An island, a game, relatives, and hair! Two weeks of highlights

It seems like a lot has been going on. As I sit down to recount some of it, of course I can't remember it all. Here are some highlights, though, from the last few weeks.

Trip to Dominica!!!!
Dominica is a sweet sweet island in the Eastern Caribbean. It was the site where Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3 were filmed. It is full of this untouched natural beauty that is unreal. I love that fact that the US Government pays for me to travel there periodically. Don't worry, I'm working when I go -- the Government ain't paying for me to play. This last trip, though, there was a day when the two overlapped. The Embassy has put some cultural grants into Dominica to help preserve certain cultural and historical sites, so we had to go check the sites out and see how the money is being used. While seeing these sites, we stopped by a couple of the most famous natural and cultural sites so our new Ambassador could learn more about Dominica. We hiked to a waterfall and then to a solidified lava flow. We also saw a really old sugar mill and cultural village illustrating the last of Caribbean native inhabitants. Now I have to start preparing for a trip to St. Lucia.

Certain project -- done!!
Another highlight/lowlight of the last couple weeks was finishing a few major reports at work. Lowlight because they were a pain to complete; highlight because it felt great to have them done.

Mother-in-law visiting
Jen's mom is in town, and it's always great to have any from Jen's family. Jen and I both feel very lucky because we both married into families where we feel at home. It's great to see the kids take to their grandparents so well. Both girls are having a blast with their Nana, coloring, playing with stickers, reading books, and playing outside. Jen and I enjoy the help and company. This is just the beginning -- the rest of Jen's family comes the end of this week.

Best highlight -- Jen's hair!!!
I clearly remember the day in 2002 when, after having broken up months before, something flipped inside me and I wanted to ask Jen out again. She was wearing a red shirt and long, denim skirt and had done something with her hair then she had never done before -- it was curly. Not like frizzy, perm curly, but like pretty, wavy, flowly curly. For the last five years, I've been telling her to do that again. When she picked me up at the airport after I got back from Dominica, she had finally done it. It's awesome!!! I love it. She's done it everyday since. She doesn't have to do this the rest of her life to make me happy; I like it when she mixes things up sometimes. Every now and then, though, this is the best hairstyle ever. I love it!

Final highlight for this blog -- Superbowl!
Anyone who knows me well enough to care to read this blog probably knows I'm not the biggest football fan ever. I've watched enough playoff games this season, though, that I'm actually excited for the big game (which is going on as I type this). Colts v Bears -- It'd be nice to see Peyton Manning get his finally, but I have to go with the Bears. I have a brother-in-law (Paul) and sister-in-law (Rachel) who are both die hard Bears fans. Family's got to stick together -- Go Bears!