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!):

The other side of the sunrise...

A major impact that Oliver has had on my life is re-introducing me to the morning. There was a time – not too long ago – when the only way that i saw the morning was by not having made it to bed by the time the sun came up. Those days are gone, and sometimes i wonder how i ever survived them. Don’t get me wrong, they were fantastic and hilarious but things change. Mornings are full of smiles and laughs now and when they happen to come on a secret beach that you have all to yourself there really isn’t much to complain about.

This weekend was incredible; special in so many different ways. Of course the most difficult thing that Karli, Oliver and i deal with is living so far away from our family and friends. The upside to that is that you have a tendency to bond quickly and solidly to the people that you are with, creating intense and fast friendships. This is bittersweet because the nature of these friends is that too soon they (or you) will move on to new adventures in new places. This of course ensures a great network of tight friends spanning the globe – but it can also be hard. This is the time of year when teachers decide who will stay and who will go. Conversations are dominated with questions of the future or the sad realization that the friends you have seen daily for years will be on the other side of the world sooner then you wanted.
este es nuestra vida.
Live it, that’s all you can do – strive to get the most out of everyday with the people who are here now and worry about tomorrow when it is here. That’s what this weekend was about.

We were on the highway shortly after 3:00 and had swum in the ocean before a fish dinner on Friday. Hearing the waves crash while lying out on your porch is something i do more then many – but can you ever do it enough? Saturday we went and explored some river fed pools (see the video and turn up the volume so you don't miss the squeal!) that we had to ourselves before spending the afternoon between naps on the beach. The other guests had left leaving the hotel totally to us for Saturday night to play games relax and enjoy the good life before going up to a feast that made the huge dinner from the night before look like a snack. Fresh lobster, fish, sweet potatoes, salads, … the plates kept coming and coming – it was honestly too much! Sunday was more beach and pool time before loading up for the drive home. Ollie continues to amaze with what he will put up and we remain the luckiest people i know.

some explaining may be necessary for this one:

the ice cube was too slippery to pick up, so yogababy went to it.

One step closer to becoming a Master of the Universe…

It was a long a difficult week but Karli finished yet another Masters class. Oliver and i got to spend a lot of time together solo which is always great; he is still hilarious walking (with very little assistance) and talking (in his own tongue) non-stop. He certainly keeps you moving but there is really nothing i would rather be doing.

We got back into routine well and i am constantly thankful for the lives that we are leading.

Friday was a great dinner hosted by incredible friends giving us time to catch up as to the highlights of an active festive season. Saturday was busy running errands watching a little bit of football – just having some guy time, before heading out for a hilarious birthday party. i realized while at the birthday party that once again i am surrounded by incredible people. Really positive and all hilarious, i don’t know how i have gotten so lucky in my life but with this new crew of teachers it seems the good times will keep on for awhile.
I coerced a couple of friends to watch Oliver for the afternoon Sunday so i could squeak out and get a little kiting session in. The wind was blowing harder then i have ever seen it (gusting up to thirty-five miles per hour) but the vast majority of the day was very sailable and it felt great to be back on the water. We are developing into a little crew out at Salinas, at first it was just us teachers (two) but now we can have six or eight easily. As far as flat water sailing goes there isn’t a better spot on the island and it is the only real option as a day trip from Santo Domingo. It was my first day on my new sail and she performed wonderfully, i would have liked something smaller but was amazed at the de-power. Most importantly Ollie was his happy and charming self for the sitters, leaving them as an option for future windy Sundays.

The month long health kick/detox is in full form and has been successful so far; in fact it has me re-impassioned with cooking and i have been inventing lots of new gems – which i am anxious to share. Come for a visit.

mmvii

Seriously did you ever think we would make it here? i have to be honest; i had my doubts, but congratulations to us.

A three week long Christmas vacation is a real highlight to being a teacher and it afforded us the opportunity to celebrate Ollie’s first Christmas with both sides of our family; a real feat considering that they are more than 3500 kilometres apart. It was a wonderful break and although we would have loved more time to see all the people we missed and spend more time with our friends and family, i have to admit it was nice to return to our own bed.

Now that Santa guy is only supposed to deliver gifts to the nice kids not the naughty ones right? If that is true how come we left with two suitcases and came back with four?

What did we do for three weeks? Well i hope you are sitting down…I can’t give you a play by play cause neither of us have time for that. What i can say is that we enjoyed family, friends, sites and sounds in SanFran, Brantford, Toronto and even places as exotic as Coburg to their fullest. The list of people we need to thank for their hospitality, friendship or just company is incredible - we are so lucky to have such a wonderful group of friends and family that we get to see a couple times of year.

To the friends and family we didn’t get to see, for our part we are so sorry and we really hope to see you either here in the beautiful Dominican or the next time we are in your neck of the woods.

Whether we saw you or not look for me on the big screen in The Good Shepherd (wedding scene about 15 minutes from the end), it is my debut and the Oscar buzz is deafening!

As usual our camera was going crazy and i have put together a little slideshow (link here), but for now here is Olver with some guy you might recognize:

'tis the season
With the opening days of december it is official, the Christmas season is upon us. Although here in the DR it starts a little earlier, with each day that passes in December i few more firecrackers go off, the lights in stores and homes are in full effect or in short: its beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Oliver's first. Amazingly there are already gifts under our ChristmasCactus.

This weekend was our staff Christmas party which was an increibly great time. Lots of eating, dancing, drinking and laughing. Some friends and i did a red carpet and interviewed people as they came in, the video footage is hysterical. Of course the greatest part of the party was getting some time to dance with Karli, who - as always - was the most beautiful one inthe room (this picture was taken by a friend wayne through the candle holder).
On an hour and a half of sleep i got up with the surfers and drove the three hours to Cabarete. They were chasing waves and i was planning to be ready on the beach when the wind came up. The wind came, it was late however and inconsistent. The little bit of sailing i did get in reaffirmed my desire to become a wave sailer however. Sometimes you have to show the dedication even when the conditions don't cooperate - or that is what i tell myself (and my wife - who is incredibly understanding). The short session did make the solo night bus ride home a long one.

The flu has torn through our house this week taking no prisoners.
Oliver has started smiling again though and continues to be a hilarious distraction. Lately he has been "trying on" different laughs, it is really something to see. If someone in the room is laughing he will start laughing, then he will stop and laugh again at a totally different pitch and with a different style. It is like his mother trying on clothes, stepping back looking at herself with the little face she makes then heading back to try on the next one. We our anxious to see which laugh he decides to go with, we'll keep you posted.

It is amazing what can happen in a year! This has been without a doubt the greatest year of my life. I am confident that it will never ever be topped. It can all be accredited to one person.

Thank you so much.

Karli and i celebrated a year with another incredible meal at the hotel atlantis, they gave us a private gazebo on the beach and food that has my mouth watering just typing this.

To all of the American friends and family in my life: Happy Thanksgiving.

Karli, the OPP and i returned to Las Terrenas for a Carol Morgan traditional turkey feast. The rumor was that seventy-one people participated and the food and drinks were amazing. Of course it was followed by a thrilling sunset game of five-hundred in the ocean and then a bonfire with guitars and s’mores under the stars. Not too difficult to find something to be thankful for! video

The rest of the weekend was spent in full relaxation mode which was a little different then a year previous.

As seen in the photos the weather a year later…was perfect. i have to admit it was a little hard to swallow after the stress all the rain put us and our guests through a year earlier. We talked about it a lot, then at 5:45 on Saturday out of nowhere a storm blew in that would have killed our wedding – especially because no one could have seen it coming. We wouldn’t change anything.

Oliver liked having the beach to himself; He put himself on a steady diet of sand (literally by the handful) and absolutely loved it when i buried him (video). He has three new teeth coming in, including two on the top – it is really going to change his gummy baby smile.

I have had a year to mentally compose a better way to thank all of the people that helped make the twenty-sixth of november two-thousand and six so incredible – i am still at a loss for words. The friends and family that made it here will never fathom what your presence means to Karli and me. We returned to the Villa Marcus on Saturday night (Karli had to give me my ring – for the third time), just being there sent a wave of emotion over me unlike anything Playa Bonita has ever seen.

It is incredibly fitting that our anniversary will be forever linked to the giving of thanks.

Upon returning to the capital we all needed long baths to get all that sand out of our hair!

Due to a scheduling or communication error we gained an extra day with Granny and Boppy. Truly, what was the loss for the medically needy in Lynden was our gain. We are lucky to be able to live and work overseas yet still be close enough for ten-day long (even if we stole one) visits! As is the usual case they came with two suitcases and left with one - leaving gifts a plenty - literally in every room of our house, we are all feeling very spoiled today (swinger video).
According to the weather network they are flying into 0 degrees celsius that feels like -4; it has to feel colder then that if you woke up in 26 degrees though doesn't it? With Oliver continuing to strengthen his, "i don't want to wear clothes" attitude, i truly am nervous for the festive season.
Oliver was terribly excited to open his first Christmas gift with mom (right) - he thought the box and the wrapping paper were awesome (he declined comment on the contents however).
Karli and i both took personal days last Friday enabling us to spend some time at a near by beach, sleeping in and enjoying the four extra hands that were eager to help out. Boca Chica is a great place especially when it is your "local."

Without stepping on next week's toes, Karli and i have begun the week long celebration of our anniversary. It is hard to believe how much can happen in a year! Everyday we are talking about what was going on and the emotions we had a year ago. Those of you who participated in Las Terrenas or from afar we want to renew our thanks to you.