My Boys Are SO Big!

I just wanted to take a minute to show everyone some pictures we took before church the other day. The boys are getting so big. I can't believe how fast they've grown up! I am so blessed to be able to spend my time with them! I love them more than words can say! Enjoy!


Matt

One Long Walk!

For all of you who still are unsure exactly where we are, I thought I would draw you a map! :-)


(Click to enlarge image)

Yesterday was a fun day. After I got up Tangra called and said she had run out of gas at the school. (Good to know some things don't change no matter where you are!) So Chuck helped me out and brought her home. Chuck and I ran to the gas station and then to the school so I could get the car. While I was gone Tangra decided to take a nap with the boys, but not before locking the little flipper lock like they have in hotel rooms. So when I got home and unlocked the door I realized that I couldn't get into the house. She wouldn't wake up and I didn't feel like trying to climb in the balcony (because quite frankly I don't think I could if I would have!) so I went out on the beach to find a nice spot to work on the tan. I ended up finding a really nice spot. There is little rock cluster that sticks out into the bay and I climbed out on the end of it.



It was really comfortable which was good because I was out there about an hour and a half!

After Tangra and the boys got up and I got into the house, Chuck came over and we decided to take the boys for a small walk. However, we managed to underestimate distance and ended up taking them on a rather LONG walk. We walked all the way around Simpson Bay, around the airport, and back home.


(Click to enlarge image)

I think it took us nearly three hours but we had a really good time. The kids sat in their stroller and we pulled/pushed them all over. They were great, they had plenty to keep them entertained. There was one spot on the beach where we stopped to watch the planes that the only thing seperating us from the active runway was an old chain link fence. It was very cool.

When we got home we were all exhausted! We made some dinner and watched a movie before going to bed.

It was a good time had by all,

Later,

Matt

Holy Cow It's Been A While!

Man, time sure flies when your sitting around baskin in the sun of the Caribbean. I can't beleive that I haven't written in so long. Sorry to everyone who is a faithful reader! (Ok, so maybe my blog isn't that important but you never know, better safe than sorry!)

So, what have we been up to? Well, Tangra has continued to study her little fanny off for her last exam of the semester. She feels pretty good but of course she is a little stressed given that it is on Monday. I think she can actually bomb it though and still pass so that helps take some of the pressure off. The boys and I have been doing a considerable amount of Yacht watching! There was a pretty big Yacht show this week so we tried to see as much of that as we could. However, that didn't go too well because as the security guard reminded us we are "OBVIOUSLY not yacht owners or brokers!" Why he had to be like that about it I don't know! I mean really, did he have to say it was "Obvious!"? I'm sure there are a lot of yacht brokers and owners that walk around in khaki shorts and John Deere shirts with a dirty boy and a baby strapped to their chest! How did he know?!

He did try to give me an out though. As he was showing us the door he said "...unless you happen to sell something...if you do then you can pay to register and peddle your goods all you want. Do you sell anything?" Seeing an opportunity for greatness I quickly searched the depths of my psychy searching for an answer. However, before giving it a completely thorough examination my mouth blirted the first thing I could think of..."Mary Kay!" (Who thinks of Mary Kay at a Yacht convention?!) To which I followed closely with "CRAP...I'm sorry that's all I could think of...we'll leave!" Thus ending the events for that day. We did get lucky though and the guard at the local marine told me that because I had kids he would let me walk through the marine and look at the boats. It was really cool but we weren't allowed to take pictures so I can't really show you.

Other than yacht watching it has been kind of typical. We walk a lot, we swim a lot, we nap a lot, and we hang out a lot. Most every day goes like this.

We wake up around 7 and drink coffee on the porch till Tangra leaves at about 8. We then have breakfast and get dressed for the day. At around 9:15 we head towards the bridge so that we can watch the boats come in at 9:30 when it goes up. After that we come back home and get ready to go see Tangra for lunch. We go see her for about an hour then it is home for naps. After a couple hour nap we get up and get ready to go to the pool. We go to the pool for about 2 hours and then come home and get ready for dinner. After dinner we either go across the street to listen to the musicians or we watch some tv. At about 8:30 we get in the car to go pick up Tangra at the school. When we get back the kids go to bed and Tangra and I discuss the day before going to bed around 10:30 or 11. It really is a great little routine. We aren't rushed or forced to do anything but we don't just sit around all day either.

Well, I have a couple of things I need to get done so I'd better go for now. Sorry again for the delay and I will try harder in the future.

Later,

Matt

Lobster Hunting (The Sequel)

Well, we gave lobster hunting another try the other night and did pretty well. We caught 3 that were keepers and three that we had to throw back.


Well, I should be fair and say that Justin caught 3 keepers and two that he had to throw back, and I caught one I had to throw back! I decided to take a picture with this one though and pretend that it was the one I caught so that I had a picture of my first time catching a lobster.


Chuck was not successful this time because he had a head cold that would not allow him to go under the water for any amount of time, but he did manage to pose for the nastiest picture ever.


That is correct everyone, he has a lobster in his mouth. However, what you can't see is that this is a lobster that has been boiled and had it's tail removed so he actually has the nasty gut oozing part in his mouth! Like I said NASTY!

This time it was much easier to relax and enjoy the event. I wasn't as worried about sharks and the dark! I still need to get comfortable grabbing the little buggers though. Eventhough I managed to catch one little guy, I missed about 5 other big guys. It could have been quite a feast but instead it amounted to enough lobster for Tangra to have one good dinner. We also caught a big crab but it was a female with babies so we put her back in the water so she could plant her eggs!


All in all it was a good time and I would definately suggest it to anyone wishing for a real caribbean thrill!

Matt

Tangra Broge...SGA SECRETARY 2008

It's official...Tangra is the new AUC Student Government Secretary for the 2008 academic school year.

She is very excited about this new honor. It is a great opportunity for her and it will also look very good on a resume! :-)

Congratulations Tangra ... We are all so proud of you.

Love,

Matt

My Little Man Is 2!!!!!!!

It's official folks... Noah Wade Broge is 2! I can't believe it has been 2 years already. Time sure flies when your having fun! This year his birthday fell on Thanksgiving so we celebrated both events together. It was very nice. Our family got together with the Brox family and the Cluff family and had a nice dinner around the POOL! (Yes it was a little weird eating Thanksgiving by the pool but it sure beats SNOW!) Everyone brought some food and there was quite a spread...


I think we all had difficulty knowing how much food we would need. It was all wonderful though. Tangra was so hungry by the time we ate that she couldn't even wait for them to cut up the turkey. She just went nuts, tore a leg off, and dug in.


(It was just a little gross!)

Hillary baked an awesome pirate ship cake for Noah that he loved!


It was pure genious! She used little tube-shaped cookies and candles for the canons and fruit roll-ups for the sails. It was very cool. Nolan decided it was the best cake he'd ever had!


It was a very nice Thanksgiving although in some ways it felt more like the 4th of July!

Later,

Matt

One more to go!

Tangra had her 4th exam yesterday so that means that she only has one more before she completes her first semester of Med-school! I can't believe we have been here that long already. Time has flown by! In three short weeks we will be headed back to the good-ole USA for the Holiday season. Although we love the island and our experiences we are definitely excited to get back and visit everyone!

I should tell you that contrary to what you may think, I am turing into quite the Betty Homemaker! I do the dishes nearly everyday, I pick up toys constantly, and I cook at least two meals everyday. Sunday night before her test Tangra wanted a Carb-filled dinner to help get her brain ready so I made her spaghetti. I think that Noah enjoyed it more than anyone else though!


So lets catch everyone up. As you saw in the previous entry we have had a string of colds circulating through the house. I think we are finally getting close to having that over with. Tangra has been studying nearly every waking hour although one of the perks of being in the Caribbean is there are a lot of great places to study ...


... Tangra is seated at the top left of the pool so don't feel too bad for her!

The boys and I are gearing up for the first week of December. That week there is a huge Super Yacht convention here on the island. It is rumored to be the largest gathering of Super Yachts in the world! Some of the boats have started to arrive so everyday we take a walk down to the bridge and sit at the yacht club and watch the boats come in. Here is a picture of the boys and I returning the other day.


Last night we all went to the Broxes' house and while the women watched the kids play in the pool, Justin and I went snorkeling for shells. Justin gathered a lot of sand dollars that Hillary is going to use to make necklaces and I was able to get my very first Conch shell. However, when you get them in the wild they don't look like they do in a store. When you get them home you have to soak them in bleach water. Here is mine soaking.


I'm pretty proud of it! It really was a good time.

Well, the boys are getting restless so I need to go.

Talk to you later,

Matt