Temporary Summer Home.......and new car!

It has obviously been a while since our last post. Ben and I are now in America and enjoying every minute of it. I know people have been curious about where we live and things...so this post is just for that. We've made big improvements to our living conditions....take a peek.

Our new car!!!! I'm loving it. Luckily while we were figuring out how to purchase this my brother let us borrow his car during his honeymoon. Ben and I both commute to work and after a week of driving stick shift I swore it off forever. It didn't help that I was driving in Detroit traffic, pot holes, hadn't driven in a year and wasn't a pro at stick shift in the first place.
Great rear view!
Townhouse. Unfortunately only for the summer.
Kitchen....with dishwasher.
Living room with our new T.V.



Another angle of our living room.

Another angle of our kitchen with our own washer and dryer....people in Dominica will appreciate this!

Den on the left (more like storage). And our bedroom straight ahead.

Bedroom.
Walk-in closet.

We also have 1 1/2 bathrooms and a dinning room. But we had to put the kitchen table together so more to come.

Ben's Birthday!!!!!!!

Ben had a very special birthday this year! He turned 30 and I think it ended up being a lot better than he thought. A week before his birthday we rented a car (long story) and drove around the island. A good half of the island. It ended up being about 4 hours of driving!!! But we had a lot of fun. We were able to catch up on some places Ben hasn't seen.

My Babe!

Here we are on a hike. This guy ended up walking with us and would not leave us alone. We would be 15 feet in front of him and his was still having a conversation! Ben was not happy. Luckily, we found an awesome patch of raspberries.....they supposedly grow only in the mountains.

Red Rock.

Look! We're in southern Utah.

I'm trying to be funny or cute?


A cute picture of us!
On Ben's actual birthday we had a little dinner with some friends. We went to Ben's favorite Chinese place called Tulips. It was pretty yummy. Here is Ben blowing out his giant birthday cookie!

After we went up to De Champs for his surprise party!! Ben had no idea that I had planned it until we started walking up there. It ended up being a lot of fun.

The awesome pinata that my friend Chelsea and I made. It was indestructible! I've considered making and selling them on the island....if it didn't take more than 2 hours.


The awesome shirt I ordered and wore around all day. Ben laughed when he saw it at lunch. I think he liked it!

My Lover! I hope you had a great birthday!

LIZ'S BIRTHDAY

So in addition to an awesome month of fun it was also my birthday!!!! Woot-woot. Look who's 23!! Which is probably why it was so fun....for me. And probably not so much for Ben, because I was reminding him everyday for 18 days. lol.

Ben made my birthday awesome and did an amazing job at surprising me. I would tell him throughout the year of things I specifically wanted for my birthday. And once February hit I completely forgot about everything I wanted. So I'm glad he was paying attention. So when I woke up I had a table full of presents and yummy chocolate chip banana pancakes! Then later that day he threw me a party with tin foil dinner and friends over for dessert! It was so much fun!! Yay for birthdays!!!

Ben ordered an amazing chocolate cake with chocolate frosting from a girl on campus who is doing a little business. It was so good. Here I am blowing out the candles!

All my cute little girl friends waiting for some cake.

Some of the boys helping with tin foil dinner.

We decided to decorate and went a little crazy. I told Ben to write Happy Birthday Liz. He suggested Liz and big star instead. We still have it up. It's pretty cool.

After my birthday Ben and I desperately both needed a haircut. I've been wanting to cut it for two years. And I finally couldn't take it anymore. So last week I finally cut off 10+ inches. It's so much better. I love it! And after Ben's mini heart attack and two days of thinking about it he does too.

Us cute before church.

The back.
The front.... the camera is a little too close for my liking.

The back again.
And a pose.

February Fun!!!

Sorry it's been a while. Ben was doing so good at the Patagonia post, it was hard to beat. lol. However, we have been having a ton of fun this past month. Here are a few things that we have been up to- in no particular order.

Ben and I decided after his test (two weeks ago) to go for a hike up the river near our house. We've been up this river, but decided to go all the way to the top, in attempt to get more of a workout. We didn't end up making it the rest of the way....and you'll find out why.

Cool vines that have crisscrossed over a rock. They climb up tress too. Ben loves taking pictures of them.

Me not wanting to go very far off the beaten path. But being an awesome wife and following Ben into the jungle about 50 ft.

Getting a quick pic of Ben.

And the main reason why we couldn't go any farther. There was a river dam that ended the trail. And there was a sign that said it was prohibited to go any farther. We thought about going farther....and we only made it 50 ft like I mentioned above.

Later that week we went to the beach with some friends. We went to Batibou Beach....which has become one of my favorites. The water is clear, the sand is nice, and it was just amazing. It was cloudy the whole time, yet Ben still got a little burnt. But it ended up being perfect weather and we got back to the van right before it started pouring.
The hike down to the beach.
Chelsea, Sarah, Me and Liz. Such fun friends. I love hanging out with them. Thanks Chelsea for the pics!
Ben climbing a palm tree. I keep telling him that I don't like it, but he continues to do it every time we are at the beach.


Me and my lover! I think we are pretty dang cute!
Us again.
Liz and Jason's baby Emmy. She is so cute. I love it whenever she pays attention to me.

Jason, Emmy, Liz, Ben and Me. Here we are squished in a car. It was a major holiday down here, called Carnival. So a small van was all we could get. Somehow we got 12 adults and children in there, not including the driver.

JULIE PRINCE FLOWERS

www.julieprinceflowers.com

I'm going to follow my sister-in-laws lead and let you all know about my wonderful mother-in-laws new website. She has been doing flowers for a few years and is amazing!!! Her work is so beautiful. Check it out and tell your friends! She did my bouquet pictured above.