Passin Time in Fiji

Well, again it's been forever and a day since I've written.  I put together the pictures of this post before our guests arrived and it's been pretty non-stop since.  Three days before Allison, Tom, Dalton, and Darcy came our friend Mere left to go back to her village. The girls were so sad to see her go...but we promised to see each other again soon.   During part of her stay, Warren had to go to Taveuni for work.   This is a beautiful island in Fiji where some volunteers live.  He had a nice time and even got to stand on the International Date line.  Pretty cool.   Warren on International Date Line When he got back we went to Pacific Harbour for the day to enjoy the beach for a bit.   It was a good time.  sleepy girl at the beach Pacific Harbour We also went to see the movies a few times.  I took Mere to an incredible movie that was part of the 16 days of activism.  The movie was Kuma Hina , a movie ab...

Me, Mere, and the girls went to Colo-i-Suva again today.  As always, it was a good time.  I was so proud of Andie from start to finish.  When we got there, there was a little puppy so skinny.....you could see every rib.  Andie's heart broke and she immediately said, "Mama, hand me the bread."  She ran out of the car with the bread when some boys started chasing the puppy, throwing rocks at the dog as they went.   Andie screamed at them,"Stop that!  She's just a puppy!  Leave her alone!!!"  These boys were probably 11 or 12, but she didn't even bat an eye.  She stood up for the dog and had no fear with these "big boys".   They sort of laughed at her, but stopped chasing the dog.   She spent a while looking for the puppy and was finally able to give it a nice piece of bread. Then, towards the end of the hike, she swung on the rope swing like a champion.  She had absolutely no fear (even though I did).   She swung over...

I've been out of touch for a while.  Sorry about that.  We are on school holidays so the days have been packed with kid stuff...and Mere is in town! Everyone is super happy to sleep in a bit, play in the pool EVERY day- probably three times a day  (it's 8:30 am and the kids have been in the pool already for an hour), have lots of play dates....and just enjoy summer.  It feels funny to be listening to Christmas music all at the same time.   As I mentioned on Facebook, it's been interesting living in a different culture that doesn't know Elf on the Shelf.  Everyone touches Circle and then the girls cry and worry all night that Circle lost his power.  Thankfully, he always recovers his power - since the touching is done by someone who doesn't know the rules or accidental.  He left a message for the girls who've been arguing a bit.  See pic below! It actually worked!   Also, the girls have learned to scramble and fry their own eggs. ...

It was an emotional day yesterday for our kids and for us too!  It was the last day of school so Andie and Zoë are finally moving up a grade after what feels like forever.  But, it was really sad to say goodbye to so many kids and teachers.   There were lots of tears.  Hard goodbyes....but so happy they experienced this year with such great people. Zoë and Ms. Jodee Andie and Ms. Lauren Zoë and her buddies - none of which are in her class next year  :( The boys of 1s The girls of 1s Traditional Fijian goodbye for teachers leaving The kids all read farewell notes to their teachers This is how many kids left!  (Well, they each brought a friend or two on stage too).  Reality of life in an international school. Life of kids here in Fiji- hanging by the pool Handstands against the hotel Farewell happy hour for teachers and parents

This has been such a full week.  We had something happening every night for the past 6 nights.  While it has been fun, it has been exhausting!  There is always something to do here in Suva - I've just said no to a champagne tasting and a trivia night because I just cannot keep saying yes to everything!  (That and I already said yes to something else the same night.)  I love having options though...so I am not complaining! To start with, obviously Thanksgiving last week is an American holiday.   That didn't stop us here in Fiji.  We had three awesome Thanksgiving meals with friends...three days in a row.  There are turkeys imported here....but they cost around $80 USD for a very average sized turkey.  Every meal we had did have turkey, but also supplemented with chicken.  On Wednesday night we ate a delicious meal at Allegra and Joe's house.  On Thursday, we ate dinner with the embassy folks and on Friday night, Tricia and Nicola h...