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projectile vomit.

we are in the states.

blech (the weather, airports, the crowds, bad air…).

but i was ready to travel again and see some family.

about to make our trek back up to ak.

we did dc last week and are now in the desert.

i am almost done with a little sweater for rudd.  way cute too.

i cut off my dredlock – about a foot of nasty, sundried, ratty hair.

i miss it already, but the ability to run my fingers through my hair is really nice.

have been frisbee golfing, geocaching, lots of family fun, and yoga time.

my sister in law is a colorist at toni and guy in colorado springs (she is in the desert visiting) and she is going to do something magical to my hair soon.

she is a hair magician.

the little dude just got a new carseat less than a week ago and has already covered it in vomit twice.

projectile.

so gross, considering i didn’t clean up any puke until now as he was not a puker.

he caught the bug that is going around the states.

poor guy.  and he’s getting in his 15th tooth.

luckily he’s not in too bad of a mood.

’til then.

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for your viewing pleasure.

A few new videos of the dude.

http://m.youtube.com/#/profile?user=Rudderstx

We are in the bvis.  Its pretty awesome.

Except the boat is hauled out so its buggy.
And we have to climb a really tall scaffolding ladder to get on and off the boat.  Takes some skill with a twenty-some pound squirrel on your hip.
And all potty business has to be done off the boat.  I’m thankful the facilities are really nice and clean here.
and the little goob and I have head colds.  So he’s been napping like a champ.

Other than that, beach, pool, nice grassy spaces.  We will be clearing our sinuses in the sea (as the little British kids call it) and maybe add a dose of germ killing chlorine with a dip in the pool this aftahnoon.

‘Til then.

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we found santa.

we found santa!!!

we went to the childrens event at 2pm today at the colmada milka and santa was there.

at first we didn’t know what we were supposed to do because of our lack of spanish skills.

there was a guy with big speakers in the back of his truck and he had his caribbean christmas music pumping and he kept talking to the kids on a microphone.

then everyone started chanting for santa – about 40 or so babies and kids (the island is smaller than my hometown island). SANTA! SANTA!

and then santa appeared. IMGP9633.JPG

rudder was very excited to see santa and was clapping – at first. he has this new thing with clapping. if he knows there is going to be clapping (on a toy or live song), he will put his hands together before the actual clapping happens. i think he thought the music was live or something because after every song, he put his hands together.

and then we took him up to see the man in charge. he was ok at first, but i think we should have let him get a good look before i just plopped him down. it probably didn’t help that santa was speaking spanish to him in addition to being a stranger and looking weird (he had white makeup paint over his eyebrows).

look at that face!IMGP9635.JPG

his comfort level dropped as the seconds ticked by.IMGP9636.JPG

so he was saved by me before a big freak out happened and we stepped back to take a good look at santa. then santa wanted to shake his hand, and i tell santa, “he does high fives.” rudder gives a smile and a high five. i think rudder totally redeemed himself and is back on the good list. 🙂

then some sandwiches were passed around. i tried rudder’s and can not identify what was in it. white bread with some sort of spread with a little bite. he seemed to like it.IMGP9639.JPG

and he also scored a big cheesy puff and a cup of juice.

and then there were more announcements and music, etc.

adults with babies started lining up and then someone informed us (in english) that babies were supposed to go up to see santa. i see all these parents coming back from santa with toys, so i ask the english speaking guy if it costs something (not that i really cared) as these were real toys, not just a bag of cheap candy and a candy cane like my childhood experience.

i saw a girl go by with a brand new cabbage patch doll. they even had toys for new born babies.

then rudder starts seeing these young kids with new toys in boxes and of course starts pointing(yes readers, they start that young!). so we get in line and santa’s helper takes a look at rudder. i plop him on the stage, and this time he was not shy – i mean, come on, santa was handing him a shiny new toy AND a bag of cheap candy. he practically ran.

rudd_santa.jpg

rudd_santa2.jpg

he was a happy camper.IMGP9651.JPG

IMGP9652.JPG

and he played with it all the way home, even in the dinghy – he is usually standing at the front waiting for spray, or the in back “driving.IMGP9656.JPG

and then he found the wafers in his bag of treats from santa.IMGP9657.JPG

’til then.

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no santa.

so, i’ve been slacking in the ‘foto friday’ department, and pretty much on the blog itself.

hopefully this photo heavy post will make up for it.

ah well. we’ve been busy:

picking and eating carambola (starfruit).IMG_20111127_082738.jpg

dancing with mocko jumbies at jump-up (sorry, crap photo, they move too fast).IMG_20111125_201457.jpg

dinghy riding around the anchorages in puerto rico.IMG_20111206_124444.jpg

bathing in the cockpit with cookie monster in ensenada honda in culebra.IMG_20111206_123707.jpg

carrying mom’s water bottle with a goggles strap.IMG_20111209_144707.jpg

playing with the best toy from auntie kiki.IMG_20111215_085013.jpg

practicing “sticking up his dukes” for when he meets uncle john and his grumpa again. and has also acquired several muscle tees after mom cut the sleeves off most of his t-shirts. IMG_20111212_173715.jpg

drilling at our mooring in pela.IMG_20111215_163924.jpg

acting like cookie monster – and growing teeth (9 total now, including two top molars!).IMGP9502.JPG

eating snacks at flamenco beach.IMGP9506.JPG

swimming with dad at flamenco beach.IMGP9507.JPG

checking out the tanks at flamenco beach with mom.IMGP9540.JPG

reading lots of books with dad and shaggy (rudder’s favorite thing to do, especially when teething).IMGP9586.JPG

going snorkeling with the turtles and barracuda at culebrita.IMG_20111213_151019.jpg

hiking to the culebrita lighthouse and geocaching.IMGP9566.JPG

IMGP9567.JPG

trying to get a good family self-portrait up at the culebrita lighthouse since it has amazing lighting.IMGP9577.JPG

getting back rides from dad.IMGP9579.JPG

making tortillas from scratch with our new (6 months ago) press.IMGP9548.JPG

rudder eating black olives from his fingers like his mom used to – okay, she still does.IMGP9552.JPG

making our christmas tree out of a hanging fruit basket we were about to throw away. like that storage on the inside?? 🙂IMGP9562.JPG

buying new $40 kicks from journey in fajardo since we haven’t gotten our boxes with our tennis shoes from tucson yet.IMGP9608.JPG

running around in his new t-shirt-turned-muscle tee. he thinks it’s pretty funny. mostly because he loves ketchup, and knows there is ketchup on his shirt.IMGP9627.JPG

so yeah, we’ve been busy.

internet is always spotty when we are here (in salt river in st. croix, not in culebra – 3G is amazing in culebra)and if there is no wind, the batteries don’t get charged…..when the batteries don’t get charged, no computer!

we have been in puerto rico since early december and the christmas winds have been around, meaning there has not been a lack of wind this month. which i am mostly grateful for since we get to run the fridge.

yes, we have a fridge. and it’s awesome. it makes ice. and freezes otter pops for teething toddlers. IMGP9591.JPG

and you can put magnets on it! i was giddy about this discovery.IMGP9488.JPG

there were a few days where i was wishing for the wind to at least mellow out since it makes for really wet and crazy dinghy rides.

oh yeah, the title of the blog.

rudder has not seen santa yet this year. i’m bummed.

we are in ensenada honda (an anchorage near isla de culebra) near the town of dewey. there is a christmas gift thing for the kids today at 2pm, so i’m hoping some form of santa claus will be there. i had a few opportunities when we were in st. croix, but one i forgot about because we were doing this:IMG_20111127_160728.jpg

and the other was at the botanical gardens, and i didn’t see santa anywhere. IMG_20111204_155235.jpg

so that’s what we have been up to the past three weeks. pretty fun stuff. we plan to be back in st.croix before january 7th to watch the crucian christmas adult parade.

though i could stay here forever.

it will be a nice laid back christmas. i have plans to make some sushi tonight and possibly a pumpkin spice cake (because s/v willow has an oven!) today or tomorrow.

oh, and bacon wrapped water chestnuts! these were a favorite of my brother john at christmas and one of the things that he would make. i felt i needed something to remind me of home other than the canned smoked salmon (which we do not eat at holidays).

no pierogis this year….the dough has never held up in this weather, and with only three of us eating them, seems like too much work!

merry christmas.

’til then.