Our last day in Dominica

Today is our last day in Dominica. The apartment is all cleaned out, our bags are packed, and we are all ready to leave bright and early tomorrow! Stephen and I woke up today around 7:00 and he got ready for his final comprehensive exam. I had to take a picture of him before he left for it because he wore that same outfit for every exam here. That shirt must be his good luck charm. That or his headband. After he headed off to his exam I headed to one last breakfast at the beach with some of the girls. We had a good time like always. I am going to miss them so much. None of us want to say a sad goodbye because we all hope that we will see each other again someday. Hopefully we will. After breakfast I headed home one last time walking on our muddy moo cow trail in the rain. It wouldn't be a true Dominican last day without having to wash the mud off my legs after getting home.
Once Stephen got home from his hardest exam so far we finished things up around the house and then headed to the beach one last time. Stephen swam a little in the ocean, we watched our last sunset here, and then had dinner at La Flambeau with two of the families that we started this adventure with. It is hard to believe that today has actually come. It has been a long but fun journey here. One that we don't want to do again but glad we experienced. We are excited to start our next adventure and are definitely ready to go home tomorrow!

So proud of my wonderful Husband!

Saying goodbye to sweet Amaia. Oh how we will miss her and her amazing family.

She sits with us most Sundays at church and when asked who she likes 

more it is always Stephen. But she says she likes me too. We just love her!

Taken a few days ago but couldn't resist posting sweet Amaia as a Tiger.

4th Semester Banquet

It has been a long 16 months but Stephen has pushed through it all and is now finished with all of his classes and just took his last final exam. He has done so well and we are both so happy that this part of the Medical School journey is coming to an end. Now he just needs to get through the next 3 weeks of studying to prepare for the comprehensive final that Ross requires its students to take in order to move on to taking their first set of boards. After Christmas he will be studying day and night again for two more months preparing for the STEP 1. To celebrate all of the students who have made it to the end Ross puts on a 4th semester banquet at the end of each semester. It is always held at Cabrits just about ten minutes from campus. It was a beautiful night and we had so much fun celebrating Stephen and all of our friends and their success while here. All night we could hardly believe that this is real and that we actually have made it this far. It is a wonderful feeling of accomplishment and I hope Stephen is as proud of himself as I am of him.

The theme this semester was James Bond!

On our last night in Cache Valley before moving here we went and looked out over 

what we call the Logan ocean. Now in our last weeks living in Dominica 

we got to do the same thing.

Fine Dining at The Champs

The Champs is a hotel and restaurant located on top of the hill in Picard. It overlooks all of Picard where campus is, and has a beautiful view of the ocean. Every Friday night is their fine dining night where they have a very good chef come in and cook. It is a very limited menu and very expensive which is why you usually go for special occasions. We went with Stan and Taran the day after Thanksgiving after the boys had just finished their last final exam in Medical School. It was a beautiful night. We had such an amazing time and dinner was incredible. Stephen got the tuna and I had the filet mignon. It was such a fun night with friends celebrating our incredible husbands and all their hard work! 

Thanksgiving

Stephen and I have so much to be thankful for this year. However Thanksgiving day started out as a pretty rough one. Being away from family while living in a place you are counting down the days to leave forever on such a wonderful Holiday makes it a little sad. Thanksgiving this year all of the spouses and our families got together for a huge Thanksgiving potluck. I contributed a huge bowl of mashed potatoes and a crock pot full of gravy. The whole thing turned out perfect and my mood increased 100% once I got there and was able to celebrate with our island family. It is a comfort to know that we will always have family/friends with us wherever we live. I have loved my island family so much and have been so grateful to have them here.
Stephen had his final exam the morning after Thanksgiving but was still able to come eat dinner with me and stay for a little bit. Overall we had a great Thanksgiving! There was even quite a bit of leftover turkey so I was able to take some home along with a few rolls. Stephen and I had our own mini Thanksgiving with just the two of us for Sunday dinner with the leftovers I got and then I made a green bean casserole and some more mashed potatoes and gravy. We even had pumpkin pie for dessert. It was a fun way to celebrate just the two of us together after the stress of his final was over with.

This isn't a thanksgiving post without saying a few things I am thankful for this year. I am of course so thankful for my family back home. I miss them so much and can't wait to see them soon! Here are just a few more. To start with I am so very thankful for Stephen. All the time I think about how lucky I am to have found such an amazing husband. I can't imagine my life with anyone else or any other way than how it is with Stephen. Second Stephen and I are both so thankful to be starting our own little family. We are so thankful for the opportunity to have a little baby. We feel so lucky and blessed and can't wait to find out the gender! Third I am even thankful that we were given the opportunity to live in Dominica for the last 16 months. We feel very blessed to be done with the first two years of Medical School and that we are starting our next adventure in just 3 weeks.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our wonderful Island Family