Arizona

I was offered a full tuition scholarship to the Eller School of Management at the University of Arizona, and so Roxie and I decided to make the trip to Tucson for their welcome weekend.  As part of our visit, we were able to stay with Caroline, who lives in Phoenix.  We really enjoyed our visit, but aren't too sure if we could deal with the desert heat on a full time basis.  We'll see...

East Coast Trip

As part of my grad school search, Roxie and I took a week long trip to the east coast to visit Yale.  We stopped first in Boston to visit John and Lital, and enjoyed the St. Patrick's day parade in South Boston.  After stopping in Yale to interview, we drove to New York City, where we spent four days with Roxie's sister Avet.  It was my first visit to the Big Apple, and I can't wait to go back!

Israel!

I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Israel for John and Lital's wedding on January 2nd.  In addition to spending new year's eve in Tel Aviv and enjoying an incredible wedding, I was able to visit Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Dead Sea and other intriguing parts of Israel.  This was perhaps the most memorable trip I have ever taken.

Christmas

The Christmas holiday was a special time for me, as it was the very first Christmas I had ever spent with my wife.  Not only that, but I was able to spend time with both my brother and sister.  We enjoyed having my Uncle Don, Aunt Tammy and family over to Rockford for Christmas dinner, and my cousin Ashley was the star of the show.

Chicago

Roxie and I traveled to Chicago for the weekend to visit the city and meet up with Brian and Amber Essenmacher.  We enjoyed the Christmas spirit of the city, and I visited the Chicago regional Peace Corps office.  The only thing that we didn't love about the city was the bitter cold.

Stateside Wedding Reception

On Thanksgiving weekend, we held a wedding reception at Paul and Diane's house in Ann Arbor for all of our wedding guests from the states who were not able to make it down to the Caribbean.  It was great to see so many people who I had not seen in quite a long time and introduce them to Roxie.  You can't beat two parties for the same event!

Move to the United States

On September 27th, I left St. Vincent for what may have been the last time in a long time, and Roxie followed me to the U.S. a week later.  I began working a contract position at Creative Solutions on October 1st, and Roxie and I moved into Paul and Diane Sonda's house until the end of the year.  This move is a big transition for both of us, but we are excited to begin to settle into one place and plan for our future.

Going Away Party

A few days before we left Mustique, we had a going away party on Macaroni Beach.  It was a chance to enjoy the company of so many wonderful persons who we had become close to over the past two years.  I was overwhelmed with the amount of gratitude shown to me for the work that I had done, and felt blessed to have had the chance to serve others in the capacity that I had. 

Last Days in St. Vincent & the Grenadines

The months of July, August and September were marked with nostalgia, as we began or plans to leave St. Vincent and the Grenadines and move to the United States.  We took a trip to the falls of Baliene, I took one last trip to Union Island, and we went to the Miss SVG show during carnival season.  It was our only carnival activity this year, as the cost of immigrating to the U.S. was extremely high.

Our Niece Ebony's Visit

In August, we invited our niece, five-year-old Ebony Hooper to come to stay with us for the month for her summer holidays. Ebony has always been my favorite niece or nephew and we enjoyed having her with us in Mustique.  It was a month of firsts for Ebony: first time on a plane, first time riding horses, first time visiting Mustique.