A complex Saturday of driving around to various things... but Sunday morning the kids went with Granny to church (Katherine wasn't quite dressed yet) and then played at the beach the rest of the day.
I crewed Gary's boat to Rum Point and Greg came out and met up with us, it was a beautiful day and lots to eat and drink,
Me and Gary on the way back home
then home for a late evening swim.
Back to Horse riding camp for Hayley today, Hunter is at Art and fitness camp at King's Sportcentre.
Hunter's 7th Birthday party was a "shark party" with lots of swimming,
way too much snacking,
lots of friends and family,
shark birthday cake,
and of course lots of presents!
Two cousins and future Caymanian cowgirls at the horse riding camp of Coralstone Stables. Hayley has learned one thing: she now does not want a horse for a pet! Which of course is good news for both of us. Hunter continues skateboarding camp and being outside in the heat and humidity is taking its toll on both of them. Early nights and good appetites!
I can't imagine where they get it from ;-) but my kids are into wildlife. Hunter rescued this little female Blue-throated anole this afternoon; she had been injured in a fight or escaped a bird... but she later passed away from her injuries. But he did his best.
Daddy and Snugglebunny!
Starri, Hayley, Skye and Hunter
Cool place to be on a really hot day.
Hayley Smith and Hayley Roulstone met by chance Wednesday at Boatswains Beach.
Hunter, Katherine and Hayley feeding a ground dove.
Predator Tank at Boatswains Beach.
July is a busy month for birthdays around here starting with Granddaddy and Sharon's today July 10th. Granddaddy is 75, Sharon is a lawyer; guess for yourself.
Birthday dinner at Copper Falls last night was followed by lunch at Grand Old House today.
Hayley snapped this picture of the assembled well-wishers including some of Dad's friends he worked with for many years. L-R Grace, Birthday boy, Shirley, Mom, Hunter, me, Katherine, Aunt Tinnie, Lillimae, Polly, and Alice.
Birthday girl Aunt Tinnie with the girls. Katherine's birthday is the 15th and Hunters on the 19th, so more to come.
I couldn't find the camera all weekend, not that I really looked for it, but Nana snapped photos this morning as we worked to get the house ready for going away. We haven't watched TV for weeks so had no idea it wasn't working until Nana came to babysit Friday night. So we scrubbed the dish down and trimmed away some limbs and now have two channels working. The Dishnetwork people will have to come see what else is wrong with it. Had a few friends by for a barbecue this evening (steamed Green Mussels, chicken, steaks) but mostly a quiet weekend.
We had a Constitution Day/Canada Day/Independence Day barbecue at Grannie's house including American food (Hamburgers), Canadian beer (Kokanee and Keiths), and Caymanian mangoes, plums, sunshine, beach and ocean.
Uncle Gary came in the rocket and there were lots of mangoes to be had (Valencia Prides, Julies, Nam Docs, Carries and Nelsons) all from the whistling duck farm.
Jenn and Ansel stopped by (so we finally had a Canadian at our Canada Day party!) and it turned out to be a real multi national party. A Happy Holiday to all, whatever occasion you are celebrating today.
Hayley got awards for language arts, science and community spirit.
and Hunter got an award for science .
I cooked pancakes for Canada Day morning including this artistic masterpiece "penguin" pancake (with maple syrup of course). Hayley wanted everyone to see this.
Katherine, Hayley and Kath's new au pair Aina eating mangoes at Rum Point. We met uncle Greg there in his new boat and uncle Gary in his "rocket" boat, but we never went anywhere, just ate, drank and swam. 
The "Galliwasp" has returned to active service after an "upgrade". Note the enhanced "Norma" rear side panel, special birch tree flattening tail gate and camouflaged door side panels. Fortunately the sattellite radio still works like a charm and the Blue October CD survived so I can still make the drive to work without excessive road rage. Pictures of the crash scene tomorrow. Stay tuned. Comments welcome, just go easy on me!
With no flash photography allowed, this was the best I could do of the girls at the finale. The performances were superb all around and we had an entire row occupied at the Harquail Theatre.
Even the old women did well tonight and their Mom was justly proud!
Hunter enjoyed the show and the time spent with a friend from gymnastics. Being a good brother and friend gladly posed for a picture. The show is finally finished and just two more weeks of school... Thank goodness our schedule slows down just a little bit for a while.
Monkey number 1 at gymnastics,
Monkey number 2 at gymnastics,
Some of the monkeys I work with (in our new blue iguana shirts),
my sister in her monkey suit (after last night's dance performance). Hunter and I are off to Whitney's dance recital tonight, Hayley performing again...
Saturday was Katherine's piano recital. Her performance was enjoyed by all the family except me.
There is always time for some play after a successful event!
Then the dancers was were off for their performance with an adoring fan in the background! Jenn had given them quite a makeup job.
Problem with being a famous dancer is you have to spend so much time waiting around until its your turn! Thank goodness for movies.
After a busy weekend, time to enjoy the company of family and friends at a BarBQ at West Bay. Some family from Texas and Virginia are down so any excuse for a little event. Not forgetting of course that today was a holiday in honour of the Queen's birthday... a nice swim in the ocean and some great food grilled by Aunt ShirShir aka "jerked Shirley" and delicious Fathers Day chocolate cake.
Nana captured this photo of Hayley's piano recital on Thursday night. She and Starri did a great job in front of a packed auditorium.
Little Cayman is full of wonderful things, like the Little Cayman Green Anole found no where else on Earth!
And big land crabs!
And even friendly owls! A short-eared owl I believe.
After a hard day of work in the field it is nice to relax with good wine and food and good bosses! L-R Ornithologist and council memeber Patricia Bradley, Bodden Town Chair Susan Goetze, Me, Little Cayman Chair Gladys Howard, Field Officer Paul Watler, and Council Secretary Lois Blumenthal. Photo taken by Council Chair Carla Reid. It was a time for celebration as we just purchased another 136 acres of woodland in Little Cayman. That land will now be preserved in perpetuity for future generations of anoles, crabs, and owls (and other things). This is why I love my job.
Rex had a bath to end the day, something he does not particularly enjoy. I ran my truck off the road (very long story but assuredly unrelated to alcohol!) and waited all day for the tow truck. Happy I can laugh about it, no one was hurt other than my pride and that's all I care about! No photos of the truck and in fact cameras are banned from the premises until the truck is safely at the shop!
