There's Always an Adventure to be had in Dominica

 This past week or two it has been exploring "jungles",

rocky beaches,

beautiful sandy beaches

(seriously, can it get more beautiful than this?!)

and swimming in rivers.  Why is Shane so happy?

because he thought it was hilarious to watch his mom make a fool of herself jumping into the river from the rope swing

I'm not above humiliating myself to hear that little chuckle of his!

A Daily Conversation At Our House

Every morning when Shane wakes up, he comes and jumps on me in bed.  (And any other time I'm laying down).  Our conversation always goes like this:

Me: Am I your horse?

Shane: Moooooooooooo!!!

Me:  Oh, I'm your cow?

Shane: This.

P.S. for some reason he has been walking around lately saying the "a . ." word!  He likes words that end with s like eyes and bus so he can hiss at the end, and he likes to say ahh!  and all the sudden it just came together!  Oh dear. So if you hear him saying that just know that it is not from us!!!!

An Ode To The Things That Keep Us Sane

Have I ever mentioned that living in Dominica can be difficult?  (Don't answer that!)  Thankfully there are several things here that keep us thinking we're in paradise instead of packing our bags!  A few that have been relevant lately:

A freezer stocked with popsicles for those hot summer nights.

Peaceful morning runs along quiet shores. 

The pool. 

Dominica is missing a lot of the places moms in the states typically take their kids, but the pool makes up for it. 

Even if sometimes Shane spends half his time outside of it,

he is entertained at any rate!

Trips outside our city to different locations that make us realize just how beautiful Dominica is

And most importantly, our friends! 

I will never be able to fully express how much our time here has been made better by the friendships we've made.  We love all our Dominican family and are so glad to get to experience this with such great people!

To Market, To Market

Every Saturday morning Shane and I walk down to the market in town to get some fresh produce.

Oh the market.  Sometimes it drives me a little crazy.  This morning it was the transport driver who almost ran us over, the druggie harrassing me for money, and the woman who quoted me one price for her fruit and then tried to tell me she had said something different when she was giving me my change.  Good thing this lady is always there:

We get potatoes and onions from her every week and she is so nice!  She always says Shane is "making sweet eyes" at her.  And really, as long as I have a beautiful pineapple like this one on my stroller when I leave it is worth all the madness. 

Ah the pineapple.  I always thought people who ate fruit for "dessert" were crazy, but this is a different story!

I ♥ Sundays

Sundays mean waffles for breakfast.

And going to church in this awesome lime green building.  (The church may not always look the same but thankfully the spirit is!)

It means skyping with our families,

and Shane wanting to kiss them through the webcam repeatedly.

It means taking naps, and going on afternoon walks

and finding cool things on them.

And it means time together with Josh all to ourselves without any studying.

By the end of the week a Sunday is just what we need. I think it was meant to be that way.

I like alliteration.

(And I'm pretty sure my mom doesn't like when I haven't posted in over a week.  Dang you computer.).  So here are some pictures of my blonde-haired,

blue-eyed,

BYU-wearing,

ball-bearing,

boisterous boy.

Shane's Baby

Shane has always loved Hawken (our friends Paul and Jessie's baby and Matix's little brother) and been pretty interested and sweet with him.  So a little bit ago I had Shane sit on the floor and let him "hold him" in his lap, and he loved it!  Now when he sees him he gets so excited to hold him.  He wraps his little arms around him and gets the proudest look on his face, and of course gives him kisses. 

I'm not sure Hawken is always as thrilled but he usually puts up with it nicely for a minute or so.

Now I just hope Shane is still this excited about babies when we get to the states and I can actually have one!