Merry Christmas from St. Kitts!!!!

(to view larger image, click HERE)

Merry Christmas everyone!!! Hope you have a wonderful holiday and a happy new year!

Christmas Sugar Cookies!

It is our famiy tradition each Christmas to bake Christmas-themed sugar cookies and paint them together. We use my Great Great Grandma's sugar cookie recipe, and they are sooooo good, Christmas just wouldn't be the same without them.

So, since we are staying here on St. Kitts for Christmas, I decided we had to carry on the tradition even away from home. So my Mom mailed me 4 cookie cutters, we invited over some friends, and the tradition continued......(thanks Mom!!!)


Rolling the dough



Using the Christmas cookie cutters my Mom mailed to St. Kitts for me



Flour everywhere!



Once they are done baking, it's time to paint!




Cory is hard at work, adding every little detail possible




We had alot of cookies to paint!



We even had some little helpers stop by and paint a cookie or two (and eat 3 or 4). Don't even ask how many I ate!



And the final result of all our hard work:





We actually had alot more than what is seen in the pictures, but many were sent home with friends, and many were eaten immediately

In Memory Of Abban

To our loving cat Abban,

You were tragically taken from us far too early, and we miss you more than it seems possible. You were such a presence in our lives, and our house is quiet and empty without you. You were a major part of our family, more like a child than a pet, and now our family feels incomplete.
But we don't want to dwell on the sadness of your loss...we would rather remember your funny quirks and the good times we spent with you.

We will miss your BIG affinity for food (human food OR just plain old grass)




And your crazy love of catnip




We will miss your playful goofiness




And your goofy poses




We will miss your great ability to walk on a leash just like a dog



And our adventures together on that same leash (the park and the ocean....how many cats can say they have hung out at the ocean?)





Most of all, we will just miss your companionship




"I can't begin to express the joy you've brought to my life the last 5 1/2 years... You were my first kitten and you managed to change my view on cats forever. You were the ultimate 'cool cat' with your swagger and confidence. You were majestic and powerful like a king, yet you let out the kitten in you when it came time to wrestle and chase each other around the house. Our home is much quieter without you. I could understand you when you talked to me, and I swear you understood me when I talked to you. Well, hear this,.. you will always be in my heart and I thank you for all the happiness you've brought me. I am so proud to have been your buddy, and when we leave this island, you'll be with us again wherever we go." Love ya buddy, Cory

"I met you when Cory and I first starting dating, and I can easily say that I fell in love with you and Lladra instantly. I loved how you would cuddle with me in bed on the days I slept in, purring away and kneading the blankets with your giant paws (of course, this could only happen if you had awakened us at 5am to feed you first). And I loved your playfulness, getting to chase you around the apartment while you ran with your tail straight up in the air, enjoying every moment. You were an amazing cat, one in a million, and we were lucky to have known you. I think about you every day, and I miss you so so much. Rest in peace...we will never forget you!" Love, Julia


Abban's body will be buried in the pasture at Ross University. He will be buried with a picture of Lladra, his favorite mouse, some catnip and of course, some food. His spirit has outlived his body and will be with us forever.

No Posts

Sorry for the lag in posting stuff....I was offered a job at Ross University and have been busy at work everyday, Cory is in the middle of difficult finals, and our cat, Abban, unexpectedly passed away last night.

We are both quite stressed and saddened, so check back in the near future for details on my job, how Cory did in finals, and a tribute to Abban. Now just isn't the best time for posting.....

Julia

New Pictures Of Ethan

My brother has been sending lots of new pictures of my nephew Ethan, so I thought I would post a few.

Here he is in an adorable hat



And getting his first real meal



Playing in his jumper (try to guess which picture he is pooping in)





And finally, his first visit with Santa



So cute!

Ross University Awards Ceremony

Last night was the Ross University Awards Ceremony, which is held at the end of each semester. There are two awards that are given to two people from each semester, then a few group awards, and finally awards and scholarships for 7th semester students who are about to leave the island.



The awards given out to two people from each semester include the Colleague Award and the Semester Achievement Award. The Colleague Award is voted on by students, and they choose which student they would most like to work with in their professional career. This award was given to Claude, who is the president of Cory's class and a really nice guy.

The second award, the Semester Achievement, is voted on by faculty, and given to a student who demonstrates strong academic achievement, professionalism, and good attitude. And guess who got this one........Cory!
This was quite an achievement, considering Cory was chosen from 123 classmates, the largest class Ross has ever had.





After all of the semester awards were handed out, they moved on to group awards. For the first time ever, they decided to give an Anatomy I Team Award. This award was presented to a team of students in Gross Anatomy I judged to be the most professional in their manner and concern in Gross Anatomy Lab. And this time, out of 40 lab groups, Cory, Brad and Jen were the recipients.





I was so proud of Cory for receiving two awards. He has been working really hard, and it was nice to see him get recognition for it. Good job Cory!



If you would like to see video highlights of the night, check it out:
(this video is the reason it took so long to post all of this....it took some major geeky computer work!)

Our First St.Kitts Christmas Tree

We bought a Christmas tree today!!! Ok, so what if it is fake and not very impressive.....it actually makes it feel like Christmas here! See the video below for the official lighting of our Christmas tree for the first time

A Rainbow Over Ross

It has been crazy windy the last two days....we are definitely in the midst of a storm. Scattered pouring rain, high winds, stormy seas.....but then you get a short break in the rain, and you get to see this: a small rainbow over Ross today

A Centepede.....In Our Room!

Last night when we got home, we walked into our bedroom and found a centepede lying right there in the middle of our floor. Not full size, but still big enough to be scary and gross. He was barely moving, kind of half dead almost. Here is a video:




He may have been on the smaller side, but they can get much much bigger! Yuck!

Random Older Pictures

Eating dinner one night at Rocky's, right on the water



We had a nice little view backs towards Basseterre from Rocky's



Here is Brian hacking up a coconut for Cory to try




Hanging out at Mr. X's Shiggidy Shack for dinner



Brad, Cory, Justin and Jin



After dinner



Here are some shots from our drive around the island. This is a cool old church right next to the water on the far end of the island



And here is a section of the road around the same area of the island that is filled with tons of palm trees



This picture is from orientation week, during one of our first days here. We were downtown getting our driver's licenses and vehicles registered, and we stopped at a vendor downtown for lunch....johnny cakes and chicken. The sandwiches were soooo good, maybe because johnny cakes kind of taste like donuts. Anyway, this is us eating our lunch with other people from our orientation group...Brad and Cory on the left, and Dan, his mom, and his cousin Bobby (who is a mechanic and helped all of us buy reliable cars!)



Here is a pretty flower on Cory's school campus



And Cory's class, doing a meet and greet excercise during orientation (you can see Cory in the middle with his brown shirt and green shorts)



Another day during orientation, they brought Cory's class up to Brimstone Fortress for lunch. Except that it wasn't quite as sunny and nice as the first time we went, and it poured down rain the entire time. Here is his entire class trying to squeeze under a little porch and under the lunch tent to keep dry




Here is Cory with Holly and Brian on that same day at Brimstone (and Joleigh is hiding behind Cory's head)



After the rain finally stopped, Justin led an impromptu reading session outside of our bus. Cory and I had purchased a book about Wilbert the island pig for Cory's niece Reilly, and Justin thought everyone would like to hear the story out loud. Joleigh seemed to enjoy it



And finally, after our rainy time at the Fortress, our bus driver Mr. Rogers took us on a narrated tour of the entire island. Our favorite stop was Black Rock. It is a beach on the far end of the island that is entirely made up of volcanic rock. Very pretty