The Long Weekend

This happens to be a GOOD long weekend and I wish it could've lasted longer! I got 2 (almost) free weekends to spend with my husband!!!! (If you are an SO of a medical school student you understand this excitement!) But, when I get to go to the pool with Ash on a Thursday, you know its going to be a good weekend! I knew that he couldn't completely take the weekend off because he had already started the second half of the term and couldn't get behind...BUT we did have some fun things planned! Ash had to catch up on some studying on Friday since he had taken Thursday afternoon off. But, that was okay with me because I had to finish the 3rd and last step of my application for The Dating Divas Blog Assistant position! I finally finished it and after reading through it probably 5 more times and praying over it with Ash, I sent it off! Then, we went to go play catch which we haven't done for a long time so it was really fun- and felt great to throw the ball again! But, also made me miss my softball girls and playing with them! Ash has gotten so much better though so its really fun to go out and play with him! :) Saturday morning, Ash had his session to teach his AEP group and then he had a DES study session on his own. So, I spent the morning making food for our church Multi-Cultural Potluck the next day for Easter! Since I don't know how to make any Armenian dishes I got as close as I could to my culture! I made Tabbouleh, Hummus and Whole Wheat Pita! That's close enough, right?? :) Later that night, we had planned to go out to dinner to celebrate my birthday a couple days early! We got all dressed up and went to Victory Bar and Grill at Port Louis, which is where all the yachts are! It was the first time I got to wear the maxi dress that I had made! We didn't take any full body pictures but you can see the top of it in some of them :) Ash felt bad because we got all dressed up and he felt like he made me ride in a gross reggae bus in my nice dress but it was fun and the true Grenadian experience :)

Our Yacht for the night!! Just Kidding :p

It was still fun to take pictures with it and pretend :)

Love Him!

Our View from Dinner

Checking out the menu

Decided on Cheese Ravioli

And I got the huge Veggie Pizza that I shared with Ash :)

 Ash surprised me and told the waitress it was my birthday! He tried to get them to bring me the brownie sundae because he knew I would like that best but instead they brought this out (This is Grenada lol) We think it was a coffee cheesecake haha but it was pretty good! I usually don't like coffee flavored things or cheesecake but I tried to have a little to show Ash how much I appreciated my surprise and his effort to get me something I would have really liked but this wasn't bad! And the chocolate around it was pretty good too :)

After grabbing another reggae bus, we made it home! Before we left I had started making cinnamon rolls to surprise Ash with on Easter morning. But, I decided to tell him my plan and ask him for help! He was very helpful, but after not too long we had GIANT cinnamon rolls! He said he would rather have 4 HUGE ones than more small ones...lol Unfortunately we only have a toaster oven which only fits an 8x8 pan so needless to say it was a TIGHT SQUEEZE!

These pictures do not even get close to showing you the perspective of how big they were!! haha But, we covered them up and waited until the morning to bake them! And I really did appreciate his help and getting to make them with him - but I was a little nervous of what would happen when they got put in the oven! :o :]

 I was super bummed that I couldn't make Ash an Easter basket! Thanks to The Dating Divas blog, I found a cute idea and got Ash his favorite Grenadian drink with a few fun Easter coupons :)

I got an amazing poem that Ash wrote! He actually has written me a poem on a previous Easter so we decided that maybe it should be a fun tradition that he will keep doing :)

They fit!! Barely...

 Since the cinnamon rolls had no where to go they just kept rising...Ash had to keep pushing them down so they wouldn't touch the top of the toaster oven! And they were taking forever to bake through so eventually (after waiting about an hour and a half) Ash took 2 out cut them in half and they finally cooked through so we could scarf down breakfast before church! haha but they were delicious!! :D

Our church group had a special Easter service planned that was really nice! We invited one of our couple friends who usually don't go to church- after some Ashkon pushing and convincing they decided to come and we were really excited they came!! We had some great worship, reading of the Word, and reflecting on what Jesus did for us on the cross and then how he fulfilled (and fulfills!) all of his promises and broke the curse of sin through his resurrection! I serve a GREAT GOD! Wow!

After the service we headed down to Black Sand Beach (that you can see is now fenced off but is still a great place to have pot lucks). There were all types of cultural food including sushi, enchiladas, and a lot of rice and pasta dishes!

Our First Married Easter!

Then, we spent the afternoon with friends at Pink Gin Beach. It is beautiful and actually where they will be putting in a Sandals Resort. They actually built the land from a previous resort and are now in the process of renovating it! Go here to see what it will be like
https://www.sandals.com/main/grenada/lshome.cfmWT.mc_id=SSG_LaSource_MainImg_EC_Mar13&utm_source=SSG_LaSource&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SSG_LaSource_MainImg_EC_Mar13&spMailingID=5850895&spUserID=MzIyODM4MjUwMDcS1&spJobID=69647545&spReportId=Njk2NDc1NDUS1
- be sure to look at all the pictures and I have no doubt that it will be an added incentive for you to come visit us :D
It doesn't hurt that this is the beach and the view that you have while you stay there! Now all I need to do is find out how to work there so Ash and I can stay for free :p

The Girls

The Boys...trying to launch each other and do flips into the ocean.

 Then, we told them to do a pyramid! It took them a while to realize that we wanted them to do it facing us so we could take pictures lol!

SUCCEEESSSSSSSS!! :)

 Their next idea was to sprint into the water and do swan dives...

 All together now!

Wait do we go on 3 or after 3??

Almost got all of them!

Not so graceful for this round...

 Then, they all tried to do flip-ups- start on your back, roll back and flip yourself up onto your feet!

I got distracted for a while by the beautiful water and views!

Ash trying to do it...

He did it!!! :D 

 Next on the agenda was Coconut Baseball complete with a bamboo bat! It was hilarious to watch. Let's just say swinging a giant bamboo stick is not the way to show off your swinging technique lol!

 But, my man did get a TRIPLE his first at bat! I taught him well ;)

Diving catch attempt

 Then, they moved on to Coconut Football!

TOUCHDOWN!!

 Interception to win the game!!!

Defeated...

 The boys wanted a picture since the girls took one earlier! Ha It took them a while to figure out their "pose"!

Not sure what went on here...

Or here.

Then they all decided to do it...

The group

 After the beach, we all went home to shower up and have dinner! I didn't have a special dinner planned for our Easter dinner, but we made pizza which was fun and yummy! Then, we quickly cleaned up for game night at our place! A few friends came over and we played Rummikub (one of our favorite games!) complete with popcorn, Weisser cookies, and mint m'n'm's -a fun treat that I had stashed away since Christmas! We had a great First Married Easter and were reminded all day of the power and love of Christ's resurrection! HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!

Our monday morning started off a little slow with another day of no class!! Ash and I were supposed to go running but decided to skip since I hadn't been feeling the best. But, he said that since he needed to catch up on his work from the weekend he still wanted to go on a walk to spend time with me! He mentioned that he was going to put on real clothes so I did the same. Since he said we were just going on a walk, and I (and sometimes Ash too) tend to live in workout clothes, I was a bit suspicious but just threw it out of my mind. We started walking around campus and after a few minutes of talking, he led me toward a gazebo where many of my friends were waiting for me to surprise me with a breakfast for my birthday! They all made something different and it all looked delicious- unfortunately I didn't get the memo about not eating breakfast and had just finished off the giant cinnamon rolls with Ashkon lol! But, I did take 2 plate fulls home for later :) It was actually 2 other friends birthdays a couple days before mine, so it was fun to be celebrated with them at the breakfast!

Then, even after the long weekend of being spoiled, Ash was still able to take care of me and make me feel special on my birthday! He woke up early before class to decorate our place with Toilet Paper streamers haha :) (We seriously use toilet paper for everything!) and to make me breakfast- Scrambled eggs and peanut butter toast! Then Ash headed off to class and I went to my yoga class! Ashkon had classes all morning so after yoga I went to get my nails done (Thanks Mom :D) It was my 10th day for my Amish Friendship Bread which meant it was time to bake! (See Amish Friendship Bread Post) It was really fun to do and the house smelled great when Ash got home! And it was delicious :) And I got to Facetime with Jess and the kids while I was baking!

 In the afternoon I went to a new pool with some friends! It was actually at a really nice resort but some of the girls bought some drinks and you wouldn't have even been able to tell that we weren't experienced "resort go-ers" :D And this view wasn't too bad for my birthday!

When I got home, I Facetimed with Rach, Ellie, and Hanna and then with my Mom a little later! Ashkon started dinner- BBQ Chicken Salad and Cornbread YUM!- and then we ran out really quick to see the sunset! Unfortunately, it was pretty cloudy but we still got some good pictures!

 Then, we ate dinner! It was so nice to be made dinner and even better that it tasted SOO good!! And, it was a treat! I usually don't buy salad fixings because they are so expensive- especially with some of the fresh veggies but we decided to splurge :)

Do you like our salad tongs?? :)

Did I mention it was Trader Joe's Cornbread?? My favorite!!!

BBQ chicken made by Chef Ashkon

The Chef for the night

My Birthday Dinner

Excited to have his Easter Ting

<3

Another birthday treat that I rarely get here in Grenada- Diet Coke!

 After dinner, we Facetimed with Bethany and my friend Carissa who happened to be at her house which was a fun surprise! Then, we had dessert- American Ice Cream!!! YUMMMM!! (If you haven't see in any of my previous posts, Grenadian ice cream is just not the same and definitely does not make the cut!! haha) So, Ash treated me to a HUGE tub of Chocolate Ice Cream!! :D:D:D:D:D

Time to open my gift! Wrapped in Toilet Paper of course :D

He spoils me! He is going to get me a Nike+ FuelBand when we get home!!

I am so blessed and lucky to have such an amazing husband who made me feel so special  on my birthday!!! :D