Sand Dollars, Star Fish, and Significant Others

I've been trying to soak up every last ounce of "island" life that I can before we leave.  However, the weather apparently hasn't heard that I'm leaving soon and so it's been particularly uncooperative the past few days.  The 7 day forecast says "chance of thunderstorms" every day.  Boo. 

But on Saturday, a few of my best SO buddies headed over to Grand Anse for some fun in the sun.  The water was the clearest I've seen it with hardly any waves, perfect for snorkeling around to look for sea goodies.  And since I'm one of very few of my friends who are willing to dive for sea treasures, I hit the jackpot in "dollars."  Too bad these won't buy me anything!

Thanks to Mrs. Kara Manis for all my beautiful pictures from the day.

I had at least 3 or 4 more, but I accidentally crushed them before making it back to my towel.

And then I came across something I'd never personally found before.  A beautiful orange starfish!

Kelsey would be so proud of me.

Jessie also found a little baby starfish that happened to be missing a leg. Don't fret, I hear they grow back.

Look at that water!

It's not helping me any that Josh is so very excited to be done here in Grenada.  I guess it's not really his fault.  His year here and my year here have been completely different, a tale of two island lives if you will.  While I've been enjoying the sunshine, waterfalls, beaches, pools, and volunteering, Josh has been locked in the house studying.  This year has made me look more like a local, while he is paler than when we got here last June and about 20lbs lighter.  Poor guy, I guess I can't blame him for being ready to leave.  But his eagerness to get off this rock just makes me more depressed.  Maybe he just needs a few weeks away from it to help him appreciate it more.  I on the other hand...don't.  I know how special Grenada is and I don't want to let go.

Sunset on Grand Anse Beach

On Saturday, Josh and I spent most of the day lounging.  He actually wanted to go to the beach, but I was in desperate need of nap.  It is VERY unlike me to turn down a trip to the beach, but I had gotten up early to teach a gymnastics class and then worked at the SO kids Easter party all while he continued to sleep. :) 

By about 5pm, I was ready to do something.  So we grabbed a towel and headed over to Grand Anse Beach to watch the sunset together.  Since the sun isn't setting until about 6:30pm these days, we had a bit of time and walked down the beach to Garfield's to enjoy a pina colada...or two.

I need to make sure we see a few more of these before we leave Grenada.  Only one month left on this beautiful island.

One day at the Midterm Social...

...I almost died.

I actually didn't know how close I came to dying until I saw the pictures. 

But let's set the scene.  Three amazingly tan SO's at the SO midterm social decide to go for a tube ride on beautiful Grand Anse Beach.  The sun was shining and the water was crystal clear.  Julie forgot to take off her perscription sunglasses but we figured the ride would be fairly mild, she could hold them in her hand.  What could possibly go wrong on such a perfect day?

We set out on our tube screaming with glee as we were drug around the Caribbean water.  It was so much fun!

That is until the last few seconds of the ride, when Mr. Boat Driver thought it would be really fun to whip us around right at the end and failed to correctly judge the distance of the tube to the sand.

This picture is titled:  Three Girls Hold on For Dear Life

But don't worry, we didn't flip out backwards.  Although we definitely felt like we were going to!  And Julie somehow managed to hold onto her glasses and stay in the tube.  I think Mr. Boat Driver realized this particular ride was a bit of a close call.  I didn't see him whipping anyone around after that.

A Whirlwind Week...

...while my family was in town.

Dad, Mom, and Rachel flew in a week ago today and just as quickly as they got here, they left.  We had a great week together on my island.  And my lack of blogging has been due to the fact that we have been packing every moment of their time here in Grenada with island adventures.  I think it's going to take a few posts to catch you up on all of our fun.

So let's start from the beginning.

On Sunday, we took them on a tour of SGU's campus.

My sister Rachel and I!

And then headed over to Grand Anse Beach where we enjoyed lots of sunshine and some cool drinks.

 When it was time for lunch, I took the family over to Umbrellas for some burgers and fries.

And to round out day #1, we went to watch Josh play flag football on campus.  In case you were wondering, they won.

Sunday was the most low-key day of the week.  Check back soon to see the rest of the weeks adventures!

Babes and Boats

I spend many of my Saturday mornings at Grand Anse Beach participating in OSO (Orphanage Student Organization) beach days.  Each week they rotate between Queen Elizabeth Home and Bel Air Home and a few weeks ago I was there with the QE kids (I know, I'm a bit behind in my posts).  These are the same kids that the SO's visit on Monday afternoons and I love that we get to see them again every other Saturday for a bit of fun in the sand and sea.

But this specific Saturday was extra special because it was the annual Grenada Workboat Regatta.  It's a good thing I was at Grand Anse Beach for OSO or else I would have competely missed it!  It was such an experience to see all of the boats racing through the water.  It looks like a lot more work than I would have thought and some boats even capsized. They had lots of booths set up with local food and drinks for sale as well as souveniers.  It was definitely worthwhile to check out all the action.

And they're off!

The wind "snapped" the sail and it scared me!

  What I want to know is how I got so lucky that I get to spend my Saturday mornings like this?  :)

Limes Beach Day

We walked 47 of the Limes kids to Grand Anse Beach today.  And there were moments throughout the afternoon when I asked myself, what the heck was I thinking?!?!

But then I saw the smiles on their faces and heard the giggles as the water hit their toes and the sand became caked on their bodies and I knew it had been worth it.

**Please disregard the water spots on my pictures.  I had to use the underwater camera today.  I think the reason is obvious. :)

Thanks to all the volunteers who came out to help with our beach day.  It would have been impossible without everyone there.