One Last Video Treat

Yesterday my family and I went scuba diving with Manta Rays.  It was one of the most beautiful experiences that I have ever had.  It was my first time swimming next to these large, majestic creatures that seemed to be flying, yet in the water. They were so graceful.

While we watched, I had two thoughts come to mind.  My first, is the music that I chose for this video came instantly to me as I watched them.  I set their movements to this music while still in the water (Enigma Variations: Variation IX. Nimrod-Adagio—one of my favorite classical scores) before I even set it to video.

My second thought was, "God is in the details."  I think this same thought every time I see a new fish that I haven't seen before.  Each fish, unique with their own shape and color patterns.  But this time, after seeing the Manta Rays in the water for my very first time, I became emotionally overwhelmed just watching such beauty created by a greater hand.  He is there.  He is in the details.  I am grateful for these little moments that remind me of a greater power and I am humbled.

This is just a 4 minute video of the music that played through my head as I watched these magnificent performers.  Also, there is a little octopus treat at the end that I also included.  (Thanks to Martin for shooting the video.) Enjoy!


We leave for Suwarrow in less than two hours.  I can't wait to see what beauty waits for me there.

xoxo
Kym

PS.  I also updated the "Video" page on our upper header bar and compiled all the videos that I have made to date.  As always, enjoy!

Leaving Bora Bora

It's always hard for me to say, "goodbye."  Especially when it's saying "goodbye" to family.  We plan to pull up anchor tomorrow morning and head to the Cook Islands (mainly to Suwarrow) and hang out there for a week and snorkel.  We have been told that it is some of the most amazing snorkeling around.  So, of course, we have to go and see for ourselves.  I am just sad to leave my sister and her family.  They plan to stay through the remainder of the week and then head for home to San Antonio, Texas.  I just can't believe how quickly time flies when family is around.  I am sure I will shed some tears when it's time for us to part ways.

After Suwarrow we will head to Tonga and stay there for the remainder of August.  The worst part of the whole itinerary is that I will be without internet for about 3 of those four weeks.  We still have our satellite so I will still be able to post, but it just makes it a little more difficult… and a little lonelier for me.  Sometimes, in bed at night before I go to sleep, I'll whisper to Martin, "You're my best friend. You are all I got."  Then he says the same back to me.  Thank heavens that I do have my best friend on board, but having said that, I still love to stay in the circle of my large family and friend population through social media (I'm addicted to Instagram… especially when living on a boat).  So I will have to suck it up for a few weeks and learn to entertain myself through other mediums other than technology.

Suwarrow consists of a population of two.  Two park rangers that are stationed on the island for six months at a time.  This will prove to be a little difficult for me because I love "civilization" and although a deserted island sounds heavenly to some, for me, not so much.  I love people.  I love being around them, getting to know them and hearing their stories.  I love the idea of being a part of their lives if only for a little while.  If it wasn't for the snorkeling in Suwarrow, I would have to give it a pass.  However, Martin has me convinced that this is something that we can't miss just because there aren't any people!  Plus it's right on the way and it will be a nice pit stop.

After our stay in Surwarrow, we will head to Tonga.  Both passages will be around 5-6 days to get to each location.  From Tonga, we will head to Fiji and stay in Fiji for the month of September.  From Fiji, we will set sail for Vanuatu and New Caledonia, and then on to Brisbane.  From Brisbane, we will make our way down the coast into Sydney harbor.

It all sounds so easy when I type out our itinerary on this post, but I know it entails a lot of sailing and, quite frankly, the sailing part is a little difficult on me because it requires me taking my 3-4 hour shifts at the helm (and we all know how much I love being at the helm—not so much).

When not at the helm, all hands are on Lily.  Literally.  I probably don't discuss Lily enough on this blog because I feel like I have on my last blog about her, but because of Lily's delays, she doesn't play really well on her own.  She doesn't follow a movie for more than 2 minutes and she always seems to be reaching for some object that shouldn't be reached for meaning; we have to stay on our toes keeping this girl entertained or she gets into trouble—FAST.  Which entails an iPad falling off the table or a cup flying to the ground.

It's okay, I wanted it this way.  I wanted Lily to have her mom and dad's constant attention, but in the reality of things, it gets to be a little taxing on both Martin and me.  Sitting on the ground playing with toys after a long shift at the helm is less than ideal.  I so want to start her back on a nap time during my time on the flybridge to relieve Martin a little, but naps have proved to be fruitless because then she refuses to go to sleep at her 7:30pm bedtime.  I know that I am preaching to the choir right now and how dare I say that "playing" with my daughter is tiresome, but it is.  I love my time to read books, to blog and to just get caught up in my thoughts.  However, I find that to be difficult with a little pair of four-year-old eyes looking up at me as if to say, "Wanna play?" with an undeniable intensity.  So I do… or Martin does… or sometimes we sit her between us on the bed and throw her toys while I type out a new post with one hand and using the other to hold on to her to make sure she doesn't go over the bed.  Same with Martin.  He has gotten to be quite skilled at reading a book and playing with Lily simultaneously.

Okay, enough of this silly little problem.  We'll work it out, we always do, and Lily most certainly doesn't feel abandoned by her loving parents.  It's just the guilt that sets in on me and I always think that I could do more.  The truth is, I probably already am doing more… and so is Martin.  We love this little girl to the moon and back, and would do anything to see a constant smile on that cherubic little face.

Enough said.
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REMINDER:  Remember to check back on our blog and check our location on the map during our next passage (right hand side bar).  I love having the GPS follow our trip and map out our locations.  Probably mine and Martin's mothers love it especially.

Since I won't have internet for awhile, here are a few more pictures of our stay here in Bora Bora.
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Friday night, we went to a mini-Heiva festival put on be the Bora Bora LDS (Mormon) Stake.  It was magnificent to see all the members performing.  I especially loved watching the children.  They were all so beautiful and boy, did they have the moves in those little hips.  One word-ADORABLE!

Our friend, Gael getting her hair done before the performance.

I stole Gael's headdress for just a moment...

Gael is the one second from the right in the first row.  This was a beautiful number of all the members singing a song native to their culture.

Apple is alive and well in Bora Bora.

After an evening of dancing, we joined the members on a motu (island) the next day as they headed for Hilton hotel's private island for a day of entertainment for not only the members of the church, but also for their guests.  It was their way of doing missionary work while getting the members involved.

Here, the members and people from the town would stack up on the barge that would take them to the private island for the stake's all day activity.  It was so fun.  So fun, in fact, that our family joined in and participated in the races.

Martin doing the banana race.

Bailey pretending to be in this leg of the race...

As well as cute Leah...

But not Courtney.  She was a contender!

Bailey and Trent participating in the sack race.

Gael was also a participant.  I think we cheered the loudest for her.

…and Martin following up the end of the relay.

Of course, we couldn't pass up the tug-o-war.

…and, of course, we won!  (Not without the help of some pretty strong Tahitians.)

Lexi taking it easy with me on the mats.

As well as Bailey and Lily.

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After a full day of fun, my sister and her family went for another scuba dive.  I loved these pictures so much that I thought I would share some of my sister's photos of her family diving.

Colton and Bailey showing some sibling love… or at least trying.

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Also, I wanted to post a few pictures of the place my sister and her family stayed at while on Bora Bora.  They had their own little island all to themselves.  I loved the place they stayed at and wanted to share a few photos of their house.

The living room.

The kitchen.

Outside dining.

One of the bedrooms.

The outside shower.  (Don't worry, there were some modern ones also available in the rooms).

It's all in the details.

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Here are some other random shots of our last days in Bora Bora.

Sue and David with a picturesque view of Bora Bora behind them.

Enjoying a little relaxation with our fancy juices at the Bora Bora Yacht Club.

What a beautiful sunset.

Lily loves her Happy Hour.

Lily ready for church.

My sister and her family arriving to church on their new little dinghy provided by their rental.  We loved having them join us and they will definitely be missed we leave tomorrow.

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UPDATE:
Sue would like me to properly display the true beauty of a Pavalova that she makes and to not think that the one that she made for Island Night is how it should be properly presented.  So in order to keep the chef happy, I am going to do just what she asks.  Behold, her masterpiece!

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ALSO….

WRITE TO US!

PS.  We love hearing from you on my FB page and through emails.  Martin isn't convinced how big of a following we really have (which is really quite busy!).  Not too shabby for just being starters with this and with little to no advertising.  Would you mind taking a moment and wishing us fair winds and safe seas directly on our blog? It would mean the world to us to read your comments and help us to know we aren't so alone on this next leg to Suwarrow.

As always, thanks for following our adventures at sea.  I'm afraid to pinch myself in fear that this is all a dream.  We are doing this!

Good Times, Bad Weather

Beautiful Moorea.

How the kids spend their time when not in the water.

What laundry for 11 looks like.

Enjoying our time under the sun in Moorea. 

On Sunday, we got up early and joined the Huahine branch at the local Mormon church. Martin even helped teach Sunday School.

When we got back to the boat, Sue had laid out a spread.  It's amazing what it takes to feed a brood like us on a Sunday afternoon.

Again, I am being a bit overly dramatic.  We didn't eat ALL of that in one sitting, but we were close.

On Monday, we decided to climb to a beautiful lookout high up in the mountains of Huahine.  The guidebook made it sound so easy to get to, so we jumped off our dinghy and started the hike trying to find the trailhead.  It was a little more difficult than we first thought with 7 kids in tow and we soon realized that the hike was going to be a little more lengthy than we anticipated.  Knowing the kids weren't going to last, we decided to hitchhike to get to the mouth of the trail. After a few failed attempts, this lovely family saw us in peril (they mainly saw all the children) and pulled over and offered a ride to the start of the hike.

Once we got to the mouth of the canyon, we quickly realized that this wasn't going to be an easy hike, yet we knew we were now invested.  "Maima and Frederick" soon became our very best friends because there was no way that Maima was going to just drop us off seeing our situation.  Instead, what was just supposed to be a trip for them to the grocery store to buy a local newspaper, turned into a trip up the mountain to let us take in the view.  We all laughed because there was no way that we would have made it to the top since it was a good 4 kilometers up, and our small children were already getting tired.

The next day proved to be fun because Sue issued an invitation for "Island Night" on Amara.  That was enough to get the kids more than excited.  Their costumes went on for hours before the official night began... because who can resist a little island wear?

My sister and her family, ready for the festivities to begin.
Lily all decked out for Island Night.

This special night calls for pulling out the fine china.

There is always a kids table for the littles.

The next day, we went on a hike to see the three waterfalls that was a "must see" in our guide books.  Instead, we found ourselves halfway up the mountain, stuck in a bamboo forest and it was getting dark quick.

We never saw those waterfalls, but it did make for a good memory in trying to get there and getting lost while realizing we had gone off the path somehow.  Of course, when that happens in my family, instead of us getting scared, the jokes start to come out.  I never get too nervous about getting lost because Martin has an impeccable sense of direction and truthfully, he knew where we were the entire time.  The problem is, we left the map to the waterfalls on the table back on Amara, so it had turned into a guessing game.  So, instead of finding the waterfalls, we chalked it all up to making a fun memory.