Cousin Fun

So we had two other days of fun with Maralee and Lindsey before their whirlwind trip ended. The first day we opted for shopping, as I had mentioned Richard had a work thing come up and the kids were off at school, so we stayed in town for the day. First, I took them to one of our favorite breakfast restaurants, Governors. It's a great place; delicious food for breakfast, cute historic 'front page' placemats, they have historical memorabilia on the walls (in particular old movie posters from all the movies filmed in Fiji), and a little boutique.

 

Not wanting to look like a complete tourist, people pic (with more movie posters).

Next, we headed up to a fabric shop. Lindsey is engaged to a nice Samoan/American boy and something caught my eye when I had been there a few weeks prior to their arrival. With Samoa being a neighboring Pacific Island and they plan to incorporate parts of his heritage into their big day, so why not take advantage of the inexpensive fabric here. It was super exciting being there for some of Lindsey's first wedding decisions (Godmother duties, check)! I would love to show you what she got, it is beautiful....but it is a secret...so you will have to wait till their big day!!

Next we headed downtown to hit the tourist shops and get their Bula wear gifts & souvenirs. I realized I did not have a Fiji shot glass for my collection yet, so I had an opportunity to pick one out. When we had been out on Leleuvia Island, we had picked up a post card for Bushia (my & Maralee's grandma & Lindsey & the kids great grandma). We all wrote her a little something on it and then bought a stamp and mailed it.....I haven't heard if it has arrived yet...

We then headed over to the handicraft market. This is where they sell the items handmade in villages that are then sold at the market. Ironically, I ended up getting ourselves another carved bowl. We already have a tanoa (kava) bowl which is round and relatively deep. The new one is oval and traditionally used at birthdays and weddings. The detail on the bowls is just so amazing (the white triangles are mother of pearl shell inlays)...we just can't get enough hand carved stuff (my degree in Marine Biology and everything carved with sea turtles and fish isn't helping either).

We walked along the Suva Harbor to the fruit/veggie market....which is a good place for a selfie!

Once we made it to the market, we got some fast food, Fiji style.....

We then headed home to meet the kids getting off the bus. Even though we had left the house and headed one direction, I had made a giant circle throughout the day and it only took a few minutes to get home which amazed Maralee. When the kids got home, it was made quite clear to me that I was no longer the preferred reading buddy for Clarissa's homework and apparently Mason also wanted to be where all the action was too....Maralee got some cute pics of the kids.

After we had dinner, Clarissa took a great picture (no cropping or anything!) of some Mother/Godmother induced noogies on Lindsey....muwhahahaha....

The following day was our fun up the Navua River which I already wrote about. Their last full day in Fiji, we drove up to Pacific Harbour....had to get some more beach time in! So once the kids were safely on the bus and on their way to school, we dropped Richard off at work (weren't we sweet) and headed to the beach! It was overcast most of the drive, but as long as we had a little sun so they didn't go back stateside paler than when they arrived it would be all good.

We opted to go to the Uprising. They have a tasty restaurant we could eat lunch at and they are very nice about letting people use their beach. When we got there it was a probably around 9:30 in the morning, we were the only ones there! The Fiji Rugby 7s had been staying at the Uprising for several weeks prior to do their training for the Olympics on the beach and an adjacent rugby field. I had seen on the Uprising's Facebook page, they had departed the previous evening to head to Rio....had we come a day earlier we would have been hanging on the beach with some future gold medalist!!

So we did the best we could with the secluded beach and all the quiet.....

There may have been some quality time video chatting with people back stateside....you know just to share the beautiful view and all, don't want to be greedy or anything ;)

We headed up to the restaurant at lunch and got some super tasty sandwiches and burgers. Don't you wish every restaurant had this view?  We did notice more people were starting to show up to eat and hangout at the beach/pool.

We followed the Uprising's rules....

After lunch, the tide had started going back out so we went looking for sand dollars. We found a few (most still in the water). At low tide, this would be a fun place to look for sand dollars!

All in all, I think it was a picture perfect day on their trip.....hee hee.

We then headed back home. After the kids got home and we had all gotten cleaned up, we met Richard for dinner at the Grand Pacific Hotel. Our old home away from home when we had first arrived in Fiji. It has one of the best views for seeing the sunset while dining out....so it was the natural choice. Maralee & Lindsey got to experience a traditional Lali drum sunset ceremony.

Though overcast again, the sky did produce some pretty colors and Clarissa did her own little dance ceremony for Maralee...

Maralee was kind enough to give both kids a little trim....Clarissa being the stubborn Taurus she is insisted her trim be done while she was in the bath....a first for both....but if this becomes a trend I totally claim patent rights....lol.

The next day was departure day. Boo.....Maralee and Lindsey took it easy after getting most of their stuff packed up and chilled by our pool some (I had to run to the grocery store...something about the kids wanting food in their lunches). After we had our lunch.....guess where we were headed....here's a clue:

Oh yes! I booked us three Tropical Massages at Pure Fiji! So not only do they produce a line of beauty products that smell wonderful and do wonders for your skin & hair, they also have a spa that uses all of said beauty products.

As luck would have it, I get a call about an hour before our massages from the school. Clarissa wasn't feeling good, could I come get her. So I quickly grabbed her iPad, found her headphones, some markers/coloring book, and some snacks. We picked her up from school, took her to the Med Unit at the Embassy (she had been complaining of ear pain since we had been snorkeling all the previous weekend on Leleuvia), her ears were indeed a little irritated, got some medicine for them, and headed on to the spa. Maralee & Lindsey had been scheduled in the 'couples' massage room.....and Clarissa and I were in our own 'couples' room. Clarissa did pretty good, she was even kind enough to share a fruit snack with me during my massage (I suddenly felt small fingers shoving the unwanted flavors in my mouth)....lol. Though, I think she really did enjoy the coconut milk soak at the beginning I shared with her.

And after.....(by Clarissa of course).

Later that evening, I drove them to the airport and had to say good bye. Boo. We (okay maybe more I) really enjoyed having guests for a week. They picked a perfect week to come, it has rained so much since they left (we have this yellow orb looking thing in the sky today....I think I know what it is....). I hope they enjoyed their trip as much as we did.