I Waited and Waited and They're Finally Here! By Noah Broge

Grandma and Papa came to my house on the Big Jet and Daddy took Mommy, Nolan, and I to the airport to pick them up. They told me they were a day late because of the pilots of their first flight not having enough sleep, but I was so excited that they were here that I didn't even notice. After we picked them up and dropped their stuff off in my room they took us to the Buckaneer Beach Bar for Cheeseburgers. It was YUMMY!


The next day we went for a walk on frontstreet in Phillipsburg. We showed Grandma/Papa all the little shops and took lots of pictures.


We went to the place where they make Guaveberry Rum...


...and I showed them where my house was on a big map!


I even got to chase some lizards...


...they were HUGE!


I had soo much fun!

The Next day we all went to McDonalds for breakfast and Nolan and I played on the slide.


After that we went home and Grandma and I went to the beach in search of shells for Madelynn. We found a lot but I decided to dump them in the water just before we came back up...Grandma was very upset!


That night Nolan and I stayed home with Grandma/papa and had popcorn while mommy and daddy went on a Date! They were so excited that they could hardly contain themselves. I guess Nolan and I can be a handful sometimes!



Well, Grandma is ready to go...she says we are burning daylight...so I'd better go!

See Ya,

Noah

For entertainment purposes only!

Over the last couple of days Noah has been gradually getting more and more little "bites" all over his body. We thought at first it was misquitos but when I layed in his bed with him I didn't get bit. Then being the Dr that she hopes to be Tangra bursted into action (after I told her I would take him to the clinic in the morning) and got on WebMD to diagnose the problem. (Side note: WebMD is the dumbest thing I have ever seen. All it does is give average people enough of what they consider information to be dangerous and waste money! Case in point our evening last night!) As I said Tangra got on WebMD to diagnose the problem and quickly determined that it must be either dust mites, scabies, or some foreign burrowing larva! One of which states can be easily diagnosed by rubbing a felt tipped pen on the surface of the skin and then washing it away which should leave a dark line where the ink has soaked into the tunnel that the little bug has burrowed under the skin. Well, needless to say that was determined not to be the problem once she had made Noah look like a long time customer of Miami Ink. The next possible cause instructed her to replace all the linens on the bed. Determined that this must be the problem she proceeded to gather up all the sheets and pillow cases on Noah's bed and stuff them in a trashbag for me to carry out to the dumpster. (Another side note: As I said I had already decided to take Noah to the clinic and fearing the WebMD diagnosis may not be completely accurate I neglected to take the trash out till after the appointment today...Thank God for rational thought!) After all the linens had been "thrown away," Noah had been drenched in OFF and dressed up like a character from the Mummy, and I was safely in bed with him to "take the bite before he did" Tangra was finally content to go to bed. Luckly for me because I think the next remedy she was supposed to try was smoking them out and I don't think we would have gotten our deposit back after that one! Anyway, sure enough I took him to the Dr and the Dr informed me that chicken pox have been going around right now and that that was surely what he had. He said that Nolan probably won't get it because he is so young but if he does it should be a very light case. Needless to say I believe there really is no substitute for Medical school and that WebMD should be labeled
"For Entertainment purposes only!"

Till Later,

Matt

Getting Back in the Swing!

Well, we have been back on the island for nearly two weeks now and we are finally getting back in the swing of things. Noah is really getting upset though because he has only been swimming once since we returned. We have just been taking care of business like crazy!

While we were gone we decided that the rental car we had was costing us too much money so we decided we would get rid of it and buy an "island car" instead. We searched around a while and finally found one that was in decent shape and our LOW price range at the same time (Amazing!) It is a V6 with 4 wheel drive which I am really excited about but we decided to sacrifice a litte right now and go with a Manual transmission (Tangra can't drive it yet but she doesn't really mind) and no AC (She's not as excited about that part!) However, the temp here is absolutely perfect and there is always a breeze so it really is nice. We will just have to figure something out closer to summer when it is not so nice. It even came with a cattle guard which may come in handy if the locals try to stop me in the golf course and take advantage of me!



I got a GREAT deal on it but I feel kind of bad because I think I took advantage of poor Muhammed. You see he came down on price because of a problem in the frontend. He explained it like this...

"...the last couple of times I drove the truck it acted a little funny. Whenever I turned it would make a clucking noise and it really wouldn't turn very sharp. It felt as though it was jumping a little."

He then continued on by saying he would "...gladly knock another $300 off the (already low) price." He also told me that I could take the car for a couple of days and drive it around to see if I really wanted it (which would allow me to experience the problem for myself and Tangra to examine the no AC thing.) I quickly agreed and we were off.

Here is where the advantage comes in! For all of you fimiliar with 4x4 vehicles you may already see it but for you who are not, I will explain. You see I've always been told that the easiest way to see if the 4x4 is working is to turn it on while you are on dry asphault and try to drive in a circle. If it works it will "not turn very sharp and jump/lurch a little." So after Muhammed was well out of eyeshot I took the truck out of 4x4 and it drove just fine! Needless to say the next day I called him and told him I would take it. I know it wasn't nice but it did save me $300!

Anyway, as you can see I am very excited about the new vehicle, but other things have happened too. For instance, we finally got Nolan a highchair that he loves! He likes to sit in it and eat Cheerios while he watchs cartoons on TV.



It has been so nice because it isn't nearly as messy that way and I don't have to constantly hold him.

Other than that we have been going to see Tangra for lunch and watching boats almost every day. Taking walks usually 2-3 times a day. And we go to the store or run errands every couple of days. My favorite part though is "chillin" at night time!



Till later,

Matt

Back Home Again in Indiana by Noah Broge

After mommy finished her tests, we went to the airport and got on a big jet so we could come home! Mommy said that Nolan and me were very good on the airplane.


When we first got home there was lots of snow on the ground so I had to help daddy shovel grandma and papa’s driveway. Me and daddy wore our matching coats and Grandma tied Wal-mart bags around my feet since I didn’t have any boots.


Grandma bought me, Nolan, and my cousin Madelynn matching pajamas so we could go see Santa Claus. It was so fun. Santa Claus scared me a little at first, but then he told me that I could have a dinosaur for Christmas and gave me a lollipop.



I got to play with all of my old toys and I even let Nolan ride my Mater. He was too little to ride on it when we left!


I got to hang out with all of my aunts and uncles. Mommy has lots of brothers and sisters so Nolan and I got lots of attention.






We also went to one of my favorite places to eat – BUCK CREEK PIZZA!! We went with mommy and daddy’s friends. They are my buddies too.


We went to the Sebald’s house and had so much fun. They made daddy a big steak. He ate it really fast.


Sarah Sebald was there too. She is so pretty, so I had to get my game on.



I hope long distance relationships work out...

On Christmas Eve we went to Grandma and Grandpa Riggle’s house. There were LOTS of people there! We had to take a couple of pictures just to fit everyone in.




Here I am with my Aunt Alexandra, my cousin Elijah and my cousin Roman. I know, it’s kinda confusing to me too.


On Christmas Eve everyone gets an early present and a flashlight that is just like the star that shone on the stable where Jesus was born. I got a Bob the Builder tractor and Nolan and Roman got trucks. They are little so me and Elijah helped them learn to ride.



Grandma and Grandpa Riggle got coupons to go out to eat. They were pretty excited.


I even got to meet my Great Grandma Marnie for the first time. Nolan liked her a lot.


I met my great Uncle George too. He plays in a banjo band. I guess he is a little nuts.


Christmas morning was so awesome. We got up very early and had so many presents. Mommy helped us open them.


After we opened our presents daddy and Uncle Zeke went outside and shot boom booms! I watched them from the window. It looked so fun!


Mommy said they had too much fun


All in all, we had a really good Christmas. Happy New Year everyone!

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