Welcome home, Gawrych Family!
I really don't think it gets any better than this. The kids just threw swimsuits on and headed for the beach.
A big change from the first time she was there at 9 months old!
Check our "our" pool. That day no one else was there. In fact, that was most days.
Hair braiding on day 1 too... it's tradition! Ava didn't like it so much, but she did like it when she was done.
Abby's an old pro.
Even I got some of my hair braided this time. This was my view. Listening to the ocean, hot sun, cool breeze, someone doing my hair? YES please!
Ava found every stray dog ever and gave them some puppy love.
What I love most about going back... they're always doing something to renovate, or building new, or cleaning. This guy was cleaning all the windows. How awesome. They never look dirty from the salt water. They also added Liam's To Go on this beach with fries and burgers. Best.Fries.Ever! (Even Abby agreed.)
Wee!!!
Our very own golf cart. We love a golf cart!
These are pictures of pip pips. What's a pip pip you ask? I have no idea. But when Ava went in the ocean, she came back up and declared, "I swallowed a pip pip. Tastes like salmon." So, the kids took turn drawing pictures of what they thought a pip pip would look like.
On to Ocean World! The kids (minus Ava who was too small) geared up to go snorkeling.
FUN!
I'm not a huge snorkeling fan, especially with the salt water. But, this is pretty cool. You get to see everything right there. It's kind of like getting to go in a habitat at the zoo.
We did dolphin swims this year and that comes with swimming with the stingrays and the sharks.
Yikes! So proud of Abby this year. Last time she wouldn't do it because she was too scared. So brave this year!
Look Max, how cool is that stingray?
See? You just hold the fish out like this.
Oh, you're fine. I'm sure of it.
And, maybe not. That stingray REALLY liked you!
But never fear, even after getting bit by the stingray, they all decided to swim with the sharks, too!
Yummy toes!
Be afraid. Be very afraid!
Give him kisses, Abby!
They are BIG!
And... moving right along. Surprisingly, no one got pooped on!
Abby would not do this year 1. And she barely did it year 5.
Ava on the other hand would have dumped the entire bag of bird seed in her hair to get more on her head.
Max loved the bigger birds.
Especially this one named Max.
Ava in the tiger grotto pool. There's glass back behind the rocks where the tiger enclosure is. It's a very deep pool, and we realized this year that Ava could swim without floaties!
Dolphin swim! Everyone graduated this year. Max moved up to do this with the dolphins, and Ava was with me in a smaller venue. I don't have pictures of her and the dolphins. Well, somewhere we do, but couldn't find the ones we bought from the place once we got home!
Poor Abby struggles with the sun every year. At least we know to bring Benedryl now! Originally, it was just to knock them out on the plane!
Abby misses Gram being there from last year, I think. She can only hang out for so long.
The view of our new villa. Well, where we could stay as long as people who paid more than us don't kick us out.
Dolphin trainer! Every year the kids play this, but it's the first year for Ava. Look at how well trained those dolphins are!
Too cool for school.
She's just... so mature. We had to get a picture with her and Dave before she decides she doesn't want to talk to him anymore!
CHERRIES! A kid favorite.
One of the nights we had dinner on the beach and there was a wedding. I didn't get a great picture of it really, but it was unfortunate that it was also the only night it sprinkled the entire week we were there. But, it didn't seem to slow the bride down!
Handsome boys and...
Beautiful girls.
Max loves to pose in some way, shape or form. The many faces of Max...
Helicopter ride!
This is Santos and his baby girl. We've known Santos since year 1, and visit him each time we go back. This time, he brought his daughter and his wife. so we could meet them. It's just so cool. Next year, he invited us to his house for dinner, which we would absolutely love.
Serenity Beach! The second we got there, the Bigs turned Little and started to dig, dig, dig.
Ava had other ideas.
I'm always surprised at how the kids break up. It's never the same two together. Sometimes it's Bigs and Littles. Sometimes it's Girls and Boys. Here, it was Abby and Max while Nolan and Ava hung out. I love it.
Dave spent a ridiculous amount of time playing fetch with them. They each had a rock that they knew what it looked like, Dave would throw it in the water and they would find it. I don't think they ever lost it!
Tradition! But, now the whole is much harder to dig to fit them all, so we cheated a little bit.
Ahhh. Too much fetch makes you thirsty!
This little girl is Isabella. Her mom is Cuban and her dad Polish. They live in Canada. How crazy! But, Ava and Isabella became immediate friends, and Isabella wanted to invite Ava to her birthday party in May. It's always great to see them make friends.
Dave gave them a contest. Build a "fort" that wouldn't let water in. Anywhere in your fort, he would put a $1 bill in and whoever had a $1 bill that stayed dry would win. They both did very well and so Dave started breaking apart walls. Eventually the boys won.
A new restaurant... Oh Crepe!
Because I can't resist.
Another new restaurant... pizza! Abby was thrilled!
The VIP party. It's pretty awesome.
One of the kids' favorite past times was creating whirlpools in the littler pools. They really got quite the currents going on some of them.
Dave's birthday nap. He didn't feel great so he took Benedryl and woke up much better.
So much better he visited the hookah bar!
Quite the view he had.
It truly doesn't get any better than this.
Dave's birthday still. Ava had been waiting to buy him a beer in the Domincan, especially a Heineken. They don't have them their, but we did a really good acting job so she fully believed it. Max got Dave a Sol Dominicano. Your birthday at an all-inclusive resort is a good good thing.
Another tradition! Dominican Butts!
Dinner at the Brazillian Steakhouse. Yum! Best grilled pineapple ever.
The boys boogie boarded for quite some time. With varying levels of success.
Ava had to get in on the fun too! Until she flipped upside down feet over her head. Then she went back to the pool.
Bar swings. These should totally be at every bar ever.
Inside pics of "our" new villa...
Girls week August 6-13! Who's in? Seriously... let me know!
Dinner at Azul. We were a little worried because, despite Max's striped shirt and plaid shorts, it's a fancy restaurant.
Crazy soup bowls.
Quail egg for the raw salmon.
No thanks.
Ava's chicken and fries.
Max's Filet Mignon. Or, as he called it, his Flaming Minion.
My ribeye.
Nolan's lobster.
Dave's prime rib.
And Abby's noodles. :)
Father daughter dance!
Brother sister dance?
Love my girls!
Breakfast on the last day... Max's flamingo pancake.
Ava's normal breakfast. And lunch. Ham, cheese, lettuce, cucumbers and pineapple. Usually there's watermelon too.
And her alien pancake.
And finally... back to the airport in style! The kids were wowed. If we had to leave the sunshine and beautiful weather, and least we could drink the whole way there!
Such a natural!
And that's it! Another year come and gone. I would have no way of putting my finger on my favorite part, day or memory. Each day was really just fantastic. We had fun. We laughed, we danced, we swam, we played. We had TIME together. I gave out states and Abby answered the capitals and Nolan gave me the college sports team. Ava and I sang a million songs, including one I only sing to her in the Domincan, and that started when she was 9 months old that I totally made up. They drew pictures of pip pips. It was awesome. I want to go back already. Only 11 months to go!
