Thursday, May 26, 2011

21 May - Family Boat Day

Last Saturday saw us take the next step in our Pohnpei adventure. A full day out on the boat with boat kids. Lori and Stephen also proved they are reasonably brave by coming along also. So after heading off from home about 0830 it was straight to an inshore reef for some snorkeling and fishing.

First job was to cut up some bait. Indi was very observant and will hopefully be in charge of this task some time soon. I wish.....


Nic and Jaxon went for a snorkel while Indy and Daddy did some fishing.


Once Indi saw Jaxon in the water it was a repeated 'my turn, my turn'. She even grabbed her mask and put it on herself.


So once Jaxon was done Indi was loaded into her lifejacket and swim ring and off she went. She did really well, sticking her head into the water to watch the 'fish, fish, fish'.


Daddy's first fish of the day wasn't that impressive I have to admit. Jaxon was pretty happy to have seen a fish caught though.


We moved to a different reef to try and find some bigger fish. While we were there Dean and Heather turned up on their jetskis. They took the kids for a quick blat with Jaxon and Dean getting up to full speed and Jaxon wanting more speed.


Indi was a little more cautious but enjoyed it all the same.


Another thing Indi likes doing; eating.


Jaxon helped me wind in this monster from the deep. He was very happy with himself.



After Jaxon's monster it was time to catch some dinner so we moved to Palikir Pass and tied up to the last bouy for lunch and some fishing outside the inner reef. After a little while we got what we came for, a great little coral trout.


Beautiful colours and it tasted pretty good the next night too.



All the excitement was a little bit much for Indi so after lunch she found a place to rack out for a little while.


With Indi asleep we decided to troll for an hour or so back to the Main Pass with the motion of the boat hopefully keeping her asleep. We managed to hook one small dogtooth tuna but unfortunately it didn't stay connected to the hooks.


After coming back in through Main Pass we stopped at our fourth and final spot for one more snorkel.


Not a bad day out, both kids did really well snorkelling and we got a feed of fresh fish. On the water from 0830 to 1600ish and no real complaints from anyone.



























19 May - UCCP Graduation

Micronesia runs on the US school system which means graduation is in May and school doesn't go back until mid August. The senior class (5 and 6 year olds) graduate each May but each class helps with the ceremony by putting on a short skip. There was lots of singing and dancing, enough to keep us entertained anyway.

The teachers put a lot of effort into the day, with this graduation sign being a great example


The senior class. It's pretty cute. They all parade in with their scholars hats and gowns on.


Jaxon loves being the centre of attention. Here he is on stage giving Dad a wave instead of singing along with his class mate. A very proud little boy.


Jaxon gets his graduation certificate from teacher Petra.


Three months is a long time for school holidays. Luckily it will be broken up when Nic goes back to WA for a little while on her own and then all four of us are heading off island in August for just under four weeks Singapore and Thailand. Can't wait.







Sunday, May 15, 2011

06-15 May A Busy Couple of Weeks.

As the title suggests, the last couple of weeks have been pretty busy. So I have attempted to put the highlights in one blog. So great a coffee and spend the next five minutes of your life seeing what we have been up to.

Thursday 5th of May
Thursday afternoon in the compound is Jaxon's playgroup. About four or five little tykes head over to enjoy the playground and the pool. It can be a bit stressful but it gives Nic a chance to have some 'Adult' conversation. I normally get home in time to jump in the pool with them all and wear myself out by throwing kids from one end of the pool to the other.

Jaxon can just about swim the entire pool underwater now. He is a real little fish. Indi's confidence is growing and she is nearly floating by herself now.


Friday 6th of May

The first Friday of each month the Rotary Raffles are held at the CoCo Mariner. People donate things, tickets are sold and all the money goes to rotary. They even have 'chook' raffles which makes us feel right at home. Steve and Noel always do a great job as the MCs.


Here's Bob having a well earnt rest by the rotary wheel.


Saturday 7th of May

The next morning saw us up at 0615 (way to bloody early for a Saturday) for a 0700 Fun Run (Fun Run: now that is an oxymoron if I ever saw one). As always the kids were dressed up as Superman and the Fairy. I towed Jaxon on his trike and Dean (and Melissa) pushed Indy while Nic and Heather pounded the pavement.


Later on Saturday night we tried out the new Weber Q. I spent a few hours during the day creating that beautiful corner module you can see behind the barbie. Boys need to build things every now and again to reaffirm their manliness.


Saturday night saw a huge crowd at the Rusty Anchor to watch Wetter than Seattle perform. Wetter than Seattle is the local 'band' that gets together every couple of months or so at the Rusty and they always put on a great show.


This time they had a guest performer with Geoff cranking out "It's a long way to the top" by ACDC. He even played the bagpipe part which really brought the crowd to life. A great effort.


Sunday 8th of May

Sunday was Mother's Day so we headed up to the Village for brunch after church. It is definately one of our favourite spots for brunch. It's a great view and the food is always good.


Sunday was also Jackie's birthday. As is Pohnpean tradition your first birthday is the most celebrated so we ablibbed because it was Jackie's first birthday on island. Nic and I spent a bit of time getting the dinner together before Jaxon and I drove around town getting frangipanies of ever colour imaginable for the table centre piece.


Nic even built a cake. Top job my love.


Tuesday 10th of May

Tuesday saw Dean and I out fishing the first day of the Pohnpei Fishing Club annual tournament. The night before I didn't home from registration until about half past nine because we had a record 31 boats enter for Day One. This is now a new record for boats entered in any tournament in Pohnpei. The fish are pretty hard to come by this time of year. Dean got this nice Mahi which ended up taking second prize in that catergory. After this we also got two small yellowfin tuna and four skipjack. It doesn't sound like much but we did better than the ten or so boats that didn't even catch a fish. I'm hoping that we can move the tournament to Febuary next year when the chances of catching quality fish in good numbers is much better.


You know the fishing is average when I have time to take photos of dolphins jumping off the bow.


Wednesday 11th of May

Every Wednesday morning Nic has a couple of littlens come over to play with Indi. Today's activity was 'bubble art'. It got the team work going with one blowing bubbles and the other placing the paper over them to see what shapes they could form.


Saturday 14th of May.
Yesterday saw Dean and I back out on the water again. A very average day on the water for us. We only managed one small barracuda and while we still beat a dozen or so boats that didn't catch a fish it wasn't by much. There were schools every where but not a lot of fish were catch. Having said that one boat was in the right place at the right time and caught two marlin in 30 minutes before 0730. But they didn't catch any fish after that so it was hard going yet again.


Last night was Prom Night. A lot of the schools have young volunteer American teachers so being the end of the school year soon they organised and 'adult' prom. It gave every one a chance to dress up to the nines, which doesn't happen that often here.


After waking up at 0415 for fishing, and then being in the boat all day I was knacked by 10pm. A bit of dancing and great conversation saw me last until about 1130 before pulling up stumps.


The dance floor at Cupids was pretty busy for most of the night.


They even had a Prom King and Queen. Stephen landed Prom King; not a bad effort to wear a tux in Pohnpei - It's hot enough in boardies and a t-shirt here.


So as you can see we've been out and about quite a lot. Hopefully the next couple of weeks will be a whole lot less eventful.


Wednesday, May 4, 2011

04 May - Tennis Lessons

Tuesday afternoon has seen Jaxon begin tennis lessons. Yesterday Scott broke away from work early enough to take him. He took Indi along for the ride and they had a great time on the court.

After a bit of practise on the lawn in the compound with Dad over the weekend Jaxon impressed his coach this week.

All lined up; eyes squinted, tongue out; foot across my body (like Daddy told me); ready to unload.


I tell you what, when he does eventually connect to one he isn't going to leave any of it behind.


It's always helpful to have your baby sister right in your face to tell you how it's done.



Indi was the 'Number One' ball collector for the session, and she wasn't even getting a go. What a good little girl.


Serving may be a little beyond him right now. Practise, practise, practise.


Last on the agenda was a throwing game to improve their aim. Now this was something that Indi could do and do well. The coach was very surprised at how strong Indi's arm was. Must be all that food she eats.


Jaxon went the underarm route for the most effective way to cause damage.


A great afternoon with Jaxon setting a new personal best of seven balls over the net. No doubt with a little more practise in the backyard Jaxon will be smashing them around in no time.















Sunday, May 1, 2011

30 April - Marshmellows

Life is what you make it and sometimes it's the simple things that get you by. Saturday afternoon and kids have watched enough TV. It's rained all bloody morning so the kids are going crazy; what are we going to do to keep them occupied.

Lets head over to the playground, build a fire and toast some marshmellows. Jaxon and Indi were very excited about the concept. 'Will work hard for food' should be the logo on any shirt that they wear.


A mini bonfire was built and we were one step closer.



We have fire..... How exciting. Not as exciting as trying to keep Jaxon and Indi out of it.......


Not Indi's best 'best smile' photo. Now that is a quality toasted marshmellow.


Straight out of the camping cookbook.



How many times do you have to tell a kid that it will be hot when it comes off the fire? I think he might believe us next time.



Yep definately a little more cautious second time around.


A great way to kill an hour in the afternoon, something to be repeated real soon.