Wow!
It has been a really long time since I have posted to the blog.
So many things have happened since the last time I wrote.
We made it to St Thomas and have started to settle in.  Since the post office in Florida said it would only take two weeks to get our things we carried Tim's tools on the plane and took very minimal clothes. Of course it took six weeks to get everything!  It was like Christmas going through all of our boxes. Some things I was happy to see. Other items I was wondering what I was thinking when I packed it.  It was one of many "welcome to St Thomas" moments.
The house that we moved in had been vacant for some time. None of the doors shut and the neighborhood dogs were using it as their personal play house.  The troublesome threesome were not happy when we moved in and tore up an old pillow that was on the back deck, a garbage bag of trash that was in our house, snorkel gear, Oliver's swim trunks, Zach's flip flops and many other things.   You would think that if we stored things on the back deck they would be safe but we were wrong.  Unfortunately the owner of the dogs does not care to keep them locked up and they continue to be a menace to the neighborhood.
The kids seem to be adapting to island life very well. Oliver has become quite the swimmer. A wave knocks him down and he gets back up laughing ready for more.  It is hard to believe that if we were still in Colorado we would be building snowmen instead of sand castles. Julia claims to miss the snow but I don't miss it at all.
The beautiful weather is wonderful but the people we have met are incredible. Not only is it much more culturally diverse but the people are so friendly. We have made some great friendships. Even though we have only known them for about a month it seems like we have known each other far longer.  Tim says that he feels like he has come home.
Every day is not rosy and is not like a picture out of a postcard. Well I do have postcard views but I still have to do dishes, laundry, break up squabbles, cook, clean and everything else I did back in Colorado and in the motorhome.  Moving your whole life and family to a rock in the Caribbean can be trying at times.
People have asked if we are happy that we made the move. I do not hesitate to say yes! Even though it has not been that long and we are still in the honeymoon period I think this has been one of the best decisions we have made in the long time.

On a side note we have an apt. for rent. So if anybody wants to take a leap we have a great place for rent.

From this to this..

Our new house for the next month or so

So it seems that we are supposed to be going to St. Thomas.  Everything has sort of just fell into place.  Of course we wouldn't be able to go without the help of our family.  So thank you! You know who you are.  It is kind of crazy that we are going from living in a 22 ft. motorhome to a large villa.  And how are you going to swing this you might ask. Well we(meaning Tim)are  able to trade work for rent.  The owner of the house also has other properties so Tim will have work on those. The owner also has connections with others on the island. Hopefully that will lead to more work. People are also more receptive to Fridge Tek. Energy is so expensive that people are willing to do anything to cut down on costs.
At the very least we have housing for the next month and are very thankful.
Next step, getting our stuff down there as cheaply as possible.

Our soon to be new home town

which direction

getting ready for another great day at the beach

The Schwentor way to fix a leak

one of the beautiful bike paths in Jekyll Island

Tim and the kids cast netting! Can you say Mullet for dinner

So things are not going in the direction that we thought they would.

The "For Sure" job in Barbuda has been postponed until March/April. This job has had so many delays that I don't think it really will pan out.

The big question now is what to do next. Since we are not independently wealthy and the money is dwindling quick we need to find a place with some work. Tim has been working since we left but it has been selling Fridge Tek. The economy is so terrible that it is a hard time to sell!

We have have decided to head back down to Florida for the time being. Tim has a couple days of work and my dad is going to be there next week. He has not met the newest member of the family; Asher.  After that we plan to head over to St. Petersburg/Tampa area.

We have had a wonderful time on Jekyll Island. There is quite a bit to do and see in the area. It is a great place to learn about history and marine life. Homeschooling has consisted of many field trips to the beach looking for new specimens. We than look up what we found. Sand Dollars are all over so we have had fun collecting, researching, and preserving them. There area has quite a few historical houses, museums and lighthouse. We climbed to the top of the light house(I didn't realized how high they really are until you are at the top and scared of heights) and learned what it was like to be a light house keeper.  We have had a great time learning about this area.

I think we have grown closer as a family. Now don't get me wrong, we have had some major meltdowns all around. I think we are starting to get more of a rhythm going. We also have not connected to the cable TV. That little thing has helped tremendously. Julia has become a voracious reader. Late in the night I will see her head light shining.

Abby Orange is hanging in there. She definitely a conversation starter here in the campground.  She has sprung a couple of leaks but is still holding up.
So things have not gone the way we imagined them to go, but we are still glad we made the decision to go.  Plus, it wouldn't be an adventure if everything went to plan now would it?

After being in one place for a little over a week we finally are on the move again
We are in Jeckyll Island GA. It is a quaint little historical town. It was also the birth place of the federal reserve. Talk about going into the mouth of the machine.
The great thing about it here is how bicycle friendly it is. There are beautiful paths that go all around. Of course on our "little" trip to the store we got lost. So a three mile ride turned into a twelve mile expedition. The kids were troopers! The majority of the whining came from this out of shape mama.
Pictures to come when I figure out how to get photos off the I Phone.(if anybody knows how please shoot me an email)

For the past week or so I have been wondering what exactly are we trying to accomplish. Ther is nothing like a little Dr Seuss to put things in perspective. Oliver picked Oh the Places you Will Go for his bedtime story. It was just what the doctor ordered.

Sorry for typos and if the format is funky. I am using the phone and the screen is tiny

All lost

Well it doesn't seem like I have been good about blogging every day or so.

We are now in Georgia visiting with my Mother in Law.
The one nice thing about here is that it is a lot cooler than South Florida. The kids are having a great time visiting with their grandma and Papa Phil.  We are not sure how long we will be here. Probably until  she decides she can't handle us anymore.  ; ) We are quite a handful.

We are almost to the one month mark! It seems to have passed quickly and slowly at the same time.  Things are a bit out of sorts since we don't really know what we are doing for the next couple of weeks. It is difficult after having had a set routine and the same stomping grounds for 18 years.

We have lost everything on our computer. The only thing that I cared about were the pictures. I had everything from the birth of Oliver, Asher, and last five years of Julia and Zach's life.  It is a hard lesson learned about backing up what is important.

Update Finally

I am finally able to update the blog. For me a blog is like a journal, I have the best of intentions of writing daily but it just doesn't happen.  I am going to make an effort to do this every couple of days. Not only to keep friends and family updated but as a record for the kids.

To move back a week or so.
We had a great time in Texas. It was really HOT!!!!!!!!!!.
Thank God for the public pools of Texas. We stopped at a couple of different ones to break up the drive and COOL off. It was great to only have to pay two dollars compared to seven like back  at home.

Cooling off at Dairy Queen with a sweet treat.

Julia at the park outside the Public Pool

The town of  New Braunfels was really nice and Asher had his first tubing experience on the Comal River.

Abby in a place with not much around

 

 

 

It was a beautiful sunset. It was also great to see so many wind turbines around Texas.

We have stayed at all types of RV parks. Some nice others just because we could plug in and turn on the AC.

New Orleans was quite an adventure. As we never have been we had to do the typical tourist thing and go to the French Quarter. Since we had kids we had to try to keep it rated PG. We camped at a KOA located outside of town. They said that they had a shuttle that took you down to the French Quarter. Long story short we missed the shuttle. The guy said it was no problem as there was a public bus we could take to the trolley that would take us to the Quarter.  Easier said than done. We waited for the bus for quite some time and it never showed.  We finally had to take a taxi to the trolley. All in all it turned out to being a very, long hot night. The one good thing is that since we didn't eat dinner until almost 10 o'clock the kids ate all of their dinner with no complaints. Tim was in his version of Hell.  Tons of people, drunks everywhere, and people who were not that courteous. Julia on the other hand loved it. She loved the energy and the different musicians playing in the streets.  I definitely see her moving to a big city when she is older.
 

Asher ready for a big night on the Big Easy(Sorry have to tilt head)

 

     

Oliver riding the Trolley

Tim and Asher on Trolley

 

After New Orleans we made our way to Florida. We found a nice place outside of Pensacola. It was right on the beach and had a pool.  We stayed for a couple of days so we could unwind a bit. I found it difficult to get to a place and than leave the next day.

After Florida we made our way up to Georgia to see Tim's mom. We got to visit with her for the evening and drop off the trailer. The trailer and it it's tires has been the only major problems that we have had on the trip.  We only got to stay for one evening because Tim had to get to Boca Raton for work. We will go back and visit for a longer period once he gets the work done.

We are now in Juno Beach Florida and it is really nice. The park we are staying at is a mixture of motorhomes; some move around and others have been here for a long time. I can see the pool from our spot and the beach is just across the road. Everything we need is in biking/walking distance.  We had planned on staying here for  a week but Hurricane Irene might be changing our plans. So we will have to watch and wait, and see what she decides to do.  The people here are very friendly. We met a nice family from Holland and some other people that live here year round. When we got back from the pool today there was an envelope taped to our door.  Me thinking the worst thought it was a note telling us to clean up our area. (Kids stuff gets strewn everywhere quickly no matter how often I pick up) The envelope was blank with only a sticker keeping it closed that said "Trust in the Lord". Inside there was two fifty's.  I have no idea who left this for us or why but it was incredibly generous.
So that is a quick recap of what has happened. We will see if we have to run from our first hurricane or not.

Abby Orange in Juno Beach