SnapShots: Dominican Republic Year 3

June 11, 2014

I am a lucky girl. I live on a beautiful island full of beautiful, fun people and get to make beautiful memories with my beautiful, healthy family. What else could anyone ask for? Anything extra is a bonus and there are plenty of bonuses. Here is a snapshot of YEAR 3 in the Dominican Republic:

 

We are fortunate to live close to the beach and to spend long weekends relaxing in the sun and drinking frosty rum drinks.

Snapshot of Year 3

The Bluffs, originally named Praxe’s Bluffs after the friend who discovered this sweet corner of Earth for us, is easily one of my favorite places here – or anywhere. To get there, we drive up the sidewalk (yes! the sidewalk) and park the car on a bluff overlooking the ocean and in prime location for gorgeous sunsets. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s child-friendly though we have brought our kids.

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We spend almost as much time at the playground as we do home. Correction: we spend more time at the playground than at home. We love it there as much as the kids do.

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This is one of my favorite pictures of this year. It so clearly sums up what life is here with kids growing up as island babies where they find coconuts in the backyard.

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There are two things about this picture. Like the picture above, the first is that it tells the story of where my kids live, a place where mangoes grow on trees. But the second (and more important detail for me) is the note: “Mango de la beba.” These mangoes are from Ayalibi, one of the maintenance workers of our school, and one of about 5 people that brings me mangoes for our kids. Apparently, everyone knows that our littles love mangoes so co-workers, maintenance staff, nannies, and parents scout trees, pick, and deliver mangoes to us for Rafa and Santiago. It’s in these moments that I think this is the only place for me.

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Everyday isn’t a walk at the playground though. This day was the first day we understood the difficulties of being the parents of two sick kids. In a move totally unlike her, Poor Rafa was so exhausted from throwing up all morning that she fell asleep on the couch this afternoon.

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Our family is our major priority but we like to remind ourselves that we are the first priority. You can’t have a happy family without a happy marriage so we try to take sometime for us as a couple made easy peasy with our nanny.200e0-dateday

Just a typical Wednesday afternoon with the family.

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Milestone moments! Santiago’s 1st birthday was even more special because his grandparents were able to celebrate here with us – a major bonus considering most birthdays abroad are grandparent less.

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BESTIE! This chick has been my best friend since the 5th grade. We went to college together. Got pregnant the same year and had our kids 6 weeks apart and this was her first visit. What a treat to show her around our life here and what a reminder that no matter where in the world we are this kind of friendship travels well.

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We party like rockstars here for sure. This Lip Sync Battle Party is one of the many awesome parties we throw here on the fablous Kury Rooftop! Let’s go, Jimmy Fallon.

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There were over 20 acts but to not break their privacy I can only share my lip syncs. Here’s a taste:

One of my favorite events added to this year’s agenda was Thanksgiving Olympics. Over 40 grown adults running, jumping, relaying, battling for the pure glory of winning. Our team did not win the whole Olympics but we raged in battle at Beach Tug O’ War and came out victorious. We weren’t expected to win the match up which made the victory that much sweeter.

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My Surprise 80’s Party!! Holy Mother of Tear Down the House! This was a rager! People came to party like it was 1999 and didn’t go home until all 99 Luftballoons exploded and were left on the dance floor. Husband worked incredibly hard to pull this off and I was totally surprised. Thanks to everyone for really showing up.

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And now if you don’t mind, Husband and I are off to the colmado to hang out and laugh with good friends and drink cold beers.

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~ UNTIL THE NEXT BOTTLE ~
Bottle Imagewine glass


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Listening to:
Home – Phillip Phillips
Burn – Ellie Goulding
Don’t You Forget About Me (cover) – The Wind and the Wave
The Only Place – Best Coast

https://www.flickr.com/photos/carollainy/4786580516

 

3 Comments
    1. I love it! Island life is definitely unique, and the experiences are amazing! I moved to Barbados almost 4 years ago and it's been quite an adventure. Nothing beats palm trees and coconuts in your backyard 🙂 I agree though, saying goodbye is definitely the hardest part of being an ex-pat. But it makes us stronger too! ~Ree

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