The Marsh Family

The Marsh Family

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Hi, my name is Joe.

Or at least that's what we're calling him! We got some new neighbors a few weeks ago and they have the sweetest dog. He puts his head up and rests it on the bars. He wants so badly to come play with M, W, Benny and Lola but he can't. The last time I did laundry he sat there watching for I don't know how long and never made a noise. He's so cute! We're calling him Joe as in Joe Boxer - get it?! Here he is!

Bienvenidos Oehms y Daniels'...

I know what some of you are thinking (hi mom!), "Why hasn't Kelly blogged in 10 days?!" Well the reason is because for the last week straight we have had company and been on the go the entire time. It's been quick, busy, and tons of fun! We were supposed to start out on Thursday, July 19th, by picking up the Oehm clan at 9:45 at night but their plane from Chicago was canceled. Okay - no problem - we picked them up instead on Friday the 20th and had just enough time to pick them up, eat, change, and head to the Brujos baseball game. We arrived at 7:00 so Cole could meet Manny and get an autograph and the game was to begin at 8:00. Unfortunately it was raining pretty hard so the game was delayed until 9:00. Here's Manny signing Cole's baseball, us with Cole and Manny (you know who's who, right?!), the field being covered because of rain, and the Brujos team. Of course, they didn't cover the field to protect it from the rain until it had already poured and there were huge puddles...make sense to you?







Because of the late start the game went long (1:00 am) but we left at 12:15. It was probably the most exciting game we've been to this season - the benches were cleared twice for fights, lots of trash talkin', etc. It was great! We got up the next morning and drove to El Yunque to see the rainforest and go to La Mina falls. It was the most crowded we've ever seen! We couldn't find a parking spot so Courtney searched for one while we hiked down, we had to push through people to get into the falls, we walked a different way back to the car and then Courtney had to hike a mile and a half to actually get to the car. It was beautiful and fun though. After El Yunque we went to a beach in Luquillo that was really nice and Cole had a fabulous time snorkeling. I bought him a kids snorkel set and he stayed in the water the entire time. We had a hard time getting him out of the water to go kayaking! We drove to Fajardo and went kayaking into the bio bay. We had made reservations through the company we used when the Noons were here. The only bad part was that they didn't tell us they no longer had their license and were contracting out for other companies..oh, and they didn't put our name on any lists so we had no reservations! We were so upset and then this nice man from another company invited us to kayak with his group. It was beautiful of course and Cole and Courtney were kayaking like pros! I don't mind saying Marilyn and I did pretty well too! The only disappointment then was that they no longer let you swim in the bay but we did play in the water with our hands. After that it was time for the long drive home.

The next day was spent lounging at a beach here in Guayama. Cole LOVED the ocean and was a fish for the entire time again not wanting to get out of the water. He didn't even want to get out to eat! When we got done at the beach we decided to go home and BBQ with the Dills and play with the beach ball I bought before they came. We were doing some relaxing before the next day when our other batch of company arrived.



The next day (Monday in case you lost track) Katie, the Oehms, and I headed to Old San Juan for some shopping while Courtney drove to San Juan to pick up Trish, Abe, and Zeke. Marilyn and Cole did some serious shopping and then we ate at Senor Frogs. We were so excited because we found a gas station where we could pay at the pump!!! That was HUGE for us because down here you have to go in and pay before you pump. I had to take a picture to remember the moment! We drove back to Guayama and went to dinner at Brewers with the Daniels clan. On Tuesday we got up and Katie and I took the Oehms to San Juan to the airport while Courtney and the Daniels' went to the beach. When we got back from the airport I drove over the beach...again! Needless to say no laundry or cleaning was done because of having overlap in our company. I got to the beach and we hung out for most of the afternoon. Zeke really enjoyed being in the water - especially when Courtney blew up the inflatable boat we bought. He floated along until he was ready to be out and that's when he stood up and tried to go over the side! We had to try to keep him contained on the shore because he wanted to explore everything. Here his is being "contained" in his harness which we sunk in the ground with a stake from the sun shade...aren't we nice?! Isn't he a cutie?!
That night we got pizza and just hung out. We had an early start the next morning so we needed to get to bed early. On Wednesday we got up to leave the house at 5:30 to get Trish and Abe to Fajardo to go scuba diving. They're certified divers so we found a place to take them out. Courtney and I feel bad because it turned out to be a not so good dive and they didn't see much. While they were diving we took Zeke to breakfast, K-Mart, and to the beach. Courtney chased him around and said that was the nicest Puerto Ricans have ever been to him! I guess everyone (even Puerto Ricans) love a baby! We took him in the water in his boat and then decided to take him out in his life jacket to float. He must have been tired because Courtney tipped him back in his jacket and he fell asleep! We scooped him up in his jacket and took him back to our "camp" we laid him in the boat (still in the jacket...couldn't wake him up!) and he slept for 45 minutes. It was so cute! After that we picked up Trish and Abe and headed to El Yunque. We ended up turning around because it was so crowded. (It was a Puerto Rican holiday) We drove home and had a little BBQ followed by playing Spades. Here's baby during his nap and playing at breakfast.









While we were at the beach on Tuesday we got a flyer about a new company that will take you out to some surrounding islands on their boat for pretty cheap. We decided to do that on Thursday so we got up and went to meet our captain. We found the place and they took us boating to find the perfect island. We saw 3 or 4 and at one point the boat just stopped. The captain saw a manatee pop his head up! Courtney saw the "spot" it makes in the water but we never saw the head again. Apparently they hide when they hear boats coming. We spent most of the day on our island swimming, snorkeling, talking, relaxing, etc. The captain picked us up and told us that he and his wife went to Salinas to eat while we were out and they saw a manatee playing in the bay at Salinas. Lucky! We went back home and decided to call our headmaster because we knew one of the new teachers was to be getting in that day. He was in so we drove over and introduced ourselves and took him out for a beer. Then we came back to Casa Benny and had a few more. He seems pretty nice. His name is Tom and he's from Chicago. He's been teaching in Phoenix for the last 3 years and he's 4 days older than me...oh yeah...not the oldest anymore!! Here we are on our island - Isla de Barcos.




Yesterday we got up, checked out our school and then drove to Old San Juan. We went to the Bacardi distillery and then to the Don Q distillery where we got some free drinks (can't beat that!). Then we ate a quick lunch and took the Daniels family to the airport. It was really fun to hang out with them - something we've never really done before. We really have had a fabulous last 8 days or so with company! We enjoyed every minute we had with everyone. But now the REAL fun begins - oh yes, I'm talking about laundry and cleaning the house! Woo Whoo! We start meetings on Wednesday and then kids come back the following Monday the 6th...can't wait?!?! Here are a few last pictures from our company. The first one is titled "Baby Got Back-pack"...are you rapping the song yet?


Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Here Horsey, Horsey, Horsey!

That is definitely not a phrase I ever thought I would have to say but, strangely enough, at 1:00 this morning that's exactly what we were saying. Confused?! The Dills (our fabulous neighbors) got home to Puerto Rico last night and Courtney and I went to pick them up. Everything was going great until our car overheated...AGAIN. We pulled over on the side of the road and called our friend, Manny, to come pick us up. Just as he pulled up the Dills called and had landed...and here I was - 40 minutes away. Lovely! Manny let me take his car and I drove to San Juan (of course VERY cautiously...is that a word?) and picked them up. We got home around 8:30ish and decided to hang out talking - after all it's been 6 weeks since we saw each other. Courtney went to bed around 12:30 because he was, how should we say it, "under the weather". Brent, Katie, and me stayed up when all of a sudden Katie says, "Is that a horse?" Not only was it a horse but it was a horse without a human! There it was just walking by our house. Brent being the animal lover that he is jumped the little half wall to rescue the horse who by now was in the middle of the busy highway that runs in front of our house. Katie and I went to get apples from my house and took them to the horse. By now Brent has the horse on the sidewalk. He was eating the apples (the horse, not Brent) and we decided to take him home. So I got a rope and Brent led him to our driveway. He was really a nice horse - just walked around eating apples, potatoes, and any grass he could find. So what else is a horse to do?! You guessed it!! He left 3 HUGE piles right in the driveway. He really liked Brent so he followed him around. He followed me to take the trash out at about 3:00 this morning (we were still up trying to figure out what to do) and scared me to death...I almost left a pile of my own! (Pretty picture, huh?!) Anyway - we decided to take him to this big grassy field behind the little grass patch where Miller and Winston leave their own piles. We walked him down there and 3 guys were watching us. Katie and I got freaked out and wanted to go home, Brent was trying to tend to the horse, and the 3 weirdos just kept watching. We ended up walking home and they followed us!!! We got out the machetes and I got out my new pocket knife (thank you, Calvin!) and we were ready for them. Well, if by ready for them I mean hiding in the kitchen with the lights off and the doors locked. They walked around the block a few times, stopping by the driveway making funny noises...haven't quite figured that one out. I tried to go to bed but was too freaked out so I was up until 5:00. It was a long night! All in all the Dills had an interesting homecoming wouldn't you say?! Here are some pictures we took of the horse...enjoy! Anyone got a shovel we can use?



Thursday, July 05, 2007

Home Sweet Home...

Well, it's the night before we have to go back to PR so I thought I'd update this while I was still in the states. We're at our hotel for the night and have to be on the shuttle to the airport at 5:30 tomorrow morning with our flight leaving at 8:00. Fun, fun! We had a great time while we were back home. With my parents living in Lenexa now we're not quite sure where home is exactly! Anyway - our flight home was interesting. We were supposed to land in Chicago at 11:35, board at 12:05 and leave at 12:35. Well, we got re-routed so we landed at 12:25. Needless to say I was freaking out! I did, however, take some lovely pictures of the Bahamas as we flew over them. Maybe I'll post those later! We made if off the plane and got right on the next one. Our flight to St. Louis was 1 hour and 5 minutes long. We landed save and Dad picked us up. We drove straight to dinner with Sharon, Wilbur, and their exchange daughter, Nicole, before she left for Germany the next morning. It was great to be able to see her before she headed home. Here we are at Cheeseburger In Paradise. On the 20th we had lunch with Carol & Ben in Leavenworth and then partied with friends at High Noon...man do we miss that place and those people!! On the 21st we spent the day with Amanda, Nic, and Anna and then had a BBQ at mom & dad's that night while Courtney went to John's bachelor party in KC. Friday we took Nic & Anna swimming and had a great time. That night we drove mom to Emporia to meet dad & Aunt Sandi so they could head to Meade for a family reunion on Saturday. Saturday was spent in the hospital with Grandpa Charlie and then at John & Mary's reception that night. We missed the wedding but had a great time at the reception seeing all of our college friends. Here's a few pictures of the 3rd Floor North Po Pimps and the Po Pimp Wives...I'm so excited that another wife joined the group!! The boys would be: Red, John, Travis, Ben, Aaron, and Courtney. The wives are: Sarah (Red's wife), Mary (John's new wife), me (do I need to tell you my hubbies name?), and Teresa (Aaron's wife). I just thought the picture of Sarah & I was good and I had room so I put it up!









The next week was spending time with family as well as going to Sabetha to see everyone (see you in 2 weeks, Marilyn!!) and to Emporia. Last Saturday we went to a BBQ at Dustin's, then to the races, and back to Dustin's for a while. We had a blast!! Here's our supermodel neice, Paige. Yes people that IS her on the Coleman's sleeping bag box! How cool! My new cousin, Stephanie, and her brother Keneth. Hoshi, aka Kody Livengood, at the races in Minneapolis. Courtney, aka Darth Vader, at Dustin's house, and me with my sister-in-law Becca.
















We went to IHop the next morning for breakfast and filled the joint...we had 21 people! After that Courtney & I drove to Lenexa to spend the week with mom and dad. We've spent this week relaxing for the most part and saying good-bye to some more people. This morning Mom, Courtney & I went looking at houses in Leavenworth. We figure we'll end up back there and there were 2 houses that we wanted to see. We know they'll probably both be sold by next summer but it doesn't hurt ot look, right?! Mom & dad drove us to St. Louis tonight and they're on their way home now. Last but not least - here's a picture of my mom's new toy, Vinn. Ain't he cute?! Anyway, it's back to Guayama tomorrow night and to our boys! We got a call tonight that they've been barking at night - good thing we're going home and they'll be in their own house tomorrow. Have a great weekend everyone!