Another Year in Bermuda

It is hard to believe that we are at our two year anniversary in Bermuda. In many ways the time has flown by. Of course, at holiday time it is extra difficult to be away from family. Here is a look at our year in pictures -- it seems that it is becoming something of a tradition.

(don't forget to put on your sound!)

Lost Tooth!

Morgan didn't get his first tooth until he was 12 months old so it was no surprise that we had a long wait until he lost his first one. It finally happened and the tooth fairy was extra generous. It was a big time of celebration coupled with amazement at how fast our little boy is growing up.

Arggghhh, matey!

It isn't quite the same without the cool, crisp weather (or snow as apparently happened in Ontario this year) but Halloween still is right up there near the top of favourite days of the year for our boys. Costumes weren't at the forefront of our minds while we were vacationing in Mexico so we brought out the "oldie but goodie" pirate costumes. No creativity medals but lots of candy anyway.

"Better Together"

Mexico 2010

sun, sand, trapeze, trampoline, swimming, water-skiing, sailing, food, drinks, shows, Chichen Itza, together, amazing

(Don't forget to turn on your sound!)

One Week to Go

Our extended Canadian vacation is nearing an end. It has been amazing seeing so many people from both sides of the family and having time for Morgan and Quinn to really know their relatives. This week, Jim headed back to Bermuda to start getting the school organized for the upcoming school year while Morgan, Quinn and I headed to the woods for some camping with Nanna, Grampy, Auntie Nancy and Nanny McQ. Auntie Cathy, Ashley and Alicia even made an appearance.


As always, the boys found fun in anything and everything. They hiked through paths, found a "treehouse" that was a perfect animal lookout, roasted (and "fired") marshmallows, climbed on the play structure, ran around with flashlights and and told scary bedtime stories. The ones about aliens were particularly entertaining. They were a bit hit with all of their relatives who thought they were sweet and polite little boys with endless energy. What a summer we have had! Although it will be nice to be in our own beds back in Bermuda, it is sad to think that so much time has to pass before we see everyone again.

Soaking up the Family Time

Sitting on the veranda at the cottage listening to the breeze rustle the leaves on the trees and the waves gently lapping against the rocks (not to mention Morgan's incessant chatter). It has been a great week at the cottage. We have visted with Grandma, Brandon, Vanessa, Lucy and Alice followed by Mary-Kate, Dan and Bodhi who were all here to celebrate Morgan's "real" 7th birthday.

Now Rhys, Marianne, Erika and Alison have arrived to spend the last few days of their holiday in Ontario with us.

Morgan and Quinn have been in kid heaven and Jim and I have been soaking up all the family time that we miss out on while we are in Bermuda throughout the year.

The Stevens Family takes Niagara Falls

So far our summer has been spectacular! After a couple of weeks of Bermuda fun, Morgan, Quinn and I headed off to Canada while Jim finished up a few things at school. Nanna picked us up and then we were straight off to a camping holiday near Niagara Falls. We splashed in the water, slid down the slides, swung on the swings, roasted marshmallows, played with the flashlights and the toads, took in Marineland and generally had an amazing time catching up with Nanna, Grampy, Auntie Marianne, Uncle Rhys, Erika and Alison. We are cherishing every minute with (almost) the whole family together...it doesn't happen nearly enough.

Turning Four in Style

Quinn is officially four! Here are a few pics of our celebration at the Southhampton Princess.

Overdue Blog Post

So much has happened in the last couple of months...and I haven't documented any of it in our blog. Now that school is out for summer, perhaps I will be a little better. Some of the past events deserve a post of their own, but for now, just a few highlights!

Peru was amazing.

Jim was amazing (in the Bermuda Day half-marathon -- his second half-marathon this year)!

Morgan completed his second t-ball season...this time as an "Athletic".

We had an early birthday party for our almost-seven-year-old with seven of his friends at the zoo-quarium (where else??).

Quinny finished his first year at school and turned four! Today! A post about our festivities will follow shortly!

Okay. Caught up. Sort of.

Athletes among us

Each morning Quinn wakes up and asks, "Is today a school day?" On most mornings, he receives the dreaded answer, "yes" and proceeds to whine and complain about how he doesn't want to go. Thursday was a whole different story. He woke up with great enthusiasm, was dressed in his orange clothes by 6:30am and was anxious to get out the door. It is clear what Quinn is passionate about...sports day!

Quinn's morning was filled with egg-on-spoon races, potato sack hopping, running and putting the ball in the bucket and the 50m dash. The morning lived up to, and perhaps even exceeded his expectations, especially after feeling the thrill of victory when he won his running race. We have relived the moment over and over and he truly is a "super-speedy runner" (perhaps when we convince him to actually wear his shoes on the correct feet he will be even further ahead of the competition).

Morgan's turn for the sports action came in the afternoon. With the 6-9 year olds competing together, Morgan was among the youngest on the field but he certainly held his own. His fantastic balance served him well in both the egg-on-spoon and the spin-around-the-cricket-bat-and-then-run races and his long stride kept him in contention in his 60m dash. By far, his favourite event, though, was the water balloon toss where he and his buddy, Pete were able to keep their balloon from breaking for quite a considerable number of throws.

Jim and I were able to catch each and every moment (and document a fair amount of it on camera!). Just another perk of all of us spending our days at the same school.

The Easter Bunny arrived!

The Easter Bunny arrived with a great gift for us this year...Nanna and Grampy came to stay for a whole week. The weather has been sunny and warm, we have had spa treatments, tennis, golf, scootering (both motorized and not), bike riding, hiking, swimming, brunching and more. It has been amazing. Morgan and Quinn have been spoiled completely with all of the attention and Jim and I haven't done so badly either. We have had opportunities to go out for dinner and for a few runs together as well. Nanna and Grampy head back to Canada tomorrow (where the weather has apparently been just as warm as in Bermuda!) and we fly off to our postponed Florida vacation for a few days of shopping and swimming in the pool. If only holidays didn't speed by so quickly.

Biker boys

After a whole year of coveting a bike of his own, Jim made the big leap and bought a beautiful vintage style bike a couple of weeks ago. It is now licensed and insured and he has the paperwork to prove that he is allowed to buzz around the island on his newest toy. He should it enjoy it while it lasts, because Morgan and Quinn are already using it as their personal playground and once I have my license, the fight will be on about who gets control of the keys.

(Check out the whole story of getting the bike ready for the road in Jim's posting, "Just another day in paradise")

Held Hostage on the Island

You may notice the glaring lack of photographs from our Florida getaway in this posting. The reason is simple...Bermuda wouldn't let us leave! We were all set for a few days with just the four of us lounging around the hotel, dining in our favourite Dunedin and Clearwater restaurants, shopping up a storm at Target and splashing in the hot tub. We really needed a break after a fair number of stress-filled days brought on by a few illnesses, a bit of family drama and some fairly unprofessional and mean-spirited colleagues. Alas, it was not to be.

Tuesday rolled around and the winds began to pick up. Our flight was scheduled for Wednesday and by then the hurricane force gusts were in full swing. Every flight coming or going from the island was cancelled for most of the week and we were stuck in a house with no food, staring at a week with no plans. We made the most of it, hosting a family games night with friends of ours and their children, playing at the gym at the school, puttering on the computer, watching movies and spending whole days in our pajamas. I even managed to escape to the spa for an afternoon with some girlfriends and have lovely, glowing skin to show for it (as well as a large hole in my bank account).

Even with all of these things, we all remained pretty disappointed to miss out on our getaway, but we are looking forward to our rescheduled vacation in early April.

Better late than never, I guess.

A Busy January

Ahhh! January has been so filled with action that there hasn't even been time to update our blog! There are so many things to share, I hardly know where to start. Perhaps just some highlights will have to suffice.

Biggest highlight

• Mary-Kate and Bodhi came for a visit. We had an amazing time showing them around Bermuda and enjoying their company. Everyone has been very welcoming since we moved here, but there is nothing like having family around. We took them to all of our favourite locations: Hamilton, St. George's, Shelley Bay playground, John Smith's beach and the zoo-quarium (0f course). Bodhi got lots of "boy time" with Morgan and Quinn and they played cars, trains, ball, chase, and got food all over themselves to their hearts' content. We were all very teary when we dropped them off at the airport and we are counting down the days until summer when we will see them again.

Other highlights

• Jim amazed himself and others by running a half-marathon during Bermuda's international race weekend. He finished in two hours even, proud to have kept a faster pace than he expected and prouder to beat most of the other Somersfield competitors.

• I had a great New York getaway with my friend Julia, shopping up a storm, dining out and taking in an amazing Broadway show, "Wicked". We've decided this must be an annual excursion and have plans for another trip to New York in December (shhh, this is news to Jim!).

While January was flurry of battling a colds, the flu, workplace drama and travel for work, we have made it to February. Upcoming highlights will certainly be our quick family vacation to Florida early this month and, before long, our much anticipated visit from Nanna and Grampy at Easter. Let the fun continue!