A Link To Old Pics

One of the things I wanted to do during my vacation was get some old pics online. Well, I started putting some online when I realized I probably already had them online. As many people know, we did have our own website: www.heatherandkeith.com. We decided not to continue it when we knew we were leaving the country because it costs money to keep it up and using google's blogspot is easy and free. Plus I can post a blog from any computer. Here is a link to the pictures I had up on our previous website:
http://littleshopofmemories.com/copper/

I will also put the link to the right side of the blog. I have gone through a few pictures and albums and deleted some. If there are any out there that anyone wants me to delete let me know and I will do that.  When you click on the link above you will see different categories of pictures.  One of them is called "Elena's Pictures"  For some of you who don't know, Elena was a German high school student who lived with us for one school year.  These are all the pictures from her camera and Alex and us are in many of them.  For example, we all went to Las Vegas for my sisters wedding and those pictures are under her name.  I will have to figure out how to switch those pictures to another group if I can.

Fun with Friends and Cousins

We've been busy the last few days.  Alex lets me know often that she does not want to go back to Dominica.  I think it is because she is getting to play with her cousins and friends almost everyday.  She also gets spoiled by the grandparents.  

The day after Christmas we headed down to Mankato to check on our house and have dinner at Jim and Becky's house.  Alex is good friends with their daughter, Beth.  She was so excited to go see her.  They made a huge mess of Jim and Becky's house.  We picked up the toys once but that didn't last long.  Alex also wanted to spend the night and was not happy to leave!  The next day we celebrated my grandfather's 91st Birthday at my sister's house.  Alex didn't want to leave that night either because she was having so much fun playing with her cousins.  Today, her cousin, Zoe, came over and I took them to Edinborough Park in Edina.  They had fun and wore me out.  Alex was a little scared of the tall and dark tunnels so I crawled through them with her.  I took a picture of the tunnels and slides.  It's quite tall and  I nearly broke out in a sweat!  

Click below for all the recent pics:

2008-12-28 fun with beth and zoe

Christmas in Minnesota

Alex had a fun time playing with all her cousins and she met her brand new cousin, Kara, just born this past Monday. Kara's mom, left the hospital on Wednesday morning and was still able to come to the family gathering on Christmas Eve at Keith's mom's house. Alex didn't get too close and seemed to be a little jealous when I held her. On Christmas Day we spent the day with my family in Apple Valley. Click below to see the pics:

Christmas 2008 in Minnesota

Alexandra's 3rd Birthday

Alex had so much fun meeting up with her friends. On Friday night, we celebrated her birthday with her cousin, Zoe, Aunt Missie, her big grandpa and grandma, and grandpa and nanna. She was so happy to be home and had fun playing with her cousin, Zoe, that she missed so much. Then on Saturday we went to Chuck E. Cheese and she met up with many more of her little friends. She had fun playing the games, but was a little scared of Chuck E. Cheese and didn't really want to have anything to do with him. We're glad all the kids had a lot of fun. But after doing this once, we will not do it again. It was way too expensive for what we got. Here are some pics from her birthday celebrations:

Alexandra's 3rd Birthday

Our Fun Trip Back to Minnesota

Our trip home yesterday was a long one! I had heard horror stories of Liat before. One girl told me the plane just simply didn't show up! Another told me of them making her purchase another ticket when she got to the ticket counter, and many countless other stories. Well, never did I realize that they are all right! Liat is the worst airline and I would never recommend them to anyone!!!

First of all we got to the airport at 5am when they opened. We all waited until the ticket counter agents showed up at 6. The airport was really unorganized. I had never seen anyone like it. Many people were getting upset and maybe didn't need to get THAT upset. Our flight had been changed from 7am to 8:30am so we were not worried. At 8:30 the plane was not there, and nobody could tell us where the plane was. Finally an hour or so later, they said the plane would be an hour late. An hour passed and it didn't show up. They still couldn't tell us where exactly the plane was. Was it in the air? Was it having mechanical problems? Finally the plane showed up around noon and we boarded and took off to Puerto Rico. Liat, the airline, is supposed to transmit the passenger list to the customs department in Puerto Rico before landing. Well, they didn't. So that also held us up. We were supposed to be on a flight on American to Dallas at 12:45 which we missed. We went to the American Airlines counter and they said that Liat should be rescheduling the flight for us. So we walked to the Liat counter, and they said they could not help us because they only deal with paper tickets and not electronic tickets. They also told us that we would be penalized and would have to pay a fee. Well, this did not make us happy because we did nothing wrong and didn't feel like we should have to pay for a mistake that wasn't ours. They basically washed their hands of us when this was totally their fault. I was almost in tears. I was worried that we wouldn't get home that night and would have to not only pay to change our flight, but also pay for a night at a hotel. So I ended up calling the travel agency we used to book the flight, Austin Travel, and they got us fixed up with another flight going to Miami at 5pm, and then onto Minneapolis. We were lucky we did not have to pay for anything or stay the night in a hotel. Others either had to pay or flew on standby and some had to stay in a hotel at their own expense.

We hope to try to fly American Eagle in the future. Even if that means booking our flight six months ahead of time. I would even take a ferry to Guadalupe or St. Lucia to avoid Liat. Unfortunately we have already booked our return flight with them for Jan. 11th, from St. Maarten then to St. Lucia for a layover, then to Dominica. Hopefully we won't have any problems.

Keith's First Semester is Finished

Keith had his final exam today.  He is so glad to be finally finished.  He says he feels like he is on vacation now.  So we decided to go for a walk when he got home from his exam.  Then we decided we would try a new restaurant in Portsmouth called "Adaj".  It is a Creole, American, and Italian restaurant.  Keith had the shrimp and I had the salmon.  It was soooo good and probably one of my best meals since I've been on the island.  Here is Alex and Keith on our way to Adaj.  Tomorrow we plan to go snorkeling while Alex is at school during the morning.  This will be Keith's first time snorkeling in Dominica and he's been here since August.

Everyday Rainbows

This past week has been really rainy. We've seen rainbows everyday. Sometimes numerous times a day. Today Alex and I went to a little pool party for a child's birthday at her school. It rained a few times but it didn't stop the kids from having fun. The weird thing about Dominica is that it can be clear skies and sunny above us and still rain. The rain must come down from the clouds you see over the mountains.

Keith did good on his third mini exam. Now he is studying for his final exam which is on Tuesday. We can't wait for thursday to come. We are leaving for the airport at 3:45 in the morning. I am a little worried about flying Liat. They overbook their flights and the flights are full on the day we leave. So many times people are left waiting for the next flight. Which wouldn't be so bad if we were staying the night in Puerto Rico like most people.

Here are some pictures from today and during the past week:

2008-12-13 playing at the park and pool

Here is a little video of Alex at the park:

Alex's School Holiday Program

Here is a video from the Alex's school Holiday program.  I wish she was in the video but she was so upset when she saw us that she didn't want to sit with her school friends.  So this is a video of some of the other children in her daycare.  The little guy playing the piano is named Coco.  She plays with him a lot in daycare.

Keith had his third mini today and has his final exam next tuesday.  A week from today we will be on a plane heading home!  We are so excited!

I'm Getting Bored of Facebook

This is such a funny video:

A New Caribbean Airline

I found out that there is a new airline flying in and out of Dominica.  This is great news because there are currently only two airlines that I know of that fly here: Liat and American Eagle.

http://gocaribbean.about.com/b/2008/12/07/dominica-gets-new-air-service.htm

Purple Turtle Beach

Today there was a little gathering at Purple Turtle Beach with some other kids and their mom's. Alex met up with her little friend, Sarah, and they had so much fun in the water. I think the little tube I bought Alex has made her enjoy the water much more. Today she wasn't afraid of the ocean water and swam around with her float. Click the picture below for more pictures.

Keith is now finished with classes and has a couple more exams. He just had an Anatomy and Histology practical and has his third mini on Wednesday. Then on the 16th he has his final exam. On Dec. 18th we come home and are so excited. Keith will be studying a lot and we will have one day on the island before we leave. I have been thinking about something we can do as a family, that Alex can participate in. I am thinking about whale watching or hanging out on the beach. After going to Purple Turtle today and seeing Cabrits National Park, I was thinking that might be a good thing to do.

I have also been thinking about everything I want to do when I go home. I miss the conveniences of home. The nice grocery stores, comfortable beds, refrigerated milk, and a car. I can't wait to relax on a comfortable couch and eat steak. I hope Keith and I can go to a movie and possibly get some skiing in if we can find our winter stuff. Alex's third birthday is Dec. 20th. We are planning to celebrate it at Chuck e Cheese at 2pm in Burnsville. Alex is so excited to see her little friends. If any of Alex's little friends out there read this and want to come let me know.

2008-12-06 purple turtle beach

Swimming with Alex

Here is a video of Alex swimming at the Ross University swimming pool.  She is getting so brave and is having fun in the water.  In the second half of the video she noticed a toy on the other side of the pool and she paddled her way over to get it.  

I just wish this youtube video was better quality.

Rainbows

We see a lot of rainbows here in Dominica. Here are a few pictures of one we saw yesterday. Alex loves looking at them.