It was a long summer that flew by quickly but we finally ended it with a bang - our family vacation! We usually do not repeat destinations but we went here a few years ago & we all were excited to come back :) Let's back up - we packed up & were ready to go last Wednesday:
In that last picture, Sophie is showing off her finger nails because we all went & got matching manis & pedis the night before. The girls wanted white & they talked me into getting the matching color:
We got to the airport early & had breakfast. I couldn't help but take this sweet picture:
I'm sure it won't be long before she doesn't want to hold our hands anymore so we have to soak it up while we can!
As soon as we got there, we caught a ride to our hotel & they were patiently waiting for us with rum cake, rum punch, cookies for the girls & a birthday cupcake for Bryan:
When we got to our room, they had another surprise for him:
A beach bag, a beach ball, a birthday card & a sandcastle chocolate dessert. It was so cute!
I got us all unpacked & settled in while Bryan took the girls to the pool. They checked out the splash pad, the quiet pool & they found a hammock:
At 5:30 every day, they feed the fish at the harbor. They are tarpon & they are huge! They feed them fresh fish scraps left over from the kitchen & they go crazy:
Sadie remembered this from last time so she was excited to watch them.
The girls eventually came up to the room & cleaned up so we could head to dinner. We wanted something causal on the beach so we headed to this little beach shack called Alfresco's in West Bay. It was right on the water & it was empty so the girls had a blast playing while we waited for our food. And we saw our first sunset. It was beautiful:
The next morning I was up early. In fact, I was pretty much awake by 6:00 or 6:30 most mornings so I headed to the gym while the girls slept in. Our room was a garden view so the view from the gym was pretty much the same as the view from our room:
It was gorgeous out there! Afterwards, we would head to breakfast & this was always my favorite view walking from the harbor side of the hotel to the beach side:
We had a big breakfast every morning (one of my favorite things about vacay!) and then we headed to the beach. This was the girls 3 years ago when we first came here:
And here they are this year:
It was still just as pretty as last time! I love the white sand & turquoise, clear water:
We spent the morning at the beach & the afternoon at the pool:
Love that diva pose of Sophie! Every afternoon at 3:00 they set up a snack station - either cotton candy or sno cones. Either way, the girls were the first in line every single day:
It was such a perfect day & since it was our first day, we decided not to clean up & go out for dinner. Instead, we ordered dinner at the pool bar & enjoyed live music while we watched the sunset again:
We couldn't help but sneak over to Andiamo for some gelato. The girls both got their own scoop but Bryan & I shared one of their sundaes:
It was delicious! So delicious we may have snuck over there a couple of times & tried several :)
The next morning we headed out for the same thing. We got so much sun the first day, I made the girls wear long sleeves on day 2:
Seriously, diva! They got floppy hats in their Easter baskets. Sadie wouldn't even bring hers on the trip but Sophie wore hers every single day. Same thing with those sunglasses. It was so bright there & she has sensitive eyes, she literally never took those sunglasses off!
Bryan got the zayak for Sophie & she loved it again - just like last time! It has a glass bottom so she can see everything underneath while she floats along:
That afternoon's snack was sno cones:
We all indulged in one of those but we also enjoyed a few fruity drinks as well:
That night we cleaned up & walked to dinner at:
It was not on the beach, but several people had recommended it. It was home made Italian & it was delicious! Totally worth the walk.
The next morning we headed to the beach again. We always kick off our shoes & leave them by the pool before we walk in the sand, but this was the first time we had shoe racks to store our shoes before walking on the beach:
Genius, right?! The organizer in me absolutely loved this :)
Just another morning relaxing with my girls:
I loved our chairs on the beach because every single one had their own umbrella attached. Unless we were in the water, we were sitting in the shade every single day:
They passed out cold towels & Bryan walked up while we all had them on our faces cooling off. Of course he couldn't help but snap a pic:
Since he came, we headed to the water sports to take turns out on the water. We tried everything from kayaks, paddleboards, bikes & sailing:
This was the first time Sadie paddleboarded & she loved it! In the past, she has sat on my board while I paddled, but this time, I sat back & relaxed while she did all of the work!
Finally, we headed to the pool to calm down. The afternoons were so hot so I spent most of my time by the pool, under the umbrella reading. My happy spot while the girls swam:
I did get in the water quite a bit though because it was so dang hot!
That afternoon we surprised the girls & headed out on the boat to parasail:
We took them for the first time last summer & they were begging us to go again. There was a 200 pound weight limit so the only way I could go was if both of the girls could go with me:
Sweet Sophie loved it last time but did not this time :( She is our timid one & she never cried, but she would not take her sunglasses off & she was so worried about her glasses falling off, that she looked straight ahead, if not up the entire time! She never once looked down, even when they dipped us in the water:
Sadie loved it & Sophie was just glad it was over. Ha!
The original plan was for the girls to both go with Bryan again but Sophie refused. Thankfully Sadie & Bryan reached the weight limit without her & headed up:
While they were flying, Sophie was much happier on the boat with me:
That was our critique of our flight!
Bryan & Sadie had a blast & they got dipped in the water also:
Another smooth sailing! As much as we loved parasailing, we probably loved our time on the boat just as much:
When we got back, we cleaned up for dinner & headed the other direction down seven mile beach to one of our favorite's from last time:
Sunshine Grill is another local dive that we discovered last time & we just head to head back for another burger. But we may have ended the night back at our hotel with another sundae:
I am telling you, they were just so dang good!
Ok, that is enough for now. I took the last week off but I have a lot to catch up on before the back to school craziness begins. Come back with pictures from the rest of our trip!
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