Thursday Aba (aka. Kristy) arrived and Karli, Oliver and i couldn’t have been happier. Like always she came bearing more gifts then Santa Claus - we are continually spoiled (not to be confused as a complaint!!); of course the real gift for us is having Aba here to play with us.

Friday we headed to Cabarete and like is true in so many aspects of life: an integral part of the adventure was the journey. After a record setting departure from the city and getting way ahead of the long-weekend traffic ... we had a flat. This wasn’t just a flat, the tire was absolutely destroyed. I am amazed at how incredibly efficient the Dominican AAA is; before i had the truck to a complete stop we had two motoconchos there offering help. "No worries it is just a flat," this would be true if the piece that is used to lower the spare from underneath the truck was there, which of course it wasn’t. By this point a woman has come out from her brightly coloured wooden house and is playing and singing with Oliver and taking Karli, Kristy and O to look at the river that runs behind her house. So now we are surrounded by men who are jabbering on in Dominican (a very loose relative of Spanish), i obviously have no way of getting my spare down, i have two gringas and a baby with me and a car full of gear. You could see how this situation could be stressful, maybe even scary…but it isn’t. The vast majority of Dominicans i know or have met are caring, helpful and wonderful people. In just a couple minutes Karli and her new best friend are in one of the guys car going to buy a tire, Oliver is “driving” the truck (see pic) and Kristy is taking photos while we catch up. In minutes they return with a new tire, which the Dominican AAA won’t let me near, it is on in a flash and we are on our way pretty quickly (all things considered). Did we give these people money? Some of them yes, some of them no – none of them very much; were they doing this for money? some of them yes,some of them no. We debated after driving away the standard protocol for this situation. I paid them because they helped me and i was thankful, i didn’t know how else to express my gratification. I hope i did not set a horrible precedent.
So arriving a little later then we wanted it was dinner on the beach before a relatively early night. Saturday was a great day for Oliver and i. We went to watch the sunrise and surfers at encuentro; there was no waves so we just played in the sand, i had a coffee and we hung out before going back to get the girls for breakfast followed by some bodysurfing for me then i joined him for a morning nap. When we got up it was lightly raining (perfect napping weather!) and we celebrated by riding jaguars (video), marching around the pool and then going swimming in the rain. We ate early and put Ollie to bed. Karli and i went to listen to a DJ who was spinning on the beach as part of the Master of the Ocean event. He was phenomenal and the rain that was keeping the people away was just not fair. We called some friends who trekked through wind and the rain and met up with us (yup we have great friends), by the time we all made it to the dance floor there was a new DJ who was not on the same level as the first. Put lets put things in perspective here: dancing with the waves crashing behind you surrounded by good people, does it get better?
Actually yes it does.
Dancing with the waves behind you while all the other people are under the tent watching you thinking that you must be insane; just you and your beautiful (and great dancing) wife bouncing around in the rain like fools – now that’s better.
There was a trade-off however, in order to keep Karli dancing i had to give up my turn for a sleep-in on Sunday. No worries. A repeat of the day before with coffee and pastries at the surf break, this time though the waves were enormous and we were able to watch the surfers involved in the competition. The waves were a little messy with lots of close-outs and plenty of bails but i couldn’t help but think: Ollie is a year old hanging out at the surf break for sunrise, the last time in Cabarete he was left at the KiteSchool so his dad could get his fix. Look out - this kid is going to be good (of course only if he chooses too - his weekend change table is pictured). Sunday tested my patience. I sat on the beach kite ready, mentally psyched and waited for the wind that the internet said would arrive early. I was tested to my limit after a full three hours of waiting i was rewarded with some incredible wind and great waves. Sailed for more then two hours without a second’s break and the rush was big enough to carry me all the way through the long drive home. As i was packing up i heard one of the guys who lives on kite beach come in claiming: “this is as good as Cabarete gets”

Lesson learned: patience is rewarded.

I know this entry has too many words and not enough pictures, i will add more when i get my hands on Aba’s camera.

yes its my birthday but i have passed the age where that is cool, now i am just old.

so every attempt that i have made at hitting "pause" through the last year has officially failed. Despite all of them, Oliver is one year old. Of course every step has been more incredible then the one before it but i am constantly worrying that i am going to miss something or not totally remember a sound or a stage as we fly forward at "ludicrous speed." Great friends of ours just announced their pregnancy and when i reflect at my life over the past twenty-one months, the emotions, the events, i sometimes feel like i have been living at an amusement park: not quite sick but with an extra hit of adrenaline coursing through my veins non-stop. (wow, where'd that stream of concsiousness come from?) and yes for the record – i love amusement parks.
So Ollie is one; this morning we opened presents with him in bed and contemplated whether or not we could still refer to him as "baby" or "the baby." What is the half-life of "the baby?" Sorry O but you are our baby.
Saturday we hosted a BBQ at our pool to celebrate the first year of his life and had lots of our friends over for a feast of epic proportions. It was a wonderful day. i couldn't help but remember that it was February and we were hosting a pool party (yeah i know i rub that in too much), however i sincerely hope that Oliver will also enjoy the thrills of a tobogganing party as well. Of course especially on days like this we really miss having our families here; i smiled on the inside however as the day was dominated by "adults" launching themselves into the water to catch footballs and Frisbees knowing that Oliver's uncles would be proud (scene video here).
There are too many pictures to go here so there is a little slideshow you can view it here. i put the pictures up at a relatively low resolution, if you would like to have any of these at high resolution please contact me.
Do you think Oliver is going to be a DJ? he's already got the form down (video) and don't miss the little move he throws at the end of this clip (thank god he dances like his mom and not his dad!)
Time for a first haircut?

another weekend has come and gone.
It is scary how quickly that seems to happen these days. It marked the passing of the fifty-first week of Oliver’s life; his birthday is virtually upon us (also scary and hard to believe). It marked the beginning of yet another masters’ class for Karli – she may be the hardest working person on the planet. Studying, teaching, mothering…there really is no end. It gave Ollie and me lots of time together which is always enjoyed; walking, swimming and just generally hanging out. He discovered the joys of the pot cupboard (below), and we turned his box of diapers into a jet plane – so yeah i guess you could say we had fun – sometimes i worry i have too much fun. Even with Karli slaving away in masters’ class i was able to find some baby coverage and get in some kiting on Sunday which was just incredible. Long long cruising sessions with just Jeff and me on the water, wasn’t even its normal gusty self – truly the stuff of dreams. i am starting to get a better feel for the new kite and the lift it has when i get it clicking properly can be a little scary (in a very good way). The highlight of this weekend however may not even have been that; armed with information from friends currently in Bangkok and Brazil, Karli and i have set out with a new vigor to spend as much time as possible in the park. i run there in the morning and we go for family walks regularly, this weekend however we found a new spot to set down our blanket and watch the sunset on Friday – the place is so good we went back for the show on Sunday. i think it may become a regular deal (i will have to take my camera this week).

Finally for those of you who saw my parenting tips video ("the nose"), this week's video is in that vein (it is really dark), but click here to learn how to feed your baby while keeping their hands clean (very useful).

As news of the incredible cold at home resounds like a sweet melody around my eardrum i am forced to smile … just a little.
Yes, you are right i do miss the snow. Yes, you are right i do miss the seasons. However, watching the SuperBowl in flipflops and boardshorts has its perks as well.
As winner of the fantasy football season i hosted a poker night on Friday thanks to a very co-operative wife and sleepy baby it was a resounding success (winning some money never hurts either).
Saturday i went kitesurfing and really shouldn’t have. The time on the water was great and nothing beats cruising across the flat water in Salinas but i just should not have gone. It was part of the reason i had to get rid of tickets to see Tiesto on Saturday night, a decision that i am still regretting. On the way home however we stopped at a fruit stand, one of a thousand we passed and for two dollars i got six mangoes, a bunch of bananas and some great avocado - not too bad really.
SuperBowl Sunday started out with a morning walk with O-towne and then playing in a hilarious four team flag football tournament to put us in the mood for the big game. It was really great a tonne of laughs and after a quick dip we went to watch the game on two projected screens with more incredible food then you could possibly imagine. My heart was with the osos in the game but i was happy to see Peyton and Dungy get one (class acts); if i had have bet it would have been on the ponies. Next year will be the Lions year…

Hard to believe Oliver is almost one, you are invited to his birthday (see invite here).

A busy weekend like that can sure you leave you exhausted:

single parents everywhere, i look to you in complete awe...
How you can do it, i will never know? You are – simply stated – better then me. Karli spent the last four days celebrating her friend’s wedding in the British Virgin Islands. She had a, very well-deserved, blast. This gave Ollie and me a weekend solo, a long weekend at that (Monday was a holiday here in the D.R.); never to be one to spend a long weekend at home i bull headedly surged on, back to the beach – Cabarete. I figure getting the OPP around the best kiters in the world should help to get me some free gear when he turns pro (his first lesson on maintenance at right).

Of course it was worth it, morning sunrises, lounging by the pool even got a short session of kiting in, but "relaxing" it was not. Being “on” all the time with no one to pass off to was exhausting to say the least.

Saturday after my session we played a little disk golf and let a couple of his tias take care of him – this is what happens, beads and silk for el rey.

Sunday the wind teased but didn’t come through and Monday i spent the vast majority of the day trying to sort out our truck. Needless to say with a car battery and jumper cables in one hand and an eleven month old in the other we finally got it all to work out. Needless to say we were very happy to have Karli come back Monday night; happy that she had a great weekend, but far happier that she had returned to us.

(i have to be honest here i know this post is a little rough, I have been trying all week to get to it but just haven’t had the time – you will hear why in next week’s post)

This is the face that Oliver was making after three straight days with dad (no one blames him!):