Orchard pictures

Ahhh life in a farming community....

I saw someone say on Facebook that now was the time to get family portraits done if they wanted to catch the orchards in full bloom.  She posted some pictures she had taken in past years and I thought they were just adorable.  I decided to pack up my little family to go out to the orchards and take our own (Med school budget means non-professional pictures).  I had Aaron pack a chair in the back of the car so I could set the camera on it.  We left the house and headed to the orchards when I thought- Hey!  My friend takes professional pictures, maybe we can borrow her tripod so I don't have to mess with angling the camera with just a chair!

I called Trisha and she said that they were about to leave to do the same thing!  She had us wait at the orchard so she could snap some pictures.  I love having friends who take pictures!!

These are us just messing around with my iPhone camera while we waited for the Wrights

Trisha did such a great job!!! Here are some of the pics she took:

Ha ha cute messy baby hair 

Ha ha we just all plopped down wherever on this one ;)  I love Matthew's arms.  That's just where and how he thought they should be

I decided if I ever want to lose weight, I just have to take family pictures first.  Any time I take family pics I lose weight right afterward.  It nice, but I look back and wish I had waited a few weeks before taking them. ha ha

 We're so cute ;)

Caleb and the stick. Love it.  I think he was sick or hungry or tired when we took these cause he isn't his usual smiley self.  Oh well, he's still adorable ;)

Thanks Trisha!!!!  You are awesome!!

Pumpkin Cookies- Hey, it's fall!

Hey friends!  I thought, since it's fall, that I would post a fallish recipe every so often.  So here is a great recipe for Pumpkin cookies from our Matheson cousins:

Glazed Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients 2 cups sugar (make sure this is all white sugar) 1 small can pumpkin (15 oz) 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup vegetable oil 2 eggs 3 cups oat flour (blend oatmeal in a blender) 2 cups flour 2 tsp. baking powder 2 tsp. baking soda 2 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. salt 3 cups crushed pecans (the original recipe called for 3c chocolate chips, but I thought it was too sweet with the glaze and I love pecans, so there you go.) Mix wet ingredients, then add the dry ingredients; mix well. Bake at 375 for 8-9 minutes.  While baking, make glaze: Glaze 2 c powdered sugar 4 oz cream cheese (room temperature) 1 Tbsp. milk Mix well and immediately frost warm cookies.  (If this seems thicker than a glaze, just add a little more milk- I can't attest to the consistency if you're somewhere drier than Dominica) Enjoy!!

Sunset Kayaking and Roseau trip

I borrowed some of my friend, Bree's, kayaks and we all snorkeled and went kayaking at sunset.  It was such a great day! 

Charlie running in front of the beach cottages at PBH. They were built for the cast of Pirates of the Caribbean during filming and are now rented out to vacationers. 

We always walk down the path behind the cottages and pick Carambola (star fruit).

 Silly Megan

Matthew LOVED kayaking.  I got some sweet shots of him and the setting sun.  I love this place

The explorer!  What a cool kid.

 Megan and Cami getting out after Matte's brother paddled them around

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A group of spouses took a trip to Roseau to shop (there is much better selection for food and things in Roseau.  It's the capitol and takes about an hour to get there).

I love my envelopes I got at Astaphans!!

Here is a random cellar door we walked past on our way to Pizza Hut (YEAH BABY- there are only 3 American fast food places on the island- Pizza Hut, KFC and Subway- the only one by where we live is Subway).  It looks like the building owners found it somewhere else and propped it against their wrong shaped cellar doorway.  I love the stone holding it in place.This is so typically Dominica.

Haha this picture still cracks me up.  I took that last pic of the door and then my friend, Chris, said hey go sit in front of it and I'll take an artsy picture.  He positioned me and everything. lol what a goof.

The goof under a fisheye lense.

I used the color filter on my camera where you can select a color in the viewfinder and then any other color turns to grey scale.  Pretty cool green nail polish.  Lacey goes crazy when I pick it off. HA! I'm pretty sure I painted these the night before at her house.

On le bus.  I'm sitting in the very back seat because I don't get car sick like everyone else on the relentlessly winding roads. It's quite a ride!

Celebrating US Independence in Dominica

Soooo July fourth is a much different day in Dominica.  In fact, all the normal holidays are.  It's just a day like any other day and the only way you know it's a holiday is if you keep track of your calendar.  Today we got together with the student families in our branch and had a swimming party.  No fireworks, nothing patriotic or heart warming, just swimming.  At least we got to try out the waterproofness of our camera and kind of learn what works and what doesnt.  Boys who wont stand still, for instance, can not get a clear picture underwater. ;)

Matthew and Aaron doing their usual acrobatics in the pool

look at those cute teeth

 whoa I look weird.

They love seeing the bubbles on the pictures

Squirmies

I think somebody lost their shoes.

Nope, he's not dead.

Time to go home!  Gnight all!  And enjoy some fireworks for me!

Jeesh! What took me so long?

Ok, so I'm super sorry to those who have been patiently waiting for an update since I got to Dominica and have left my blog disappointed. Or even worse, are waiting to see graduation pictures! I am sorry to inform you that I will be skipping the graduation post and getting to the Dominican adventure... Why? Because, 1. Nobody cares about my graduation in relation to what is currently happening, and 2. All of my graduation pics are on my computer which is packed in a box somewhere in Arizona.

So, first, i moved

boxes... Thanks,jimmy, for the ton of boxes you brought me! 

Thanks to all the friends who helped out!! unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of everyone who helped, but here is Käthe and me painting Megan's room back white. I love painting.  It's very therapeutic for me.  Just like the dishes. 

 Our last night in our house.  Thank you, house, for keeping my children warm at night, for letting us eat happy family dinners within your walls, and for being our place of refuge through life's storms. It has been a great 5 years.

Saying Goodbye really stinks!  I've made some lifelong friends here, though.  If you read the blog, you've heard me talk about my B.  This is one of the last times I saw her (right after she helped me clean my house- then we went swimming that night).  Love you, B!  I haven't worked out since we last did together (that doesn't mean I have gotten a workout, but tomato tomato. <---that doesn't really come through right in text, does it?)

Bye bye Campus!

 My mom and I at The Burrito Shack.  Yeah baby.  Thanks so much, mom, for helping me the whole week and packing me up while I was in la la land.  I seriously packed umm A box. no joke.  This woman is amazing. Love you!

We had from Friday to Monday with no house before we flew out, so my friends Nick and Shelly let us stay at the Chateau. They and their family and my B and her family came over Saturday night to swim. My mom got to stay with me until early Sunday morning and Val and Karen stayed Sunday night. On Sunday afternoon the Goodmans came over and Shelly helped me get everything weighed for the very last time (since we'd moved things around and added a few things) and ready to go to the airport. Käthe and Mitchell came over and got the grande tour from all the kids and helped out, too.  Bye Guys!! Thanks for all the help!!!

Love this crazy photo :)  It's now my FB profile picture

 It was prompted by this:

 Me and Shelly

Me and Käthe 

 Thank you to everyone who helped me get out of Arizona!!  Love you all! I will post more about our journey to Dominica a little later.  I have videos! yip yip!  Now I have to walk down to campus to meet Aaron :)    

Oh, here's a teaser- this is a picture I took on the way home from the airport: