April 16 - 20. Tennis Legends Championships

The second event of the Tennis Legends Championships series was held at the Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman this past week. This year, the legends who are playing for the grand prize are Jim Courier, Paul Haarhuis, Mikael Pernfors, Mats Wilander, Wayne Ferriera, John McEnroe, Jimmy Arias and Todd Martin. At a reception hosted by the Cayman Islands Tennis Club on the Friday night, we had a chance to meet and mingle with the tennis stars. Ryan boldly asked them for their autographs and all of the players were very gracious and charming. On Saturday, we attended the matches of Jimmy Arias vs. Mats Wilander, and John McEnroe vs. Jim Courier. John McEnroe was not too badly behaved, except for when he shouted at a lineman for wearing his sunglasses, offering up that obviously if you could see better with the sunglasses on, then the players would be wearing them. He also berated a ball boy for not throwing the ball to him fast enough. Poor kids. All in all, John lost to Jim in a very exciting match, and Jim went on to win this series event. There are six more stops in the series - if you have a chance to attend, take it. It was a great tennis with players we grew up watching.

March 2008. Easter at Cayman Kai

Another great Easter vacation at Cayman Kai has come and gone. A week of family, friends, sailing, kayaking, great food, boating and the annual BBQ and Easter egg hunt were some of the many highlights. On Easter Sunday, we had a crowd of about 30 kids join us for a fun day in the sun. Chef David once again manned the grill serving up his famous burgers. It was great having Rachel, Steven, Rebecca and Joseph join us from Atlanta again this year for what has now become our Easter tradition. Mum & Dad, as always, were the perfect hosts and the week was filled with laughter and happy times from morning until night.

The YCLA

Saturday Feb 16th. This year, the Young Caymanian Leadership Awards was held at The Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman. Gov. Mike Huckabee was the keynote speaker for this prestigious evening.

Taylor's Sports Day

Saturday Feb 16th. Taylor's sports day was held today. Here she is with her ribbons - 2 1st place and a 3rd, and with her girlfriends from her class (Taylor is the one standing)

Murder on the Orient Express Ball

Jan 26th. The theme this year for the annual Cystic Fibrosis Trust Ball was Murder on the Orient Express. This 30's themed sold out event held at the Grand Old House was a truly magical evening. The "passengers" arrived, many in costume, to a train filled adventure. The volunteers, dressed in conductor hats, took the tickets at the booth and ushered the passengers on board to a champagne reception as the Cayman Islands orchestra played. When the whistle blew and the dining car opened, the scene transformed to a winter wonderland of ice carvings, fairly lights, icicles, and snow flakes. After dinner and a live auction, the dancing took over and the dancefloor was at capacity for the rest of the evening. Requests are already in to book tables for next years event.

Ryan's Birthday Party

25th Jan. Ryan's birthday party this year was a fun-filled, low key event. Friends came over for a Friday Night party consisting of Wii games and movies in the back yard. After having their fill of popcorn, pizza and cake, enjoying intense Wii competitions, then settling down to watch Home Alone, the limousine arrived at 9pm to drop all of the partygoers home.

Jan 15 - 20 Trip to Georgia

From sunny Little Cayman to snowy Georgia. On January 15th David & I travelled to Atlanta to attend a tradeshow. While there, I took the oppurtunity to drive to Taccoa (about 2 hours from Atlanta) to visit a boarding school friend, Mahima, who I had not seen for 20 years. We had a fabulous afternoon catching up, visiting the beautiful Taccoa falls, and meeting the family. Back in Duluth my goddaughter Rebecca enjoyed making a snowman with some neighbours and the rare sighting of snow.

Little Cayman

We enjoyed the first few days of the New Year in Little Cayman snorkeling, touring the Island with the Auld family (Ryan, Taylor & Jamie with a Cayman Blue Iguana in the background), enjoying the sunshine and hanging out with friends.

New Year's Eve in Little Cayman

To bring in 2008 this year, we decided on the more low key venue of Little Cayman. Landing on the tiny airstrip that blocks traffic while it takes 30 minutes to turn the flight around, this truly was the casual Island feel we needed this year. We arrived just after noon with the Auld family and hung out at our condo on the beach for a few hours (see 1st photo of Jamie Auld and Ryan taking an afternoon stroll). In the evening, we went to the Walkers' house for the New Year's Eve celebration. Conga lines, games for the kids, and even a Happy Birthday song for Ryan (who turned 9 that day), finally ending with karaoke for the adults was the perfect way ring in 08 with close friends.

Helicopter ride over the Island

Dec 29th. Mum, Dad, Angela, David and I took an amazing helicopter ride around the Island. It was a spectular afternoon. We saw spotted eagle rays, Southern stingrays, turtles, and huge starfish. The last picture of an aerial shot is of our land that we plan to build on .... in 2008??

Christmas Night

Christmas Night at the Godfrey's. Unfortunately the camera was not available for the Kirkaldy / Pereira annual Christmas luncheon, hosted this year by Nancy & Ian (David's sister and her husband). It was a fabulous afternoon with 36 family members and close friends. Everything about the lunch was perfect ... however our family had to depart a bit early to prepare for the traditional Godfrey dinner (yes, we have two Christmas meals on December 25th!). These photo's are of the Godfrey dinner. We had 26 close friends and family for a fabulous evening filled will laughter and fun. The kids entertained us with songs and Taylor surprised us with a violin rendition of Jingle Bells, accompanied by Bampa (my dad) on the Guitar. The dinner was amazing, champagne flowed, and great friendships and fireworks rounded out the evening.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

Best wishes to everyone this Christmas Season. Remember to take time for each other and tell your loved ones that you love them ... every day. Peace, joy and happiness in 2008!

Teddy Bear Tea at the Ritz Carlton

A Christmas tradition - a girly afternoon at the Ritz Carlton Teddy Bear Tea. This year, hosted by Taylor's Godmother, Diana, and her daughter Callie, a great afternoon was had by all .