Happy New Year Wish

My Happy New Year wish for you
Is for your best year yet,
A year where life is peaceful,
And what you want, you get.

A year in which you cherish
The past year’s memories,
And live your life each new day
Full of bright expectancies.

I wish for you a holiday
With happiness galore;
And when it’s done, I wish you
Happy New Year, and many more.

By Joanna Fuchs

Christmas came and went...and now break too?!?!?

We had a great Christmas...except for the Ebay disaster which has still left the main Christmas present unaccounted for! Reece got all the games for his new surprise PS3 but unfortunately, due to some shady people, we still don't have the player! But other than that mishap we had a great Christmas! The boys got lots of Star Wars stuff which they loved. Carter got a toy that lets him surf kid sites on the internet but doesn't allow him to access computer files or get to sites he shouldn't be at! Gavin got a digital camera and to date has taken over 500 pictures......5 of which we may actually keep! I got a necklace from Dave....which marks the first time since we've been married that I received jewelry as a gift! And Dave of course got his trip home and a palm pilot. On Christmas Eve we stuck with the Johnston family tradition of hoagies and appetizers for dinner and then we all sat and watched a Christmas Story. The boys were finally old enough to get it and they enjoyed the movie. On Christmas day Dave grilled a ham and I made some sides and we invited our new friends Amy and Eli over for dinner. It was a great time and Dave and I were thrilled to have some adult conversation with another couple.
























The great news, Amy and Eli are our new downstairs neighbors so we have been hanging out a lot this break. We all went to Pinel Island, Mullet and Maho Beach for some fun beach days and tonight we are having pizza to celebrate their first night in their apartment.

It has been a great break and now its almost over, I can't believe how time has flown! But time to move on to the next semester....only 7 months and 14 days until the kids and I are state side!!!

Where has the time gone???

Today is not only Christmas Eve but also marks our one year anniversary of island life! We did it, we made it one year! The time has flown by, I can't believe how fast it has gone! In just 7 1/2 months the kids and I will be back in the US....and I know I'll be wishing for beach days and time that is slower, moving home and going back to work and having a hectic life again will not be quite as nice as island days. Now some things I won't miss- electricity and water that go out for no reason and rude bank employees, all the other things I know I will miss! So I have to take it all in in the next 7 months and make all the memories I can so that when we leave this place I can always hold it as a special time in my life that I look on with fond memories.

Here are some pics from when we first arrived.....WOW the kids look so much bigger now!

Reece's Birthday Week!

What a lucky kid Reece is, he got to have a couple celebrations for his big 8! On his birthday Reece, Carter, Gavin and I all went out for dinner at McDonald's, played games at the arcade at the movie theater and then went and watched the Alvin and the Chipmunk movie. Once that was over we had to go get a Bubble Tea. We had a really good time and the movie was pretty good.


On Wednesday once Dave got back from the States it was on to phase two of the birthday celebration. That night we went to this really great Fondue resturant on the French side.
From the outside your not sure what your in for but once you go in its just like being in the Swiss Alps. We had a great time having a fun family dinner. When we got home we had some birthday cake and watched a movie. All in all a good birthday for Reece!

Reece is 8!

I can't believe it has been 8 years! Holy moly that makes me feel really old! Eight years ago Reece Lewis was born! I was in labor for a little under 30 hours and then had to have a c-section. I remember they asked me at one point if I just wanted to give up and go home and try again another day and I told them I was not leaving there without Reece on the outside of my body. We were so excited to meet him, there's something so special about your first. He was 8 lbs 13 ozs and 20 1/2 in long. He had the cutest little fuzzy hair. However, he was quite the handful as a baby. He cried for the first 6 months NON STOP! He seriously never stopped! I remember people asking if he was a good baby and saying Ummmm NO he isn't! But something happened at 6 months and he turned into the sweetest little thing. He has since been a very easy going, well behaved child. We love him very much and are so glad he's our son! Love you Reece and happy birthday!

My virtual Christmas Tree!

Leave us some presents!! I can't wait to see what you picked for us!

The waves are back

Yes, as the title states the waves have returned for the winter season. This movie was taken at Mullet Bay beach which is only 5 minutes from our house. During the summer there were no waves at all and it was crystal clear and smooth, now the waves are back and the kids couldn't be happier! Even Carter gets in on the action now, before he would always ask before we would go to the beach if it was no waves or waves and if I said waves he would refuse to go! Now when he asks he'll only go if there are waves! Now Gavin on the other hand isn't thrilled by waves so he uses his time to dig in the sand! Today he made me bury him in the sand 2x!

On another note, if the whole Med school thing doesn't work out for Dave we have found him a new occupation.....Artist of the Etch a Sketch! That dude freaks me out with his many talents! I can only make squares and he makes an island and boat!

Happy Birthday Cullen

We just wanted to wish Cullen a happy birthday! He's Dave's cousin but is just a little older than Reece, and our boys think he is the BEST! They miss him so much! So we hope you had a good day Cullen and we'll be there to celebrate your birthday next year!!!

30 lbs down!!!!!

As many of you already know I have been trying to lose some weight....I want to be to my goal by my 30th birthday in March. I started my diet (actually, its more a new way of eating) on September 5th and today I hit 30 lbs lost! I have been doing a site called Sparkpeople.com (thanks Kara). It is totally free and allows you to enter all the food you eat and it tells you where to stay for calories, fat, protein and carbs. So I just follow that and so far its working! My goal is to lose another 35 lbs! The picture above shows me on the right in August and on the left yesterday...can you tell the difference???

Check out my dancing elves

You've never seen elves this cute until now! Check out Reece, Carter and Gavin as elves!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1174824944

Farewell Lunch

It's that time again! Another lunch to say goodbye. Saying goodbye to this semester's group is really hard. They were 3rd semester when we came. Nicole and Laura took me under their wings from the get go. During those first few weeks when I was adjusting to Dave being gone all the time they were there telling me it would all be ok. Whenever I needed a shoulder to cry on Laura was always there to listen to it! It is going to be so odd in January when they don't return after break. They have been like my "big" sisters! It will be weird to see someone else coming out of the apartment below us and not see little Payton come up looking for Carter and Gavin! Well, best of luck girls! We are going to miss you so much!

OMG have to share....

As I was looking though old photos trying to find one of my mom I came across this old picture! Holy cow I am HUGE...no wonder people were always asking me if it was twins! In this pic I still had a month to go! I guess you can tell that Carter really was 10+ lbs!

Happy Birthday Mom!

I just want to take a minute to wish my Mom a Happy Birthday! Reece and her always have the weekend after Thanksgiving where they spend the weekend together celebrating both of their birthdays and I know they both really missed that this year! Mom, I hope you had a great day and I can't wait to do something fun next year! We'll have a girls day! We love you and miss you Gubby!

SOOOOO awesome!

Magnitude-7.4 earthquake rocks Caribbean

FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique: A powerful earthquake rocked the eastern Caribbean on Thursday, damaging buildings and panicking residents, some of whom were hurt when they jumped from windows of buildings.

The magnitude-7.4 earthquake was centered 14 miles (23 kilometers) northwest of Martinique's coastline and lasted longer than 20 seconds. It collapsed the roofs of a bank and a store in the capital of this French island and left cracks in several other buildings.

I was in the bedroom this afternoon when I started to hear a weird sound and then it felt like the house was shaking...I thought it was some sort of construction on our apartment. I went out on the deck and it was just a rockin' and the tv was shaking so much I thought it was going to fall on the floor. The stuff on top of the TV shook right off. When Dave came home he was so excited, he was so thrilled to now be able to say that not only has he been around a hurricane but also now an earthquake! He said he was at the school studying outside and his desk started shaking and it was like a ride! Another experience to caulk up on a great experience!

Happy 5th Birthday Olivia

We have three boys but we were blessed with three nieces! Two from Dave's sister and one from my brother. Well our niece Olivia turned 5 yesterday and Dave got to talk to her and said she sounds so grown up! She has always been the talker and even though we don't see her very much she always runs up to us when we see each other again, and acts like she has known us forever! I still remember when we were in Arizona for Christmas 4 years ago and she would say "Uncle Dave" it was so cute! So Happy Birthday Olivia, we hope you had a GREAT birthday! I can't believe you'll be going to kindergarten!!

Christmas is coming early....

David got his Christmas present early! He is flying home after finals! He is so excited and I thought it would be the perfect Christmas present! He will be home Dec 12-18. He'll miss Reece's birthday but when we told Reece that Dad would be able to buy him a present from the US he had a whole list! I know Dave could really use some perspective and then he can come back for Christmas and next semester refreshed and ready to jump back in again! We have been going over all the restaurants he needs to hit and I'm already making my list of things he needs to bring back! He made it 1 year without going home, so he deserves it! I can't wait for break...only 2 weeks left! The end is in site!

Dodge This!

AUC had a Dodge Ball Tournament this weekend so some people from the Spouses Org put a team together. We decided to call ourselves the Jock Straps, since the club is supportive! A few of us got together the night before to watch the movie Dodge ball with Vince Vaughn. It was nice because it went over basic things like rules and technique but it didn't help us much! We still stunk big time, but we had a lot of fun! The team that beat us even was in the final game so we can always blame our stinking on how good they were!

The kids were so sad because they wanted to play too so they let the Spouses take on the kids for a fun game! The sad part, the kids almost beat us! But we pulled it out at the last second getting Reece out, who was the last one standing on the kids side!


Look I even worked up a sweat! Actually that is me wiping my tear since I sucked so bad!

Snorkeling Tour with Reece's school

Reece is involved with a club at school called Guppies. They do a lot of Marine research and they go on great field trips. This time we went out with Snorkel Safari and we got to go to a floating dock area where we could snorkel. We got to see ship wrecks, a sunken submarine, an old cannon, and a lot of fish...my friend Erica went a long and she saw a jelly fish which I'm glad I missed! Reece and I spotted a barracuda, scared the heck out of us! The floating dock was really cool with a Tiki hut and "pool" area, which was really the ocean but they had a raised platform under it so you could stand. We had a lot of fun! The funniest part is when Erica and I were relaxing on the lounge chairs and drinking rum punch! Rum punch at a school activity! How Caribbean is that, the teacher in charge was drinking a few beers! That just blows my mind! Hey but I went with it!!! Enjoy it while you can is my motto!

Happy Halloween!

We had a great Halloween. The Spouses Org. threw a great shindig. They had games, face painting, pie eating and Trunk or Treating. It was fun, people decorated their trunks and then the kids walked from car to car getting candy. It was an awesome idea and a first for us. We also did a couple pinatas. The kids had a really good time and will be on a sugar high for at least a week! I also have to say I can't believe we celebrated Halloween and didn't freeze our butts off! Having a warm Halloween is tons different than having to wear so many layers you can't even see the costume anymore, or having to do Halloween inside! I kind of liked having the warm weather! We'll Happy Halloween to everyone and hope you had a great day too!

The Girls back together and a much needed night out!

Sheryl was in Alaska for 3 weeks, I was in the US for a week, Erica was here and Michelle has had guests for the past few weeks, so last night we decided to have a much needed night out to catch up on everything that has been going on. We had big plans for the night: dinner at this Fondue restaurant I have been dying to go to, a few cocktails, and then head to a midnight movie. Well, it had been raining here for 2 days and after the Fondue the road that leads to the bars and movie theater was so flooded we couldn't get through. Luckily, Sheryl knew what she was doing b/c when we tried to go through the water the water came up over the hood and the car in front of us stalled out and wasn't moving! She threw it into reverse and got us the heck out of there! Michelle was in the back seat hyperventilating and I was upfront laughing my butt off never having seen anything like this in my life. After we got out of the water I just had to get a better look at this craziness, so I made everyone get out of the car and walk down closer to where the water was the deepest. Michelle kept saying "Sure I'll go with you if it will really make your night." I'm sure she thought I had lost my mind! Sheryl had on a Little Red Riding Costume and was a good sport when we were getting soaked by the rain. Erica was our photographer and did a great job making this a night we wouldn't forget! We all decided to be Good Samaritans..this is the friendly island!...and Sheryl and I pushed a flooded car out of the water. When we got it to dry ground the people opened up the back door and had to scoop bucket loads of water out of it! Erica and Michelle were advising cars to go on the golf course instead of going through the water, and helping them find the entrance and the exit from the golf course. After we were drenched and we had seen enough, we had to go to plan B...go back to Sheryl's have some mango coloda's and play some cards and talk. The night was great, I had a terrific time and never laughed so much! Thanks Dave for watching the kids and thanks gals for a terrific night!

We're back in St Maarten

We got back last night. We had a great trip and got to see a lot of friends and family. It was great to see everyone and we'll see you in 10 months! It will fly by as fast as the first 10 I'm sure! Enjoy the pics from the rest of our trip around the state!

We're in Minnesota!!!!!

Yes, that is the Reimer boys and they are wearing PANTS! For the first time in 10 months I got ready this morning and did not sweat! Ok many of you are reading this and saying "Your in Minnesota!" It happened very quickly, since we had to buy tickets for our VISA's and the airlines wouldn't let me move them until August Dave and I thought the kids and I should come home for a quick visit! The kids and I have a full week of traveling around the state visiting all the family and friends we can fit in 1 week. If we don't see you on this visit we are really sorry, but since we had such short notice we didn't get to let everyone know we were coming!

The weather has been wonderful...and not Minnesota at all. The weather has actually been in the high 70's low 80's and the lack of humidity is WONDERFUL! The kids and I had so much fun tonight Here are a few pictures of the things that we have been up to so far!



Here are my Hastings Pals....and we are in our house! Maria is our life savior and is living in our house with her family. She made it look so much better than it ever looked when we lived there! We had so much fun even though I was suffering from some major jet lag.



Then of course you know that I went to Target! I actually went twice the first day we were here!





































Well tomorrow we are going to my mom's house and then its on to St Cloud, so be sure to check back to see the rest of our Minnesota vacation! I have to try to get rested before our 13 hour trip back home!!!! Oh boy!