Bermuda Day

  

  

Bermuda is a little island with not too many people, but the parade that they hold on Bermuda Day rivals any that we have seen.  With Somersfield entering a float this year in honour of Bermuda's 400th anniversary, Dr. Christopher and family joined others from the school community to walk the parade route with the homemade float (all floats this year had to be made using natural materials -- Somersfield placed 2nd in its category!).  

Though the parade began at 1:30pm, our float didn't get moving until more than 2 hours later.    We filled our time watching the highly entertaining dancers and performers, eating snacks and trying to keep ourselves hydrated.   The streets were packed with people sitting on lawn chairs shaded under their umbrellas and canopies, many of whom had brought coolers full of food and drinks.  High on our list of jaw-dropping moments were the hundreds (not even exaggerating) of majorettes that were decked out in neon colours, sparkles and white go-go boots marching their way along the parade route.  Quinn was so impressed that he said that when he grows up maybe he can be a dancer like them -- let's hope he prefers a less revealing costume.    After five hours of "Bermuda Day", we were sun-drenched and ready to head home to put our feet up.  Another memorable holiday in our new country; now, what will "Heroes Day" in June bring?

Party Time!

 

Jim's birthday passed by this week with lots of hooplah and fanfare.  Quinn and I spent the morning rushing around getting party supplies so that we were all set for the party that one member of our family was expecting later that evening (that member wasn't Jim...you can guess who it was).  We picked up Morgan after school and found out that in the middle of the day the whole primary division had positioned themselves outside of Jim's office to sing "Happy Birthday" followed by a hand delivered slice of cake from his favourite Somersfield student.  Eager to not to be outdone, we rushed home from school to blow up balloons, test out horns and put on our hats.  The party was in full swing by the time the guest of  honour arrived and we had a great time opening presents, eating birthday cake and celebrating together.  

We carried on the fun this weekend spending Saturday at the Somersfield Heritage Fair.  Our boys could barely contain their excitement when they saw the giant slide, the bouncy castle, the dunk tank and the go-karts.  It was another week creating lovely family memories.

Athletic Endeavours

 

 

As soon at the IOC officially declares the egg-on-spoon race as an Olympic sport, Morgan will be all set to try for his gold medal.

Morgan bounced out of the house in his yellow shirt first thing in the morning last Thursday excited to experience his first sports day in Bermuda.  Quinn, never wanting to be left out, also decided that he had to wear a yellow shirt to cheer on his big brother.  The four primary classes all had a different colour to wear and they "competed" in non-competitive-Montessori-kind-of-way.  After a morning of potato-sack, egg-on-spoon, ball-in-hoop and piggy-back races (Jim was the impressive, half-strangled pig for our family), all the children got ribbons, a hand-shake from the head of school (what a great new principal that school has!), and enjoyed a picnic lunch on the grass with their family.  Another lovely event brought to you by Somersfield Academy.

Sun, Sand and Surf

 

Play on the beach...it's what we do.   I haven't updated the blog in a couple of weeks because I didn't know quite what to share.  We have moved into something of a routine (some might say rut) that consists of school, runs and walks along the railway trail, family dinners in the backyard, weekly t-ball games and music classes and lots and lots of playing at the beach.  We tend to hit the beach most Sundays as a family, Quinn and I spend at least one morning each week building sandcastles, and Morgan and Quinn and I make time for a quick play after school every so often.  Morgan spends his time diving through the waves, body surfing and meeting each and every child on the beach.  Quinn prefers to stay close to Mommy and his toes are usually the only part of him that gets wet.  He loves a good sandcastle unless there are rocks or pebbles around; in that case he happily throws stone after stone into the ocean to see what kind of splash he can make. Admittedly, it's a tough life, but we are struggling through it.

The Annual Ag Show

  

 

 

Hot on the heels of the two week Easter Break, we had another exciting Bermuda experience...the Ag Show (also known as the Agricultural Fair or Annual Exhibition).  This meant a day off school, of course; it seems that any excuse to take a holiday is encouraged around here.  We packed up our little family and headed over to the Botanical gardens where there were all kinds of things to see including artistic creations made out of recycled materials, painted bird houses, giant bunnies, roosters, geese and pigs, horse shows and a trampoline demonstration, to name only a few.  This is our kind of yearly event and we are already discussing what we might make to enter in next year's show.

Let's Go Fly a Kite

  

Bermudians sure know how to spend a public holiday...with food, drinks and kites.  Our family was invited to the Vesey's annual party to share Good Friday in the Bermudian fashion.  It was a totally relaxed event where we had our first taste of the traditional fish cakes and homemade hot cross buns.  Morgan and Quinn took part in the raucous Easter egg hunt and we got lots of pointers about the best way to make a kite and get it flying high into the sky.  Even after we got home we continued with the kite flying at our house.  

The sun is shining, kites are dotting the blue sky, the air smells faintly of salt from the ocean that is only minutes away, and we get to hear the joyful sounds of our boys running around cheering on "Cloudbuster".  This is the kind of tradition we could get used to.

Bed and Breakfast Extraordinaire

 

We have now had the chance to practice our hospitality service a couple of times to rave reviews (although, what else would they say...we are free after all).  Grandma arrived last Thursday for a week of touring, reading and relaxation on the island.  Morgan and Quinn were thrilled to show her all of their toys, books and favourite beaches and Jim and I were thrilled to enjoy the company of family.  We toured the island from one end to the other, taking in the sights at the Dockyards, Hamilton, Flatt's Village and St. George's.  When we weren't logging the miles on our little Getz, there was lots of time for sitting in the sun in our backyard, reading, brushing up on our Jeopardy skills, and watching Morgan and Quinn expend some of their seemingly endless energy.  It was a wonderful visit and left Morgan excitedly wondering, "Okay, who is our next visitor?"