Truly I can't believe I haven't updated on vacation yet. It was so wonderful, and quick, and coming back was hard, but easy because it was so busy! This is also the time of year that I also order a book with the latest year of the blog. I'm afraid to even look... it'll likely be cheap because how much can it be to print what's probably 10 pages!
WE ARRIVED! We were in a villa this year for the first time and it was simply amazing. Within walking distance from everything, and it made it quick to get to the beach right away!
Amazing weather to arrive in!
The boys immediately made themselves at home.
So did Wendy. That's her in the pink... swinging at the bar. Oh wait, that doesn't sound right. She's at the bar on a swing. I'm not sure if that's any better?
Speaking of Wendy... we've been so lucky to go with great people each and every time. There's never been a moment where we thought, "we should not have done this." The Gawrychs and the Roehls turned into the Grails, and we had just a fun week.
Why Abby, is that a crepe you ate? Yes? Yummmm!
Relaxing.
Ava is READY to go! She loved her hat... it was great protection for her face!
Our pool. At our villa. Yes, ours. Truly amazing to have this in your backyard, if only for the week!
Our patio. We were just relaxing after breakfast. The lady came and made us breakfast to order every morning. We relaxed, perhaps drank a few mimosas, and watched the kids swim. A great way to start your day!
Snorkling is always a fun activity! This beach (Serenity Beach) is always a peaceful place to snorkel. We also spent a lot of time at the other beach in the waves. They were huge waves this time, and I spent hours with the boys jumping them (and getting salt water up my nose!).
SUNSHINE!
I love that no matter how big the kids get, they still love to play in the sand. Here's Miranda and Abby...
And the boys.
Ava is clearly directing traffic.
Ummm, Nolan? Whatcha doing?
The men in their cabana. Does it get any better? I love Dominican... it's the only time I actually see Dave relax!
Sun bathing beauties.
Ava was a Miranda mini-me. Without any planning, they were able to coordinate their dresses every night.
The girls! Between that dress and the camera angel, I'm looking a little funny.
FAMILY!!
Eating at Jazz... New Orleans style food. One of our favorites.
Cheers x3!
Santos! We've known him since year one. Seeing him every year is truly one of the highlights.
Hello Miranda.
Hello Wendy.
Sure Ava, you can have nachos. Feel free to wash it down with ice cream.
Matchy matchy.
Dominican Butts! I have no idea how this became tradition, but it certainly is. We have to pack plaid shorts each just so we can take this picture.
Bros.
Ava once again holding attention.
Our villa even had it's own (stray) kitty.
The gazebo and behind that the cassida (or, our own little second house).
Our house.
Golf carts! They kept the boys busy for hours.
Don and Wendy both work at WE Energies. They were a little concerned over the state of affairs here.
VIP restaurant. The menus light up! The boys loved it as much as Dave did the first time we went!
Wait, that's not Nolan.
Abby and Max, sharing a room. And usually asleep first!
On Sunday, the beaches were packed and crazy with locals! It was fun to see them, but I'm happy we have our own little beach to ourselves!
Ours is also much cleaner.
Part of our vacation club membership is free tickets to Ocean World. Usually this is a fun day just hanging out and seeing dolphins. This year, on a Sunday, it was apparently vacation day for the entire island. Ocean World was jam packed and not so much fun. So, we spent about an hour there and then headed back to the resort. Fortunately it's within walking distance! But, the boys at least got a chance to do some snorkeling first. It was Ava's first time she was big enough to try. She got in, got a bit of salt water in her mouth and called it quits. Can't say I blame her!
Max is one crazy driver!
Looking fancy!
Could it be?
Where are we headed looking so nice?
We're taking the elevator up...
to Azul! It's the best restaurant ever. We love it!
5 star service
Beautiful scenery
Amazing food
Unless you're Abby and Miranda. Then the food is noodles. But amazing to them!
How is it, Nolan?
Max and Ava love the statue every year!
The girls all dressed in blue for Azul.
The game of the week, especially when it was raining, was Life on the iPad. Here Ava was teaching Wendy the finer points of losing money.
And then there's Dave. The boys all went on a deep sea fishing excursion, supposed to last 5 hours. They came back about an hour into it. Well, Don and Ryan did and when I asked about Dave and Max and Nolan, Don simply shook his head and said "It's not good." Apparently Dave started to throw up on the rocking boat. And then Max did. And then Nolan. Thank goodness Don was there to help my kids! At one point Dave said he looked at Max, who would no sooner puke over the side of the boat and then get hit in the face with a wave. Later on, he was just laying in the corner, huddled into himself. The picture below is the after effect. And I think this was actually partly recovered!
More games of Life. Thank goodness for the house on the one rainy day!
Ava makes friends everywhere we go. Here is her buddy of the day, J.L. Or Jayell. Or some other spelling. But they had a lot of fun playing in the kiddie pool together.
Dinner at the Indian restaurant Moomtaz. Well, the boys did. The girls went to Italian and then met the boys here. The service was amazing, even though we were only there for a bit. They brought us out drinks and naan (Indian bread) and five-spice cake. Fun time!
Miranda had a drink with actual liquor in it! Well, she held it. I don't think she actually drank it.
Rainy day=spend time in the bar!
If you're Don you read a book. .
I have no idea what Ava's challenge was, but clearly she was challenged!
And finally... dinner on the last night. They brought a barbecue to our villa and cooked for us. Well, for most of us. Unless you're Abby or Miranda, in which case you went to the buffet to get noodles. More BBQ for the rest of us!
And then we had to leave. In our limo. Which is better than leaving in a bus or a car or a truck or a train, but we still had to leave.
AND I MISS IT ALREADY AND I WANT TO GO BACK!!!
