Reimers In Paradise

The death of a blog

2009-05-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

My blog has gone seriously down hill here! I haven't posted in months and months and wow the stuff that was missed! LOL Hmmm actually probably not much!

I promise to update soon, but the good news that I will share is Dave passed his big USMLE test and is off to start clinicals in about 3 weeks. He'll be in Baltimore from June 15 until the end of November, then home for a month or so, and then off to Michigan where he will finish the rest of his core rotations. That is the big update for now and I promise to get better again at blogging...no one is probably even still checking this old blog...poor thing! LOL

And then it was over....

2009-01-07T17:33:00.000-08:00

After Christmas, Dave and I had a nice date night where we went out with some of his old classmates from high school. It was a fun night and nice to meet people from Dave's past. One of the girls we met that night said that she never would have guessed, after knowing Dave in high school, that he would be one to go to medical school. Dave was not so popular in high school and kind of ran with a bad crowd, so I think he was proud of himself for the life he has made for himself. He's succeeding in medical school and has a great family to share it all with, he's a lucky man!

We had a great New Year's Eve night with our good friends Katy and Andy. We went over to their house and again shared some great food and great wine! Hmmm seems to be a trend! I'm going to gain 100 lbs living here! There were 8 adults and 10 kids and believe it or not the kids were not that loud! I was shocked! It was a great time and way to bring in the New Year.

So after that celebrating it was time to get back to reality! Dave left for Dallas on Sunday for 7 intensive weeks of studying with a program called Falcon. This will help him prepare for his Step 1 test in March. He'll be back at the end of February and then study on his own for a few weeks before taking the exam. It's the single most important test of this career, so I guess we can give him this time to prepare to the best of his ability, it will only pay off in the long run.

Since Dave left, Reece started school. The Principle here decided to keep Reece in the 4th grade, instead of putting him back into 3rd grade with the class he left. We're keeping a close eye on him to make sure he'll be able to keep up and not get left behind. They had their first math test yesterday and the teacher asked Reece to take the test purely to see what his level was. Reece was proud to report that his teacher, Mr. Fox, said that he did so well on the test it is going to go towards his grade. He only got one wrong! Mr. Fox also thinks that Reece's reading skills are right with the others in the class. So, so far so good on the Reece front.

Carter is going to start pre-school next Monday. He is going to go to Cottage Grove for pre-school 4 days a week. I figured he needed as much time as he could get since he'll be starting kindergarten in the fall and hasn't had any pre-school experience yet. I'll be sure to keep you informed on how his first weeks of school go.

Gavin is going to be evaluated for speech therapy in the weeks to come. We have been noticing that his speech is hard to understand and a little behind for his age so the public school is going to evaluate and see if they can help him. He'll start pre-school next fall. So the two of us will be doing a lot with the local library and the MOMS Club so he'll get his time out to socialize.

So things are starting to fall into place. The house is mostly put together and day to day routines are starting to emerge. It's just really strange to not have Dave around, but we'll get through it...one day at a time!

Christmas at home

2009-01-07T17:13:00.000-08:00

This was our first Christmas off the island in 2 years. We arrived on St Maarten on Christmas Eve 2006 and spent that and Christmas 2007 in St Maarten. It was so strange to have snow and cold weather for Christmas, but it does seem a lot more festive. The kids and I made Christmas cookies and decorated them, and I also did some chocolate dipped pretzels and marshmallows. It was so nice to be able to do those things with all the kitchen appliances a girl could ask for!

We spent Christmas Eve with Dave's Mom, Dad, Uncle Craig, Aunt Patty, and cousins Cayley and Cullen. We had a great time opening gifts, catching up, and eating some wonderful food...the wine was pretty great too.

On Christmas day we woke up early and the boys opened their presents from Santa. Santa left each boy a bike in the garage and we sent Reece out twice and he never even saw them, we finally had to just open the door and say "Hey what is that in the garage?" Totally ruined the moment! Here they each are with one of their favorite gifts. Reece was so excited to have his own alarm clock so he didn't have to get out of bed anymore to see what time it is!

After presents we all got ready and went to my brother Matt's house for more presents and more food...oh and a little more wine. Here is the Johnston Clan on Christmas. It was a fun day and we were so glad to be together again.

We also finally met our new niece Calleigh and she was as sweet as can be! I got to feed her dinner and it was nice to feed a little baby again!
We had a great Christmas! Thanks everyone for all the nice gifts...the kids won't need anymore toys for sure for a long time! It was nice to be back home and with our families for the holiday!

I know you have all been wondering...

2008-12-30T08:47:00.000-08:00

How are trip back to the US has been. I'm sorry I wasn't able to post until now. It took the internet company 2 weeks to get to our house to install the cable and internet...not to far from what you could expect with "island time."

So I'll start a few days before we left the island (which already feels like a life time ago...and not in a good way!). Reece's class threw a big surprise going away party for Reece. He had no idea but the teacher let us in on the surprise so we could come and take pictures! They were all so sad to see him go and his best friend Max was almost in tears by the end of the day. It was very touching to see that Reece had such a great group of friends while we were in St. Maarten.

We got all of our cleaning done on schedule! Shocker I know! We got busy that Wednesday before we left, and although it took all day we were able to check into the hotel that night with the load off our shoulders that all the work was done! Dave took his last test that Thursday and then we came back to the hotel for some relaxing and we had a nice dinner out for our last night out on the island.
Friday my friends Jill, Hanna, Carlyn and Meagan all showed up to help us get our suitcases to the airport and then we all shared one last lunch (for a while, but not forever) together.

This picture is the only one I got of all our luggage. It is lined all the way down as far as you can see.

So the plane ride went pretty well. We got a lot of dirty looks all day for having so much luggage and so many carry ons plus the cats! But we got through the day ok and the kids were great on the plane...even the cats did a good job and were barely noticed the whole day of travel. So we got back on Friday very late and were hit immediately by the COLD! It was horrible outside, I believe that night was below zero. The kids were frozen because we didn't have very good winter coats for them, Dave and I were already questioning why we left the beautiful weather of the Caribbean to return to fridge conditions! Saturday we went out right away and bought my dream car. I had been doing research for months and many of my island friends already knew that an orange mini van was in my future because I never stopped talking about it. So Tange became the newest member of the Reimer family. A 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan..now the kids don't have to touch each other, oh how nice to have a car we can fit in, and one I'm not afraid is going to break down any minute.

Reece's birthday was the 17th. We took him to Chuck E Cheese as promised. And the boys all had a great time playing all the games.

For dinner we met up with Dave's parents and had a yummy dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings and shared Reece's birthday cake. I can't believe he's 9! Holy crap do I feel old now!

I'll have to get to Christmas in another post...it has just been a whirlwind with Reece's birthday, Christmas, and moving back into our house. Dave leaves Sunday for Dallas until February 20th so we've been trying to spend a lot of time getting things together around here before he leaves. The house right now is just a disaster with stuff everywhere. We've also had to go shopping a lot for Christmas presents and clothes. Carter and Gavin had a ton of stuff that I had saved, but Reece had nothing in his size at all. We've also of course, hit most of our favorite restaurants that we had been missing for so long. So we've been really busy around here! We hope everyone had a good holiday and I promise to update very soon with photos of Christmas!

This will put you in the Christmas spirit!

2008-12-08T19:18:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy Birthday Cullen

2008-12-08T18:00:00.000-08:00

We just wanted to send Cullen a huge hug for his 11th birthday today. Cullen is Dave's cousin and one of Reece's best pals. We hope you had an awesome day and we can't wait to see you very soon!

Holiday Concert

2008-12-07T15:19:00.000-08:00

Reece had a Holiday Concert at school on Wednesday. He was so excited about it and made us arrive 45 minutes early because he was afraid we wouldn't find a seat! He sang first with the CIA choir and then did a song with his class. Each of the classes 1-6 did a song or little play that they acted out. It was really cute. This was CIA's first Holiday Concert and for being the first I think it was a hit!

Last night, Dave and I went out with his group of friends for a goodbye dinner. Dave will see almost all of them at Falcon in January but I may not see many of them again so it was nice to have one more dinner together. The kids stayed home with their best pal Carlyn! They had a great time and could have cared less when we got home!

I really can't believe how soon we will be home now. It seems surreal! I'm doing so well getting the major stuff done it doesn't look like we are going to have to bad a time on Wednesday and Thursday getting the last of the stuff done, which will leave more time for fun at the hotel! We are really pushing to have everything done on Thursday so we can just be lazy by the pool all day...hopefully it all goes as planned!

It's a boy????

2008-12-05T17:10:00.000-08:00

So, many of you know the story behind us having 2 cats. We adopted Chewy from the pound when he was 5 weeks old and then about a year later he adopted a cat friend for himself, who we named Laia. Laia has been our cat since around last March when we would always find Chewy and Laia in the yard together and she was skin and bones so we started feeding her. I was thrilled to finally share the house with another girl, even if it was a cat! Today, I took the cats to the vet to get health certificates so they can fly home. The vet and I were talking about spaying Laia and why it was important when he got an odd look on his face and then went on to tell me that Laia is NOT a girl at all! Laia...now AKA Luke....is a BOY! A neutered boy, which is why Dave and I thought it was girl parts and not boy parts, but no less a boy! I was SHOCKED! Now we don't know what to call "her" and we keep messing up the pronouns! When I told Dave he about died of shock too. The kids thought it was pretty funny! So anyway...no matter what I do I was just destine to not have a girl...even when it comes to cats!

The farewells begin and so does the crap...

2008-12-02T15:32:00.000-08:00

On Saturday night my friends Hanna and Jill threw a "Reimer Going Away Extravaganza." We started out the evening at Jill's house with some pre-party refreshments and a sweet little slide show of our time on the island put together by my friend Stephanie. Then it was time to head to one of my favorite restaurants on the island Le Chalet. They serve fondue and it's so fun and yummy!
Here is Carlyn and I preparing our potatoes, dried meats and pickles for the cheese. And below is another shot of the group at dinner.
After dinner we headed over to our favorite late night hang out, the Soprano's Piano Bar. We had fun sipping our martini's, dancing and singing! Then it was so late that it was time for a food run, so we all headed over to the only restaurant on the island that is open 24/7 and we ate again! I think I got home at about 4! Things seem to run a lot later here on the island then they do at home. It was a perfect night out and I thank Jill and Hanna for planning a night with all my favorite things and all my favorite people! I'm going to be so sad to leave these friends behind.
So with only 9 days left, I thought it was important that we do a little photo shoot with the kids on the beach. So yesterday, my friends Carlyn and Hanna came out to help capture some cute shots of the kids on the beach....here is a little glimpse into a few pictures that we got.

Today was the 5th Semester Farewell lunch sponsored by the Spouses Org. If you look back through the months you'll see pictures of me at them and talking about how I can't wait for it to be my turn. I can't believe it was actually my turn this time! Now looking back the time went so fast! I have had such an awesome time here, I can't believe it's time for the next stage. Here is me with 2 of the other 5th semester girls at lunch.
Ok, and as the title says...here comes the crap. With 9 days left we have been doing little projects every night trying to get this place clean. Last night was refrigerator night, so Dave and I cleaned the whole outside and underneath of the fridge. The night before we did our bedroom. I haven't decided what tonight will be- either ceiling fans or cleaning out the food pantry. Fun fun...our house currently looks as if it threw up. The living room is scattered with random things and half filled suitcases everywhere you look. I'm hoping to have the whole place cleaned and packed up by the 10th so we can enjoy a day with nothing to do, I'll keep you updated! We have one more farewell this weekend with Dave's student friends so that should be fun! We are going to a restaurant we have never been too before so it should be nice, I'll let you know!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2008-11-30T12:41:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-11-27T16:59:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-26T20:04:00.001-08:00

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

2008-11-22T07:29:00.000-08:00

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....

2008-11-19T12:12:00.000-08:00

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?

2008-11-15T11:33:00.000-08:00

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...

2008-11-12T07:15:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-11T15:26:00.000-08:00

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.....

2008-11-10T10:59:00.001-08:00

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

2008-11-05T16:22:00.000-08:00

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.

Fun at CIA

2008-10-31T19:50:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share a few pictures I got from Reece's teacher. These are some great pics of them carving a pumpkin at school the other day. Enjoy!

It is Halloween...

2008-10-31T19:14:00.001-07:00

So Momma had to get her big butt off the couch and be productive today! And you know what, it went ok! I rested all day so that Dave and I could take the kids to the big Spouses Org carnival/pot luck and it seemed to work...the kids had a good time and so did we!

The kids (and even the adults took a turn) played musical chairs, did coloring, made candy necklaces, did a guessing game, and we all shared a yummy pot luck dinner. It was a lot of fun, but the whole time Carter was waiting for his favorite part- the Trunk or treating! He had fun going to everyone's trunk and getting candy, he had waited all day for it! After the party the kids watched a movie on a big screen in one of the lecture halls. They saw Hoodwinked and it was a good end to a fun night!

The good news is, I still feel good. Kind of tired but good! Yay, I must be getting better! THANK GOD! Now Dave is out having some fun with friends which is exactly what he needs after all the studying that guy does! He had another test today...only 3 left and we are DONE!!! Oh yes and you know I'm gonna say it, only 5 weeks left!

The Island's farewell...

2008-10-30T11:36:00.001-07:00

Well, is seems that this island is intent on making our last 2 months here very memorable ones. First we have a hurricane and now with only 6 weeks left I come down with a case of dengue fever. This is a virus carried by a certain mosquito down here in the Caribbean.

It came on Friday night after the date night. I woke up in the middle of the night with a high fever. I literally laid in my bed all Saturday and Sunday. Sunday night I passed out in the bathroom and scared Dave half to death. Monday I actually felt better and thought I was on the mend...well that was a quick thought because by 2 in the afternoon the temperature and pain were back, so I spent the rest of Monday, all of Tuesday and Wednesday on the couch. Today I forced myself to get up and go get some supplies for Halloween tomorrow, but once I got home from our 1 hour trip I had to lay down for 3 hours to recoup! So far some of the different things I have experienced with dengue fever are high fever, severe back and neck pain, eye ball pain, loss of complete appetite, headache, fainting, weird scatter brained head feeling, red and sore palms and soles of feet, rash and itching...and every day it seems to manifest itself in a different way. And I guess the worst part has just been the length of time I have been sick, I'm use to getting a sickness that last 24-36 hours and then its gone, not 6+ days of not feeling much better.

So, I'm hoping to feel better soon...or at least well enough to function! This just really stinks! There is some good news here though...Dave passed his comprehensive exam so he has one less thing to worry about! Oh and tomorrow we only have 5 weeks to go! At this point it couldn't come soon enough...and I pray the island doesn't have any more surprises for me!

You know your old when...

2008-10-24T19:23:00.001-07:00

You have a date night for the first time in months and you end up at McDonald's...or maybe it isn't old maybe pathetic is more the word! Dave had his last block exams today so we decided to celebrate with a night out together! I thought seeing a movie would be fun because Dave never gets to go and the theater is really nice here and CHEAP! So we headed over to the movie that started at 6:35, we hit traffic so by the time we got there Dave had to jump out of the car to get our tickets while I raced around and parked. I ran in and Dave and I ran to get into the movie before it started...well once we got in there we quickly discovered that the movie was actually not starting until 7:05. The web site and the actual movie times were not the same! I know it was only a 1/2 hour difference but that totally threw off our whole schedule so we ended up only having time for a quick McDonald's stop before going home. I had all kinds of fancy ideas of nice restaurants we haven't tried yet and we ended up at McDonald's! It wasn't a total loss though, I got a premium chicken sandwich which I never get because its always to expensive so I splurged on that. Well anyway...that's a Reimer date night..hmm maybe this is what happens after 8 years??

Have you ever wondered.....

2008-10-20T16:12:00.000-07:00

What has Dave been doing for the past 22 months? Today, we're going to shake things up a bit...Dave is going to be doing the blog because who better to tell about the AUC experience than someone who has been living day and night at the school for the last 678 days....did I forget to mention we only have 52 left, ok sorry back on track!

Hello everyone, it's me, Dave - your future doctor. Today was officially my last day of formal class here at AUC forever. I can finally breath, though not relax, and prepare for my comprehensive exams, finals, and subject-specific shelf exams. Almost done! With that in mind, I have decided to show everyone what a typical day looks like through my eyes. Ready? Put on your thinking caps, 'cause here we go...

Every morning, Reece and I get ready for our school and head out without waking Ashley - aren't I a good husband? Since his school (Caribbean International Academy) is on the way, we walk together and complain about how hot it is as our shirts soak with sweat before we even get there. We depart, I say 'good morning' to the school guard, then head toward mine. This is the first view I get as I approach AUC...
Entering the school grounds, I cross the courtyard and make my way to Lecture Hall #4 - the room on ground-level on the right side of the picture.

Fact: There are 5 lecture halls for the 550 students attending lecture every day, each lecture hall designated to 1 of 5 different semesters.
Additional fact: the vast majority of the students are American; the remainder being Canadian, Russian, and various other countries.

Into class we go. And there they are. Slowly, but surely, the classroom is filling and soon class will begin. The topics have ranged through the semesters from anatomy and molecular-cellular-biochemistry to pathology and pharmacology (and much more in between). Classes are typically from 8:30 AM to 12:00.
Fact: Most of our professors have extensively taught in American medical schools and some have graduated from Harvard Medical School as well as completing residencies at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. There's no shortage of medical knowledge here!
Whew! You survived class with me so far, but remember, the day has just begun. Now it's time to study!! After class, I run home for a quick bite of lunch. At this time, Ashley is just getting up to start her day -- okay, maybe it's not that bad. A bagel with some cream cheese, salami, and swiss cheese - not to mention any other snack item I can jam into my gut within an hour - then it's back to school. First we must stop off at my locker and grab some books...just a few.

Fact: there's an awful lot of studying we have to do.
Okay, got some books? Now it's time to head up to the library and study, study, then study some more. It may not look like much, but every medical book you need is right there at your fingertips. All you need to do is pick it up and memorize...uh, I mean learn it all.
I'm getting a little tired, time for a study break. Walking out of the library, you can stop and look down onto the rotunda. People-watching is a good way to take your mind off of medicine. Oh, look, people are lining up to buy a cup of coffee - they must be just as tired as me. Perhaps I should join them, but first we need to go outside and get a breath of fresh air.
Ah yes, the sights of the island. Always relaxing, not to mention very helpful with clearing the mind. Why study in America when you can study with this as your background?
Hey, we're taking too much time for a "short" break. Back to the books! I study, or sometimes stare at the books and hope the information will mystically jump into my brain, until 6:00 PM. Eat the dinner that Ashley has slaved away at, kiss everyone goodnight, then go back to study until 11:00 PM. Next day, same thing. Over and over, for the past 22 months, that has been our daily routine way out here in paradise.

My time here has been very intense, especially if you include all the hurricanes, tropical storms, and earthquakes. It's been non-stop studying since day 1. As I said, today was my last day of lectures, and soon I will have to take the USMLE Step 1 (my board exam). I am looking forward to starting my clinical rotations, yet it's worrisome at the same time. There's just so much knowledge I have to retain. With the help of Ashley, our boys, and our families, these next few years will be exciting.

Thanks for tagging along with me on our brief journey in a day in the life of David.

I love electricity!

2008-10-18T09:01:00.001-07:00

We finally had a good nights sleep! The electricity was on ALL night so we cranked the air and slept like babies! It was so nice! It is still going on and off today but as long as it works at night I'm happy! I'm pretty sure at this point I will be throwing most of the food away because I can't figure out what is still good and what isn't and I'm not really interested in getting food poisoning if I'm wrong! Luckily, we didn't have much at all in the freeze so I won't be out much. The water has been mostly on, so that has been nice.

So we made it through our first and probably only hurricane. Many things that our on the coast were demolished. A family from AUC lost everything they own and were trapped in their apartment. Bliss and the Sunset Beach Bar (where you watch the planes come in) are completely gone. But the only damage to the areas away from the coast is mainly tree damage.

So here are some pictures of the wrath of Omar. Here is what we saw when we walked out the first time. Just a lot of limbs and leaves everywhere.

Dave had to get out his machete and cut down a bunch of broken limbs and I swept the area.
When we walked out to our parking spot we found this roof on the car we have been using.
Luckily, the only damage was a cracked windshield and a few minor scratches.

This is the jeep of one of Dave's professors. The tree fell right on it.
This is damage on the golf course.
The road was completely flooded.
This is the only road in or out of our town.
This is the golf course....the swells were so large they brought sand the whole way over the golf course. It was insane to see all that sand so far from the beach.
A view of an uprooted tree and the flooded road.
Just how deep the water was.
Many people felt like they had places to go...this man's van died in the middle of the water.
Some thought driving on the golf course would be a better idea...those people spent the next hour digging their cars out of the sand!

Here's Reece enjoying his new personal lake!

Here is the Sunset Beach Bar...hmmm no watching the planes now!
And here is the parking lot of a place called Bliss...Bliss is now out in the parking lot.
Wow, sure glad we got one more thing to check off on our experiences in St Maarten. Hmmm I don't want anymore like this though!

Quick update

2008-10-17T06:45:00.000-07:00

We are all doing well after Hurricane Omar. It came in around 2:00 am Thursday morning. When it finally hit St Maarten it had reached category 3 as opposed to being a category 2 like it was first forcasted to be.

I just wanted to do a quick update to let everyone know that we are okay. Power is off and on and they aren't sure when it will be back up more permanently but when it is I will update with pictures of the destruction. The only real problems we had were down trees and a roof on our car that broke the windshield. We're luck and others weren't so luck and we hope they are doing ok!

Thanks everyone for thinking of us and I'll update when I get a chance!

Happy Birthday Cayley!

2008-10-15T15:20:00.000-07:00

(Due to our current weather situation I am posting this now, her b-day is tomorrow, power is being turned off at 10 pm...who knows when it will return!)

Happy Birthday Cayley, we hope you have a great day! I can't believe you are 9 already! We'll have to get together for a Chuck E Cheese trip when we get back so you, Cullen and the boys can hang out! Hope your day is wonderful! Know that the Reimers' are thinking of you and wishing you a VERY HAPPY DAY!

Have you ever wondered.....

2008-10-15T10:48:00.000-07:00

What St Maarten does when there is going to be a hurricane? I really didn't want to find this one out and with only 56 days left I thought I was in the clear....but NO! Tonight, Hurricane Omar is suppose to hit close to us so all of St Maarten is getting ready. Today, I went into Cole Bay to get some supplies, which was hard because I really didn't want to buy very much in case nothing happens but didn't want to not have anything in case it did. So I'm probably under prepared but of course I'm about the most optimistic under worrier you ever met so its pretty typical of me! Right now, Omar is looking like it will hit tomorrow early morning and will be about 87 miles off of St Maarten and we will experience winds of around 105 mph.

Tons of people were filling up with gas (yep me too!)
So many people were at the grocery store that people were parked up on the curbs.
The lines were forever long..I haven't seen them this bad since Christmas!
All stores and banks were closing early and no schools (even Dave's) were in session today.
Stores are putting down hurricane shutters and boarding up all windows.

Even the ATM machines are closed and protected.
The traffic is backed up with everyone trying to get into Phillipsburg and Cole Bay.
The golf course road...our only way into town is already starting to flood and the worst hasn't even begun yet.
All boats are moved into the lagoon to help protect them the best they can. Notice the water..right now it just feels like the calm before the storm. There is NO wind what so ever and besides the fact that we haven't seen the sun in 5 days and the rain, everything seems perfectly normal.
So that's what it is like in St Maarten before a hurricane...I'll keep you updated once we actually know what is happening and how bad it actually was....IF I have internet...and electricity!

A hurricane day???

2008-10-14T18:26:00.000-07:00

So when I was growing up we prayed all winter for a snow day, well Reece doesn't have school for a hurricane day! Yes, as odd as that sounds Tropical Storm Omar is upon us and as a precaution all schools are canceled for tomorrow, not sure at this point if that includes Dave or not. But I went and got some hurricane supplies tonight and we're ready if something was to happen. Keep us in your thoughts for the next few days....Thursday is suppose to be the worst day for us I think. I'll keep you updated!

Home is where the heart is.....

2008-10-13T19:33:00.001-07:00

Time is ticking by and the closer it gets the more nostalgic I become. There are so many wonderful reasons to go home like.......

Family...I have only seen my mom 2 days in the last 2 years!

Seasons....our house and my kitchen. Look I have an OVEN!

A niece we haven't met yet and three others we haven't seen forever.

Long time friends from St Cloud.

Wonderful friends in Hastings. But then I start to think about all the things I'll miss, because after 2 years this has become our home. And if home is where the heart is my heart has two homes. There are sooo many things I'm going to miss on the island like.....

The view as your driving around.

Lounging around the pool.

The view off our balcony.

The best group of pals a person could ask for, who all are in the same boat so understand.

The beaches

My work with ICM and Behavioral Science

And one that may sound strange but missing holidays at home...I have never really had to feel what it's like to celebrate any holidays without my Dad. We moved 5 months after he passed so in a way, I'm sure, I have been able to avoid dealing with parts of his passing because I'm not there to see it. I don't go to my parents house and haven't had to feel his missing presence at Christmas time and the 4th of July (his and my favorite holiday)..I was always able to think he was just at home and that everything was still normal.

So, there are so many good and bad parts to what the next stage of life has in store for us. And as we did when we moved here, you just have to roll with the punches, make a new home, and meet new people to surround yourself with so your next place feels like home too. I will always value my time on the island. It has given me so many opportunities and experiences that I could have never had at home. Dave and I had rough patches but learned that we are strong together and have learned how important we are to each other. The kids have learned how to take it slower, how to respect another culture, and how to make new friends in a new place. So Minnesota we can't wait to get back to you but St Maarten we have a huge part of our hearts wrapped up in the family we have made here and the experiences we have lived and learned to love through.

Love Birthdays.....

2008-10-11T18:15:00.001-07:00

Well, it was one of my pal's birthdays this week so of course we jumped on that for an excuse to have a Girls Night Out. A group of us went for dinner at this fancy restaurant called Bamboo Bernie's. One of the highlights of the evening was we walked into the restaurant, that had a total of 3 people in it, and we're told we should have made a reservation. We thought she was kidding...but after she gave me a business card and kept up with the rudeness we realized she wasn't!

After dinner we heading to one of our favorite places the Sopranos Piano Bar. We had a great time singing along, dancing, and laughing our butts off. And of course a late night would not be complete without a late night stop for some McDonald's French fries!

Having a night out like last night with the best group of friends a girl could ask for makes me sad to think I only have 7 more Friday's left on the island. I'm going to miss the friends I have met here SOOO much. Love you girls and thanks for always being there to laugh with, cry with, b*tch with, and just listen!

WOW

2008-10-09T17:10:00.000-07:00

I just have to point something out.....yes take a look to the left...what do you see???

2 months and 0 days....ARE YOU KIDDING ME????

It is flying by!

Have you ever wondered.....

2008-10-08T08:37:00.000-07:00

So, the day we moved to St Maarten we were taken directly to our apartment. It was such a whirlwind, after the flight and all that luggage and the kids. That night as I looked around our new home I cried when I saw the washing machine! I told Dave that if I couldn't keep up with the laundry when I had a super capacity Kenmore washer AND dryer, how was I going to keep up with a salad spinner. It was the only thing on the island that made me cry!

So have you ever wondered how I do laundry? Here is a quick description of the process. This is my washing machine...aka- salad spinner or Barbie washing machine.

First you turn the water on with a spigot on the wall and fill the washing tub. Once filled you have to again manually turn the water back off.

Then you add the clothes. It holds a little less than half of what my normal washing machine at home could hold.

These are the controls. The middle is for draining and filling the tub, the left is for washing, and the right is for spinning.

Ok, so the laundry swished around for 15 minutes, in the same now dirty water it started in. So it's time to come back and move it into the spinner. Now the spinner only holds half of the clothes that were washed so with each load this part gets repeated twice. The clothes spin around for about 4 minutes with the water on (again have to turn it on and off manually) to rinse and then goes another 3 minutes to spin all excess water out of the clothes.

Then as if that wasn't already enough running back and forth turning water on and off and moving clothes from basket to washer to spinner....now it's time to hang dry! It most often literally takes all day for the clothes to dry. It is so humid and the lack of a breeze- then rain comes out of no where, so it takes forever!

So as you might have guessed with 5 people's worth of clothing to wash I am NEVER caught up..and just when I pick a day to get it all caught up there is either no breeze what so ever or it rains! But I have done it for 22 months so far and it is always going to make me appreciate my real washer and dryer when I get home! It's just one more reminder that you can make anything work as long as you have the right attitude and even when something seems horrible keeping in mind the awesome story you can tell someday because of it just makes it one life's many moments to embrace and be happy for....I mean its better than dragging everything to a laundromat!

Check how southern your speech is.....

2008-10-04T17:37:00.000-07:00

So living in St Maarten, I have met a lot of different students and spouses from all over the US. It is so interesting to hear all the different ways people talk and the different words people use to describe the same thing....for instance I always ask for a "pop" but many here call them sodas or just cokes. A lot of the girls here are from the south and use the word "y'all" like its going out of style. I find myself saying "aah" a lot and I often find one of the spouses from Canada also using that phrase. So I came across this quiz that tells you how "Yankee" or how "rebel" your speech is. It's pretty interesting....take it and see how you rate! Post it in my comment section so I can see!

I scored 28% Dixie. You are a dandy Yankee Doodle. Which makes sense since I'm from the North. Dave's actually wasn't so close, he scored in the 50%, he claims b/c he lived in North Carolina for 5 years.

So check it out and see where you stand... http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/yankeetest.html

As long as we are talking about people and where their from, I don't know if you noticed my new gadget. It tells me all the different places people are looking at my blog from, there are people in Florida, Minnesota, Arizona, Alabama, Maryland, Washigton....and even other countries like Guadeloupe and Ausser-Rhoden! WOW, so people are reading! Well, welcome everyone and thanks for keeping up with the Reimers' in paradise....I'm going to have to think of a new name soon, maybe something like "Reimer' Freezing their butts off" or "Reimers' Back to the real world." Hmmm I only have 2 more months to come up with something! Well, thanks everyone for looking and I can't wait to see where the next person is from!

Sad day...relaxing day

2008-10-02T16:47:00.001-07:00

Today was a sad day...my good island friend Natalie had to leave early! We started out together 6 semesters ago and we were so excited about finishing this adventure together in 9 1/2 weeks, but due to some medical issues she had to go back home now! We were so bummed to see her and Jack go home! We had a breakfast this morning to all get a chance to say good-bye. I'll miss her a ton, but look forward to seeing her again one day, hopefully in Michigan!

After the breakfast the kids and I headed to Dawn Beach, on the other side of the island, for a day of sun, fun and relaxation! One of our friends, who's from the States comes to St Maarten from time to time to check on a couple villas that he is the property manager of. So today he invited us over for a day at the pool. The kids and I had a great time hanging out at the pool, bbq'ing, and going to the beach. Its a great beach and there are very few privately owned villas on Dawn Beach, it is the home of the famous and very fancy hotel called the Westin. The villa we visited today would cost $12,000 a week to rent during high season! That is INSANE, but while there I could totally understand why people vacation on St Maarten! The view and the water was beautiful! It was a nice end to what started as a bummer of a day!

St Barts is the island in the background

Here is the view over to the Westin.

Another awesome view of the ocean.

Could it get any better?

The boys had an awesome time.

Have you ever wondered.....

2008-09-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

In 10 short weeks our time in St Maarten will be over and we will have lived here for 2 years. I know many of you probably have wondered about our lives on the island, so every week or so I'm going to do a post that starts with "Have you ever wondered." Then your going to get a little glimpse into life on St Maarten. This week we are wondering about the grocery stores in St Maarten.....

The grocery store here is called Le Grand Marche. It is very American. Here is a shot at the start of the deli and produce section. A tid bit- most of the fruit, milk products, and eggs are from Florida!

Here is the milk section. We always have to be careful about checking dates, since things are sent by sea by the time they actually reach the shelf the expiration date is growing pretty near. And sometimes the milk will be bad even before date because of lack of proper refrigeration between the boat and the store and then the shelf. But the selection of milk, cheese, yogurt, and sour cream is pretty extensive.
Here is a look at the labels they use. If you look close you can see that the big price is in Gilders. The smaller number is the US price...so gilders for the parsley is 2.75 and US price is $1.24. If you go to the Phillipsburg Grand Marche the prices are in Gilders, US and in Euros. Current exchange between US and Gilders is US $1= 1.80.
Here is the meat section. A lot of different stuff to chose from, most of the time good qualilty. Some even US Certified. They also have local stuff like pigs ears and chicken feet. Ummm no thanks!

Here is a glimpse of the lunch meat, hot dog and bacon section. As you can see we aren't lacking anything, the main difference is here we don't get a lot of choices. One brand is about all you get to chose from where in the US you would have 30 brands of different hot dogs to buy.

I just thought this sign was a good look into a typical thing we see in the store...a list of where all the different apples are from.
And here we are at the end of our shopping trip. See the stuff in the cart? How much do you think I spent today???
Grand total for this shopping trip was $173. Yes, for a cart that wasn't even that full! I typically spend around $150 a week on groceries and then take 2 trips to Cost-U-Less (sort of like a Sam's Club) a month each costing around $180. Total for groceries for 5 in one month.....$960!

Hope you enjoyed your journey through the grocery store....next week look forward to a glimpse into washing clothes with a European washing machine!

If you have something you have been wondering, leave it as a comment and I'll answer it in an upcoming blog!

Notice anything missing???

2008-09-27T16:04:00.000-07:00

Can you see what's missing?? Yes, our car. You know time is ticking down when you can finally start selling stuff, and today it was our car! Yippeee, one less thing to worry about getting rid of before we leave!

Also, thank you Grandma Jean for sending the Halloween costumes! You have never seen kids so happy about a mail package! And thank you for the special treats inside!! The boys are already planning what to spend their money on.

We don't know what to do about Carter, he keeps climbing up all the walls..here is Dave helping him get off the wall. There must be something special about that costume!

And Gavin was so thrilled with his costume he passed right out wearing it! Isn't he sweet when he's sleeping? I can't believe he can sleep on that hard tile floor...I guess when your Superman pain is relative.

Busy busy busy

2008-09-22T17:52:00.001-07:00

Well the weeks are flying by- we're down to 10 1/2 weeks until we fly home and we are making the most of them. I got my haircut this weekend. I couldn't stand the old cut anymore and it was time to go short again! I just love a good hair style that only take minutes yet looks like you spent a lot of time! So here it is...what do you think??
This weekend we also had a Spouse's Org getting to know you pot luck! It was so much fun and also really weird because I knew a lot less people then I didn't and that's kind of strange after having 5 semesters of always knowing all the spouses. There are just SOOO many new people! The food was awesome though, as it always is at pot lucks. There were so many people that all the food was actually eaten at the end which was nice...there's nothing worse than taking 1/2 your dish back with you and having to eat it for the next week!
Here are the kids having fun with their new friends at the pot luck.

On Sunday the spouses got together to make 150 cinnamon rolls for a fundraiser. By the time I got home I smelled like a giant cinnamon roll! Dave could smell it as soon as I walked in! Although, it was a lot of work it was great hanging with the ladies and chatting. We sold them this morning to the students, who LOVED them, and we'll be back tomorrow morning to sell the rest!

And I just had to share the latest picture of our nieces Hailey and Calleigh. Calleigh is a month old in this picture and big sister is reading her books! So cute and look at that hair! I just can't wait to meet her and I'm so bummed I don't get to enjoy her when she's a little baby!
So since we can't get our Calleigh fix we are getting our baby fix with little baby Lilly! Here is Gavin holding her, he was so proud of himself. Carter and Gavin love looking at her and patting her back...then when we get home they tell me that they love baby Lilly. It's pretty cute! Lilly belongs to my new sponsor family Kathy and Luke. When they arrived Lilly was 5 or 6 weeks old. Can you imagine moving to a Caribbean island with a newborn?? On another note, Luke and Dave hit it off immediately since they both served with one of the most elite military units, the 82nd Airborne! The brotherhood is quite strong even if you didn't serve at the same time and when we all get together there is plenty of Army talk. If it's not Army talk its medical talk...I guess they just don't have much more in their lives right now! Poor guys!

Tagged by Rachel

2008-09-19T18:43:00.000-07:00

5 things I was doing 10 years ago...
1. Breaking up with Dave
2. Starting my last year of college at SCSU
3. Thinking about what would be next
4. Working full-time at Old Country Buffet
5. Going to Venezuela for Spring Break

5 things on today's "to do" list...
1. Laundry
2. McDonald's Play date
3. Grocery shopping
4. Making dinner
5. Lounging around

5 snacks I enjoy...
1. Doritos
2. Chips and salsa
3. Popsicles
4. Brownies
5. Angel Food Cake

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire...
1. Pay off all debt.
2. Buy new cars and a house...give our old ones to a family who couldn't afford them.
3. Save
4. Shop
5. Donate to Pancreatic Cancer Research

5 places I have lived...
1. Kansas City MO
2. Elysian, MN
3. St Cloud, MN
4. Hastings, MN
5. St Maarten, NA

5 jobs I've had...
1. D & B Foods
2. Old Country Buffet
3. SCSU Public Safety
4. Gymboree
5. Target

5 peeps who should consider themselves tagged...
1. Alicia
2. Laura
3. Kathy
4. Maren
5. Kori

Moms Gone Wild

2008-09-17T08:11:00.001-07:00

Well, I just got the pictures, so I had to share a fun weekend I had recently. A group of Mom's and I decided we needed a night away to veg by the pool, eat out (without distractions from children), and go out dancing the night away! We did just that and had a wonderful night! We stayed at the Sonesta and spent the afternoon hanging out by the pool relaxing. Once we were prunes we went back to the room to get dolled up for a night out. We went to a great piano bar for dinner. The food was awesome and the music even better. Everytime we tried to leave they would play an even better song and we would be dragged back in to dance to another song. Once we finally dragged ourselves away from the piano bar we quickly lost a few dollars at the Casino...so we didn't dabble there to long in fear we would eventullay leave with nothing. On we moved and we ended up dancing most of the night away at a fancy night club called Bliss. When we got back to our room we ordered room serivce...FYI the only thing you can get at 4:30 am is a hamburger and fries...and boy oh boy did it hit the spot! YUMMY! We had a great time and really enjoyed sleeping in that morning and not waking up to someone yelling "Mommy!" It's so nice to know that even though were a bunch of moms we still know how to have a good time! Thanks for the GREAT night ladies!

Could it really be here already?

2008-09-13T17:37:00.000-07:00

Today was my last Welcome Breakfast. I can't believe it! All the spouses go around the table and introduce themselves and say what semester they are, and today I FINALLY got to say "5th semester." I can't believe it was finally my turn to say it! Such a long time coming. This welcome breakfast brought a huge batch of new spouses, the group literally doubled in size! This incoming class was over 180 students....Dave's class was around 80. So whoppppeeeee, wow this is really starting to feel real now, but everytime I begin to feel excited to leave a little piece of me is sad too. I have met so many great friends here and I'm going to miss them so much. But hopefully sometime, somewhere we'll meet again!

Here are a couple of my gal pals, Hanna and Stephanie.

Natalie and I started this journey together in December 2006...we have both been on the 6th semester plan and I'm glad we are still here together!
Here I am with Kathy, she is a new spouse that I helped sponsor. We have become good friends and I'm glad we were able to be here together for a semester.

Welcome to my office......

2008-09-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to show you all my office! I am so thrilled to announce that I have been asked to help with the Behavorial Science class at AUC and with it I got my own office! Yes, I'm a total geek and made Dave take pictures of my first official office! I have already been very busy with ICM/surrogate patient business and this is only the 2nd week of school. We have been offering students the oppurtunity to interview a patient one-on-one instead of in a group like they do in class, so I have been very busy fitting in the interviews. I've also been having meetings about my role in Behavorial and that kicks in next week, so the next few weeks are pretty busy! All the better to make the time fly by! Only 12 weeks to go!!!!

Reimer Day O Fun

2008-08-31T19:50:00.000-07:00

We had our 1st official Reimer Family Day O Fun yesterday! Dave and I took the kids to Orient Bay (we were suppose to go to the water slide in Anguilla but the place was closed for low season) for a beach day. We packed up French bread, meat, cheese, chips, cookies, and 1 gallon of rum punch and headed out. We rented a couple beach chairs and an umbrella and relaxed and rested for Dave's last day before school gets going again. The kids were able to jump on a water trampoline and I finally got my chance to parasail! It was so much fun! We stayed at the beach all day and luckily left about 5 minutes before the rain came! We headed home, picked up a couple pizzas and then had movie night! It was a really enjoyable day and surely one we will all remember! It was so nice to have a beach day with Dave...and the shade, chair, and rum guaranteed Dave would have a good time too!

We were being very French local by bringing a big French bread and making our sandwiches on the beach! Dave made them for us and they were very yummy!

Jumping on the water trampoline
They do play nice...sometimes!

Here is me flying high!

I love this picture of Carter....so cute!
Pizza and movie time!
Here is a little movie of me parasailing.

On another note....this is my 100th post! I feel like saying a few words about all the support and love I have for my trusted readers but seriously, maybe no one is reading! LOL But if you are and have been hope you enjoy it!

Happy Birthday Jeanie-Weenie Bean Pot!

2008-08-27T13:03:00.000-07:00

The best mother-in-law in the world is celebrating her birthday today! So we just wanted to send her a virtual hug and kiss and a "lu" from the boys! We miss you SOOOOO much and wish we could have spent this year together like we did last year! We hope you had a good day today and do something special! Love ya Jean/mom, from the Reimers'

Exciting news......

2008-08-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

I am SOOOO pleased to announce that we have finally purchased our tickets home for December!!! We will be moving home on December 12th! It is starting to feel real that we will be back home again in a little under 4 months! It is so exciting! We have loved our time here but it is exciting to move on to the next step, I know Dave is excited to start clinicals and be done with all the book learning and tests! It is still aways a way and Dave still has a lot to accomplish before we leave but buying the tickets was so exciting, knowing we will be home soon! First items once home 1. Eat at our favorite Chinese restaurant 2. buy a car 3. unpack and move back into our house 4...... the list goes on and on, but I can't wait for that Chinese food!

Well, break is still moving along, I can't believe its almost over, yesterday Dave went for a massage and then we went to see the cartoon movie of Star Wars. The kids thought it was great...I'm not so sure! I saw Mama Mia last week for a girls night and loved it! I would see that movie again in a heartbeat..all the singing and dancing was so fun. We have been eating out a lot and just relaxing. We have been to a couple pool parties with friends and we're going to Anguilla on Saturday. Today me and a couple friends had a spa day. We got pedicures and lunch and then spent some time in the "wet" area. It was a couple different pools with jets and bubbles and then a steam room and sauna. It was a lot of fun and very relaxing....nice to have a day together just to relax!

So another few days and its back to the grind....Dave starts classes on Monday and I'm back into surrogate patient mode. I'm glad I have found something I love to do to keep me busy while Dave is slaving away! Getting a break from the boys and getting to act like an adult for a few hours a week has been a God sent! So hopefully the next few months fly by and Dave has an easy time his last semester on the island! Don't worry I'll keep you informed!

Extreme Zip Line

2008-08-20T17:26:00.000-07:00

Today, Dave and I dropped the kids off at a friends house (thanks Hanna!) and went to do the Extreme zip line. We thought this would be something fun for us to do together as a late anniversary present since last week was to busy to do much.

We had so much fun! It was a great time! We went about 1200 ft up and then zipped our way all the way back down. There were a lot of really long zips, around 700 feet long, and they were really high up. We were way above tree top level and it was a total rush! I was pretty nervous before we started but once we got going I just had a blast!

This is a picture of us heading up to the top of the course...wonderful view!

Here we are at the beginning!

Here I come!
Here is Dave about to start one of the longer zip lines, you can kind of see it in the back.

Here is a short clip of one of the zips we did. As you will see I don't quite make it, but Dave was there to help me out!

Missing my dad.....

2008-08-19T07:50:00.000-07:00

Two years ago today my dad lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. And we miss him as much today as we did that day. Here is a song I often think of when I'm sad and it makes me feel hopeful that he is happy and content where he is and one day I'll see him again! Love you daddy.

When I get where I'm going

When I get where I'm going
On the far side of the sky
The first thing that I'm gonna do
Is spread my wings and fly

I'm gonna land beside a lion
And run my fingers through his mane
Or I might find out what it's like
To ride a drop of rain

Yeah when I get where I'm going
There'll be only happy tears
I will shed the sins and struggles
I have carried all these years
And I'll leave my heart wide open
I will love and have no fear
Yeah when I get where I'm going
Don't cry for me down here

I'm gonna walk with my grand daddy
And he'll match me step for step
And I'll tell him how I missed him
Every minute since he left
Then I'll hug his neck

So much pain and so much darkness
In this world we stumble through
All these questions I can't answer
So much work to do

But when I get where I'm going
And I see my maker's face
I'll stand forever in the light
Of his amazing grace
Yeah when I get where I'm going
There'll be only happy tears
Hallelujah
I will love and have no fear
When I get where I'm going
Yeah when I get where I'm going

3 months and 23 days........

2008-08-18T18:21:00.001-07:00

Dave and I are THRILLED to announce that another semester has bitten the dust! Only one more semester on the island and we are back to Minnesota! Things on the island are measured by semesters and when you get here your of course a 1st semester, I remember getting here and dreaming of making it to 5th semester and thinking it would never come, so we are soooo excited to be there, to be 5th semesters!!!!

So we just started break and Dave is relieved to have sometime to let loose and not have to study for awhile. He's catching back up on sleep and we're trying to decide what fun things to do for our last break on the island! So far we took the kids to the movies yesterday and out for dinner at an outside beach bar type restaurant,that's were the pictures were taken. We even caught the sunset. We had to give Reece a good day, because as Dave's break started Reece's summer break ended and he headed to the 4th grade today! He was really excited to go back and to see his friends again.

So we know we're going to Anguilla again, parasailing, hiking and hitting a few beaches but besides that we'll just be relaxing and resting to gear up for Dave's last push! I'm going to start thinking about selling stuff and packing up things we won't need over the next couple of months! I can't believe we have less than 4 months left!!!

Calleigh Rae Johnston is here!!!

2008-08-13T17:44:00.000-07:00

We are thrilled to introduce our new niece Calliegh! She arrived on 8-8-08 at 9:41 am and weighed in at 9 lbs 6 oz and 21 inches long! Everything went perfectly and she has the most awesome birthday, no way we'll forget it! She is so cute, a little peanut! I'm so bummed we won't get to see her until December when she'll already be so big! But welcome to the world...Mommy and Daddy have been waiting a very long time for you to bless them and I can tell already you were well worth the wait!

Happy Anniversary!

2008-08-12T17:10:00.000-07:00

Eight years ago today, Dave and I were married...do you remember that heat, if you were there I'm sure you do! Tonight we went out for dinner, at a nice place called Pizza and Pasta. It was nice but we took the kids so it wasn't quite as fun, relaxed or for that matter quiet as it could have been, but we had a good time. Dave and I didn't get to spend much time together today since he is studying for his finals on Saturday but we have plans to do the zip line course on break next week. We did the zip line once already but we haven't done the extreme zip line so we're going to go bond on the lines! Last time I only got through it because Dave stayed so calm and talked me through it! So anyway, here is a pic of us today on the way to dinner taken by our personal photographer Reece....doesn't Dave look happy?? Amy, well does he? So that was our day, we have been through a hard year...living in the Caribbean with a husband that is rarely home and almost nothing to do...has been a challenge but getting through all of this together is only going to strengthen our relationship so it will all be worth it....plus it won't hurt once he's an actual doctor and bringing in the dough, all of this will be so worth it and be just a fine memory of a time long past!

Happy Birthday Hailey

2008-08-05T10:25:00.001-07:00

We are wishing Hailey, our niece, a happy 4th birthday today! We can't believe how big she is getting and we miss her so much! I'm glad we'll get to be together next year on her birthday. This will be her last birthday as an only child because Friday her baby sister Calleigh will be joining the Johnston Clan! So Happy Birthday Hailey!!!! We love you!

Is it really August already??

2008-08-01T16:42:00.000-07:00

The semester is still creeping by and we're all just surviving and waiting to get to the end. Now that it's August, Reece only has 17 more days of summer vacation. And August also mean that Dave and I are going to be Aunt and Uncle again soon! We also only have 2 more weeks and a few days until break!

Lately I've been able to get out and have some non-kid fun. We had a Bachelorette Party for one of the Spouses here and it was fun to get out and have some good food and great conversation!

Dave and I also got to get out without the kids on a date. We went to a group of his friends house for a Wine and Cheese party. It was good to get out together since we haven't had a date since Jean and Glen were her in April. It was also only the 3rd time in our 8 1/2 years of parenting that we have used a babysitter that you actually go pick up and bring home who wasn't just one of our friends or family. We felt like real adults!! LOL It was so nice to have fun adult time out together!
So anyway, not else much going on with us! So everyone say some prayers that Baby Calleigh makes a safe arrival into the world next week and also that Dave has a GREAT finish to this semester!

A fun day at sea....

2008-07-20T08:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, the kids and I had a fun day out on a boat charter. We went with a group of student friends of Dave's. We got on the boat at 7:30 and got yummy croissants and quiche on the boat before we left. We left from the lagoon so we had to make it to Marigot by 8:30 when the bridge went up. I've never been on the side of being in the water for once instead of being in the car waiting for the bridge to come down! So that was a fun difference!
We then sailed for 2 1/2 hours to a little island off of St Maarten called Tintamarre. Once there we swam and played on the beach and also got a great mud bath! This is my third time to the island so my 3rd mud bath...but its so great and makes your skin so soft! Even Reece got into the spirit and put on the mud! The other two weren't so interested!
After sometime on the island we swam back to the boat for a yummy lunch prepared by the crew of the boat. After lunch we headed to Creole Rock, where the boys and I snorkeled. We saw lots of cool fish, and Carter thought it was "Awesome" and he so badly wanted to do it again! Reece got to help drive the boat! He thought that was so awesome and definitely his favorite time of the day!
After snorkeling we continued on to one last swim spot, where we all just relaxed and had some nice fruit for a snack. Then it was back to Marigot to catch the bridge going up again! It was a long day and we all got a bit toasty but we had a great day! The only thing that could have made it better was if Dave could have gone..but he was studying as usual! But break is only 4 weeks away and then we can do some fun stuff all together!

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-04T15:00:00.001-07:00

We are wishing everyone a Happy 4th of July! We celebrated today with a beach picnic with our friends from the Spouses Org. It was fun but nothing like the 4th on Lake Francis! We can't wait until next summer to have a 4th the way it is suppose to be! Hope all of our friends and family had a great day and for those of you living in the US we hope you appreciated it, you don't know how good you have it!

Its been a while

2008-07-02T17:28:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying I can't believe that it is July already. The year is just flying by...on the other hand, this semester is crawling by! I can't wait for it to be over! Dave and I are already getting our list together of things we have to do on break since it will be our last one to enjoy the island.

Since I posted last, Reece has had his last day of 3rd grade! His grades were awesome and a lot of them had gone up since the last report card. He got nearly all A's! The only subject he really has trouble with is French! His reading has really improved and we're so proud of him! He's excited to have some time off but looking forward to starting 4th grade here on the island!

Carter has survived his birthday! He had a great time. We had lunch with his friends at McDonald's and I made a yummy cake...in my toaster oven!! We tried to go Mini Golfing but it wasn't open so we had to go have ice cream instead, but all in all a great day. He was so funny b/c we had all his presents in the house for 2-3 weeks and he never once asked to open them but once it was actually his b-day he never stopped asking if it was time to open them! He had so much patience that I guess it just all fell apart at the end!

Gavin is up to the same old thing. After Carter had his birthday Gavin decided it was his birthday too and he now thinks he is 4...and there's no convincing him he isn't. In a little under 2 weeks we can celebrate 1 whole year of no diaper changing in the Reimer family! Wow has that been nice and money saving!! He has also perfected his swimming and can swim across the pool by himself and he loves swimming under water!

Dave and I are just hanging in there. Dave is pretty busy with school again, so still studying and spending most of his time at the school. I'm still doing the surrogate patient thing, and trying to stay busy to make time go by a little faster. Here are a few random pictures of things we have been up to.

Here is the cake I made in my toaster oven for Carter's birthday. Look how big those boys are getting!

Here is a going away party we had for one of my good buddies Sheryl who left the island a couple weeks ago. These are two of my island pals Carlyn and Hanna. I got a hair cut...what do you think?

Another one of us at the going away party.

A day at the beach. This is the best beach, the locals call it "baby beach" because it is so calm. Here are the boys with JT, Carter's best pal, and Nate, who is Gavin's best friend. They were making a floating garden and were so proud of themselves.

A great day at the park! Even I had to get into the action!

Happy Birthday Carter!

2008-06-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been 5 years! The time has flown by and there has been so many changes...another brother, two more houses, and moving to another country just to name a few. Five years ago today we had the son we had tried for months and months to conceive. We even had to do fertility drugs to get pregnant. We were so excited and blessed when it finally happened and at 20 weeks when they said it was a boy we were even more thrilled. Carter was an excellent baby- slept constant and barely ever cried. He had reflux which made him throw up constant and had the worst case of eczema you ever laid eyes on and he was still the most precious thing you ever saw! Then he turned 2 and he got this little personality which is all his own. Many of you have experienced "the Carter" and know what that can look like...and it isn't pretty! But as he gets older he is learning what is and isn't appropriate and he's turning into quite the little man! He told me today that now that he's 5 he can go to school in America and I know he'll be excited to do that when we get home! So here are some pictures of him when he was little...I think it was more for me than you, but I just love to look back on what they use to look like. Once he turned 1 1/2 and Gavin was born its all a blur...I must have been busy. So I love looking back through the pictures and looking at the changes...so enjoy! And Happy Birthday my sweet Carter! Mommy loves you!

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

Here is a Happy Father's Day wish to the 5 best fathers we know! My brother Matt and our Niece Hailey at the top, Dave's Dad Glen with Carter, our Brother-in-law Barry with our Niece Olivia, my Dad and Carter and of course Dave and Reece and Carter. You couldn't ask for a better group of Dad's and I hope they all had a special day and got some time to relax. And to my Dad...I miss you everyday Dad and wish we could spend today together. Love to all the Dads!

Exciting Weekend

2008-06-01T14:18:00.000-07:00

We had a pretty exciting weekend. On Saturday we were involved with a simulated bus crash with the Dutch Marines. Dave was in charge of the volunteers from AUC and making sure all 30 people volunteering got there and back safely. It was such a fun experience. We got to watch them set up the simulation and then we all got in the bus and acted crazy, yelling for help and faking injuries, when the Marines showed up. I even tried to pass Gavin out the bus window, since I figured in a real situation I would do just that to get him to safety. Then the Marines helped us off the bus and dealt with the people with injuries. It was fun to watch them at work along with the St Maarten Police and Fire Department. After the simulation we got treated to lunch by the Marines and it was authentic Dutch food...hmmm not so good, but nice to have a chance to chat with them. Later in the afternoon they did another simulation with other AUC student who pretended to be rioting for food and water after a hurricane. We weren't involved with that one but heard it went well.

Here is a picture of them setting up the situation and making the car look authentic.

Here are some students getting pulled out of the back of the bus.

Here is another view from the front of students getting "rescued" from the bus. The Red Cross had fake victims that used fake blood and injuries in the car. The firefighters used the jaws of life to get them out.

Here is Dave with Dr. Atchley, she helped organize AUC's involvement in the simulations. And Jack was in charge of helping with the afternoon rioting simulation....he's a former 82nd boy like Dave!
Here is a short clip of them setting up the scene by crashing up the car and getting the bus into position.

On Sunday we went to family fun Day for Reece's school. They had it at one of the beaches. The little kids played in the swimming pool while Reece and his friends jumped off the pier and played in the ocean. It is still hard to get over alcohol at school activities. It makes me laugh every time, because you wouldn't even dream of that in the States.

Dave having a beer and watching the kids swim.

Reece being a Sea Weed Monster! All the kids in the back are kids from CIA.
Here they are getting the Principal with sea weed. They also got Reece's teacher Ms. Minthorn.
Reece jumping off the pier.

Oh and an FYI from last post, we went and talked to the lady in the AUC immigration office and we were able to get our pictures and another appointment to get our papers.......SOOOO after 18 months we are officially legal to be on the island!!!

So close yet......

2008-05-24T08:54:00.000-07:00

We'll after almost 18 months on the island our residency papers were finally ready to be picked up! There is only one day to pick them up which was today, so we got up early got everyone all ready and headed over to Phillipsburg Police Station to pick them up. We get all the way over there and are told that the paper and picture the school told us to bring is not right and we have to go have another passport picture taken. When we get over to the passport picture place it was going to cost $12 for each picture and could take close to 2 hours to develop (the window for picking up papers was only 4 hours, and the line was out the door)! Well us and another couple decided this was was to much money and time to even bother with and once again AUC did not prepare us the way that would have actually made this run smoothly! So I guess we are legal b/c we have papers but sort of illegal b/c we'll never actually get those papers! But if we've made it this long what's another 6 months!

On another note, Carter had a dentist appointment this week and Dave and I were so worried he was going to freak out big time. He actually did really great and loved sitting in the "robot" chair. Unfortuantly one tooth had a cavity in it that we have been keeping an eye on since we moved here and he needs to get it filled. So this Monday he goes back and something tells me this time isn't going to go as well as last time! Send us some good vibes we may need them!

And it was that time again....Welcome Breakfast time! It was great hanging out with all the new and old spouses and I'm excited for the next one when I get to announce that it is our last semester and everyone claps and cheers...it has been a long haul to get there!

Time to catch up.....

2008-05-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

We have internet! Yipppeeee after one month, 1000 trips to the internet company, and a lot of withdrawal we have internet again! Man, what a headache! Here is an update of all the fun we've been having...we have been very busy!

We had a crazy, busy break. It started off with Jean and Glen coming to visit. We went to the Butterfly farm, the beach, pool and shopping in Merigot. Jean and Glen were also nice enough to send Dave and I on a special day trip to Saba (a neighboring island) for our birthdays and they watched the kids. Dave and I had a great time and it was something we definitely couldn't have done with the kids. We did a trail that was 1,037 stairs! It was really interesting and we saw all kinds of different environments and rain forest plants. When its time to come down the mountain you come down the same way you went up, so down 1,037 stairs! Our legs were like jello and we kept slipping and falling on the slippery stairs that were covered in moss. Our legs hurt for days! But it was great to get out and see another island that is completely different from St. Maarten, and it was great to have a day alone with Dave. The Butterfly farm was a lot of fun, the kids (minus Carter) loved to have the butterflies land on their fingers. Jean and Glen stayed at the Sonesta so we got to use their awesome swimming pool, and the kids (minus the momma's boy Gavin) stayed every night with Grandma and Grandpa at the hotel. It was a short visit, they were only here 4 days, but it was great to see them.

Once they left we had a few days as a family before my friends arrived. We took advantage and did some really fun stuff. We went to the St. Maarten Zoo, which is really small but has some pretty interesting animals. Dave made great friends with the monkeys and they would stick their tails out to him so he would hand them sticks or rocks. They would also pick up rocks and peanut shells and throw them at us and then catch them when we threw them back! We also took the kids mini golfing because Jean and Glen had wanted to take the kids but we ran out of time. They had a great time doing that and didn't want to do the last hole where the ball gets taken away! We also took a trip to a different island called Anguilla. We went to one of their famous beaches, Shoal Bay. It was really fun because they are a British island so we had to drive on the other side of the road and with the steering wheel on the wrong side! So I really wasn't very good at it so Dave decided he would take over for me.....well needless to say we had to get a whole new rental car because he totally ruined the first one! We were rear ended (and the picture does not to it justice) the whole back end was ruined and the trunk wouldn't close anymore! So they got us a new rental car and it didn't cost us anything because the man who hit us had to fit the bill since it was his fault. After the accident and lunch we took the kids to a little water park at one of the local hotels. The kids (even Carter!) had a ball! They went down the water slide 1000 times, we definitely got our moneys worth!

As if break hadn't been crazy busy already then it was time for my gal pals Maria, Julie and Shelley to come visit! They also stayed at the Sonesta and I packed my bags and moved on in with them for 4 night of pure non-mom fun! We had so much fun doing a lot of the night life that I never get a chance to do! We also did the Friday Farewell boat tour which was a great way for them to see the whole island from the outside! We also did some casino time, lots of eating, and lots of dancing! It was awesome to see them and we all relished the time to just be the girls and not have to worry about the kids and husbands. We have all agreed to make it a yearly thing, so every May we are going to do a little trip! Heck we need it for all we do the rest of the year!

So that was our break! Dave just started his 4th semester last week. Now that we are on the down hill slide, the classes aren't as ridiculously time consuming as they had been previously so he is finally home a lot more than he had been. And we all feel rested and relaxed after our fun filled break! Can't wait to see what we do in August for our last break on the island!

Hope everyone is doing well, and remember to call or e-mail since we are finally up and running again!

Moving on up.....

2008-04-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to let everyone know that the semester is finally over and Dave sailed through with flying colors! We are 4th semester...plus a little! I'm so proud of him he did amazing!

A little bit of other news, our internet has been out for over a week and will continue to be out for an undetermined amount of time! So if you need to contact us the best way is through e-mail, since our phone doesn't work without the internet. So in case you have been trying to contact us, everything is ok with us and will be even better when I get some internet back!

Dave's parents arrive today and we are so excited! We plan to visit the butterfly farm, hit some beaches and on Saturday they are watching the kids so Dave and I can visit one of the surrounding islands, Saba. Next week after they leave, Dave and I are going to take the kids to Anguilla, another island about a 45 minute ferry ride away! Then next Thursday Maria, Julie, and Shelly arrive!! Whoppppeeee a lot to look forward too....so I have to go!! I'll update with pictures soon! And cross your fingers for some fast island work at getting our internet working again!

On the downhill slide

2008-04-09T09:45:00.001-07:00

Well, the semester is coming to a close. So we just had our Farewell Lunch for the Spouses Org again. I can't believe another group of girls is leaving! Time is flying by down here. Dave just had block exams on Monday and now is getting ready for his finals next Thursday. This semester is going very well and is a TON better all around then the h*ll we suffered through last semester. He is feeling pretty confident going into these final exams and its nice to not have to deal with him freaking out! One more week and we'll be 4th semster!!! YEA!!

Reece is still busy at school and Carter has made a new friend. JT and Carter are about the same age and love to hang out. Here are a few pictures of a beach day we recently had together. All the kids and Moms went on a hike from Friar's Bay back to a hidden beach called Happy Bay. It was a pretty easy hike and the kids did great!

We are gearing up for Jean and Glen's visit in a few weeks and are super excited to do some tourist stuff again! I can't wait to get Dave out on the beach even though I know he dreads it! On May 1st my 3 gal pals from Hastings are coming to visit and hopefully we'll get to do the Friday Farewell this time and it won't be canceled! We plan to spend the time celebrating my birthday and relaxing...without any kids!!!! Other exciting news, we have new renters for our house!! We have some friends in Hastings that sold their house and need a place to stay while they find a new one...so we are helping each other out! We are thrilled to be getting some help with the mortgage and feel glad someone is going to be in it to take care of things. So things for the Reimers' are going well....we hope things are going well for you too!

The Courage Award

2008-04-02T18:31:00.000-07:00

We are so proud of Reece. He was awarded a certificate in courage today at school. They were honoring the kids in each class that speak out and stop bullying and Reece got it for his class! Already it starts at 3rd grade, we have had to deal with a few occasions where he has come home already getting teased about being short or fat...and it makes me sad to think kids start all that so early but I'm so proud that the teacher notices him handling it in a good way and stopping it when he sees kids getting picked on. We have been stressing to him how important it is to remember what it feels like to get picked on and not to do it to others, including his brothers, and it looks like he's understanding! Way to go Reece!

On another note, check this picture we took last night of Gavin and Chewy! So funny!

30 flirty and thriving!

2008-03-29T18:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, I survived turning 30....I didn't go into a permanent depression or anything. I did go into a slight margarita overload, but all is well! My friend Erica and I had a double birthday party at this great Mexican Restaurant that gives free margaritas to the ladies on Thursday nights. We had a lot of fun hanging out with all the girls from Spouses Org. I had a great night and was overjoyed to see all the girls come out to help me celebrate my big milestone! I had a ton of fun and thank everyone who made my day special!

I must brag!

2008-03-26T09:28:00.000-07:00

Healthiest States In America 2008

No. 1: Minnesota

"It has taken nine long years, but Minnesota is back as the Healthiest State in America. The North Star State last topped the rankings in 1999.

It ranks No. 1 in the categories of health insurance coverage and the number of adults who exercise."

Just for fun here are the top 5 UN healthy states

1. Mississippi
2. Louisiana
3. New Mexico
4. Nevada
5. Florida

The other top healthiest states are:

2. New Hampshire
3. Vermont
4. Maine
5. Massachusetts

So way to go Minnesota, add that to last fall when we were voted #1 state to raise a family and you get one heck of a great place to live!!!

2008-03-24T18:21:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter. On Friday I painted eggs with the kids and they thought that was a lot of fun. On Saturday we went to an Egg hunt/Pot luck put on by the Spouses Org. It was a lot of fun, even though the kids ended up having to hunt the eggs in the rain! The food was great and it was fun to get together and celebrate. On Easter we had an easy going day. We got up early with the kids and looked through the loot the Easter Bunny left and then did a mini egg hunt outside.....yes my Minnesota friends, we hunted the eggs outside, that is unheard of I think in Minnesota! The kids and I went to the beach in the afternoon and swam and relaxed. Then we had a great Easter dinner with an apricot glazed pork loin and potatoes. So all in all it was a great day! But we are really excited to spend next Easter with our family.....but I will really miss that Easter eggs outside thing!

Happy Easter!!!

2008-03-23T08:43:00.000-07:00

Red Alert Continues, extreme caution

2008-03-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

Here is a short excerpt out of the paper today.

Police take swimmers off
beach due to high swells

BEACON HILL--Police patrols were in Beacon Hill on Wednesday moving thrill-seekers off the beach to keep them safe from the dangerously high swells hitting the island since Tuesday evening.

Severe sea conditions the past two nights were the results of a passing Atlantic storm that smashed the Northern side of the island with swells between four and six meters high. Some beaches in Dutch St. Maarten were affected with unusually high swells also.

We went yesterday and played in the waves a little bit but they were to big to even get into. We ended up completely covered in sand! Today we took Dave out to a spot to watch the waves and that is where the video is from. Do you see me and the kids up on the ledge (yes Mom we were safe!). Here are a few different pics of the waves too. You can see how far the water recedes and how high it gets when it comes back in again.

They are pretty beautiful to watch however they had very bad timing some friends and I were suppose to do the Friday Farewell, which is a cruise around the island, for mine and another friends birthday but now it has been canceled due to the weather....SUCKS! We had been planning it since January!

SURPRISE!!!!

2008-03-17T20:04:00.000-07:00

Well I did it! And if you know anything about me you know if was tough. I threw Dave a surprise party and I actually kept it a surprise! He had been asking me what we were going to do for his birthday and I just told him we were going to have a nice family dinner out, well when we got there and he saw all his pals there he almost passed out! He was totally shocked to see everyone there! It was so fun to give him such a fun time! He got a huge beer and a free t-shirt from the resturant...plus they brought him a dessert and sang Happy Birthday to him, he looked like he was going to die of embarrassment, but it was great! I think he had a great 33rd birthday! Love you David. Thanks Mai Vi and Karen for all your help and to everyone else that came out to show Dave the love! We really loved having you all there!

Whoa...what a week!

2008-03-08T16:37:00.000-08:00

Amariah arrived on Friday night, after having to spend 2 hours on a plane in Dallas with no air conditioning, which caused her to miss her connection in San Juan. So instead of arriving at 6:30 she got in at 10:30. We had a full week of tourist things! We went to several different beaches, lots of yummy restaurants, to a movie, lots of shopping, and ever had a fun time stuck at the Shell Station with a broken car! Thanks to Desiree, Heather and John we even got a few nights out without the kids. We had a really great time...but it was sure hard work being a tourist!
When we were having car trouble I think we had a Guardian Angel looking after us, because we actually had a local that took great care of us in our time of need! He sat with us for 2 hours trying to fix the problem (a whole in a pipe connected to the radiator) and then when he couldn't fix it, he followed us home to make sure we wouldn't break down on the golf course (an unsafe area), and then took the piece out went and had it fixed and brought it back and installed it next day! He didn't even expect anything...well Dave gave him every bit of cash we had on hand, because he certainly went way out of his way to help! I, of course used the oldest trick in the book, acting like a total car idiot and typical girl! I suggested using bubble gum to fix the hole...now how could he not help me???

As for Dave he is studying like crazy for his second block exam for the semester which is Monday. He is feeling pretty good about it but he still stresses about it of course. If you haven't noticed yet, by the count down clock, the kids and I are staying here with Dave until December. It just wasn't making much sense to leave during a time when Dave will have lots more free time than he has had in the past months, and since we will be separated while he is in clinicals we just figured why start before we have too. Plus, I would just miss this island and it felt incomplete to leave without Dave. And this way we can say we lived here for 2 years!

So that has been our busy week......here are a couple cute shots of the kids! Everyone keeps telling me how big Gavin has gotten and Reece out grew his school shorts in what seemed over-night!

Catch up time

2008-02-24T15:15:00.001-08:00

We had a great time at our messages and Dave thought is was to die for. Jean Claude, a very beefy French man did mine and he was incredible! We have had a busy week so I thought I would do a little catch up for the past week. I have been walking with some girls every morning to try and get the last 20 lbs off so I can reach my goal. We walk about 5 miles and it is nice because I can't blow it off because I know they are waiting for me and the time goes so fast since we are chatting the whole time.
Earlier in the week we had a great lunch out at a resturant called Chesterfields. It is famous with the locals for their fish and chips. After lunch we walked on the Boardwalk in Phillipsburg and my friend Sheryl took advantage of the cheaper electronics and got a new camera with a case so she can take it with her scuba diving.

On Thursday I took the kids to this great kids park that has little houses, jungle gym, trampoline, and little pool. Carter and Gavin had a great time entertaining each other and I relaxed in the pool and beach chair! Doesn't get better than that!

This weekend we had a Girls Night Out and went and ate at Lal's. I had the Bunny Chow again (check Valentine post) but this time to save calories I had then put vegetarian curry in it instead of chicken! It of course was to die for! I wore a new dress...can you tell I have lost weight??? And check out that tan...I'm really going to miss that next winter when I'm pasty looking!

WOW, and if that wasn't enough, we also had a beach play date with some of the other moms and kids. We just went to the beach that is real close to our house and the kids had fun running on the beach, chasing each other, and building sand castles. Later that day I also took the kids to the movies. We see a ton of movies here because it is so cheap. Only $6 for an adult no matter what time of the day you go! And $4 for the kids. We saw some movie called Step Up 2, lots of dancing and music. The two little kids fell asleep but Reece and I liked it!This morning we went over to our favorite beach LeGalion. They had a kid triathlon and some of our AUC kids were doing it so we went to cheer them on! All the kids did a great job, they all finished and gave it their all!

So all and all a very busy week! This week its back to doing ICM (pretending to be a patient) for me. And my friend Amariah arrives on Friday! So there will be many beach days and tourist trips for me next week. Other than that...who knows what will come up but you know we'll find ways to stay entertained!

Happy Valentine's Day and an update on Chewy

2008-02-15T09:48:00.001-08:00

Love is in the air!

Here is Gavin and his best gal pal Skylar. We went to a great Valentine's Party yesterday and the kids and moms had a lot of fun talking and hanging out. Once Dave got home from school we went out for dinner at Lal's a great Indian food resturant. I had something called the Bunny Chow...its really just Curry chicken in a bread bowl, but man was it yummy!

Today Dave and I
are getting spoiled and going for a couples message! I am super excited to feel relaxed, nothing is better than a message! Dave has never had one so we'll see what he thinks of it.
Now for the Chewy update. He had been acting very odd all week and on Wednesday we noticed that he had a temperature and was very lethargic so I took him back to the vet yesterday morning. Well the poor thing was so sick he had to stay at the hospital last night and has an IV. They think he got a disease from a flea and that lead him to stop eating which caused a bigger problem which is Fatty Liver disease. So long story short he had a 104 temp, can't keep anything down, is jaundice and is just pretty darn sick. What he has can be treated as long as they can get him to eat and keep the food down, we're going in a few minutes to check on him and hopefully bring him home today...it was sad without the Chew around last night!

That is our update! Hope you all had a great Valentine's Day! We're sending you all our love!

Chewy's back and on the mend...

2008-02-07T09:39:00.000-08:00

Chewy ended up coming home the other night thank goodness! I took him to the vet right away yesterday morning and luckily it was surgery day so they were able to squeeze him right in. The doctor thought his wound looked a lot like a gun shot wound, or that he got caught on a fence or something but he wasn't sure. He had to get about 10 stitches on the outside and a bunch inside because he tore his muscle and he's on antibiotics for the next 10 days, but he is definitely on the mend! The vet was awesome. It was run by a couple from America so the treatment and area was great! The other vet was a little scary the one time we went there, very dirty and unfriendly to the pets. So I was glad that Chewy got such great treatment, I'm sure he'll be back to his rat and lizard hunting in no time!

Updates......

2008-02-05T14:42:00.000-08:00

Well yesterday was my sister-in-law Amy's birthday so we are sending her a big virtual hug and hope she had a good birthday! Tomorrow is my brothers birthday, so also sending Happy Birthday wishes his way! Hope you two have fun this weekend at the water park!

Today we had a fun beach day with some friends. It was a nice day and a beautiful beach so we had a lot of fun! Here is a pic for Charlotte! Thank you so much for the swimming suits for the boys they are great! Carter and Gavin had to make a switch but they love their new suits!Some bad news is our cat is currently missing and severely injured. Chewy came in this morning with a cut leg but he hid under the bed and wouldn't let me look at it so I left a note for Dave to check it out once he got home from school. We'll it ended up being much worse than I had thought and its a big slice and muscle and such is exposed, well when I got home from the beach Dave said that Chewy definitely needed to go to the Vet but we haven't been able to find Chewy since. He always stays in the general area of our yard and we have looked everywhere for him and can't find him. It's made even worse since I know he's in such pain. We are hoping he comes home at some point tonight and I can get him to the Vet in the morning and they can stitch it up and get him on some antibiotics. Poor Chewy....come home pal, we love you!

Other than that we have had some beach days and went to the movies over the weekend. Same old same old around here! Good news is I have a friend from Target coming to visit at the end of the month, Dave's parents are coming in April and three of my best Hastings gal pals are coming in May!! Yeah for visitors!!! I can't wait to show everyone around and hang out!

Next week is Dave's first big test for the semester so he's busy preparing and getting ready. I have been super busy being a surrogate patient at Dave's school, so we are all doing well and keeping busy!

Grand Case, Welcome breakfast.....fun fun!

2008-01-26T16:06:00.000-08:00

Some of my friends and our kids headed over to Grand Case this week to try some food in the Food Capital of the Caribbean. We ate at a little place called Sky's the Limit and the food was really good...and even better, CHEAP! The kids and I ate for $10! We got a plate of ribs, coleslaw, potato salad, plantain, rice, green salad, macaroni, spaghetti and johnny cakes. The food was so yummy and the company was even better! The cutest part was when we walked through the town to look at the shops, Gavin and his best pal Skylar walked hand in hand! They look so cute, his first girlfriend!

This morning was the Welcome Breakfast. It's the time that we welcome the new spouses to the group and say hello to the old ones. We had a yummy breakfast and ever better conversation! I'm also happy to report that it was awesome to get to just go this time and not have to plan it and make sure it ran smoothly! I'm really liking not being in charge anymore and getting to be just a participant! The new group did great! I have mixed feelings b/c I only have one more welcome breakfast....I can't believe it, that went SOOOO fast!

Michelle's Birthday Party

2008-01-20T10:30:00.001-08:00

Last night we had a Girls Night Out for Michelle's birthday. We went to a newer resturant called the Tijuana Yacht Club. They have really yummy food and ever better Margaritas! We had a great meal and conversation and then headed over to watch a movie. We saw a chick flick of course! We saw 27 Dresses and it was really good! After the movie a few of us went to the casino where I lost $4.70! Oh well, it was a really great night out and fun was had by all! Happy Birthday again Michelle!

So excited.......

2008-01-18T06:16:00.000-08:00

The Reimers' are pleased to announce that we are welcoming a new member to the family in August! My brother Matt and his wife Amy are pregnant! We are going to be Aunt and Uncle for the 4th time, we have 3 nieces now-1 by my brother and 2 by Dave's sister. We are all so happy and still sending sticky baby vibes to Amy. They have had a very difficult time getting and staying pregnant so we are thrilled to say that she is 10 weeks along now and the heartbeat is good and strong! Amy I am SOOO happy for you guys and know how excited you must be! I'm extra thrilled that the baby will be here only a week before we get home! Thanks for waiting, LOL. Give Hailey big hugs and kisses from us!

A day of celebration....

2008-01-17T15:22:00.000-08:00

Well, Gavin had a great birthday. It started off with lunch with some of our friends at McDonald's. He has been talking about his birthday for weeks but today he was so shy he would freeze up anytime anyone tried to talk to him about his birthday!Tonight we had a yummy dinner of tater tot casserole and then it was cake time! I made Gavin a dirt cake, since we don't have a oven. When we sang happy birthday it was so cute b/c Gavin sang along...it was so funny. So all in all a pretty good birthday!

Gavin is 3!

2008-01-17T06:29:00.000-08:00

Three years ago today we got the last member of our 7 club! Gavin was born by c-section at 2:02 pm weighing in at 9 1/2 lbs. Now he has continued to grow like a weed an be our biggest child, now at 37 lbs which is slightly bigger than Carter who is 19 months older! For those of you who don't know about our 7 club it goes something like this- Dave was born on the 17 along with Reece, Carter and Gavin, I'm the 27th along with Dave's Mom, Dave's Grandma was the 7, and Dave's sister was married on the 27th! Hence the 7 club!!! Even more fun the boys b-days are 1-17, 6-17, 12-17....could we have planned that any better!

So Happy Birthday Gavin, I can't believe you are three already! Where has the time gone? My baby is 3! I can tell already that 3's are going to be a little more trouble than 2 was....since he keeps throwing temper tantrums when he doesn't get what he wants, but hopefully this stage will pass quickly!

Happy Birthday Charlotte

2008-01-14T09:03:00.000-08:00

We are wishing Char a very Happy Birthday today! We hope you have a great day and the girls give you some time to sit back and relax! We hope to see you this summer in Minnesota if you get a chance to visit. We miss you and love you and have a GREAT birthday!

2007-12-31T11:10:00.000-08:00

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?!?!?

2007-12-30T11:18:00.000-08:00

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???

2007-12-24T07:25:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-12-23T07:35:00.000-08:00

Reece's Birthday Week!

2007-12-21T17:42:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-12-17T09:07:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-12-12T06:47:00.000-08:00

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

The waves are back

2007-12-10T16:55:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-08T18:43:00.000-08:00

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!!!!!

2007-12-08T09:30:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-05T07:08:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-04T17:53:00.000-08:00

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....

2007-11-30T15:42:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-11-30T15:36:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-11-29T16:54:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-27T15:21:00.000-08:00

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....

2007-11-26T09:54:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-11-26T09:41:00.001-08:00

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

2007-11-04T16:25:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-10-31T16:08:00.001-07:00

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!

Reimers In Paradise

The death of a blog

And then it was over....

Christmas at home

I know you have all been wondering...

This will put you in the Christmas spirit!

Happy Birthday Cullen

Holiday Concert

It's a boy????

The farewells begin and so does the crap...

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Birthday Olivia

5th Semester Party

6 days later....

Seriously, can we get a break?

May I just say...

Reimer Day O Fun...Part Doux

Have you ever wondered.....

Reece's big day at CIA

Fun at CIA

It is Halloween...

The Island's farewell...

You know your old when...

Have you ever wondered.....

I love electricity!

Quick update

Happy Birthday Cayley!

Have you ever wondered.....

A hurricane day???

Home is where the heart is.....

Love Birthdays.....

WOW

Have you ever wondered.....

Check how southern your speech is.....

Sad day...relaxing day

Have you ever wondered.....

Notice anything missing???

Busy busy busy

Tagged by Rachel

Moms Gone Wild

Could it really be here already?

Welcome to my office......

Reimer Day O Fun

Happy Birthday Jeanie-Weenie Bean Pot!

Exciting news......

Extreme Zip Line

Missing my dad.....

3 months and 23 days........

Calleigh Rae Johnston is here!!!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Birthday Hailey

Is it really August already??

A fun day at sea....

Happy 4th of July!

Its been a while

Happy Birthday Carter!

Happy Father's Day!

Exciting Weekend

So close yet......

Time to catch up.....

Moving on up.....

On the downhill slide

The Courage Award

30 flirty and thriving!

I must brag!

Healthiest States In America 2008

Happy Easter!!!

Red Alert Continues, extreme caution

Police take swimmers offbeach due to high swells

SURPRISE!!!!

Whoa...what a week!

Catch up time

Happy Valentine's Day and an update on Chewy

Chewy's back and on the mend...

Updates......

Grand Case, Welcome breakfast.....fun fun!

Michelle's Birthday Party

So excited.......

A day of celebration....

Police take swimmers off
beach due to high swells