Baptism in a River

Last Saturday we went to a baptism. It was such a cool and neat experience. Jenny, a woman from China, got baptized. I loves it because it wasn't a regular baptismal font, it was a river! It was such an amazing experience and I am so glad to have had the opportunity to be apart of it! Here's a few shots of the baptism site. So cool!

Daddy's playing Street Hockey

So Fi Dan has decided to join an intramural street hockey team. It consists of him and and some of his good buddies from last semester.  It was fun to get out and spend time as a family. The boys absolutely loved watching their dad play hockey. They were cheering and yelling and making a big scene....but it was so cute.
Here at Ross, I feel like people like to stare at me and the boys. There are a handful of families...but I think there are only about 3 families that have more than 2 kids all under the age if 5. So that makes us a rare site to see.
Here are some random pictures of the boys and then some are of us at the hockey game. Good times!

Nice Weather!

The weather here has gotten a lot better this past week. It's been cloudy with a little bit of a breeze! Yesterday we went to a cook out and got some free dinner! Yay! We love free stuff. :) And the scenery was beautiful!

Today, the boys and I went swimming. This is Nenji's second time swimming and he's already swimming floating like a pro! He loves to put on his little floaters and just "swim" around the pool. He's so cute. I can tell he's a little scared sometimes when he's tired, but I'll hear him singing Dori's song (from Finding Nemo), "Just keep swimming, just keeping swimming, swimming, swimming, swimming, swimming". Even when I ask if he needs me to help pull him in, he'll just say, "Nope, I got it. I'm brave and I can swim".

Ry on the other hand is hilarious! The first day that we went to the pool he had his floaters on and he just jumped in! Very typical Rylan. He freaked out and now he refuses to let me go when he's in the pool. He'll just sit by the steps until I can help him. And he'll only sit on the steps where the water goes up to his ankles. If you ask him to sit on the step where the water goes up to waist he'll just yell and tell you no. But today one of the girls from church brought her baby flotation device today, and he thought was the bomb. He was floating in it and was telling Nenji and he's braver than Nenji. It was so funny!

My little Spencer loves the water! He'll go in and he's super calm. He'll splash around and he has so much fun! He goes in for about 10 minutes and then he's pooped. That's all he can handle for now. But I'm grateful  that the weather has been so nice to us! :)

Supermarket Sweep in Roseau!

So every semester here at Ross University the Spouse Organization (an awesome group that consists of spouses of med students) goes to Roseau to shop-till-you-drop! Well, it's not really meant for that but that's what it felt like to me! The prices here in Picard/Portsmouth are c-r-a-z-y sometimes, so this is a really good opportunity for people to stock up on things.

On Tuesday morning, Rylan, Spencer, and I set out to go to Roseau. Nenji started school that day (thank goodness because I couldn't imagine lugging around 3 kids). We spouses left around 8 AM in 3 transport vans and got there around 9:15 AM. Can I just say Roseau reminded me of San Francisco...Chinatown...but squish the roads and take the sidewalks away. Then turn all the buildings into wooden and cement shacks. That's Roseau for you. I couldn't believe how the vans were even making it through the streets. I can't count how many times I had to close my eyes because I thought we were going to scratch another car. But can I just say that the drivers here have such an amazing 6th sense and are able to somehow come within centimeters of other cars without even flinching. But it's super scary to be a passenger.

The first store we went to was J. Astaphan & Co. This is where you can stock up on tupperware, dishes, clothes, cleaning sponges, huge bags of cheetos snacks, and milk. Let's just say I may have gone a little crazy. It was just a little overwhelming because you think you need everything and you end up getting almost everything you need. And you see all the other spouses going crazy too so that just adds to the fire! I seriously felt like I was on that show I used to watch as a kid..."Supermarket Sweep". After 45 minutes of walking around and doing some damage to the bank account we were on our way to the 2nd store.

We then went to another store... I forgot the name...something like "Brighter Days" but here you can stock up on huge cans of peanut butter, cleaning supplies, apple sauce, bigger than you can imagine bags of gummie bears, lots of American brand name foods.

Next we went to the grocery store Save-A-Lot...they should rename it Spend-A-Lot. I mean, I guess you save a lot compared to the grocery store here in Portsmouth, but you also spend a lot too! At this store they have yogurt, margarine, canned foods for cheaper, juice for way cheap, just a regular grocery store, but I was really excited because the prices weren't jaw dropping expensive.

Now, the van I came in sat 13 people. There were only 9 grown ups plus my 2 kiddos and we had to squeeze EVERYBODY and their treasures into the van. Let me just say our little van did not have an inch to spare by the time we were all done shopping!

After about almost 3 hours of shopping we headed back to Portsmouth! I am just so grateful that we made there and back safely. The roads are pretty curvy and it was rainy that day. But now that I've experience Roseau, I am soooooooo ready for next time! Now I'll actually know what to get! :)

**I forgot to take pictures so I borrowed some from google. Not that great but you'll get an idea!

All the roads are curvy like this. 

 These are okay pictures, but I WISH I had my phone to take pictures so ya'll could see what I meant! Next time, for sure! 

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's day to all you wonderful mothers!!! :)

Today was a crazy mother's day for me! We woke up early to go to church because we were walking today and plus Fi Dan is the 2nd Counselor in the Bishopric and he had a meeting. The church is about 1.5-2 miles away so about a 30 minute walk. Fi Dan wanted us to walk to church with a family that lives nearby, but I really wanted to walk with him so that he knows how it feels to push 3 heavy boys. I try to explain it to him how crazy it is sometimes and he just laughs and thinks my stories are funny. Sometimes they are, but mostly it's frustrating! Plus a lot of the church members who live around us take a transport to church but you have to pay like $1.50 EC per person...that's like $0.56 US. Every time I tell him that I want to take a transport to church he just laughs and says we should walk.

So we set out walking to church and took the "back route" where not many cars travel. I WISH I had my camera so that I could take pictures to show you all what it looked like. First you walk on an unpaved road, then you get to a jungle like area with paved road in the middle of it with HUGE potholes the size of a small swimming pool. After that you come to the main road. And here, cars have the right of way, so if you're in they're way they'll honk at you or come really close to running you over! They have sidewalks, but the side walks are super small and our stroller is really big so we can barely fit our stroller onto the sidewalks...and then sometimes the sidewalks just disappear under huge bushes that have overgrown! Yeah...to say the least,  Fi Dan has decided that the boys and I will NEVER walk to church again. ;)

But that's not the end of this crazy Mother's Day! On the way home from church we walked back the same wild road...BUT then we were caught in the middle of a rainstorm! It started pouring. We had 2 umbrellas but Nenji and Rylan wanted to walk and took the 2 umbrellas. So Fi Dan and I just walked in the ran. Fi Dan ran ahead with the stroller and Spencer and I stayed behind to walk with the boys. In the midst of the craziness, I spotted a Plumeria Tree! I picked a flower and the beauty of this flower made me forget the craziness.

After church we took our afternoon naps and then woke up and had dinner. Overall it was a crazy but very memorable mother's day. :)  I'm just grateful I have my little crazies to spend this wild day with!

LOL, I forgot to mention...this is my mother's day gift from my Rylan!!! He went outside and picked them out for me. He's so sweet. :) 

So perfect, right?! I know where I'll be picking my flowers 

Me and my boys!  

My little chubbster! 

Island life

Adjusting to the island life has been a lot more difficult than I thought. I think being born and raised in America, I've taken a lot of things for granted.  And I've become accustomed to certain things...like buying a lot of groceries, a nice AC room, driving a car....just to name a few. So I miss those luxuries.
The locals here are really nice to me because the see me lugging 3 babies around. I mostly get smiles from people, but occasionally, people will just stare!

It's been pretty difficult trying to transport 3 babies on foot. But I look at the other moms with babies and they do it with ease, so I'm guessing I just need to get used to that too!

But island life so far has been good. It's really laid back and you have to find things to fill your day up! We've been to the beach...which I am finding out that I do not like with the 3 kiddos. We've gone swimming and soon we will be starting a little preschool group too! We'll keep you all posted. :)

Great people and Farewell to Minion

Since we've been here in Dominica, we've already made some really good friends! Most of them go to the LDS Branch that we attend. The transition has been a lot easier because of their kindness! Today I attended an orientation for Spouses. Let me just say, if it were just Fi Dan and I here on the island and we didn't have kids yet, I seriously would just be on vacation for 16 months! The spouses here do amazing things like snorkel, hike, volunteer to do services for the needy, fund raise, and go on fiend trips all the time! None the less, I am grateful to have my kiddos and to be here for this crazy adventure.

The latest adventure we had was just tonight! You know Minion...the little lizard that lived in our room? Well, we finally threw him out. He's been a pretty good little lizard, and stayed in his little corner by the window, trying to eat bugs...which I really appreciated. But I noticed that he was getting skinnier. Probably from lack of eating. Well, we were putting our mosquito nets up and Minion starting acting like Spiderman! He came out of his little corner and started crawling all over the walls and towards the ceiling. I think that poor thing was just starving and was trying to look for a bug or two to eat. Nenji was freaking out with me and telling Fi Dan to throw him out. Nenji said, "Daddy, squish him! It's time to just squish him! He's going crazy!"  And then there was Ry, "No, daddy! Don't squish him, he's my pet!" Well, after about 5 minutes of watching Minion jump around, Fi Dan finally caught him and threw him outside!  All I can say is that I wish him the best! I know...weird, but I kinda liked him. He was a really nice lizard. I just wish I had a picture of video to share though! :)

Life in Dominica

It's been about 3 days since we've arrived here in Dominica. It's been quite the challenge adjusting to things here! I think the biggest challenge is getting used to the humidity! Ugh---gross. I am so sticky and sweaty ALL the time. It's ridiculous. I take a shower and come out and I still feel like I'm the shower because it's so humid! Other than the humidity, I am slowly getting used to things. We went to the beach the other day and it was so beautiful! It made me forget for a few minutes about the huge challenges that Fi Dan and I have a head of us. I just watched the waves wash up onto the shore and watched the sun set. The boys were playing in the water and for a second, things were perfect! Then the mosquitoes came out and started biting. Those dang things are so annoying. I've developed a new hobby and it is mosquito hunting.

Before I came, Fi Dan told me about how smart and quick these mosquitoes are. I laughed at him...but now I have to agree! They're not like the ones back at home where they just land on the wall and are waiting for you to squish them...nope, they hide inside the cubby holes of your desk, in your closet, on the curtains...and anywhere else you don't think they are. But now I know their hiding spots. Every night before I go to sleep, I sweep the room. Check the cubby holes, closet, clothes, under the bed, curtains, and the ceilings before I go to sleep! Sometimes I get them and sometimes they fly so quick that they disappear into the dark corners. Nenji and Ry have become quite the mosquito detectives themselves. If they see one the know to yell for me or they try to hit it themselves. :)

Today we went to church and it was so hot! It's in a 3 story building. There about 40 members, but most of them are students. I really like all the people in the branch. They are all so nice. A lot of people have been waiting to meet me and boys since Fi Dan has been called to be the 2nd Counselor in the Branch Presidency. It makes me nervous having so many people know about me. I kinda just like to slide in and hide...but Fi Dan has assured me that I will not be getting by unnoticed.

Fi Dan starts school tomorrow, so pray for him to do well!!!!  I am a nervous wreck thinking about staying home in this humid, hot weather.... so pray for me too!

Other than that I am so grateful that Fi Dan and our little family are together. I just keep reminding myself that this won't last forever and to just embrace it and enjoy the journey!

Our Adventure Begins!

We are now in Dominica!!! We left Wednesday night. My mom and dad took us to the airport and then we started our CRAZY journey here. While we were going through the airport, we got soooooo many stares from people. It was kinda annoying. Let me give you a visual, I was carrying my backpack and diaper bag, plus Spencer strapped onto my front in a baby carrier, and all the mean while pushing Nenji and Rylan in a double stroller. Fi Dan was dragging two small carry on suitcases PLUS two duffle bags on top of the suitcases, and he was carrying his backpack too. Some people were really nice and smiled but most of the time people did a double take and then just continued to stare as we passed by.

 On the airplane, the boys actually did an amazing job! We took off from San Francisco at 10:15 pm Pacific time and got to North Carolina around 6 am Eastern time. The boys just slept through most of it. Spencer was a little fussy, but Fi Dan was amazing and did a pretty good job keeping him quite the first 3 hours and then we switched and I took him the last two hours. We then had a lay over in North Carolina for about 3 hours and was soon on our way to San Juan, Puerto Rico. That flight took about 3 hours. After landing in Puerto Rico, we had another lay over for about 3 hours and then took a small plane to Dominica. That flight was about 1 1/2 hours long. We got to Dominica around 7 pm Thursday night. Whew! Let me say, I DO NOT want to do that trip again...except for when we come home! 

The drive from Milville Hall to Portsmouth, where we are living now, was pretty scary. Fi Dan warned me that the people here drive a little crazy but that still did not prepare me what we were in for. We had 11 bags/suitcases total, so that took up most of the space in the back of the van. Fi Dan sat in the front, and the boys and I sat in the row behind the driver and passenger. Mind you, there are no car seats regulations, so the boys weren't sitting in carseats. The roads here are super curvy AND they drive on the left side of the road as oppose to the right side like in the US. OMG....we were swerving like crazy and there were no street lights...and there were people walking in the dark on the side of the road...and we were passing cars up...and there were small little one-car bridges we had to cross...and Nenji and Rylan thought it was a roller coaster ride and kept putting their hands up and screaming every time we went around a curve...and Spencer was scared to death so he started crying. Oh My...that lasted for about 40 minutes. We finally go to our little house. We got the bedroom situation and slept...kind of. Let me just say the mosquitoes here are vicious. In just one night I got 9 mosquito bites. Luckily it seems like the mosquitoes only like Fi Dan and me because none of the kiddos have any bites. 

This morning the kids and I woke up pretty late...10 am...which is 7 am California time. Looks like we're still adjusting. Fi Dan was already out and about getting things done. He's such a good daddy and hubby. We had breakfast and then he took us on a tour around Ross University and to the grocery store. We live SUPER close to campus, so it's comforting to know Fi Dan is so close when he's away at school. We went to this social event at school for free pizza and we met a bunch of people from the LDS Branch here. They are really nice. 

Anyway, I am just really grateful we got here safely so thank heavens for that. But I am super excited to continue on with this journey! Wish us the best and especially pray for Fi Dan that he will do well and pass all his tests! :)

The sisters, I love these girls! I already miss them so much! 

My little Nenji, trying to hold back his tears. 

This picture is actually pretty funny. He was so excited to go to the airport until Kalu and Kashia started crying. Then I guess he realized he wasn't going to see them anymore. We did one round of good byes and hugs, and the second time around Rylan just busted out crying. So sad but funny.

On our way to San Francisco. 

We didn't buy any food yet, luckily we packed some snacks. This was their breakfast for day 1.  

It's sooooo hot and humid here. I'm just ganna let them naked boys.  

Chinese food! Fi Dan bought us so yummy Chinese food for lunch.  

By the beach. We live 5 minutes away from here and it's apart of the campus. 

Where's Ry? Keep scrolling down.  

Here's Rylan....standing all by himself because he's mad. He's just mad about the whole move. He thinks that    our house stinks and that the whole island Dominica stinks. And I kinda agree with him, it's got a hot humid wet towel smell to it. So here's Ry pouting. 

It's pretty nice view. The picture doesn't do it justice.  

 My babies....missing Ry!

He was happy we were going to be going home.  

Right outside our yard lives some cows! Nenji and Ry were so excited to 

have some "pets".

Speaking of pets....we found this little gecko in our room the first night! Yikes!!!

Nenji and Rylan thinks he's a pet and have named him Minion. 

Every time we come home they look for him and are so happy he didn't run away yet.

Little do they know, Daddy is going to catch him and let him free!