Little Mia-isms

Mia sure does a lot of crazy stuff. Well, let's be honest. Dave and I are both a little weird and quirky, so she definitely got a little from each of us. Her little personality grows each day, and we are learning a lot about who this little spirit that has joined our family really is:
1. She is very independent, yet she knows when she needs help and is glad to accept it. She finds joy in doing things by herself, but with her cute littleness and not-so-strong-yet muscles, she is happy to accept help when she discovers she "can't do it." I'm happy for that, it still makes me feel needed although she is growing WAY too fast...
2. She is the most destructive baby I've ever met. She has torn apart countless books, the foam puzzle ABC mat on her floor is in a huge heap in her room because she tears it apart every time I put it back together, she empties every drawer, cabinet, shelf she can and trickles the contents all over the house setting up perfect tripping opportunities for her clumsy mom...I could go on and on. Oh...I've tried to sing the Barney "clean-up" song over and over demonstrating how to put things back, but she just stands and laughs and claps her hands...and then promptly comes and fights me to mess everything up again. I'll keep trying...aaaahhhh.
3. She is GIRL through and through. She has a little pink purse she carries around the house, she loves finding play jewelry around the house to wear, she is obsessed with my wedding ring and watch, she LOVES to watch me put my makeup on...but she still hates her hair being up. For the record...I put her hair up every morning, but she pulls it out at some point every day. Huh.
4. She is the messiest little girl I've ever met. She loves to get dirty. Here she is at beach day with our friends. I didn't put a swimsuit on her, and I should have. I know better. She loves the water, the sand, and the beach critters, the sand doesn't bother her at all. She gets covered in it, rolls around in it, and doesn't care. She sat with our friend Hailey forever playing with the sand dollars they collected from the water.
5. She loves music. Whenever there is music on, she's dancing, clapping, stomping, or trying to help play if it's Dave on the guitar. She'll climb all over him and do whatever it takes to get right in there to help out.

We love our little Mia and can't believe we were so lucky to get her in our family.

Views of our Morning Walk

Mornings have sure changed since we moved to Nevis. Mia used to sleep in until at least 8:30...usually more like 9:30. It was spectacular. She did wake up for a morning snack around 4:00 am, but I really didn't mind, because I would stay half asleep and just feed her, and then be on with my morning. Well...ever since we moved here, she's been completely on a schedule, completely sleeping through the night. It was a little bizarre at first, to be honest. I haven't slept through the night since I was about 6 months pregnant, but I love it...except for the fact that she wakes up like a normal kid now. We set the alarm, but we really shouldn't because she's up ready to go anytime between 6:00-7:00. So sad. So we bring her in with us as we're both trying to wake up while she does a bottle, and then we get up and get Dave going for the day with a big breakfast and a nice packed lunch. When he leaves, Mia and I head out for our morning walk.

Mia gets the daily dose of sunblock, and grabs her shades and is ready to go. If she has a snack and a bottle, I can usually get more time out of her.

We walk up and down our hill 3 times each morning. Here is the view going down the street. Can you believe there are cacti here? Thought we left the desert...


It takes about 45 minutes or so, and then we come in and do kickboxing or pilates. Mia loves dancing to the music.

Nevis Botanical Gardens

Last week, our "mother's club" here went on an outing to the Botanical Gardens by Montpelier. We decided to go have some fun while the boys were working hard in school. It was fabulous, and I highly recommend it.


The gardens are impeccable, and the restaurant is beautiful and relaxing. We went right during Mia's nap time, which I haven't done in a long time, but she did really well surprisingly. She fits right in with girl's day out.


This is at the restaurant in the gardens. Mia thought these windows were the coolest. Poor thing...she is always so sweaty here. As you may have noticed...not too many pics of me. I always have my hair back and a nice film of sweat and dirt on my face at all times. I'll just let your imagination think that I am a beautiful island goddess.


Here is Mia showing off. We were all standing around clapping, laughing, buzzing, and doing anything we could do get her to smile and pose, and she decided to conduct music instead I guess.

It was a fanastic day. Luckily, Mia didn't get lost in the maze of garden boxes. This is one of the three locations they hold graduation for MUA when Dave finishes.


This is from the "autograph" tree. You take a little stick and write whatever you want. I liked this leaf the best though...

Up's and Down's

Well living on a beautiful island has it's ups and downs. The beauty is unmatched. It is awesome to see a clear emerald ocean every single day and to walk by the most beautiful smelling flowers (all "ups"). Mia loves to play outside, especially when I'm hanging the laundry (kind of a down). Now I know that a lot of the world doesn't have dryers, but to be honest, I'm kind of missing it. Hanging laundry isn't all that bad...it smells fresh and lovely, and it's kind of fun hanging it. Until it starts pouring outside and you have clothes on the line. The first time it happened, I thought crap, and thought I'd just leave them out there and let them dry again. Here's a tip...that doesn't work. The clothes end up smelling like wet then dried puppy. So laundry is dictated by the rain/humidity which is unpredictable, which makes me miss my dryer sometimes. Mia loves to romp around in the yard while I'm hanging laundry and gets ticked when it's time to come inside. She also likes to sit on the other side of the porch that I can't see when I'm hanging laundry. Why is that? She can sit over by me, and we can both be happy...but alas, she must sit out of my vision...which leads to many more moments like this...


And huge "up" about living here is all the friend's we're making. We have met people from all over the world, and we are absolutely loving it. Dave loves school and has made some incredible friends in class. The other night I was cooking in the kitchen, and I hear Mia wildly yell in the family room. Then she starts giggling with delight and clapping her hands. I peer around the corner, and she and the little boy that lives upstairs are talking and laughing through the door. It was so great to watch. He is 2 years old, and they were waving and laughing, banging on the door, and clapping. It was like they had just discovered each other were there for the first time. I feel lucky to be experiencing all of this, and even more happy that Mia is able to experience this too. Taking her to the beach, to church, around town, all of these things are so priceless that I feel lucky that we can be here with Mia. I don't know what I'd do without her.

She swiftly turned into a little girl in the last month. Everything from no more breastfeeding (I was ready to be done at 12 months, but she held on until last week), her face isn't a baby face anymore, and she's obsessed with necklaces, purses, and anything that she can hold on her shoulder for a "phone." Oh ya, she loves sunglasses too. She is my bestest little buddy, we have so much fun everyday dancing, laughing, reading, and just hanging out. Life would be a fraction of the fun here if it weren't for her.

1 Month Down...19 to Go

Well we've been here for over a month already and we can't believe it. Time is seriously flying by. For having absolutely nothing to do around here, life is still as busy as ever if you can believe that. Dave is gone 7:30-5:30 everyday, and our weekends have been packed with still trying to get things set up around here. Life on Nevis is very different. "Island Time" is in full effect if you know what I mean. There are no Walmarts, no malls, no strip malls even...so you run to this store for one thing, and another store for something else, and spend a lot of time running around trying to get groceries and supplies that we were used to being able to get all at once in one store or one trip. Most of the businesses close before 3 pm, which can also be difficult because Dave is still in school, and sometimes they only want to do business with him because he is the student (things have to be in his name) and therefore the reason why we are allowed to be here. I guess I'm grateful though, because it eats up a lot of time and I'm not getting toooo bored yet. Ha. Luckily Dave carpools, so I have a car 1/2 of the time. I'll do a seperate blog entry about the car situation. It will need it's own spotlight...uggghhhhh...

We don't have cable, so I've been checking a few shows online, but really using the extra time to be a real housewife around here. Hum...if they ever did a Real Housewives of Nevis it would be the most boring, yet beautiful show yet... anyway...groceries are incredibly expensive, so I've had to look to recipes and meal ideas that are more affordable for living here. I've been making my own tortillas (the ones in the store are either rotting or way too expensive), making my own refried beans (they don't even carry them here), and trying to figure out bread. A loaf of bread here is anywhere from $2.50-$4.50 which doesn't sound too bad, but when you're living off of pb & j, and the expensive bread is usually the only stuff available, you start to wonder if you can make it yourself for cheaper.

The problem is my oven. It's gas and it's scary. I've never had a gas stove/oven, so I'm still adjusting and trying not to burn everything. The oven is very dangerous and scary to light. You have to turn on the gas with the knob and then try to light the pilot light inside the oven, but it doesn't always work...and sometimes when it lights, there's a big WHOOOSSH and fire billows out of the sides and bottom of the oven. I'm not exagerrating, it's dangerous. We have to have Mimi in the other room while one of us lights it. Sooo..I am not so sure I can make good, yummy bread in an unpredictable oven yet.

Another way I spend my time is bug patrol. Our place is pretty clean, no roaches, mice, or bats (like some houses here), just ants...lots of ants. They are all over the kitchen. So I bought a can of "BOP." I was told to spray all the windows and doors twice a month and we'd be good to go. The first time I did it, I got the worst headache and nausea from the fumes. I'm not kidding. I did it late at night after Mimi was asleep and I could clear everything off the counters. I was so sick that night, and come to find out that this stuff is crazy potent and actually illegal in the US. Prior knowledge would have been beneficial. The ants were totally gone though...



Exercise. That's another time user-upper. There are a few gyms here, but they have weird hours that wouldn't work for us with no childcare, so that's out of the question. There are no tracks or sidewalks anywhere, so I usually just throw Mia in the stroller and we walk up and down our hill by our house. The problem is the dogs. They are mean and vicious I tell you. The monkeys and goats are totally scared of you, so I have no problem walking near them because they aren't gonna do a thing. It's the dogs and my imagination that terrify me. Dogs are the security systems around here. There are usually 2-4 chained up outside and they are trained to kill. Sometimes we walk by this one house and the large gates are wide open and the dogs are going crazy and I'm white-nuckled praying that their leashes won't suddenly break. My imagination is the other hurdle. We live in the jungle basically, and there are tons of sounds and crackles as we're walking with just me and little Mimi. Some days it isn't so bad. I just go on my way and I feel great. Some days I'm freaking out about what the heck is in there...a quail, a mongoose, a cat, a rat, a wild pig, or a bull? It could be any of those and more. At least my heartrate gets up there...

With 19 months to go, this is the wildest adventure I've ever been on!!!

Mia's First Beach Day

We found our way to a gorgeous Beach called Oualie Bay which is about a 5 minute drive from our house. It is shallow, clear, and perfect for families to swim in. Mia had never been in sand or at the beach, so Dave and I were very curious to see how she was going to do. She had no hesitations, and got right in the water and sand, sitting down, running her hands through the water and sand loving every minute of it. Dave shipped his snorkel gear and headed out while Mia and I floated around the water and had a great time. It is absolutely gorgeous here and we love it!

Where in the world are we?

The island of Nevis is located near the northern end of the Lesser Antilles archipelago, about 220 miles southeast of Puerto Rico and fifty miles west of Antigua. The 36-square-mile island is part of the inner arc of the Leeward Island chain of the West Indies. The capital of Nevis is Charlestown.


Many people refer to Nevis as a clock. If you look at the map, we live in Cades Bay, which is at about 10:00. Charlestown (the capital) is at about 8:00 and is about a 15 minute drive. The top speed limit here is about 35 mph and you drive on the left side of the road. Weird and strange at first, but not as hard as you would think, and gettting easier everyday. Church is through town, at about 7:00 and takes about 20 minutes to get to. MUA is at Potworks Estate, which on this map is close to Camps at about 1:00. It takes a good 10-15 minutes to drive there from our house. The airport is at about 12:00 and is teeny tiny. The only decent grocery store here is the Best Buy (no...not the electronic store, unfortunately) in Gingerland and that is at about 5:00 on the map. There are a few other grocery stores, but I've heard horror stories, so I haven't even tried them out to be honest. I can't wait to explore some of the rainforest and large estates here on the island. I am looking forward to meeting more of the locals and really experiencing Nevis because we are only going to be here for a short time.

Home Sweet Home

Here are a few pictures of what we look at and experience on an everyday basis now in Nevis. This is our new home. We have the basement apartment. It is a yellow and pink dream...


This is the view from our front gate looking North to the Beach. It is about a 5 minute walk, and fortunately we are on the Caribbean side of the island, so the sand is soft and the water is calm...we like to take Mimi down after dinner for a sunset stroll on the beach.


This is the view from our front gate looking South to Mt. Nevis. Nevis is derived from the Spanish, Nuestra Señora de las Nieves (which means Our Lady of the Snows). There is almost always a puff of clouds around the peak of the island.



This is the Med 1 classroom where Dave spends most of his day until Anatomy lab. If you look through the windows, you will see nothing but water. It is an incredible view!


This is one of the balconies off the classroom. It is a great "break room" if you ask me!

Our journey begins...

Well, we finally did it. We left Arizona Saturday, April 25th and headed to Texas to see my family and say our goodbyes. We were scheduled to leave AZ on the 23rd, but after a very hectic time trying to sell, store, sort, and donate, we just couldn't do it. We actually decided at 12:30 am on the 23rd that with a few more hours of stuff to do and aching backs, making a 7:00 am flight wasn't the best plan. Man, we're getting old. Anyway, we stopped in Texas for a short but good visit. Played the usual card games, ate good food, and felt lucky that we got to stop on our way out and give hugs and kisses to my dear family.
The flights for Monday out of TX were completely booked, oversold actually. But with only one flight to St. Maarten everyday out of Charlotte, we had to try it. So we headed over to the airport early in the morning and were able to catch the 7:00 flight to Charlotte which we couldn't believe. We landed in Charlotte at 10:35 and ran over to the 11:30 St. Maarten flight and made that flight too. Couldn't believe it again. Heavenly Father's richest blessings have been pouring abundently over us for some time. In St. Maarten, we had a 6 hour layover. Mimi was a trooper, she was excellent, and we couldn't have asked for a better little traveler.



We were scheduled for the 8:45 pm flight from St. Maarten to St. Kitts...but again that flight was oversold, and we were really worried because that was the last flight out of St. Maarten and we sure didn't want to get stuck there. When the prop plane came in, everyone started herding like cattle over to this loading area. I had no idea what was going on (we've never flown Liat airlines before), and so I told Dave to hurry and go ask the lady what we were supposed to do. He did, and she just said, get in the square. So we did, and right when we were in the square, she said, "That's it. No more." There were five other people waiting at the counter to get on the plane. I had no idea how that worked, but we got on, and that's all I can say. It was a crazy flight. It was only 20 minutes, but it was crazy. Scary, bumpy, loud, and crazy. We landed in St. Kitts at 9:00 pm, missing the last ferry out to Nevis, so we stayed at the Bird Rock Beach Hotel. It was lovely, affordable, and welcome because we were exhausted from our long travel day. Doesn't Mimi look especially beautiful in the Caribbean sun? I think it's going to suit her just fine.

The Monday before we left Arizona, we had a few of our closest friends meet at Joe's BBQ in Gilbert to give hugs and say goodbyes (and eat some yummy BBQ too). It was a gorgeous night and we had a great time seeing so many of our dearest friends that we've known for some time. A lot of our friends that came out are friends that have been there through our courtship, wedding, and beyond, and it was so fun to see everyone and I started thinking of how much we've all changed over time. Kids have come by the bunches, and there are more on the way, marriages have happened, careers have changed, but most of all I had the feeling that life is good and people are happy. That was a perfect way to say goodbyes for now and head onto our new adventure away from Arizona for the time being. Knowing that life is good and people are happy is comforting when you know you're going to be far away for some time. We are thankful for our good friends that love us and are such huge supporters!

San Francisco

Old friends and San Francisco, what could go wrong? Dave relived some of the old days with his buddy Jon Baker and Rhiannon in San Fran in April and had a blast. He ate at Rhiannon's restaurant, took a tour of her new restaurant she's opening with her hubby, and did a little Cinnamon Toast Studios business with his partner Jon. Where does he find the time?

Bed For Sale

I sold almost all of our big items for our move on Craigslist. I posted our bed and needed a pic, and took this one. I wonder why it didn't sell.
Siiikkkee...I really didn't use this pic, and we did sell it. What would you do if you saw some groggy guy laying in a bed (in a room that's a mess from obvious moving) with someone trying to sell it? I'd probably buy it...

Red Woods

Dave took Organic Chemistry II in San Jose, CA for four weekends in April, so Mia and I decided to join him one weekend for fun. We headed over to Saratoga to see some of the redwoods...these aren't the biggest there are, but we loved the gorgeous views and amazing weather.

She's obsessed

Years ago we were at my brother Rob's house hanging out. My little niece Megan was wondering around the house talking on her toy cell phone. Dave asked her who she was talking to, and she said matter-of-factly-you-should-know-duh "I'm talking to my cell phone." We should have known. Ya. Well Mia is following in those same footsteps as her cousin and is obsessed with sunglasses and cell phones. She wants to wear my sunglasses any chance she gets, and if she has her way, she's holding, playing with, and calling China on my cell phone. We had to disconnect service from AT&T because they don't provide service down here, and so Mia's in heaven now using my old cell phone whenever she wants. She'll walk around the house holding it on her shoulder talking and talking away. If she can reach me, she'll put it up to my ear to have me talk and laugh pretending to talk on the phone too. She is too much.


I feel so lucky that I get to stay home with her. It is the best decision I have ever made...ever. Don't get me wrong...this is by far the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, yet I can't imagine having someone else take care of her and enjoy all of her cuteness while I went to work or did something that took me away from her at such an incredible time in her life that will be a flash. Not for a second. The sacrifice would be way too great and I would miss out on so much. She will be in school in no time, friends soon after, and off involved and busy like that and I'd wonder why I didn't make sure I could have her all to myself while I had the chance. I am grateful!

My Parents!! - Married in the Mesa Arizona Temple - April 21, 2009

My Parents were recently married in the Mesa Arizona Temple on Tuesday, April 21, 2009...Me and Becky, Wes and Mary, (of course) my parents, and some of their closest friends were in attendance. It was one of the best experiences ever! It was exquisite.

God is Good

With so many changes happening lately with our big move, Dave and I keep talking every day about the blessings that are pouring out so abundantly on us that we really have nothing more to hold them with. Is there a word for more than a miracle? So I decided that I was going to journal a list of all of our blessings. It's really for me, because right now, I am thinking about them all the time. But I know as time passes, these memories will fade into the background and I will possibly forget some of them, and I don't want to. These are not coincidences, or happen stance. These are pure blessings from a Father in Heaven that loves us very much and has heard our MANY heart-felt prayers.
*Nothing working out. What a blessing. Dave is a creative, talented little bugger, but none of his ideas or projects seemed to work out over the last few years. We ran into road block after road block. What a blessing. That was Heavenly Father's way of saying NO, GO TO MED SCHOOL!
* Dave taking the MCAT in January. HUGE accomplishment for him after years of "wanting" to take it. Getting registered, having the money to pay for it, doing well, everything working out. Blessing.
* Dave applying for Med School. Again, money to do so, letters of recommendation coming through, paperwork good. Blessing.
*Getting med school interviews. Just because you apply doesn't guarantee you an interview. Dave's charm and excellent interviewing skills impressed the admissions committees of two schools and granted him admission for the May start date. Wow.
*Having a truly Christ-like landlord. We were totally sad to leave our little place in Mesa, Arizona. It was our little bubble that was our safe haven away from the world. Our landlords were amazing, totally patient with us, and the best examples. We only truly gave them about a 10 day notice that we were moving and they were okay with it and were gracious and kind. We want to be like them someday.
*Getting packed and organized in a week and a half. Very stressful and hectic especially towards the end with all of us sick, but getting it done nonetheless. We really have increased our abilities to depend on each other, and that will build our marriage even more. That's a great thing.
*Being able to visit and enjoy both of our families before headed out. That is a blessing that not everyone gets to have and we feel lucky.
*Making every single flight, even the oversold ones. That was huge. We didn't get stuck once, and we made our way to everywhere we needed to get to with no problem whatsoever. As Dave says, nothing in his life has ever fallen into place this well before. We feel incredibly loved and lucky.
*Getting our cute little apartment in Nevis. It was a huge blessing. It's pretty affordable (it IS on a tropical island, so everything's going to be expensive. ) An LDS family lived here before, so they totally hooked us up with tons of stuff, and we feel really taken care of. There were only two LDS students here before, so what are the odds? Heavenly Father provided a way again.
*All of our boxes that we shipped (22 in all) got here undisturbed, intact, and DUTY FREE!!! Dave went down with some people from the school today to pick them up from customs (where we were expecting to pay anywhere in the neighborhood of $300-$1000 in customs), and they loaded all the boxes in the school van and told Dave don't worry about it when he asked about duties. Holy cow. Can't believe it, that is HUGE.
I know that Heavenly Father loves us. I know that He hears prayers, I know that He answers them. I can literally see His hand in all that has transpired the last 3 months especially. He has taken care of us, and I know we wouldn't be as happy and calm half way around the world if we didn't have these (and other) constant confirmations that this is the right decision and that He loves us and wants to provide a way for us. God is Good!!