When Mommy and Daddy are away....

Tiniest of Farmers grows like a weed!

No joke, guys! Mommy and Daddy decided they needed a little break from reality, so down to the Bahamas we ventured for a few days. Yep, you read that right. But never fear, that's not the big surprise I keep mentioning.

So, yeah, lucky for you, it's not a complete Mommy/Daddy blog takeover - Grandma and school documented well.

Tuesday was a special day for Mommy, as I got to read Nora's favorite book, Ten Little Ladybugs, to her friends at school. She loved it for sure, but it was fun to interact with her friends. They're all quite a sight. 

Wednesday, Grandma picked her up from school and Mom and Dad left on Thursday morning. 

We went to Freeport, Bahamas - yes, the Hell we persevered through.

We're no strangers to all-inclusive resorts or visiting different islands. As many of you know, we really enjoy a trip where it's safe enough for us to venture on our own and really learn about the culture of the island. This trip was probably our favorite island experience - Junkanoo Summer Festival. Junkanoo is a street parade with music, dance and costumes of Igbo (southern Nigeria) origin in many towns across the Bahamas every Boxing Day and New Year's Day. They've most recently added a Summer Festival and we got to experience it. We ventured to the town of West End on Grand Bahama - population 13,500-ish. 

We got to taste fresh coconut water and see how conch is extracted and sample fresh conch salad. But the best part were the people and the parade. We talked with several people from the town and they were awesome. They were really eager to tell us about their culture and the place they call home. We even got an invitation to come back. Some other local yummies were Bahamian Duff, Gilly Wash (the unofficial drink of the Bahamas) and Johnny Cakes. That's the problem with stinking resorts... they don't serve you the true flavors of a country - which is truly a shame. Oh well, we got to see it and taste it and experience it and it was amazing! Here are some pictures and videos:

The "floats" were so extravagate and completely made of, well, things we might just throw away - cardboard, candy wrappers, etc. Their instruments were metal barrels, some kind of cowbell and other handmade instruments combined with standard brass instruments like tubas, trumpets and other horns. 

It was a great trip! Naturally, we're already talking about our next getaway.

We were so anxious to get home - it's the longest Nora has ever been away from us and us from her. When she saw us, holy moly!!! I can't put into words the noises and giggles and squeals she was letting out. She was so so happy. She looked like she grew a foot in just a few short days and apparently she can carry on conversations with you now. She decided we needed to play catch. Then she got the straight up giggles.

Some of the many phrases she's saying:

"I found it, guys." - she exclaims as she finds a blanket.

"Paco pat Daddy's back." - as she gets Paco and, literally, pats Daddy's back with his little arm.

"Nora fix it."

"Nora do it."
Apparently, she speaks about herself in third person.

While we were playing catch we would tell her to hold out her hands, right? One of the last times we threw it back and forth, she slaps herself on the chest twice and then says, "hands out!" I think she's ready!

Listening to some music while taking a break from shopping and dining with Grandma.

Helping Grandma clean!

One of my goals while on vacation was to read the latest Harry Potter. It didn't disappoint and as usual, I came across many little nuggets of wisdom. This was my favorite: