Friday & Saturday in the Caribbean!

Back to vacation pictures! I told you all I took a lot of pictures, and this is the abbreviated version!! :) Friday was pirate day at the kids camps so we got up and headed off to drop the kids off! Here is Fern all ready to go!
So Dan and I had a little alone time, what's that you ask? Yea we are still trying to figure that out! :) We walked down the beach to a little area where some of the "belongers" sell things. We got caught in a big down pour, so by the time we got back to the resort we were completely drenched like we had gone swimming in our clothes!!
When I went to get Fern this is what I found! Too sweet, so I let her stay and sleep for a bit. The boys kept asking where Fern was! :) After we played for a bit and fed the kids dinner we took them back to their camps...
And went out to dinner!!! Fancy, fancy!! We went to an Oriental restaurant where they cook your food on the grill in the table. They made a special tofu/veggie dish for me! YUMMMMM!!

That was the end of Friday night, when we picked Riley up he was dressed like a pirate! I forgot my camera but there is supposedly a picture on his disposable camera so we will see when we get those back! :)
Saturday we headed out early to the beach and spent all morning there! We took a beak to go to a "family tie-dye" activity, too bad I did not bring shirts for Dan and I. But here are the kids shirts, Riley's is the one on top with all the red, Jake's on the right with the blue in the middle, and Fern's on bottom with mostly purple and a little pink (yes Riley's red and Fern's pink are the same color but don't mention that to ether of them)!!!
After tie-dying we grabbed a couple pizzas and headed back to our little cabana! After a little more swimming this was what Fern was up for. What better place to nap, plus then we could all stay and play longer instead of Dan or I sitting in the room (getting eaten by mosquito's, I got 16 bites)!!
Here's what the boys did with their time! Me, well I swam and then just relaxed on the lounge chair!
After the beach we got cleaned up and went to dinner, then we walked back down to the beach for the sunset! Look at my sweets!!
Riley's getting pretty good with the camera! (yes I know mom, sit up. Oh well!)
The kids were excited to see the familiar moon, I guess we just take it for granted. It made Fern's night!! :)

Just a few more to go! :)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

To Dan...
And Daddy...
And Dad...
And Ryan!!

Happy Father's Day, we love you all!!

Just Another Day at the Beach!

On our way to the beach... again!
My sweet water babes!

When ever Jake looked up Riley looked down, and vice versa!
Sweet Fern loved playing in the sand and...
Standing in the water! Look how clear the water is, it was amazing!!

It was sunny there on the beach, but over off the coast we could see a little rain storm and see it raining off in the water. That was always one of my favorite things to see at my Grandma's, it raining out at sea but not there on the shore!
Can you see the cute little sand hand on Dan's shoulder?! Too cute!!
Beautiful girl!
I painted her finger and toe nails for the trip, and my toe nails too!
Lots of fun!!

Fern is just happy to play in the sand, until huge gigantic waves pound her! :)

Jake LOVED his duck feet!

Here they are in action!
The view from my lounging place!
The other view, Fern was cold (it was really hot), and the sun was sunny so here she is wrapped up with two towels with her sunhat and mine on! :)
Why does Dad build sand castles? So the kids can jump on them of course! I may never understand these boys!
There were TONS of lizards around the resort, here is one on our balcony!

There is still more to come!!!

Day 2!

So the next morning we talked all the kids into going to the "camps" they had, Jake and Fern in a Sesame Street themed camp and Riley in a pirate themed camp. Dan and I headed to the beach (and went kayaking) and then had lunch all by ourselves!! After lunch we thought we'd see if the kids wanted to go to the beach! Here is Dan catching me spying on Jake and Fern when they were doing a rubber ducky hunt with Ernie! ;)
Fern was engrossed in an activity, so we picked up Jake first and then went back to the room to patch him up! He had been playing tennis and fallen, resulting in a couple scrapes. Good thing I brought our first aid supplies. On our airplane ride down we were sitting near the Dr. at beaches and his family, we introduced him to Jake and mentioned that he may see him that week. Luckily we did not have to see the Dr. but we did see the nurse. :)
Then we headed over to Pirate's Island to pick up Riley, here I am spying again, but this time I have the camera! It was just at the end of arts and crafts time, he made things with sculpty clay and then colored a lizard named Red. We then picked up Fern and got the kids changed for the beach! (I was serious when I said we spent every day on the beach!
HEY MOM, what is this, it was like purple ice plant and it looked really familiar. It was really pretty too, but it is bugging me that I can't remember where I've seen it before, Grandma's maybe?
Here is Fern and I strolling to the beach!
We stayed to the more unpopulated side of the beach! The beach was great because the shelf is pretty far out so the waves brake out there and just produce small waves here on the shore. Perfect for little explorers!!
Thankfully we had these shirts for the kids with UV protection, Dan and I were wishing for some by the end of the week!
Riley LOVED the water, thankfully we found some sand toys to borrow for the week too!
Rubba, dub, dub, my three babes in the BIG tub! They were more than happy to take a bath every night in this tub!
Fern LOVES Zoe, but not the big Zoe! We took her to a Dancing with Zoe activity and the big (person in it) Zoe freaked her out. So that was our last of those activities, but she loved this little wooden Zoe on the lawn and would hug it every time we walked past! :)

These hammocks are all over and the kids thought they were great and had to try this one out on the way to dinner. After dinner I took the opportunity to catch a few great shots of my cuties!
Beautiful Fern and her island doll, she loves baby dolls!
Riley my tiger!
And my sweet super man!!
Then Riley took a turn with the camera and snapped Dan and I. Yes I let him hold my camera (but only after winding the strap around his neck)!!

More, more, more to come!!!

Day 1!

So you all are probably wondering how in the world we ended up on the Turks & Cacaos Island for a 7 day vacation! Well, it is a long emotional story, in short our pre-planned, pre-approved 10th anniversary trip was canceled last minuet because they did not want to hire a contract pilot. So Dan's boss actually felt guilty, and probably afraid for his life if I got near him so he offered our family an all expenses paid vacation to the Caribbean. So although I took the vacation, I have not been bought off. :)

So here we go!!!! We had a 3hour layover in Charlotte, N.C. it was so pleasant to be in the "South" again, everyone is so friendly! And they had a JAMBA JUICE!!!!!
YUMMMMMMYYYYY!!!!! If you have not been to one I suggest you find one soon!!

We then boarded our plane down to Providenciales, and had an uneventful flight down. Once we got there were were whisked to the Beaches Resort and then whisked past the front desk to the concierge's lounge with tropical drinks in hand! We got to our suite and immediately put on our bathing suits!! We spent a couple hours at the beach and then cleaned up for dinner.
After dinner we went out to watch the Sesame Street Parade, here is pirate Grover!
They also had this band made up of locals (or belongers as they say).

I even got a video so you all could dance to the island beat, if you hear the gal M.C.ing she is saying the name of the band, We Funk. But boy does it sound like she is saying the "weefer band"! Ha Ha!!
Here they are on the main stage!
And the sunset behind us!
The kids just loved this fountain, the stage is down the path behind Fern.
We walked down to the beach after the stage show and enjoyed the shore!
Here are the boys in the sand, we spent most of our time on the beach so get ready for lots of beach photos!!
~
Just as a side note, as this was a free vacation we took it, but I am not a "resort" kind of girl. And although it was so beautiful and easy, it just did not sit well. Most "belongers" on the island live in poverty, while the resort life is extreme excess. Plus it is sad to have the same waiter who serves you dinner be the same one who is there to greet you at breakfast the next morning. I have not completely digested it all so you may hear more from me! :)

White Sand & Clear Water - CHECK!

Well, I have been MIA from bloggy land for a great reason!! We were in the Caribbean, on the Turks & Cacaos Island for the past 7 days! Yes I made it 7 days with no internet access, and yes I spent every single one of those days at the beach!

I seriously took 375 photos, so you will see plenty, but we have no food in the house, Dan has the van's brakes taken apart and after 11 1/2 hours of traveling yesterday we got to bed at 2am. So here is one photo to wet your pallet, with more to come!

:)