Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday to the best mom in the whole world! I can't wait to celebrate your birthday a little belated, in just a few weeks! I hope you had a great day today and did something really fun. We love you very much...and the kids send big hugs and kisses to their Gubby!

Happy Turkey Day!

Our last St Maarten holiday, and it was a great one! I got together with some of my gal pals and we had a great day cooking and laughing while we prepared a meal for our busy, studying hubbies! We figured we might as well get together early and cook since that really is the best part of Thanksgiving. We had everything you could imagine- turkey, layered mashed potatoes, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn casserole, green bean casserole, jello salad, dressing, gravy, pumpkin roll, pumpkin pie...spiked apple cider, pina coladas...opps getting off track! Well, in other words we had quite the spread!
As you can see below everything was so good! We did a great job trying to be big girls and do Thanksgiving without the help of our moms! Of course I did have to call mine and get a few recipes! And don't tell her but it's Stove Top stuffing...she would be so disappointed!
Look at the nice weather and that wonderful view..its kind of hard to remember it's Thanksgiving looking at that!
Eventually the men all made an apperance...after we had slaved away all day over the cider..oops I mean stove.
Here's kind of a group shot...missing some of the group!
So we had a great Turkey Day in paradise and we hope you had a GREAT day too!

What am I thankful for??

1. This experience. Living here as been an amazing ride with so many ups and downs. I have learned so much and have made incredible friendships.

2. The boys- They are healthy, smart, beautiful, forgiving of me when I have bad days and the best little 3 boys a mom could ask for.

3. My husband. We have had hard times and many many great times...and at the end of the day the hard times have made our relationship stronger and the great times are what get us through the bad times.

4. My mom. I love her so much and miss her terribly! She is the strongest women I know. She has been so strong over the last few years dealing with my Dad's death and having to learn how to live a whole new life one that she never asked for. I love that she has started to find things she loves again like dancing!

5. Dave's family. They are always supportive, loving, and awesome listeners. I appreciate them in my life so much. They are the best in-laws a girl could ask for!

6. Matt and Amy, Charlotte and Barry and our 4 beautiful nieces. For a person that could only have boys I love having nieces! I can't wait to see them again and make relationships with them now that they are getting older.

It's nice to have a day to reflect on all the things you really do have to be thankful for, it makes you appreciate it all a little more!

Happy Birthday Olivia

We want to wish our oldest niece a very happy birthday. Olivia turned 6 today, she's the one in red! We hope she had a great day and Grandma and Grandpa got to Arizona safely to help her celebrate! We love you Olivia and look forward to seeing you soon!

5th Semester Party

Last night was the 5th semester party! I went with my "dates" Hanna and Jill. Like I mentioned in the last post, this is a party to celebrate the 5th semesters finishing the first 2 years of medical school! Dave couldn't go because of the dengue so it was so nice of my friends to go along with me so the Reimers' could make an appearance last night.

They had the party at one of the nicest and newest hotels on the island, the Westin. It was beautiful. Below is a pic of the pool area, that is where we had a cocktail hour before heading inside for a wonderful buffet sytle dinner, open bar, and music and dancing.
Here is Dave's friend Brandon, he came along with us and was bummed Dave wasn't there!
Here's my plate...full I know, the food was so good!

Here we are at cocktail hour sitting by the pool.
Here I am dancing with one of the professors. I worked for him in ICM.They had a photographer taking pictures last night so once those are posted I'll add some more pictures of the venue...the ones on my camera turned out really dark. So it was a lot of fun and I'm glad I got a chance to go and dress up!

6 days later....

And Gavin and Dave are still sick. Gavin's temp as of 15 minutes ago was 104. Dave's is finally down around 99. Dave says his headache has finally gone away and the muscle pain isn't so bad but now his muscles and skin are ultra sensitive and he has a rash all over his body. Gavin was having a better day yesterday- he played and ate dinner, but today he's done nothing but lay on the couch looking miserable.

We had to take Dave to the doctor and get him excused from school for the week. So he missed 2 big tests and can't go to his 5th semester party, a party they throw every semester to send off and say farewell and good luck to the 5th semester class. We had never been and were really looking forward to it. It stinks big time, but I did get a new date...my friend Jill is going to be my stand in for Dave. The Reimer's have to make an appearance!

I took Carter to the beach today with a group of friends because the poor dude has been doing much but hanging around the house all week. He had a good time and it was such an easy day! Only having to worry about where one person was, was such a nice change!

So hopefully, Dave and Gavin start to feel better in the next couple of days. Keep your fingers crossed!

Seriously, can we get a break?

Dengue Fever has returned to the Reimer house. Gavin and Dave both have very "dengue" like symptoms. Since there is nothing a doctor can do we won't actually test them to be sure, but everything is pointing in that direction. We learned from one of Dave's professors who does a lot of research with dengue, that if a sick person gets bit by a mosquito when they are sick that mosquito will now be a carrier of dengue, but it takes 2 weeks for that mosquito to be able to pass it on, so that time frame makes sense since I was sick 2 weeks ago. Maybe we had a mosquito nest somewhere in the house and that little bugger was just waiting to get someone else! Dave is a little freaked out because he has a very important test on Thursday and dengue totally zaps all ability to concentrate. So he can't study and if he still feels this bad at test time I'm not sure what he'll do. So cross your fingers that his is an easier case then mine and he'll be able to fight it off much faster than I was. I also learned from one of my friends that kids don't react as harshly to dengue as adults, it's kind of like chicken pox's- get it as a kid it's not so bad get it as an adult and its horrible- so Gavin just has a high fever (104) but no other real complaints. So send some feel better vibes our way...another island farewell for the Reimers', with only 26 days left another random thing happens!

May I just say...

That today is November 12th...now what does that mean?? One month from today Dave, Reece, Carter, Gavin, Laia, Chewy, 9 suitcases, 5- 40lb carry ons, one jogging stroller and I will be boarding a plane for the U.S. We have a stop in New York for a couple hours, where I intend to find a resturant I have been missing to enjoy! Then it's on to Minnesota, where Jean and Glen are going to have to show up with coats because we will freeze our butts off! I can't believe after 20 months + 3 we are almost there! Couple more tests, a 5th semester party, a kick a** Reimer going away, slaving away cleaning this nasty apartment, and then 2 days relaxing at the Sonesta remembering all the things we are going to miss and we'll be home!

Reimer Day O Fun...Part Doux

St Maarten day was today so Dave didn't have any school! We headed to Pinel Island (a little island that is still St Maarten, just a little off the coast) with some of Dave's school friends. We had fun swimming, hiking the island, and just relaxing. Dave of course got his beach chair and had his gallon of rum punch so he was happy as clams!
One of the views from the top.

Here's Dave and I when we got to the highest part on Pinel.

I can't believe the beautiful view! Things like this will live in my memory!

Time to hike back to the beach!

Dave relaxing!

Thai for dinner..the perfect ending to the Reimer Day O Fun!

On another note....today is Veteran's Day so we must do a shout out to all Veteran's out there and thank them for all they have done and continue to do! And of course big hugs to my favorite veteran my hubby, who served 8 years in the Army- 5 with the 82nd Airborne and 3 with the MN National Guard.

Have you ever wondered.....

About the island of St Maarten?? This is my blog dedicated to some interesting facts about St Maarten! St Maarten (on the Dutch side) and St Martin (on the French side) is the smallest land mass to be owned by two countries. The border from one to the other is hardly recognizable. It's almost like passing from one state to the next, everything looks the same and the only reason you know your in the other place is by the sign that says "Welcome." We are surrounded by the Caribbean Sea to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The land area of the island is 36 square miles (9 miles across at the widest point.)

Here are a few facts about the Dutch side:

Official Language: Dutch

Other languages: English (mostly spoken),Spanish, Creole and Papiamento

Population:50,000

Capital: Philispburg

Official currency: Netherlands Antilles Guilder (Nafl)

Other currency accepted: US dollar (widely used), credit cards and Travelers Checks

Electricity: 120 volt 60 cycles (North American standard)

And a few facts about the French side:

Official Language: French

Other Languages: English,Spanish, Creole and Papiamento

Population:36,000

Capital: Marigot

Official currency: Euro

Other currency accepted: US dollar (widely used), credit cards and Travelers Checks.

Electricity: 220 volt 60 cycles (European standard)

Tomorrow is St Maarten/St Martin Day. Its the day they celebrate the way they decided to divide up the island between the two countries. The historical truth is that a Dutchman and a Frenchman stood back to back and walked in opposite directions around the shoreline, drawing the boundary from the spot where they met. This all took place after Spain no longer needed a base in the Caribbean after the war with Spain and the Netherlands. Soon after Spain left the island the Dutch and the French claimed it.

The question is why is the French side so much bigger than the Dutch side? Was the Frenchman just that much faster?? Legend has it that as they continued their journey, the Frenchman quenched his thirst with water, but the Dutchman added a rightful portion of gin to his. Overcome by the heat, he stopped to take a nap in the shade of a tree and fell sound asleep. His opponent in the meantime advanced several miles in his own direction, which proved detrimental to the Dutch. This is the reason why the northern French part of the island is larger.
So the weather...have you wondered what that's like?? The average temps range between 80-87 degrees. At night temps usually range between 70-78 degrees. The average temperature of the crystal clear waters surrounding St Maarten ranges from 78-80F in the winter, and 82-84F in the summer.
What about beaches?? There are over 30 beautiful white sandy beaches on St. Maarten. The French beaches reflect a more liberal attitude with some being topless or nude beaches. The Dutch side has some topless beaches, and one nude beach at Cupecoy. Now you wish you would have come to visit...don't you! The kids and I have been to every beach on the island!

So there are some facts about St Maarten...I can't believe I have had the incredible experience of living here for the past 23 months! So many things are beautiful here and I will miss the weather and the gorgeous color of the ocean. I know I'll look back years from now and be so thankful for the chance I got to live in the Caribbean. I'll be one of those annoying people that always says "when I lived in the Caribbean..." What a great once in a lifetime experience!

Reece's big day at CIA

Reece had such a busy day at school today. Dave, the boys and I all headed to Reece's school this afternoon for an assembly. It started with the 4th graders doing a reading theater where they read and acted out a story. Reece was a narrator and he did so good at talking so everyone could hear him. The first group we couldn't hear at all...he learned the valued lesson my mom taught me, if people can't hear you they think your bad even if your not because they can't hear you!

After the reading theater, Reece sang the St Maarten song with the CIA chorus. He has been practicing every Tuesday after school in the first ever CIA chorus. He did so good even being the only boy in the whole group!
As if this wasn't enough the teachers then handed out awards for the kids in each class that have been working especially hard and Reece got one of the awards for the 4th grade! We are so proud of him for doing such a great job at school! His teacher says he always works very hard and even stays after school to help her and to work on his homework. Here is the group of kids from 1st-6th grade that got awards.