Well February is a busy month around this family and 2010 has officially proven to be no exception. We have birthdays for Aba, Oliver, Karli and me, add to that Valentine's Day, an extended work trip to Boston, the arrival of almost wind to the Bahia de Banderas, the Olympics ... a great month really - but lets not forget another superstar award for Ollie for random acts of kindness on the school yard, a "bathtub" added to our apartment and nightly routine, all while Karli continues to defy the aging process by looking better and better with each day that passes.

There is a lot more footage from the month that will find its way here soon but this post is specific for a great event that was held here at the American School of Puerto Vallarta - last Friday, February 26th:

It was the annual Pre-School trike-A-thon. Ollie personally raised more than $3000 pesos ($300 dollars) to help build/re-build schools in Haiti; we could not be more proud of his effort or the generosity of his sponsors. The event was a blast and the group as a whole raised more than $2000 for the cause - not bad for kids still learning to tie their own shoes!

trike-A-thon from markpicketts on Vimeo.

Life in new places is full of exciting and new stuff! Lots of firsts happening in Mexico and i am struggling to keep up with my documenting. I am slowly making my way through some amazing pictures of our week in Sayulita over the New Year, stay tuned.

Last Friday Ollie had his first real field trip! To go and see some Dolphin with Vallarta Adventures, moms and dads weren't allowed poolside and i have to admit i was pretty jealous of Ollie's experience. They got to meet some seals, some incredible birds, and shake hands with the Dolphin stars. It was a great morning and we appreciate all of the work that Miss. Jennifer did to put it together. Pictured are the two classes with the stars, Ollie's class, and the art project they did on the afternoon of the field trip.


So although i continue to work on our NewYear's highlights we did have an incredible weekend last weekend camping on a beach just north of Vallarta. It was the kids first experience camping and it was nothing short of amazing. Ollie was impressed with dad the firemaker and even said that he wanted to be one when he grew up, the roasted marshmallows were a hit, as was cowboy coffee and fire cooked breakfasts. Thankfully the kids both loved it and we hope to be experience the great outdoors with them a lot more! Of course the luckiness of camping barefoot in January was not lost on me. Enjoy:

Camping in January from markpicketts on Vimeo.

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One last one, because I can't resist sharing a shot from Pajama Day:

Yesterday on a road trip to a new beach in the south we had some car trouble, we never did make it to the beach. We did have a 9 hour ordeal that had us meet (and appreciate) some wonderfully kind people. One of my favorite moments was asking the attendants at a gas station - in the middle of nowhere - if they knew where i could find a mechanic; there was literally no response whatsoever. Taking their silence as a no, i asked for a taco stand recommendation ... this response was a diatribe describing the wonders of the local cuisine. They love their food here (and so do i). Good times.

Pictured is Karli reveling in what very well could have been the greatest chile relleno ever made.

(reposted from: http://sites.google.com/site/betadepuertovallarata/mexicanisms)

I am simply blown away with the amount of footage the holidays brings. I am a little overwhelmed to be honest, but i have a lot of good stuff that i want to share.

This is early December here in Vallarta; A staff Posada, Ollie's Christmas concert, some Vallarta, a trip to a jungle beach, a couple piñatas*, Noche Buena, Christmas morning, and lots of just goofin around:

Early December in Mexico from markpicketts on Vimeo.

.... there is much much more to come...

* notice how quickly Ollie goes from barely touching the piñata to really givin'er!

So its true. Living my life is officially taking all my time; leaving me unable to fully document it...at least not in a timely fashion.

November was kicked off with a Halloween visit from "Uncle Foffy" who made the journey laden with the finest of TraderJoe's wares, which we enjoy and appreciate every day. We also had a visit from Granny & Boppy before celebrating our 4th year of wedded bliss and American Thanksgiving with our new friends here in Vallarta.

Throughout all of it we have laughed, loved and continue to feel like the most blessed people on the planet.

Here is some images from our month:

Geoffrey, Granny, Boppy & Halloween from markpicketts on Vimeo.

The end of November brought visits from our past: Ecua-peeps. Ollie and i helped launch Nutmeg for her return voyage to the Bay Area. Then visited with John, Olivia, Ceci, and pending as they celebrated an extended dia de gracias in one of our favorites: Sayulita.
This incredible day was launched into unforgettable when our sunset cocktails were interupted by news of sea turtle hatchings about 20 meters from our seat. We endured the walk and watched as these little ones made their run for the sea (footage). Modern odds are stacked against these tortugas and it was a pretty amazing thing to witness; especially when Ollie (unprompted) carved a road into the sea to help the little tortugas (meanwhile mom used all of her strength in holding Ella back).

As we head into December it is difficult for me to comprehend how fast time is passing...and (unlike me) it shows no sign of slowing...
We hope that this finds you and yours well and look forward to being in touch over the holiday season.

Its October here in Vallarta (unlike wherever you are), and although the leaves are not changing the weather is...and for the better! Less heat, less rain, really wonderful and the old guard here tells us it is just going to continue to get better - very exciting. I am still anxiously awaiting the wind but need to be patient until January, until then we are still really enjoying the family trips to the different (and amazing) local beaches (details, stories and pictures).

This year Ollie is really excited for Halloween ; and why wouldn't he be? A chance to dress up, to eat junk food, combined with a visit from Uncle Foffy has the whole house pumped for this weekend.

All the more reason for me to hurry up and post some images from the 3rd Annual Picketts Pumpkin Carving Party!

3rd Annual Pumpkin Carving Party from markpicketts on Vimeo.

Here is some history:

• 2008
• 2007
• 2006, 2006 (otro)

wow, i really like looking at those but it makes me feel OLD!

Although there was a plethora of reasons for our relocation to Mexico, near the top of the list was being closer to our California family. Toronto-PV and Toronto-DR is really a wash but the difference from San Francisco is massive. We have not been disappointed and last week were spoiled with the second visit from Kristy this year. Ollie and Ella hammed it up in the pool with Aba non stop and both show new tricks in the water daily.
Another Sunday passed and another beach this week: Los Muertos - Sayulita.

Kristy's Visit 09.09 from markpicketts on Vimeo.

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Monday mornings ASPV has a very cool flag ceremony in the elementary school. This week Ollie was recognized by his teacher. I know i am bias but i thought it was pretty cute:

Flag Ceremony Final Version from markpicketts on Vimeo.

Sometimes you have to hit reset...this is one of those times. I created this blog as a place to share memories with friends and family - and although i have a ton of footage left to share from the summer and from our first six weeks here in Vallarta the backlog was getting a little heavy.

I kept wanting to finish a video and post it before moving on - chronologically like...it may seem weird but its just the way that my brain works; but we are in Mexico now the things we are seeing, smelling, experiencing, and lets not forget tasting are happening now.

So i am hitting the reset button.

This is us, last weekend:

Last Weekend in September.m4v from markpicketts on Vimeo.

Some explanations:

1. We could have left that CD on repeat Friday night - he would have sung us through until monday...
2. Cirque-de-Backyardigans...an experience that truly defies explanation
3. Playa Camarones y Chilaquiles (the list is growing)
4. fun in the rain and some new swimming skills

I really will try and share some of the great stuff that is now backlogged but not at the cost of falling further behind.

in other news i think i am officially done with YouTube; been wanting to go to Vimeo for more than a year now but resisted and resisted but no mas!

If you subscribed in YouTube, please redo so in Vimeo (if you still want)

img from: http://blog.heritage.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/reset_button090324.jpg

So just shy of October, i am posting for some good times in June and the start of July.

There are lots more coming soon but for those of your living in "real time"; please know that Mexico is fantastic! The four of us have never been more happy. We have a house, friends, jobs which we are loving, and then there's the food....

We go to a new beach every Sunday and have a new love: chilaquiles. I am tracking these beach adventures (and will get them posted - with pics - here soon enough).

So 'nuff talk...

IronIan's Triathalon...

yeah its a cheezy name but trust me he has had worse and when you beat his time i will consider your thoughts on the issue.

ironman from markpicketts on Vimeo.

Well it is been awhile since i have written here; and it isn't like nothing has been happening. Perhaps in a later post (or more likely posts) i will have a moment to reflect on selling 95% of our posessions, leaving our home & the friends that remain like family in the Dominican after five years, blasting through Canada, then California, before driving to Puerto Vallarta, with a brief stop in Cali, Colombia, meeting new friends, starting a new job, and beginning to get settled in our new home.

However, if that happens it will be on another day.

Today is Oliver's first day of school, and although we have no idea how it is going it was a memorable celebratory morning - that i simply had to document

Here is my last email as the Academic Technology Director to the staff at CMS:

From: Mark Picketts
Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 4:56 PM
To: All Users
Subject: the secret is out....

I can’t hide it anymore.

The real reason for the academic technology successes over the past couple years has been revealed:

We have loved our time in the DR and will miss you more than you could imagine. Our CMS family are always welcomed wherever we are.

Follow us at: http://karliandmark.blogspot.com/ and please stay in touch

con amor,

Karli, Oliver, Ella y mark

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Mayra has been a part of our family for the past three years and she will be missed by all of us, the only thing keeping us going is the thought of a reunion with her in Canada or San Francisco soon. Some Mayra moments:

It finally happened: Karli wrote her second blog post!!

Well truth be told we both had to give speeches of adios on Friday to the wonderful people that have been the core of our Dominican family for the past five years. Karli proved why she is a writing teacher and i ... well i was sobbing mess (partly because i had to follow this speech):

When Jack hired Mark and I at the Boston fair 5 years ago, we weren’t really even sure we were a couple at the time. We obviously convinced Jack that we were worth hiring as teachers and I guess we must have seemed stable enough at the time to take a chance on our fledgling relationship but we were literally defining our relationship in the elevator on the way to our interview. We thought, well what the heck, lets just go and see what happens and in the mean time we can learn to kite surf, take in the beaches and even learn how to dance merengue. I am forever grateful to God, the Universe, and Jack who hired us both that snowy weekend in Boston, which gave our little relationship experiment a chance to grow.

So we moved here together- but separate, a couple kind of – boyfriend and girlfriend but not ready to live together. But when Mark got here he really hated his apartment and it was just so below his standard, which was really saying something at the time and he came over to my apartment one weekend and just kind of never left. And a couple of months later we got engaged on Pico Duarte, we got married in Las Terrenas and then had our first Dominican baby here in the city. Originally we were only going to stay 2 years but after giving birth to Oliver we realized we were part of something really wonderful here where everyone has this wonderful love and respect for children. There is not one of you out there that doesn’t ask about our kids every ingle time we see you and you really do mean it. I can’t imagine after your true and genuine happiness for our happiness, having kids anywhere else.

So we became part of the greater CMS family. Now when I say CMS family I don’t mean that in a “one big happy family” way. No, this is a real family. Supportive, caring, even a little dysfunctional at times but always there for you. This family has its nurturing mothers who care for us along the way and its funny, spirited aunties who keep us laughing and having fun. And certainly there is more than one crazy uncle in the group who you just can’t wait to see what they are going to do next. And just like in any family there are many ups and downs but what makes family so great – is that they are there through all of it.

I want to thank this CMS family for supporting both Mark and I in our many ups and downs- through different houses and jobs, marriage and kids. It is harder than I thought it would be to leave this island because I realized I am leaving my first “home” I created with my new nuclear family and extended family. I am finding I have so much more of an emotional attachment to things and memories and places here than I thought. But I have to remember that the things are just things, the memories I take with me where ever I go and the places…well one day I’ll be back with my husband and my 2 Dominican children so that they can see what a great family we came from.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Truth: she doesn't even know i am posting this.
her first post here

(like every post here, i have so much to put up here and am hopelessly behind...but i will try and get it up here soon, but life is kinda hectic these days)

We are well into the season of lasts here in the Dominican...
We remain busy enjoying the last days of the la vida buena in the DR. Last week was Aba's final visit to Santo Domingo and as with all of her previous visits it was nothing short of incredible:



We are really looking forward to being so much closer to you next year Aba.

Lots of posts this month already and even more running around in my head. Here is a little show about our Spring Break. We were joined in Cabarete by Jeff, Deb, April, and Eric and had a wonderful, relaxing, and hilarious week.
It was our last time in Cabarete this year, and although i know that i will be back at Nanny Estates. It's the first time in years that i have left not sure when exactly i would be back. It is one of the most incredible places on the planet, and the people there are even more incredible!

Well, enjoy:


Ipo, i am not ignoring your comment. I am working on something to fill you in re: next year. It's a work in progress, but for now:

Way down here you need a reason to move
Feel a fool running your stateside games
Lose your load, leave your mind behind, baby james
Oh, Mexico
It sounds so simple I just got to go
~ J. Taylor

Its amazing how fast five years can go by when you throw a wedding and a couple of kids in there...but pass it has

From 5 year

OK, i feel horrible that the other post with pictures was really only up for a day, i hope that people will look at that and also the movie from yesterday.

but here are some more pictures of Miss Ella on her first Birthday:

From Ella turns One

From Ella turns One

Here is some old guy, when he wasn't so old:

From Ella turns One

Here a future Homecoming Queen smiles for the camera:

From Ella turns One

wow, two posts in a day. Of course the footage in this post IS from January...



more pics and some video from the princess' first will be coming very very soon

We continue on here; living in the sun
We laugh, we dance, we sing - we have fun
It's almost over, are time in the DR virtually done...
and in the blink of an eye...look who turned one!

It is scary for me to believe, but somehow Oliver has been with us for three years already. He has accomplished so much and added more to our lives then we could have ever imagined.
We had a small party for him at a local pizza place and this year he definitely knew it was his birthday. We all had a lot of fun and thank everyone who came or sent their love from afar. Enjoy:



Here are some posts that really amazed me from not too long ago:

• February 16th 2007 - here
• February 16th 2008 - here
  

Our travels this winter break were not nearly what they have been previously (2007: 1, 2, 3). In fact, no flights at all and we only drove about three and a half hours - to Cabarete. We stayed there for three weeks and although we missed friends and family terribly having a special group come from California helped us to survive.

As i sit here more than a month after the vacation so many moments jump to my mind as being incredible, i just could never share them all here. One of my favorite moments of the entire time however was about fifteen seconds in duration (overhearing a conversation between Karli and Rick):

Rick: So do you body surf?
Karli: Well i just float around and laugh a lot.
Rick: Sounds like fun; and a good way to live life.

A great final Christmas in the Dominican Republic.

The original vision of this blog was that it would be a place for us to share our adventures, thoughts and general goings on with you. I have done the majority of the postings but few loyal readers of this blog could ever forget this post by Karli.

Well today is another historic day. With great pride I present you with....

Oliver's first post:

"the ocean"

So now the proud father will give you a little play-by-play. So i was on morning duty Saturday and with the monstress happily entertaining herself Ollie brought me his paints saying, "I want this." He started the work by combining blue and green in the middle of the page. I told him it was beautiful and that it looked like the ocean. He then brought me the brown paint telling me it was for sand. He added the sun then the pink fish y VOILA!

We are awaiting a call from la louvre.

On Sunday we went to the botanical gardens where our now famous artist was mobbed by adoring fans:


you aren't going to believe me but i really had nothing to do with this - you trying being the cute little blond boy 'round here!

I am writing this behind the mountain of pictures and videos that ARE the festive season. I am doing my best...which isn't that good. Well anywhoooo these are some pictures from Early December, getting ready for Christmas, a visit from Granny and Boppy, and general goofing off, enjoy:



We Christmas-ed in Cabarete this year; that is coming soon.

some pics from cabarete:

lots waiting to be made into a video, but in case you can't wait

here

Well after going three months without a long weekend we were hit with two of them in November. The first one was "Dia de la Constitucion" which we celebrated on the 10th of November and then we celebrated our anniversary on the 26th of November by taking off the next two working days.

Enjoy...


The first one was spent in Cabrera on the north coast and the second brought us back to a place for beginning: Las Terrenas.

Also want to welcome Spencer Vernon Keith Lancaster to the world of BrantfordBoys. We have been excitedly waiting for you. Nikki you are an absolute goddess - congratulations all.

Halloween 2008

Truth be told this is actually a collection of shots mostly from the month of October.
Ollie playing the role of adorable tyrant, Ella as Sweetness and Karli as the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Enjoy:

Happy Thanksgiving Canucks...

Here is the video that brings you up to...the first week in August - ouch.

Last post: June 16
Today's date: September 16

ouch...


but seriously, where can i even think of beginning? we've been to California, Toronto, Kingston, Brantford, Cabarete and are now well back into the swing of things here in Santo Domingo. As i look through the pictures to pick a couple to put here the kids look so different then they do today...life has a tendency to move pretty quickly i guess...

Well here is part one of the summer: California.



If things continue at the same rate part deux should be out...December 16th

4 years of backgammon, 4 years of kitesurfing, 4 years of bowling, 3 kids brought into this world...
cost = 390 pesos.
that is a bargain (12-13 us dollars)

Goodtimes.

Worst part of being an international teachers is saying good-bye to the people who become your family wherever it is you are. We are losing a lot of wonderful "family" members this year, its tough, but perhaps toughest on those staying put?

To the people moving on from CMS, good luck, drop us a line every once in a while and we'll catch you on the flip side.
KOEm

That is right the waterproof camera we bought on January 3rd died last Saturday May 17th. It passed due to water intake despite being waterproof. I emailed Olympus on Monday and am still hoping to hear from them soon.
I will keep you posted.
As you can imagine i am pretty much crushed as i generally go nowhere without my camera.

Sure was lucky (for you) that this happened to occur on the week that Granny and Boppy were visiting. Those of you who have met them know that there would be no shortage of photos during this week - especially with a new grand-daughter to meet. We had a great time relaxing and being together and are thankful that the end of the year is drawing near and we will not have to wait too long to hang out some more.

Granny & Boppy: Spring Visit 2008


For those of you anxiously awaiting something worth reading Karli has informed me that she is finalizing a blog post in her mind these days and now just has to have a couple minutes to get it written down (finding this time was somehow easier b.k. (before kids)).

tombstone from: http://www.bigoo.ws/generator/tombstone-note-generator.aspx

It has been more then three weeks since i have posted here ... i could say i have been busy, which i have been (two kids is wonderful but also lots of work). Of course anyone who read the previous post knows why it has taken twenty-two days to write something here; how can i possibly follow that? Hopefully Karli will share more of her thoughts and her literary gift with us here in the near future.

Until then i am going to give up writing and stick to what i know (which isn't much)



In addition to wonderful visits from both Kristy and Geoff we were also visited by Pulitzer prize winner Junot Diaz - he was absolutely incredible to be around and one of the most incredible speakers i have ever heard (you can hear some of his talk here)

Its happened, its finally happened!! After months (actually years) of prodding and poking I actually got Karli to post a blog entry, it is of course incredible and puts me to shame, but of course you would have expected that. Without further ado:

Since I can’t manage to tear myself away from my new baby girl long enough to write you all an email, I thought I would finally write a blog entry. I apologize profusely for not telling each and every one of you our news personally but I hope you understand. I will do my best to email soon but until then know that we are all happy and healthy. If you watch Mark’s video that he has here then that speaks for itself really.

One of the reasons I love knowing another language is seeing the bridge between words and understanding them a little bit better from a different perspective. In Spanish, an infant can be called a criatura which literally means creature. Of course at first I was a little offended, people calling my beautiful baby a creature but now I am starting to see the truth of it. I can understand this as I watch my little 5 day old creature here, Ella Mackenzie Picketts. At times she seems totally out of this world as she snarfs and burrows and claws at the air and at other times she reminds me of little creatures that I know;

• she is like a kitty cat as she stretches her stiff little legs and arms when I take the blanket off of her
• sometimes she is like a chipmunk as she squeaks and clicks when she wants to be fed - - and other times she is like a puppy dog with her wrinkles of extra skin around her knees and butt
• or a basset hound covered in soft fur on her head which I go to kiss a hundred times a day
• or a bird as she wriggles and squirms to be fed, mouth open wide as a homing device for my breast. But one thing is for certain, she couldn’t be one of us humans. So small, so innocent and perfect.

When you think about the word criatura a little more…

I wonder if it came from criar which means to raise or better yet, to create
And is there also a connection to crecer which means to grow
And then there is also creer which is my favorite – to dream

So wherever we have kidnapped this little creature from, I am so glad that she is here. And be it to raise, create, grow or dream…she is all these things to me. To my lovely wrapped bundle , “As I raise you here with me, let us create a world in which you may grow in to become the you that you want to be – may your dreams be the limits of your soul.”

Recent Videos: Picketts 4.0 Release - Masters' Champion

The official release video:



We are all completely in love with Ella and really can't wait for her to meet you in person. Have no fear however...Kristy got me a FlipVideo for my birthday so there will not be a shortage of video here.

Big Brother...


so much footage, and it grows everyday...

stay tuned and have a great weekend

Picketts 4.0 officially released!
Ella Mackenzie Picketts
April 15, 2008 - 7:44 am
Clinica Abel Gonzalez
Special thanks to: Tamara Frankenburg, Jacobo, Juan Carlos Toral, Thom & Pam Pelliccia, to name only a few...

lots more needed here but this will do to get you started...

relaxing with dad

Ella - age 5 minutes (she doesn't look a second over 4)

Picketts 4.0 - the much anticipated release.

More will come soon, as you can likely imagine i have a little bit of footage from this event, so stay tuned.

phew! I really didn't think i was going to get this post finished in time - but it is here and its going up.

I didn't want the release of Picketts 4.0 to happen before an incredible spring break we had with Jeff, Debbie, April and Eric in Cabarete was duly documented. It was relaxing super fun and so great to be together.

As for life back in the capital we had some contractions last Friday which vaulted us into "full ready mode," the bags are packed and the cell phones are never far away. That said we are enjoying the last days with the three of us, full nights of sleep, and watching the excitement in Oliver build around his baby sister. Karli's belly gets lots of kisses each night before bed.
I am slammed at work and trying to get ahead before the arrival - how does it feel like i am falling further behind?

some more random footage from the last couple of weeks. 4 more working days until Semana Santa! i think i can i think i can i think i can...

Mom left Ollie and i for a weekend with the girls. I nice quiet boys weekend at home? Not for these two. He was jarred from sleep at 3:30 in the morning, thrown into a truck and then driven three hours to the best surf break on the north coast. There he watched the Master of the Ocean competition (cool video on the site, i tried to get some footage of the surfing but just don't have the zoom). After a breakfast we checked into the hotel, i almost went down while putting Ollie in for his nap; in the end however it was simple, if i wasn't going to kite why was i putting us both through this ordeal. It took one second on the water to feel on top of the world again. Had a nice long session on the reef while Abel and Ollie napped and had a short session on Sunday.
This kid is amazing to put up with me, i am so lucky.

long overdue but what can i say - February is a busy month in our family. Since Ollie's celebration the Hughes came for a visit (pic), there has been a full lunar eclipse, i have been down south into true Dominicana on a mind-blowing solo kitesurfing adventure, we pulled one over on Karli for a baby shower, i got older, so did Karli, and independence day was celebrated - not bad really. Does kinda leave you wanting a nap though.

And i have more good news. Karli has promised to write about Ollie's birthday here on this blog! When i started this i wanted it to be a family collaboration of thoughts, images and writing and this is the first step in that direction. There is no doubt her re-count of such a great day will force you to wonder why you ever read any of my drivel, but until she gets it written here are some moving images to keep you entertained.

as promised:

so gorgeous...

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Happy Valentines Day!

I love my wife more then i could possibly express to you - and i love that she is gullible and always ripe for the surprising - got her good this morning with this painting.

This video started out as an attempt to thank the Great Grand Parents who (as always) were very generous over the festive season. We were able to re-do Ollie's room - and Diego-a-size it. He loves it, and we will let you all know how the big boy bed goes. In the end, the video ended up as some random videos from around the house, enjoy:



Can you believe he will be 2 on Saturday?!?! It is absolutely mind-blowing and i guess time just does fly when you are having fun. We would love for you to come to his fiesta which will be nice and mellow, poolside:





Karli making valentines for Ollie's class.
I know that i owe you all belly shots, and i have taken them - i just don't have the files here - stay tuned.

part three finally!

of course since Canada we have had a bunch of stuff going on including a long weekend in Cabarete, back to school, birthday parties, end of semester, hours of pool time, ...and we are all excited around the growing belly!
more pictures will come soon.

The long awaited release of Christmas part deux has come: Christmas in California. Click below to see the release which includes Ollie's first nudes! Thanks to our whole California based support crew for the fantastic times.

The final episode of the Christmas trilogy will be out soon, until then keep fit and have fun!