Where are they now?

Well, we're here! Living in the Caribbean. We'll try to use this space to keep you up to date on what we're up to, how we're doing and, most importantly, where you can reach us so you can come to visit.

We have several photo albums at the top of this page, so check them out when you get some time - keep an eye on them; we'll add to them as we have more adventures!

Also, there is a link to "Our Videos" at the top of the blog. A few rock climbing videos and one from a quick trip to Dominica. Others will be added over time.

(Warning: We can't promise how frequently we'll be updating but try not to hold that against us!)

Lianne's brother André’s FORTIETH birthday was on January 13th and Lianne, along with her younger brother Dan, flew to France to surprise him. They hid in the closet and when he came home from work that evening and surprised him when he went to hang up his coat.

Dan and Lianne went to Mont St. Michel while André and Isabelle were at work.

Then, after a big party at the house, André, Lianne and Dan went to Paris to spend 2 days exploring the city together. Lots of great food was eaten and many sights were seen.

The Eiffel Tower:

The Arc de Triomphe:

Notre Dame de Paris:

Absolutely delicious food at La Jacobine:

Pere Lachaise cemetery:

While Lianne was in France for a week, Pat and Cynthia came to Curacao to spend some time with Joshua.

Peggy and Paul came for a visit and we took them to Aruba for a few days. The highlight of the trip (for some of us) was when Peggy was bitten by a parrot. She was minding her own business and he took a big chomp on her upper arm. I think her feelings were more hurt than her arm. Then again, she did get a huge bruise.

Joshua was amused by the table full of presents on Christmas morning and he had fun opening his first Christmas presents.

The moms and babies from our yoga/play group got together to have a little party and a cookie swap. Like all good Christmas parties, there’s always one person who overdoes it on the punch and gets a little out of hand. Well, Joshua was that person this year – here he is grabbing Isabella’s bum. Shocking, isn’t it.

In early September we left Curacao for some adventure in the Southwest U.S. Our first stop was Reno, Nevada. This was only because it was the nearest big airport to Lake Tahoe. The following day we set off with our rental car stuffed with the added luggage required by the addition of a baby, and drove a very picturesque drive though Ponderosa Pine forests to Lake Tahoe.

We were joined there by Dom's parents and spent a week climbing, hiking and exploring the area.

Here's our first glimpse of the lake as we approached from Carson City:

Dom and Joshua in his brand new carrier:

Having a snack at Donner Pass (if you don't get the reference, google the Donner Party):

From Lake Tahoe, we moved on to a house just outside the Red Rock Canyon in Nevada. This was a great staging area for climbing, hiking, canyoneering, and just enjoying the outdoors in general. We spent two weeks there and the weather was perfect the entire time.

Here are some Joshua trees in the desert in Red Rock canyon:

Lianne, Joshua and the Bakers hiking on the red rocks:

Dom leading the first pitch of "Lotta Balls" (Lianne had been wanting to climb this one for years and we finally did):

Here's our boy relaxing in the house we rented:

Dom and his dad went to Utah to hike the Buckskin Gulch; the longest slot canyon in the world. It takes 2 days to complete the hike and they were going to camp on the canyon floor for one night. Unfortunately as they were travelling there, thunderstorms in nearby Zion National Park caused a flash flood (and this only happens 3 times a year!!!), so they couldn't hike the Gulch. They returned to Zion and spent the day hiking through the park instead. They will be back to hike the gulch...

Midway through the day, they ate the supper they had packed for the night in the canyon - beans and weiners!

Whenever we travel, we've taken "Where's Joshua?" photos, here are a few from our recent trips. Can you find him? (he's very obvious in some photos and very hard to find in others)

Joshua in Reno 

Joshua in Red Rock Canyon

Joshua overlooking Red Rocks

Joshua in the Aruba Marriott

Joshua on the grounds of the Aruba Marriott

Uh, today is 32 degrees Celsius. Sounds toasty until you add the 75% humidity, which makes it feel like 47 degrees. We tried to enjoy lunch at a cute ocean-side restaurant today but it was too frickin hot.

Dom had 4 days off in a row so we took the opportunity to fly to St.Martin for the weekend.

It's a pretty neat place - it is the smallest landmass (37 square miles, or 96 square km if you prefer) in the world shared by 2 independent states. On an island one-fifth the size of the island of Montreal!! St. Martin in the north is a territory of France and Sint Maarten in the south is a Dutch territory and part of the Netherlands Antilles (as is Curacao).

On the French side, everything is priced in Euros (and is accordingly quite expensive - 4 euros for a beer, anyone??) but they also do business in US dollars. On the Dutch side, they seemed to predominantly use US dollars but would also accept euros or the Netherlands Antilles Guilder, which is the official currency (and, again, also that of Curacao). The Dutch side seemed more developed - more populated, more large resorts, while the French side seemed to have more of a genuine Caribbean feel.

Our hotel was up as far North as you can go, on the French side. We had a relaxing stay. Both Dom and I had the chance to dive and Joshua enjoyed a dip in the pool.

This is the "famous" Orient Beach on the east side of the island:

Joshua enjoying a dip in the pool with Mummy: 

  .. and having a beer with Dad!

So, it only took me two years of living in a location where there are more dive sites and dive operators than you can shake a stick at to finally get my Open Water certification. Considering I've wanted to do this since I was, like, 16 years old, it took far too long.

But now it's done! Here are a couple of photos from one of my dives and there's an album on the left of lots of the things we saw.

(and yes, it really does look like this!)