Champions X2

It's been an adrenaline pumping past two days in the Scurlock household.  And no, I'm not talking about exams. 

This term Josh played on both an intramural basketball and flag football team.  I really don't know how he was able to keep up with his classes considering on average he had about 3 games a week this entire term.  Although I know it has been nice for him to be able to burn off some steam and get away from the books for an hour or so each night.  Both of his teams made it to the final game of the season, the championship. 

Basketball was Monday night.  Lots of fans came out for the KBT (Keith B. Taylor) vs. Local Grenadians game.  From the looks of it, Josh's team seemed a little outmatched.  Can you tell why? :)

It was a VERY exciting game that came down to a tie game with 5 seconds to go and a buzzer beater shot that went in.  And we WON!  KBT won the game and finished their season undefeated!

KBT (Steven, Kris, Keith, Ausim, Vlad, Esh, Thomas, Josh, Andy, and Nick)

A fan pic

But the games weren't over yet, the football championship still had to be played.  This time it was Toon Squad vs. Beast Mode.  I guess I have to say that this game wasn't quite as nerve wracking.  Josh's team won 27-6.  But then again, no other team in the league has a professional quarterback throwing for them. :)

Toon Squad

Championship Trophy

They aren't #2, they just won two championships!

And how could they not win?  They had the best fans ever!

I know it's just intramurals and most some of the time people take these games WAY to seriously, but they were still fun to watch.  It brought me back to Josh's college football games and it provided some great entertainment.

It couldn't have ended any better for these two teams.  I guess next season he is going to have his work cut out for him as Josh's teams will be the team to beat for both sports!

Give Thanks

This post comes a bit late.  Thanksgiving came a bit late.  But hey, we ARE on island time here.  It's to be expected.  This is Grenada.

I have to admit I didn't feel very thankful on Thanksgiving day.  Josh was at school almost all day, I worked out, came home, and did nothing in particular.  I spent most of the day alone and then we had tacos for dinner.  Yes, I said it.  Tacos, on Thanksgiving day.  I don't think I'm going to win the best wife award this year.

I wanted to be at Gramma Catie's house.  I wanted to eat dinner with my family at the "kids table" even though we are all over the age of 20, all the while quoting our favorite movies, and bringing up funny stories from our childhood. 

I wanted to be at Grandma Scurlock's house.  I wanted to play with my beautiful nephews, drink Grandma's special juice, and eat pumpkin rolls to my hearts content.

Are you about sick of my sob story yet?

Don't worry, I got myself out of my funk.  I had yet to feel homesick since we arrived in Grenada six months ago.  I think I'm allowed one day.

Thankfully, I got to attend not one but TWO Thanksgiving feasts.  One on Friday night (though Josh was MIA) hosted by my friend Laura and the other on Sunday evening hosted by our friends the Durhams.

And here is what I realized:

I am thankful that for the second year in a row, I successfully cooked a massive turkey!


That is a 22 pounder my friends.

I am thankful that I have such a wonderful loving husband who works so extremely hard at school and yet still finds the time to do special things for me.  Oh yeah, and helps me lift a huge turkey in and out of the oven too. :)

I am thankful for the extremely supportive "family" of friends that we have here in Grenada. Without the support of these women, I don't think I could have gotten through this last year and a half living out of the country.

I am thankful for this beautiful island of Grenada that Josh and I live on.  And for the special opportunities that God has provided for me here.  I have never felt so connected to a community outside my hometown before and I am so blessed to be so involved with the precious children on this island.

And lastly, I am thankful for all of the family and friends back home in the United States.  Even though we couldn't be with you this Thanksgiving we are so thankful for the love and support you have continued to give us on this journey through medical school.  It hasn't always been easy, but you have been there with us every step of the way.  We love you so much.  

Pictures Are Worth Thousands Of Words

I have been wanting to take some professional pictures since the moment we arrived in Grenada.  This island is so full of natural beauty.  Josh and I have about 5 pictures together on this island over the past 6 months and in most of them we are sweaty, dressed in bathing suits, with salty ocean hair.  So, needless to say, I wanted some pictures that I would actually not be embarrassed to someday frame in my home.  And, though Josh really detests taking pictures, like seriously hates it, he agreed to do it because we kinda skipped over my birthday this year due to midterms.  So, I had some leverage.  And you better believe I used it. :)

Thankfully, my great SO friend Michelle is a photographer!  You can check out her photography blog HERE!  So last week, we took some pictures.  And just for the record, my hubby was a great sport.  Though I like pretty much all of them, here are some of my favorites.

I really am so very pleased with them.  Thanks again Michelle!

Pumpkin Muffins

I don't usually do many "cooking related" posts.  Because let's face it, I'm not THAT great of a cook and also, there are plenty of other foody blogs out there more worthy of reading than mine.  Take my friend Sara's blog, she's MUCH more creative in the kitchen than I am.  The things she makes are out of this world amazing!

But, while browsing PINTEREST, I came across a recipe for pumpkin muffins that I knew I could most definitely do without messing it up that bad.  It's hard to get into the spirit of Thanksgiving when:
A. You live in a country that doesn't celebrate American Thanksgiving.
B. Your hubby doesn't have the day off of school.
C. It's like a bazillion degrees here and feels NOTHING like November. 
D. A turkey here costs like $100.00US.  It better be worth it.  (Oh yea, and I'm cooking it.  What the heck!?!?)

So I thought pumpkin muffins might put me more in the Thanksgiving mood.  You can check out the original recipe HERE.  It's super easy, but I added a couple things to spice it up a bit.

All you REALLY need are two ingredients. 

A can of pumpkin and boxed yellow cake mix.  No eggs, butter, or oil necessary.

You mix the two together.  I added a teaspoon of cinammon and a 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg.  Just cause.

Oh yeah, and then I added lots of chocolate chips.  Because chocolate makes everything better.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  Sprinkle some powdered sugar on top for added sweetness.  And then enjoy!

They turned out great and they were soooooo easy!

People Say We Monkey Around

Amber, one of Kelsey's good friends, and a former Grenada SO (her hubby's now in clinicals and yes, we are all jealous) has been visiting Grenada this past week.  The two of them have been doing just about everything that Grenada has to offer and they have been kind enough to include me in their many excursions. 

Last week, we went up to Annandale Falls.  This was my second time there.  You can read about my first trip HERE.  When we arrived, there was an exciting little friend there to greet us!

Jack the monkey!

A big thanks to Amber for many of these great pics!

What kind of monkey is he?  Heck, I don't know. A cute one!

Although some of us were more fond of him than others.

Kelsey was not his biggest fan. Haha!

I LOVED him.  I wanted to take him home right then and there.  Do you think Josh would mind?  Maybe I need to start searching the Grenadian jungle for a baby monkey.  Who needs a puppy when you can have a monkey!  After lots of oohing and ahhing and squealing in terror on Kelsey's part, we headed to the waterfall.

We swam in the water until we realized, thanks to a guide, that there are TONS of freshwater fish in there.  I suppose I knew there had to be some fish in that water.  But I really didn't need it pointed out to me as I was swimming in it!  We went up under the waterfall and overall just really enjoyed ourselves.

So who wants to go monkey hunting with me?!? 

The Sisterhood

Have you read the book series, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants?  Maybe you've seen the movie? 

Well, if you've done neither, I'll give you the rundown.  The books are about four girls, four bestfriends who are getting ready to embark on their own personal adventures during the summer months.  Right before they are ready to go in separate directions, they find a magical pair of jeans at a thrift store that they ALL fit into even though they are all different shapes and sizes.  The girls see it as fate and create the Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants.  All summer, they switch off sending the pants through the mail to each other in their respective locations.  The theory is that when you have the pants, "magical things" can happen.

Both of my sisters, cousin, Aunt, Mom, Grandma and myself have read all of the books and in 2008, we decided that we were going to become the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.  My Mom bought a pair of baby jeans and called them our "pants."  The plan was that whenever a person in the Sisterhood traveled to a new place, she would take the pants with her and add to them. The pants would travel all over the world.

My Sisters Anna and Rachel and Cousin Courtney with the "pants!"

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in Bakersfield at the movie premier.

In the past four years, the pants have literally been ALL OVER THE WORLD.  Budapest, Paris, Ireland, Rome, London, New York, Washington, D.C., Sweden, and Spain just to name a few.

And today, I got a special package in the mail from my sister Anna who has been studying abroad in Australia for the past six months.

It only took a month to get here.

THE PANTS!

My other sister Rachel, back in California, sent Anna the pants in Australia.  Anna kept them for a little while, added to them and then sent them to me in Grenada!  What a fun surprise it was to get the magical pants in the mail.  This MUST mean that Josh's finals are going to go well.  How can they not when we have the pants?!?!

Notice the new "Grenada" addition.

 I will keep them and bring them home with me in December.  That way they are ready and waiting for the next adventure one of the members of the Sisterhood might take!