Two Angels

I love my life.

I spent the last three weeks with my parents, this week with my sister, and I will spend the next 13 weeks in St Thomas.

Being in Utah is so fun. Besides being able to hang out with my sister and my awesome brother in law, I am able to be with two of my sweet angels.

Here is an adorable video of them waiting for David to come home.





Some photos:

All about...John?

Now I know that normally this blog is all about me; photos of me, comments to me, my thoughts, and a recap of my experiences. But I feel the need to make this blog all about John. Don't feel betrayed, because it is not about me. Recognize that I am doing this because...well, I love John. Here are 2 videos of John that I think are well worth your time.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Baracknophobia - Obey
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
For Fox Sake!
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Wild News

My brother and his family made the New York Entertainment news:

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2009/10/the_wild_things_ride_the_bosto.html

They are seriously so awesome!

Mik, Tiff, Kai, and Nea on the T, in Boston

My family

For those of you who don't know, I adore my family. I think they are some of the most amazing people on earth.

Last month, we got together to celebrate our awesomeness. Here is a photographic journey of our vacation.









Shopping













Walking, throwing leaves at each other, and making whistles out of grass.













Chuck E. Cheese please












New wetsuits (modeled on the right by Leena and Timo)










We love our crazy papa










Playing games









Doing projects















Building forts and reading books










So Happy Together!

Bangladesh

Hey friends. I am back on this side of the globe. I spent last week in Bangladesh in preparation to build a hospital in Chittagong. I had originally been planning to move to Bangladesh at the beginning of the year, but the trip has been postponed until mid-year. There is a lot of work to be done between now and then!

I spent most of my trip in meetings, but here are some photos of my adventures:











Arrived 36 hours, no sleep.

Showered. 48 hours no sleep for any of us...go team

Dinner after our presentation to the board. Totally rocked it!

Listening and taking notes at a government hospital

The maternity ward

The delivery room

Rickshaws were EVERYWHERE

The market

Visiting the site of the nursing school.

Locals watching the crazy whities

One of these things is not like the other.

The locals brought Grace and I coconuts. I think I am going to like it here.

Grace and I are on the way to present at a conference

Speaking at the conference

I learned where clothing comes from

Cute boys from the community

Dinner at the Khan's home

I finally found a dog I liked

A BRAC community worker

Gerry reading to one of the children

BRAC educating women about hand washing

Home delivery kits

Visiting some of the communities BRAC works in...Amazing!

A BRAC community health worker

It is a crazy country, but I can't wait!!

4:29:17

Today I ran 26.2 miles in 4:29:17. My PR. I ran the Hartford Marathon with my dad and two of my brothers, Mik and Sep. While Timo, Leena, and Tiff ran the half marathon. Everyone did amazing:

Sep: 3:13
Mik: 3:36
Papa: 3:56

Tif: 1:49
Timo: 1:56
Leena: 1:58

Even though I can't walk right now, it was an amazing day!
















Right at the end

Finishing the Marathon

I attribute being able to finish to these hills, these runs and these views on St Thomas and St John.

Jared!

This is Jared and me. Jared is one of those really good friends, who is always there. He is a favorite of mine. As you can imagine, I was so excited when he told me that he was coming to visit. Here are some of the things that were so fun about his trip...


1. Talking late into the night, just about life.

2. Reading aloud the book Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa puffs, and doubling over laughing.


"Your best friend is taking a nap on the floor of your living room. Suddenly, you are faced with a bizarre existential problem: This friend is going to die unless you kick them (as hard as you can) in the rib cage. If you don’t kick them while they slumber, they will never wake up. However, you can never explain this to your friend; if you later inform them that you did this to save their life, they will also die from that. So you have to kick a sleeping friend in the ribs, and you can’t tell them why. Since you cannot tell your friend the truth, what excuse will you fabricate to explain this (seemingly inexplicable) attack?"

3. The adventure. Going paddle boarding. Laying in the sun on Peterborg, while Jared found small pools to hang out in, hiking on St. John, and fishing for tarantulas.

4. Feeding the wild donkeys on St. John












5. Quoting Arrested Development, Wait, wait, don't tell me and awesome movies.





Seriously, so fun. Thanks Jared!