In case you were wondering why I haven't blogged lately, that was because we were taking our winter vacation! We booked this trip a while ago & thought we were planning a trip in February to escape winter, but honestly, I think it was in the 80's when we left. I don't think we have had much of a winter this year! That's ok, it was still prettier where we went then at home!
The night before we left, we gave the girls baths & pedicures. I have to write about this because this was the first time I have painted Sophie's nails:
She was too little last summer & wouldn't sit still but she was really excited this year to be just like Sadie!
We left on Friday & drove to Houston. We have been taking all of our Caribbean flights out of Houston for the past couple of years because they are cheaper & direct. We could go out of Dallas but we would leave at a crazy early time & have plane changes, layovers, etc. which are not fun with the girls. The good news about Houston is my parent's live there so we usually spend a day or two with them either before our trip or afterwards. Since Natalie & her family weren't there, there was no fighting over the bunk beds & for the first time, Sadie got to sleep on the top bunk:
We headed to the airport on Saturday morning & I have to throw props to Southwest Airlines because we used to fly American, but now that we have the companion pass, we have been traveling more often & Southwest has become our go to airline:
7 days in paradise requires 4 suitcases, 4 carry on bags, 1 set of golf clubs & 1 stroller. This was the first trip where we didn't bring the double stroller. Sadie doesn't really need it anymore so it was much easier traveling with the umbrella stroller. I am determined that next time we go on vacation we won't have diapers!
The girls love flying & were ready to take off:
This was the first trip that Sophie was older than 2 so we had to actually purchase her own ticket - no more free flights :( But the plane was only half full on the way there & the way back, so we were able to spread out. Sadie is always a pro - she just watched a movie, colored & played on her tablet:
Don't let this picture fool you - it only lasted for 5 minutes! We got Sophie headphones for Christmas so she could watch movies with Sadie but she had no interest. That girl has absolutely no attention span. She would not watch the movie or look at Sadie's tablet. She is a busy body & hard to keep entertained on a long flight. She did ok on the way there, but she wasn't very fun on the way home. Luckily Sadie is an easy traveler since Sophie is not!
When we arrived, an attendant was waiting for us & Sadie recognized our name:
Jamaica here we come! We flew into Montego Bay & then it was a 2 hour drive to Ochos Rios where we stayed at:
Bryan & I stayed at a Sandal's resort on our honeymoon & I have wanted to try Beaches since we had kids. It is basically an all inclusive family resort designed for families with children. Jamaica is much larger than I realized & very mountainous. Our resort was basically built on the side of a mountain so it was really interesting since it had several layers with lots of steps. Really green & lots of trees but it had a small beach. We had a fantastic view overlooking the cliff & the beach right over the ocean. I took a few pictures of the resort our first morning there. I never slept past 6:30 & I love the mornings because it is calm & quiet. This is the view of the gardens when you first enter the property:
When you walk down from the garden, you enter the main common area where the buffet is, the stage & the main pool with view of the ocean below:
Next up, the water park:
This is where we spent most of our time. It is a mostly shallow area with a splash pad & 9 water slides in varying sizes, so anyone from small children to adults could ride. The girls loved playing here & was without a doubt, the main reason we came.
The last picture I took was my view from the treadmill:
Like I said, I woke up early every morning so I headed to the gym. The beach is so small & since the property is built on a cliff, there really wasn't anywhere we could run. And it isn't safe to leave the property, so I went to the gym every day. Unfortunately, there were no TV's in there, but at least I had a fabulous view of the sunrise over the beach every single morning!
Obviously we had a great time & made it home safely but there are way too many picture to post today so I will be blogging all week about our escape to paradise :)
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