go straight to the beach. We did just that. We spent much of the afternoon alternating between Grand Anse Beach (walking and feeding beach dogs) and the Grand Beach Hotel’s pool. No starfish this year (we’re not giving up), but we snorkeled and found a hermit crab and several sea urchin shells, both of which were pretty cool.

A Nap A Day (8.24.10)

Granted, we were tired. We had about 2-3 hours sleep the night before travel and we had woken up at 4AM. But, truly, Lloyd can sleep anywhere, anytime (In the most unusual locations). A San Juan nap was in order, and Grayson was happy to snuggle up, too. Harrison found a more comfortable location to rest.

Lost Luggage (8.24.10)

Our bags were packed. We were ready to hop the flight to Grenada when looking out the window at the Memphis International Airport we watched a curious thing. A big pink bag with “Grayson” written on the side got loaded into the plane next to us. That plane was headed to Salt Lake City, Utah. Grayson was just about to misuse Taekwondo (a No-no at her studio) when Lloyd and I tag teamed, asking each a separate agent about her luggage, receiving responses like, “Well, some bags look alike” and “its really almost impossible, ma’am”. Fast forward 14 hours and you have a little girl crying (on the floor, I might add) at the Grenada International Airport with the customs officer asking (in that wonderful Caribbean accent we love), “What happened to the baby?” Hopefully, with any luck, she’ll have a clean outfit to wear within the next 24 hours.

Harrison's First Day of Third Grade (8.18.10)

Our boy is in the 3rd grade! What a difference a year makes. Take a look at years gone by.





2nd Grade, age 7 (2009-10)





1st Grade, age 6 (2008-09)






SK, age 5 (2007-08)

Grayson's First Day of Kindergarten (8.17.10)

Break my heart. My baby started senior kindergarten this fall, and while I was so looking forward for her to have the excitement and pride that this rite of passage brings, I wasn’t expecting what happened on the morning of her first day of school. St. Mary’s was decorated in blue and white balloons, and all the moms and dads were walking in their girls hand in hand. I was so excited and beginning to park the car, when we began a conversation something like this:
Grayson: “Okay Mom, you can just drop me off here.”
Me: “But, Grayson, see all the moms and dads walking in? I want to walk in with you.”
Grayson: “No, mom. I’ll be just fine.”
Me: “Grayson, please? I won’t hold your hand, hug you, or kiss you. I’ll just follow you in.”
Grayson: “No thanks. I’ll be just fine.”
Me: “You don’t even know where your classroom is. Please let me come in with you.”
Grayson: “Mother, I am in Mrs. Walker and Mrs. Brown’s classroom. I will find it on my own. See ya! I love you.”

And, off she went. Independent with a capital “I”. Sniff, sniff!!!!!!!!!!