Thrifty

Davis is a bit worried - I've been cleaning house, identifying things we no longer use or need and selling them on craigslist and through the local mother's club. Almost daily someone has come by to pick up their wares - Davis is convinced he'll come home one day to find that the house is empty - that I've sold everything. Unfortunately my response to his concern didn't put his fears to rest - I asked him - first, how much do you think we could get for everything? Second, would it be enough for us to skip town and head off to some beach paradise - forever?

The other thing that worries Davis is my eye for things on the side of the road (I refuse to call it garbage picking as sometimes there are things on the side of the road on non-trash days). According to Davis we can be driving along and suddenly I'll brake, turn down a road, go four miles, turn left and stop in front of a house with some toys outside - toys with a big "free" sign. I think he might be exaggerating. But, truth be told, I have managed to find many free toys. My most recent score - a car for Oliver.

Oliver is in love with his new car. He's spent hours driving it around the backyard, up and down the driveway and just getting in and out through the door (which he is very excited about).

I've got to run there is, seriously, someone here to pick up something I'd posted on craigslist.

Man O War Part 5: A Final Few

Several years ago Davis and I spent New Years on Man O War. It was on that night that Davis was given his fantastic palm hat - the hat resides at the house on Man O War and it is the first thing Davis finds when we arrive. To me, Davis, his hat, Man O War, and complete happiness are synonymous.

Oliver gave Davis' hat a go a few times; given how cute he looks in the hat I think we may have to make a smaller version for Oliver.

With a matching hat the two could be peas in a pod - oh wait, they already are.

Oliver now how is very own palm tree. He planted the tree and carefully watered it. We are all looking forward to checking on Oliver's tree each and every time we return to Man O War.
I love this next picture - Oliver, crashed out, in a perfect vacation pose.
Oliver had his very own bag when we went to the Bahamas - he carefully packed the bag and rolled through the airports. This morning Oliver came over to the laundry I was folding and took several pieces of his clothing. He then went over to his books and took a couple of them. I watched as Oliver put the clothes and books in his bag - I asked what he was doing. He told me he was going to the Bahamas. When I told him that we weren't headed back there today he got very sad (and very mad). I must say, I too was very sad that I had to head off to work this morning and not to Man O War.

Man O War Part 4: Family and Friends

Although our visit to Man O War was incredible, there was a notable absence - Oliver's grandfather Rickey. Rickey would always meet us at the airport, note that life is always better in the Bahamas, complain a bit about the traffic in Marsh Harbour (which usually consisted of about 3 cars) and about the one traffic light (for more than 80 miles), then take us to lunch at Wally's before whisking us away to Man O War. Once on the island Rickey would head to his office where he would spend the days working. Rickey would, however, always be up for leaving the office for an adventure in the golf cart or boat. He was also always ready with a smile. And one can not forget - Rickey always had a black dog with him.

The day of Rickey's memorial service was spectacular - it was the one day where the air was still and the sky was cloudless. The memorial was held in the Coconut Grove, a stand of coconut trees looking out over the beach and ocean. We spent much of the day listening to Rickey's friends share stories and thoughts about Rickey's life. We then went out on the boat with two of Rickey's closest friends and scattered his ashes. The day was perfect.

Davis and I also thought that spending time with family and friends in the place Rickey loved was a perfect way to remember Rickey and to celebrate his life.

Here is a picture of the family (minus Oliver's grandmother Margot who was the one who managed to herd us all together to take the photo) -

Oliver, Davis and Uncle Tim

Oliver and cousin Caitlin

Davis, Oliver and Rickey's friend Ray


Ray and Walter, two of Rickey's closest friends, went conching with Uncle Tim; they managed to get quite a bit of conch. Oliver was very interested in the cleaning of the conch as well as the making of the conch salad. Once again showing us that his palate is different from the average almost 2 year old, Oliver devoured both the conch and the conch pistol. He loved it so much that to get more he not only yelled "more" but also signed it over and over again.

On Sunday, the day before we left Man O War, Davis swam around the island (about 8 miles). Caren and Skipper were on hand to cheer Davis on.

Man O War Part 3: Work

While the majority of our time in the Bahamas was spent on the beach and visiting with family and friends, we also did a bit of work (or at least Oliver did).

Oliver was a big help when it came to making trips to the dump -
And making repairs to the deck -
Oliver was also extremely helpful when it came to navigation. With his trusty compass Oliver was always able to tell us which direction was north,
And, with Davis' help, he was able to use the sextant to help us get to where we needed to go.

Man O War Part 2: Nippers

Great Guana Cay is a short boat trip from Man O War - and it is a trip we make quite often when we are in the Abacos. One of the most fantastic places on Great Guana Cay is Nippers (http://www.nippersbar.com/). Nippers is so fantastic because it is a place that has the ability to take many forms - each one fun in its own right. First, Nippers is a bar - a bar that can be packed with people, young and old, in big bathing suits and small bathing suits (and sometimes bathing suits that are way too small) (unlike most places shoes are discouraged). More often than not when the bar is packed many people make their way down the stairs to the beach by some means other than their feet - that is they tend to stumble/tumble down head over heels or heels over head. Although I've never been, I hear that things get even crazier when The Barefoot Man (http://www.barefootman.com/) is in town (with songs called "Thong Gone Wrong" and "You Look Like I've Been Drinking," one can only imagine what must transpire when The Barefoot Man graces Nippers).

Believe it or not, Nippers is also a perfect place to spend a lazy day and an ideal place to spend the day with kids. On a weekday (when it is not Regatta time) Nippers tends to be pretty empty - on the day we went there were maybe 6 other people. They have good food, a great children's menu, a pool, miles upon miles of white sand beach (two other people were on the beach when we were there on our last visit), tide pools that are perfect for exploring, and a breathtaking reef for snorkeling and diving (the reef is actually the world's third largest barrier reef).

Oliver's second trip to Nippers (he made the trek when we were last in the Bahamas) began with a careful look at the bulldozer at the end of the path to Nippers.
After checking out the bulldozer and eating a ridiculous amount of fries (they do have really good fries) Oliver took to the pool. He swam and jumped, and ran laps around the pool, and swam and jumped, and ran laps around the pool...until he was purple and shivering, at which point he got scooped up to get warm.
Once Oliver had warmed up we headed down to the beach (we all managed to make it down the stairs on our own two feet).
We spend some time running around the beach and playing in the water, but most of the time was spent playing in the tide pools and creating a huge Oliver pool. While Oliver did have fun playing in the Oliver pool Davis and Uncle Tim made, I think Davis and Tim had more fun building the pool than Oliver did playing in it.


By the end of our day at Nippers Oliver was happily wearing a new Nippers T-shirt and proudly showing off the shirt's pirate.

Oliver goes at full speed all day. People often come up to us and comment that he must sleep well at night, or must take amazing naps - as you know, that is not the case. Not only does Oliver not sleep at night, but if I can manage to get him to settle down for one nap that is longer than an hour, I am extremely happy. Given this, I am thinking that we might need to move closer to Nippers - Oliver took a nap just before we headed over to Nippers, and he fell back asleep (for a nice long 1.5 hour nap) before we even left the harbour on Great Guana Cay.

Man O War Part 1: Beach Fun

We returned late Monday night from our trip to Man O War. While Oliver was happy to be reunited with his trucks and (pet) fish, we all agree that we would rather be back on the island than here at home.

We took more than 200 photos of our adventures. I tried to narrow the pictures down to the best 5 0r 6, but couldn't. So over the next several days I'll post some of our favorites from the trip. Today's pictures are all about the beach.

Oliver LOVED the beach and the warm water. He had no fear of the water and would dive, head first, into the waves, get tumbled around, and then pop up smiling and laughing. He also spent a good amount of time jumping around in the water, splashing and swimming. He would only get out of the water to play in the sand (and then promptly return to the water) or when Davis or I had to pull him out because he was blue and shivering. When playing in the sand Oliver proclaimed himself a "bulldozer." He would move sand around with his hands, shovel and pail and yell bulldozer over and over again - the only time he would stop yelling bulldozer was when we pulled out the video camera.

With so much time being spent in the water and on the beach we had a very sandy boy on our hands. Although Oliver did take a shower at the end of each day he was perpetually sandy. At home our bed is usually full of sand/dirt from Pippa. Each night when we get into bed either Davis or I usually discover that Pippa has managed to push open our bedroom door and get in our bed and get it dirty - this usually results in one of us cursing silently and then yelling "Pippa." The first night we went to get into bed in the Bahamas Oliver noted that the bed was full of sand, he looked up at us and yelled "Pippa!" in a very accusatory voice. We explained to him that he was the cause of the sandy bed and not Pippa. Oliver disagreed and each night following gave Pippa a good scolding before he went to bed.

Headed South

Tonight we begin our travels south to the Bahamas. We are beginning our trip with a stay at the Hilton in Boston - between being at the Hilton and all the work we've done recently with Oliver and sleeping (did I mention how comfortable the bed in our guest room is and what a wonderful husband I have?) and being at the Hilton I figure we will begin our travels well rested.

This trip to the Bahamas will be bittersweet. This is going to be my first trip and Davis' second to the Bahamas since Rickey, Davis' dad passed away. Rickey had such a wonderful smile, a great big hug - and was always the most welcoming and gracious host. His absence will be felt and he will be greatly missed. While Oliver will not have the opportunity to grow up knowing his grandfather Rickey and having Rickey show him the ins and outs of the Man O War and Abaco, I am so glad that Oliver's first trip to the Bahamas was while Rickey was alive and that it was Rickey who took him on his first golf cart ride and first boat ride into Man O War Harbor.

The purpose of our trip is to remember and to celebrate Rickey's life. We will do just that and we will keep with us one of his favorite sayings - "It is better in the Bahamas."

On our last trip Oliver was just four months old. He had a wonderful time, but was pretty easy to keep out of trouble.

We'll see what happens this time -

I am sure we'll have loads of pictures and tales of adventure to share once we return.

Hippty Hop

We spent Easter weekend in Maine where it was surprising warm and sunny; so sunny that Oliver decided shades were a much needed accessory.

We began our Easter with an egg hunt with Oliver's cousin Alice. The two of them had a great time looking for eggs together.

Hunting for eggs is exhausting, so after filling his basket full of Easter eggs Oliver headed back to Papa and Le Le's for a nap.

He woke up just in time to join everyone for a fabulous Easter meal.

I've heard many people say there is no longer a need for encyclopedias (in print); I beg to differ. Oliver has decided he would rather sit in any chair other than his high chair. Since he made this statement (very stubbornly - there is no use trying to convince him to change his mind) we have gotten quite a bit of use out of the encyclopedias.

Happy Easter!

April Fools Day

Oliver has been a little trickster this morning.

We had our first music class this morning and I managed to get lost getting there (the GPS kept telling me to turn into a vacant parking lot that was blocked off with police tape - awesome). I gave Oliver a snack (with jelly - note, never give a child a snack with jelly when they are unobserved) to eat in the car on the way over there; given that I got lost he had plenty of time to create a disaster of the car and himself. When I went to get him out of the car I found that he has smeared the crackers and jelly all over his face and hair, and that his eyes were sealed shut with jelly (No joke- both his eyes were stuck shut with the jelly). Thankfully I keep a supply of selzter, wipes and paper towels in the car and gave him a quick bath so that we could walk into music class without frightening anyone.

Once we walked in the door to music class (late, of course), I knew we had another problem - a no shoe rule. Oliver loves wearing his shoes and so when I took them off we had lots of tears. The nice music lady came over after a bit and asked what was wrong. When I told her, she said he could wear his shoes so long as they were clean. Great. Just before we left the house Oliver had taken a jar of Play-Doh, opened it, threw it on the floor and stomped on it. After several minutes of digging a jar of Play-Doh out of his shoes we were back in class. Yea! We sat down and - oops - I suddenly realized I had put on the wrong jeans. Yup, in my hurry to get out the door I had put on my jeans with the lovely big hole in the inseam.

We have fun plans for this afternoon, so after Oliver wakes up from his nap, has another shower, and after I change my pants - I am hoping our April Fools Day afternoon proves exciting in a different way than our morning.

Here are some funny pictures from a bit ago.