An action packed week...

I can't believe how much we have done this week, and it's not even Friday yet! We are just packing in as much as we can and trying to show Mar as much of the island as possible, and loving every minute of it!

On Monday we dedicated the day to beach volleyball! Mara is an even bigger volleyball fan than me, and was so looking forward to Friday night volleyball when she came. However, I completely forgot to inform her that since the clocks changed and the sun sets earlier beach volleyball doesn't happen anymore! She was pretty disappointed so we met up with some people from church and played all afternoon which was so fun...and of course it wouldn't be Monday without a little bit of Mexican so we finished off the night with a yummy taco bake.

Tuesday brought some not so hot weather, perhaps Mar brought it over from England! So our plan to hang out at the beach was ruined by the 'chilly' wind...first day I've worn long sleeves since I've been on the island! These were the waves that greeted us at the usually calm waters of Emerald Beach...

But we did manage to get some good shell collecting in!

Then we went on a little Bike ride down to Grace Bay to check out some of the tourist shops, which are pretty tacky, but we got some tasty banana and mango milkshakes at Giggles to make up for the disappointing shops!

We found this cool mural painted on the wall, this is the whole of the Turks and Caicos Islands...here I am showing you where Provo is!

Yesterday the weather co-operated with us and so we ventured out to Chalk Sound. The turquoise hues were amazing as usual...

Next, we went swimming at Taylor Bay beach, I love the shallow waters there! 

  

We were even able to play a little sea frisbee...

And we found a starfish which was exciting for Mar!

We took a stroll the whole way along the bay...

and found a little shipwreck which By took some shots of, and then we wanted to try somewhere tasty for lunch!

I've been drooling over the beach BBQ menu at the Gansevoort hotel for a while now and so we decided to give it a try. The hotel itself is so snazzy, we had to take a pic in the gorgeous lobby!

And we sat on these nice white sofa chairs overlooking the beach, and were able to see our lunch being cooked.

It all looked so good Mara couldn't decide what to have!

So in the end By and Mara shared meals of Jerk Chicken and Mahi Mahi, which they were trying for the first time.  It is a local fish here and Mara said it was the best fish she had ever eaten. We were beyond impressed with our meals, and the prices were reasonable too!

After that we went on a beach stroll and decided to pop in at Windsong Resort. We'd heard good things about the homemade cookies and milkshakes at JoJo's Cafe. The milkshakes were

some of the biggest I've seen and mine was super tasty...By and Mar had a slight mix up with their chocolate milkshakes which somehow ended up being Cappucino flavoured...not so cool! But the homemade choc chip cookies were delicious 2nd time round! Our first batch ended up being a little burnt!

Last night Mar and I continued with our Christmas bakefest and stayed up 'til Midnight decorating and icing gingerbread cookies! They were going to be the toppers for our gingerbread cupcakes we made this morning...check out more on my baking blog

Today By went out with a dive company, it's owned by some people from our church and he is helping them out from time to time. He was pretty excited as they taught him how to drive the speed boat today so he cruised to French Cay and spent the day at Sea...topping up his already crazy tan no doubt!

Mara and I went to top up our tans at the beach and then went for a bike ride after By got home to Long Bay Beach, on the other side of the island.

We found a whole pile of cracked conch and enjoyed listening to the ocean! By showed us some of his impressive conch blowing skills that he picked up from The Conch Festival

Tonight, after we have a fish dinner provided by the big catch By brought home from fishing last night, we're heading to the beach to make s'mores around the fire! 

I'm talking about good vibrations...

It’s been another fun filled weekend. We finally made it to beach volleyball on  Friday night which was awesome.  My team beat By’s team 3-1 so it was a pretty good victory! Thankfully due to hurricane Igor passing by at some point out in  the ocean there was a slight breeze which made enduring the heat easier! We will remember to take pictures next week...

Yesterday we hopped on our bikes and cycled down to Grace Bay Beach.  Our bikes are being loaned to us by the people we rent our apartment from, and we’re so grateful for them! They are called ‘cruisers’ and I love the big wide handlebars, they make me feel like I’m back in the fifties or something (or now and then style singing knock 3 times...that’s a reference for my sisters!) and the best part I discovered yesterday is they’re actually called good vibrations which, being the huge Beach Boys fan I am, I love!

It’s about a 20 minute cruise each way, but it can feel longer with the sun beating down the way it does here! So we made a pit stop on the way there to ‘Fresh Bakery’. I was hoping to find some cupcakes but made do with a yummy pineapple pastry instead and By got a giant chocolate chip cookie. We also  stopped at a little parade of shops that had some really nice flowers outside so we had to take a photo.

The beach isn’t looking at it’s finest right now due to the choppiness of the sea, the tides are washing up a lot of seaweed and debris that wouldn’t normally be there out of hurricane season, so I’ll showcase the beach to you when it’s looking prettier, but here’s a shot of the turquoise waters we swam in...you can’t beat that. 

We also had a picnic on the beach and then made a pit stop at Giggles ice cream for some mango and strawberry milkshakes which provided some much needed refreshment for the cycle home.

Yesterday evening we were invited to our first island BBQ with a ‘Bubba Keg’  which is like a giant barrel that you can grill on.  It was at my employer’s house along with Brandon and Alyssa and another family from Georgia who we’ve made friends with. I meant to take more pictures but I spent most of the time in the kitchen baking Hummingbird cupcakes...things sure take longer when you don’t have a KitchenAid around!(Mel-you better be taking good care of mine!) and they seemed to be enjoyed all round, as was the meatfest that was provided for us!  Chef Brandon had made his famous dry rub for the ribs and it certainly lived up to expectations as Byron said they were the best ribs he’d ever had and coming from a South African that’s a pretty great compliment!  I thought this may be a good opportunity to introduce to you Josiah and his sisters. Here is a picture I took of him last night, this was pre cupcakes and  he’s looking rather grumpy...if I’d have taken it post cupcake you would have seen his smiley face! We discovered he is a rather big fan of cupcakes or ‘pot  cakes’ as he kept requesting...which if you remember from a previous post is an altogether different thing and is what they call stray dogs here!

He is nearly 3 and a half and is the whole reason I am here.  When he was diagnosed with autism there was nothing on the Island to help autistic children, and the only solution would probably have been for his family to move to The States.  His mom, Nicole, researched into it and decided if ABA therapy was what  was needed and no one on the Island could provide it then she would bring someone in who could.  She recruited two ABA therapists from Canada and Dawn  Program was created.  For the past 6 months they have been giving therapy to Josiah and another little boy, and now Alyssa and I are taking over from where they left off. We now even have a waiting list of diagnosed children who are in need of therapy so the program continues to evolve and grow.  Josiah also has two very cute sisters, Michaiya and Adaiyah.

Here is Adi who’s 1 and she is just adorable. She doesn’t stop smiling all day long and is very affectionate so we spend lots of time getting hugs from her, and Michaiya will be 5 on Wednesday and is the world’s biggest chatterbox.  She is quite a character and  definitely enjoys having us around, especially when I’m making cupcakes!

Here I am, happy doing what I do best! Since it's been National Cupcake Week this past week back in the U.K I was happy to be contributing to the cupcake baking that has been going down!