Spring Break 2011 - Turks & Caicos Islands

Turks and Caicos has to be one of the most beautiful and relaxing vacations we've ever taken. There's not much to do besides relax. And eat. So we did plenty of both!

Spring Break - Turks & Caicos (snorkeling)

We took a day cruise that allowed us to go snorkeling in the Carribean...something I'll never forget! It was so much fun. The girls and I went in, while Scott and Isaac "guided" us from the boat.

Here, we are getting ready. A little nervous...not sure what to expect!

But we jumped in!

I wish I could describe the beautiful, colorful fish and coral reefs we could see. But, even Scott and Isaac got to see some fish from the boat.

Dylan is in the foreground, and you can barely make out Kat and me in the distance.

Drying off.

We then went snorkeling in more shallow water for conchs. I found two of them, and Isaac was fascinated by the way it would come out of it's shell.

And then, we learned, in a very graphic way, how the conch is removed from the shell.

And this is what it looks like!

The kids are holding the now empty shell.

And this is what became of them. Conch Salad. It was so good that Dylan ate two bowlfuls!

Spring Break - Turks & Caicos (eating conch)

Some of the most fun we had revolved around eating conch. Turks & Caicos is the world's leading supplier of conch. I have to admit, I'd never tried it before, so it was an experience. But we all tried it. And we all enjoyed it...at least a little!

Getting to Da Conch Shack, apparently THE place on the island to eat it, was quite an experience. Being a British territory, you have to drive on the left side of the road. And, being a fairly undeveloped island, we had very primitive directions, and took many scenic tours down pot-holed, dirt roads before we finally found it!

It was a fun meal, though!

Lots of laughing...

and LOTS of conch!

Isaac's favorite was the Conch Fritters.

Beautiful sunset at the restaurant!

Happy...and full of conch!

Pretty girl!

Looking at the conch shells.

Other pretty girl!

And handsome little fellow!

Spring Break - Turks & Caicos (Iguana Island)

We loved our trip to Iguana Island. It's an island in Turks & Caicos that's uninhabited, except for a bunch of iguanas. It was fun seeking them out!

Scott with the kids on Iguana Island

One of the iguanas. They were huge! Like 18 - 20 inches!

Another iguana. Kat snapped about 200 pictures, so I won't show them all. I got home and had more pictures of reptiles than I had of the kids.

Beautiful landscape. A little history: This island was formed by a hurricane in the 1960s.

Isaac testing the water...

until this giant Manta Ray came along!

Dylan - Night of the Arts

Dylan's middle school held their annual "Night of the Arts" last week. Along with the various art displays, there were choral, dance, and band performances. There was also a basket auction fund raiser. Can I just say that I'm the luckiest basket auction participate? Ever? It seems like every time I go to one of these things, I win way more than my fair share. It's the only time I ever win anything. And, does it really count as winning if you have to PAY for it???

At least Dylan is reaping the benefits and is continuing to get better with her clarinet playing. We always enjoy getting to hear her play in public since she rarely plays for us at home. We're very proud of her progress over the past few years!

(2nd from left)

(closer up)

Scouting in the Science Museum

A few weeks ago, Katherine's Girl Scout Troop had a real "Night At the Museum" experience. The museum doors were locked at 7:00 p.m. and weren't unlocked until 7:00 a.m. Doesn't sound so bad until you consider that it's a science museum. Every corner you turn, you're face- to-face with a bear, a mountain lion, a t-rex, snake, or, even worse, a loin-cloth draped native American.

Here, the girls have just arrived and are well-rested and all smiles.

And then, we were assigned our sleeping quarters. I was hoping we wouldn't be camped out under some hungry looking grizzly towering over us, but lucky us...we got the Native American Exhibit. Yeah, the one with the life-sized, loin-clothed sporting Indian brave taunting us with a spear pointed at our heads. (Since the lights shut off at midnight, and we had only flashlights to use after that, it was worse than it sounds.)

Of all the planned activities they did, the girls enjoyed the fingerprinting activity the most. First, they were fingerprinted and got to study their own prints. Then they learned how to dust for prints on different objects.

And then Katherine made her most exciting discovery of the night. In the pirate exhibit, she found a story about Thomas Tew, a real American pirate. She took the following pictures detailing his career:

While it was not at all a restful night, it was really a lot of fun. It's a night Katherine won't be likely to forget any time soon!

Our Little Alfalfa