We're back...& a little more organized this year!

OK--so it's been...awhile!  So this year (in Cyprus) maybe I'll change my updates to read a little more like short journal entries.  Who knows, I might actually succeed with my good intentions and get on here to post as often as I'm on Facebook (you probably hope that's not the case!). 

So instead of attempting to go back MONTHS, I'll say this...we went home to Virginia for 6 weeks this past summer and it was wonderful!  (Well, the kids and I were home for that long and Clint joined us for the last 3 weeks of the trip).  CJ & Ashlee participated in Vacation Bible School & Music Camp (their first time for both) & loved them.  We got to go to Williamsburg and Jamestown & saw the archeological dig of the first settlement & had a private tour.  Grammy & Poppy took the 3 munchkins camping for a few nights & had a great time.  Very exciting, CJ asked Jesus into his heart at VBS & was baptized while we were home!  And we also got to spend a week at the beach (in Nags Head, NC) with the whole family.  And last but not least, we enjoyed loads of visiting time with friends in South Riding & around home & family...even with Aunt Danielle & cousin Tripp from Orlando (more than once)!  :)  It was perfect and full of great memories!

Then we got back to Cyprus & had our dear friends, the Littles (Jeff, Louise, Neve, & Ethan) come for a 2 week visit...they didn't stay with us but we saw them all but a few days they were here.  We visited St. Helurion castle near Kyrenia (on the North side) & took them to the beach (our favorite one here) and played in their pool and totally enjoyed catching up with friends!

Then it was back to school for CJ & Ashlee to AISC & Colt to Little Gems.  So far, we are all pleased with the kids teachers and they are all settling in to a fall routine that includes Saturday Soccer at the UN, Cub Scouts, & piano for Ashlee & guitar for CJ.  Colt will be starting swimming lessons next week at his school too.

I almost forgot--we also got to go to a turtle harching & release on the North side of the island in Alagadia Beach.  We watched them dig up a nest and uncover the baby sea turtles (so cool!) and then we got to release them into the sea after dark.  The volunteer student (who's doing research for the summer) stands in the water with a flashlight to lure the baby turtles out into the water.  It was memorable and so fun!

So last weekend, we went with some friends for fish mezze in Limassol...very yummy!  And then met Gregoris (who works with Clint) & his wife to go to the Limassol Wine Festival.  For 6 euro you also get a bottle of wine to take home.  And inside we bought these cute little wine glasses for 2.50 euro and you just walked right up to the stands and they would either fill them up or give you a taste!  The kids got to stomp grapes and learn a little about where wine comes from.  It was unbelieveably humid but it was lots more fun than I was anticipating...so we were all pleasantly surprised!  :)

Then on Sunday, we were invited to our first Cypriot wedding.  The weddings here are famous for their size...the couple & 1000-2000 of their closest friends and family...basically everyone they've ever met!  :)  It was very different than any wedding we had ever been to and very beautiful. 

Well, that just about covers what we've been into since we returned to Cyprus.  So here's my journaling part...on Friday, after I ran & desparately needed a shower, we had NO WATER!  So I called Clint and asked him if we were still having water rationing (we're not...duh!).  So he told me to go ask the landlord (who speaks no English) to look at it...great!  Well, his wife and I managed to make hand signals with each other enough to figure out that somehow we had turned off the water main for the house on Thursday morning instead of just turning off the water for the sprinklers!  Ugghh!!  We had been able to do everything for 2 days, though, because of the lovely water storage tanks that all the homes here have in case they need to ration water during the summer months.  Good news, I thought!  So I only had to wait 30 minutes for the tank to fill up again and then I could take my shower. 

Once I was done, though, I noticed the water coming out of the faucet (& all over the house) was sometimes coming out brown and then it would go back to clear and then brown again.  Oh well...I just thought, welcome back to Cyprus! 

But then on Saturday, Ashlee went to take a shower after her soccer game and (thank the Lord) called me to tell me the water was "pink" before she got in and thankfully CJ ran in and turned it off for her.  I turned the faucet back on in the shower to see it and within seconds, the water coming out was blasting high pressure and was boiling hot (even when it was all the way on cold)!  Clint went next door and got the landlord and he came over and told us it must have something to do with the water tank refilling (yea, OK!) and to turn on all the faucets all over the house.  There was steam coming up out of the toilets & boiling hot water out of all the sinks.  The water was so hot, it melted the plastic pieces in the flusher for the toilet, the kitchen faucet, our shower faucet (the water won't come out the bottom part now), & the underdrain for our patio sink...oh, & the shower poof we had hanging on the faucet is completely melted on one side now!  Unbelievable!!  I keep thanking God that Ashlee didn't get straight into the shower before calling out for someone to help her!  I dread thinking about the trip we would have been making to the hospital for the burns she would have gotten!

So, the toilet in the half bath doesn't work now...the landlord broke it because he wouldn't listen to Clint about how to fix it (well, he probably didn't understand).   And our faucet doesn't work in our shower now and the patio sink isn't usable now.  But the good news is that Clint replaced the little faucet sprayer/rotating piece on my kitchen faucet with one that's nicer than the one I had ( he spent 2.50 instead of the 1.00 euro we did the first time).  :)  Man, I love living overseas!  Oh, & don't even get me started on the numerous electrical issues in our house!  Until next time...hope this appeases a bit.

The beauty of Natural Exfoliation...

Today we went to the beach...we thought it was going to be a pretty warm (low-mid 70's) day with the sun shining.  To be fair, I checked the forecast before we left for the coast and it did say SW17-20 mph winds would be starting around 1:00 pm.  It didn't sound too bad or feel too windy outside...so we packed the car up (that only took an hour...big surprise!) and headed south for the afternoon.  The beach is only about 45 minutes away from us.  Of course, there are plenty of other beaches that are further in all directions.  But we headed to the Agia Napa area...

We arrived in record time (after all the dumb construction traffic...but what would Nicosia be without construction, right?).  They have these very clean bathhouse/changing rooms right next to a cute little beach taverna that's not yet open for the season.  So Ashlee & I made a pit stop and the boys headed down to the sand and water to set up for the afternoon.  Well, when we walked out from the protection of the building, holy cow!!  The wind about knocked us over!  But the boys didn't seem to mind and had already headed down towards the water with the sand toys.  So I set down next to Clint and proceeded to get pelted with what felt like a million tiny little needles on the right side of my body for the next hour and half (I guess it wasn't all that bad, though)  :)  At least the sun was out and the kids were having sooo much fun (pretending like it was summer!) digging in the sand and running through the water in the little pools.  It was fun to watch them! 

So Clint and I are sitting there trying to ignore the sandstorm around us...ha!  And a big gust of wind comes through and just pelts us with this big wave of sand.  And Clint says, "It's like natural exfoliation...you just have to sit here!  Want a beer?"  :)  And all I could do was laugh! 

Oh, you should've seen all the kite-sailers that were there!  They were so fun to watch and were catching some serious wind when they jumped...like 15-20 feet in the air!  We met this really nice guy from England who apparently introduced Cyprus to kite-sailing years ago and chatted with him about it for awhile.  Apparently Clint wants to give it a try but you can't rent the equipment anywhere, you just have to buy it and hope you can do it and like it--it's only about 1000 euro ($1500)!!!  (NOT gonna happen!) :)

See all the kite-sailers in the sky...I'll get a close up shot next time

It looks warmer than it was--but they put their bathing suits on because they wanted to get wet while they worked and played in the sand.  :)

That's my man...& his Carlsberg beer!

Our 13th Anniversary celebration on April 4, 2011!



The Happy Couple <3

We usually go to dinner on our anniversary each year to celebrate and this year was no different...other than the fact that we're in Cyprus now!!  A little backstory to how we (I) chose where we went for dinner...At Christmas time we had the opportunity to attend a pantomime (a British Christmas tradition that Tambur & Greg introduced our family to) and a few weeks ago we saw Agatha Christie's play "And Then There Were None" at the Russian Cultural Center.  As we left the Cultural Center and walked down the side streets to our car, I noticed (both times) the most adorable and quaint little French Bistro on the corner.  Long story short, I hinted that I wanted to go there for my birthday dinner but my sweet hubby knows how my heart longs for a good steak and instead took me (& all my babies to an amazing steakhouse--right here in Nicosia--called Starz). 

So this time, I knew that if I wanted to go to the cute little French Brasserie, I had to take the bull by the horns and just make the reservation and plans myself!  :)  I made the reservation on Friday before our anniversary on Monday and arranged for Elsa (our awesome and always available sitter) to keep the kiddos. 

We arrived at 7:15 pm (our reservation was at 7:00) and the sign on the door said "CLOSED"!!  And Clint says, "Are you sure they're open?!" Ugghh!!  So I tried the door and it was open...the cook came out of the back, handed us some menus, and said the owner would be there in a few and we could pick any table we wanted!  So typical of Cyprus, I love the easy way of life! 

In case you're wondering, Cypriots don't eat until 8 or 9 pm--unless we Americans force them to!  So they didn't start serving until 7 and I don't think they ever actually have anyone come in until long after that! 

Well, the owner arrived and made us this yummy drink called Royal Kir (heard of it anyone?  because I'd love to make it again!).  And then I had the pork medallions with a mushroom cream sauce and Clint had the Wild Boar casserole...both dishes were incredible!  Oh, we also had this appetizer that was to die for...Camembert cheese rolled in French bread crumbs and baked (I can almost taste how yummy it was now)!  And for dessert, Creme Brulee for Clint and I had these little proliferoles (I don't think that's spelled right) but they were like mini cream puffs with ice cream in the middle.

We had a wonderful night and ABSOLUTELY enjoyed our 13th Anniversary celebration and the first time we've gotten to go to dinner with just the two of us since we got here in November!  I look forward to our next romantic evening out!  Love you Honey!!  <3

The Royal Kir on the left and the wine we picked on the right.

There were all these really neat paintings on the walls that were for sale

The liqueur used in making the Royal Kir