Adventures with the Grandparents!

~Dinner at the Infamous Rosa's~

Eating at Rosa's is a treat for us.. we are so grateful that all of our visitors want to treat us to the yummy fair, there! It is a nice choice for restaurants as it is conveniently located near our home as well as being pretty good food and reasonably priced!

Say CHEESE Amanda!

The boys drove us crazy on this particular evening. The lizards were everywhere.. and the boys kept leaping up, trying to catch them! ;)

Eeek! I hope that thing gets no where near our food!

'Did someone say burrito?'

Nana, goofing around

' Where is my Coke?'

~Hopkins Village~

Waiting for lunch.. I think it took about forever! But, it was worth the wait! Yummy! Fish, chicken, rice and beans were on the menu at a lovely little restaurant. We sat under a thatched roof at picnic tables for literally an hour while the sweet owner prepared a meal for 10.

After lunch it was off to the beach! The girls' favorite place to be!

These sweet Garifuna children lived right on the beach by the hotel that Nana and Ben were staying at..



In Hopkins Village, the children learn to rake at an early age. Young boys and girls are hired to rake up the seaweed in front of the resorts.

A shot of Nana and Ben's hotel, the Tipple Tree Beya Resort. They were very happy with the amenities and price. ($30 U.S. per night!) We didn't get to check it out closer than this because children are not allowed on the premises. It made hanging out at the beach with Nana and Papa a bit clunky but we made it work!

What a beautiful day! We were blessed to be able to drive Nana out to Hopkins.. where she and Ben were able to spend 4 days together. It was fun to hear all about their adventures there including an iguana dinner and snorkeling off of the cayes.

~ Guanacaste National Park ~
We thoroughly enjoyed a nice morning hike at this lovely national park, located in Belmopan which is Belize's capital city. A beautiful oasis in the middle of the busy city.. this was a walk to remember! Some of our favorite sights were great bamboo trees, various butterflies and fungus. ( I never knew that FUNGUS could be beautiful!) as well as the lovely Belize River.

Grace was a trooper on the hike.. well at least for most of the hike :)

The lovely fungus ;)

The beautiful Belize River

~The Belize Zoo~

This is a sweet creature.. Meet Mr. Grisom.. gotta love the teeth!

Laura gets in on the standing-at-the stork tradition. Someone is getting to be a big girl!

These fuzzy guys were a big hit!


These stinky peccaries were Ben's favorite! Ewww!

After the zoo we continued on to the airport where we said good-bye to Nana and Papa Ben. It was a bit teary, at least for Nana, the children and I. However, it did ease the sadness, knowing that we will see each other in just a few weeks! Thank you Nana and Papa for coming to see where we are live and thank you Nana for being such a sweet Mama! ♥

Jungle Lodge with Nana and Papa

Papa Ben and Nana came for a 2 week visit! They were able to stay with us for quite a few days as well as go off and explore WILD Belize alone, just the two of them. They pampered us with a stay at duPlooy's Jungle Lodge which was started by a large family back in the late 80's. It can only be reached by driving down a looong bumpy dirt road, into the jungle (surprising since it is a jungle lodge! :) ) Also found on the same property is our favorite, the Belize Botanical Gardens. Since we had been out this road before, we were surprised to find it much more smooth this time. Then we found out why! During his stay in Belize a few weeks back, Prince Harry spent the night in the lodge right next door to duPlooy's! (Chaa Creek Lodge) Hence the improved road!

http://www.duplooys.com/

Kelly's mother Sue with Ben, her husband of 12 years.

The children affectionately call him 'Papa Ben'

The lovely office which used to be a tool shed, we've been told

Each room came with a nice screened in porch as well as a hammock and chairs

The boys had a fun time riding bikes which duPlooys provided for free. They spent quite a few hours biking the trails of the botanical garden

A favorite, Cat's Whiskers

We can never get enough of the gardens! This is our third visit and there is always something new to admire, smell and photograph! (thanks girls!)

We were served a complimentary breakfast on this immense deck while watching all of the lovely early birds. Mot Mots, Trogans, Chachalaca, Flycatcher,
Blue-gray Tanager, Collared Aracari, Catbirds and a lovely black Hummingbird were some that we spotted, just to name a few!

Our yummy fruit plate

This Chacalaca is enjoying a fruit plate of her own!

Can you spot the wonderful Aracaris?

This little guy came to have a little watermelon bite to eat too! In the evening even a little Kinkajou visited the fruit plate also..

Bird watching!

The dining hall and surrounding area

The pretty walkway in front of our room

these rock stairs which led down to Ben and Nana's room, dining hall and deck area were immaculate! I asked one of the employees just how many times per day they sweep this area. He told me that usually they do it twice daily!

For Amanda's early birthday gift, Nana and Papa treated the three older children to a lovely guided trail ride. They were taken through the jungle, along narrow trails. At one point they were able to see the neighboring Mayan ruin, Xunantunich off in the distance

One trail boasted of this breathtaking view!

We are so blessed to see Amanda with more energy these days!

Ryan with his trusty steed

Canoeing down the Macal River was also a hightlight of the visit

Grant, Amanda and Dad manned one canoe

Caves in the sandstone cliffs could be seen from the river

Ashley and Ryan manuevered the other canoe

The family saw some lovely Kingfishers and a beautiful bright yellow fish which the children were admiring in the water and which Grady promptly grabbed out of the water! The kid, Dad *and* the fish were quite surprised by that! After examining it for a few minutes they let it go!

Back on shore again! Thank you Papa and Nana for a lovely visit to the jungle lodge

Coming Home!

Having spent 8 months in Belize Central America, we are coming back to the Chehalis area until Autumn while we wait for our self-employment permit to be issued. This will allow us to avoid the costly monthly tourist visa fees while waiting. Belize has stopped issuing missionary permits, leaving us the option of self-employment. While in Chehalis Grady will be receiving some I.T. training for our new business here. During this time we also will be able to follow up on Amanda’s medical care which will include some testing which is not done here in Belize.
We are leaving most of our belongings behind in Central America and will be looking for some basic household items to borrow or purchase. If you have any items which we could use for this time could you contact us at grady@heartforbelize.org or Jeremy King at jeremy@cascade-computers.com ? As well as needing basic household items, we will be living in a small apartment which needs a stove, fridge as well as one bunk bed and mattresses if anyone has those as well. In addition, If you know of a house in the Napavine/Chehalis area which is empty or in need of some minor repair in exchange for rent we would be interested in knowing more about that. Grady has experience in home repairs and minor remodeling and both he and our older children also have experience with house painting.
We look forward to being ‘home’ for a time but also look forward to returning to Belize and the ongoing mission work which is here. With his training, Grady will be able to provide a much needed service in Belize as his tent making profession which will continue to support us as we do our Father’s work. We would love to share what the Lord is doing here in Belize and our future plans if anyone is interested in hearing about it. Please feel free to contact us. Thank you so much for your support and help! May the Lord bless you.
Love, The McDonald Family