Father's Day

Alright, I have slacked a bunch on the whole blogging thing, which I knew I would. I totally planned on blogging about surviving one month here on the island, but that never happened. I've been so busy with work, cooking, cleaning, and my new calling in church that I haven't had a second to blog. I knew I had to make sure that I blogged today, Father's Day. I want my dad, or Daddio as I like to call him, to know how much I love him. My dad is a pretty awesome man if you didn't already know that. I am grateful for his love and the sacrifice he's made to make sure we had a great childhood. I have amazing memories that I will keep with me forever. He has taught me how to be a hard worker and a good person all through his example. My dad is the most genuine and caring person that I know. He always sees the good in people and I love his zest for life!

Dad, I want you to know that I love you so much and I'm so thankful for the things you have done for me. You are the best!

Definitely one of my favorite pictures from my wedding!

I hope you aren't getting sick of me posting pics of the beach, but let's face it there isn't much else to do on an island! Yesterday we enjoyed Clarke's last Saturday off for a while down at Hull Bay snorkeling.  We saw some cool things we haven't seen before:

A founder fish we stumbled upon. Clarke tried to spear it with a piece of glass.
He didn't even get close to touching it! LOL!

One of the many sunken boats at the bottom of this bay. 

I have no idea what this is, but it was sitting on the boat and it kinda looks like an ocean spider.
Clarke was brave enough to pick it up.

Clarke wanted me to take a picture of him sitting in the boat at the bottom of the ocean.

Tiny little hermit crab. There were thousands of them right by the shore. (please don't  laugh at my pruney fingers!)

These squid were all in a line from biggest to smallest. I'm not sure if they planned that. :-)

The eyes on these things are so big!

The Not So Glamorous Part of Living in Paradise

1 ~ Bugs! We've gotten a control of the cockroaches, but we haven't figured out how to get rid of the mosquitoes!

2 ~ Saharan Dust. I had no idea what this was until it hit us a few days ago. It causes a nasty haze, heat, and allergies. Wikipedia explains it here.

3 ~ Power Outages. It sucks! Need I say more?

4 ~ Crime. I am always thinking about our safety here. Just this week, two police officers and a tourist were shot in separate shootings. It worries me just a bit.

5 ~ Humidity! 90% humidity causes me to be a gross greasy mess. I wash my face at least 3 times a day and I still don't think that is enough.

6 ~ Lack of Friends/Family. I am missing home like crazy. It is so difficult to be so far away from our friends and family.

7 ~ The Cost of Living. I honestly don't know how people afford to live out here. I just can't get over how much groceries, gas, and electricity are!


Is it bad to already be counting down the days until we get to move back to the states even though we don't know when that is?! It has just been a tough week so of course all I can focus on are the bad things. I know that anywhere will have its good and bad. I'm sure that the longer I live here the easier things will be to deal with.  Here's to having a better week!!!