Birthday Pool Party

Our beautiful 20 year old birthday girl

 

with her best friend and sister Ashley

After given a gift and a choice as to what to do for her birthday, Mandy chose a nearby resort called the Banana Bank Lodge to visit. They charge a $10 per adult day use fee for full access to their pool and mini zoo, children half price.. Being 'locals' we were quoted half of that! Anyhow, it made for a pretty fun (and affordable) birth-day for Mandy!

 

Birthday Girl!

 

 

 

Between dips in the pool dad treated the girls to some nachos at the little pool-side café..

Then it was on to seeing the different animals, mostly birds, that Banana Bank lodge has in captivity. This umbrella cockatoo had the girls mesmerized. One of the daughters of the workers there at the resort showed the girls around the bird pavilion.

In another enclosure (one that was much larger) housed larger birds including this absolutely stunning peacock.

This poor tucan had a twisted beak

Banana Bank Lodge is situated on a 4,000 acre piece of land. Horses roam free around the place. They are all trained for horseback riding via the John Lyons and Perrelli way and so are very tame.

This caged jaguar wanted to grab Ashley through the bars. It was kinda scary! We all agreed that she needed a MUCH higher fence!

The Banana Bank Lodge offers their guests (whether day-use or overnight) very affordable meals. In addition, upon request they can make meals with specialty ingredients..We opted to have dinner there and had told them that we were gluten intolerant. On the menu that night was lasagna but for us ladies they had made corn empanadas served with condiments instead.

Daddy hugs the birthday girl

Mama hugs the semi-unruly and tired out little girls :-)

Grant enjoys a hot cup of coffee

Ashley too!

Our yummy empanadas

For dessert, instead of chocolate cake which was the dessert on the menu for the evening.. the waitress asked us if we would like cantaloupe instead. She proceeded to bring Ashley and Amanda a big bottle of chocolate syrup to make it even more of a treat! The girls had WAY too much fun decorating their cantaloupe with chocolate. :-)

 

We had never *thought* of putting chocolate on cantaloupe but you know what? It was ALMOST as delicious as chocolate cake, maybe even more so! We enjoyed and appreciated the staff there soo much! Such wonderful young ladies. We were blessed to chat with them a few times throughout the day.

After dinner the boys talked us into one more dip in the pool.. it was still warm, both the pool water and the outdoor temperature. A dip sure felt nice after a hot day..

 

 

Daddy elected to read instead..

Like daddy like daughters..

 

A sweet ending to a lovely day. Happy Birthday Amanda dear! We love you so much honey!!!!

 A big thank you to the person who gifted our family this special gift.. (you know who you are!) It is such a blessing to have had a day of R and R as a family. Hugs!

River Wash, Last Dinner Together and Saying Goodbye

The day before the Rubins left, it was 102 degrees outside with a real feel of 120! After working on the car AGAIN and after a few morning chores, we headed out to Cayo where last minute souvenirs were purchased. Then, off to the river to cool off! Since Chris was busy helping Grady with car repairs earlier in the day, he ran out of time to shower before leaving the house. No worries though because he planned ahead and brought soap with him to the river! We all enjoyed cooling off and playing in the river after such a scorcher!

Taking a bath in the river!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoying 'Ideal's (Belizean Popsicles)

 

Off to Hannah's where the Rubin's were treating us to a hamburger on their last night in Belize

.. and of course Fanta! Pineapple seemed to be the favorite of the night

 

Mmmmm... best burgers in Belize!

Mrs. R got a HUGE and yummy quesadilla which she shared with us all!

 

Morning of departure! :-( Mrs R and I had purchased a bunch of the same fabric and had made dresses for she and I and the little girls. We were unable to get the big girls' dresses finished unfortunately but we were grateful to have gotten these finished in time for this group photo.

 

The sweet R. family!

 

Off to Belize City, toward the airport!

 

..and to this waterfront park where we had lunch- pb&j and potato salad

 

A portion of Belize City's Waterfront scenery

This tour carriage was pretty full. We all got a kick out of it when the tourists whipped out their cameras and started taking photos of us!

 

 

At the airport..

Hugs and goodbyes begin.. we all hate this part! :-(

 

 

 

 

Goodbye hugs..

 

 

 

 

God be with you 'till we meet again! We were so blessed by this special family's visit. As well as the children's clothing for the needy children, they also brought household items down for us that we had needed and had bought online. In addition they spoiled us with many things that we didn't need but they knew would be a blessing to us.. Their kind and sweet children were a joy to be around and they themselves were such an encouragement. It was special to help them accomplish a few of their goals for their trip as well as having them join in on our lives here in Belize and to get their input and advice on our plans for service and ministry here. We cherish our friendship SO much!  What a very special 3 weeks!