Families that play together, stay together...

So we just returned from our fall family vacation to Beaches in Turks and Caicos. I really thought it would be hard to top the Disney cruise we went on last November but this made for tough competition. We couldn't have asked for a better all inclusive place to take the kids. It definitely makes the "return to very soon" list. Be forewarned, I had a hard time picking some of my favorite photos from over 400. It's a long post...

As we were flying in it was very evident why this place is known for having some of the best beaches in the world. Never have I seen so many different shades of blue water. It is crystal clear which is why this place ranks high for snorkeling and diving. Thankfully the weather cooperated perfectly which is always one of my biggest fears when planning our trips.



We stayed in the Italian Village which had just opened this past January. We had a great view over the pool and out to the ocean. Thankfully the kids had their own room with bunk beds, flat screen and xbox system. The bunk beds even had a trundle for Sage which she loved.



Here are just a few of the many, many highlights of this trip:

The resort sits on this long 12 mile stretch of beach on Grace Bay. We could EASILY make this our home. You can snorkel right off the beach at some of the many reefs, do some of the water sports, or just relax.






There's plenty to do on the grounds. We took advantage of all the slides, surf simulator, lazy river, pools, and swim up bars. On a couple occasions we couldn't find Connor but low and behold he'd be chilling out in the jacuzzi. Granted it was in the mid 80's but Connor loved the hot tub!





Jack and I both love to explore when we are on vacation so we decided to rent a car for a day with the kids to check out some beaches and good snorkeling spots I had read about. The island itself is pretty blah but the beaches and water are AMAZING! We didn't have time to cover all the places we wanted to so we are now determined to return hopefully sooner rather than later...






We booked a fabulous half day snorkel trip with a tour company that came highly recommended. They definitely delivered and what an amazing trip it was. We put Sage in kids camp and took the boys on this adventure of snorkeling, diving for conch, chasing iguanas, and relaxing on a remote beach. Our two guides were awesome! We were able to see a shark, several barracudas, and many many fish on the reef out in the middle of the ocean that they took us out to.





The last stop of the tour was at Horseshoe bay where we chased iguanas and relaxed on the beach while they taught us how to get the conch out of it's shell and prepare a salad with it. The boys loved learning about this. I was pretty grossed out though when they asked for volunteers to try the conch "pistol". This is some clear tube type thing that is known as the "caribbean viagra". Nice. Just what we need a couple 7 year olds downing. No one in the group was excited or willing to try it...with the exception of our boys. According to Tyler and Connor, it tasted like a salty gummy worm. YUCK!



The boys made it clear that they'd rather be with us than in a kids camp. We were ok with that since we love taking them snorkeling and exploring with us. We were able to talk them into going once so Jack and I could enjoy a couples massage (this was a first for Jack) but that was it. I guess it's a good thing that our kids enjoy being with us. Perhaps I should have been more worried if they were anxious to abandon us. Sage spent a few hours for several days at camp Sesame and really enjoyed it. Although she'd say beforehand I don't want to go to camp because she'd hear her brothers say that, once she arrived, she had lots of fun. She especially enjoyed when the Sesame Street characters would drop in. Judging from Ty's response when we picked him up and Connor up that one time, I think they had a good time. It's just the idea of "camp" that I think scared them.



Whether it be an evening parade or show, or lounging at the pool, the characters of Sesame street were regularly making appearances. Sage loved meeting Zoe and Abby. Even Tyler and Connor were smitten by Elmo and the characters.



The evening shows were quite a hit with the kids. Sage would always be clapping, singing, and dancing along. During one of the shows there was the "dragon man" who would blow fire out of his mouth. During the show he asked for a couple volunteers and before I knew it the girl sitting next to me was dragging me up on stage to join her. Next thing I knew I was putting a flaming torch on this guys heal and inside his mouth.





The food here was amazing. With 16 restaurants to choose from, there was quite the selection. It was rare to find Sage and I without some sort of daiquiri in our hands...





Evening fun:



Finally, a view from down under. Here are some of the photos I took while snorkeling out in front of our resort and on our snorkel tour.

tidbits!

So last week when I was cleaning out Ty's backpack I came across this folded up piece of paper. Is this really happening already? I seem to remember boys still having cooties at this age... (I erased the numbers but you get the point.)



On another note, yesterday at the kids school there was a special assembly in honor of Veterans Day. On this day, family members or relatives of students who serve in the armed forces show up in uniform and are honored for their duties. Since Connor is a member of ASB (basically he's a student body representative), he got to be dismissed from class early to greet some of the special guests. He could hardly wait. I'm amazed at how serious he takes his role on ASB and how much he gets from it. Today he woke up and the first thing out of his mouth to Jack and I was "Happy Veterans Day!" and then he added that "At 12 p.m. we need to be sure to have a two minute moment of silence in honor of all the service men and women". He also was the one to remind us to put out the flag! Judging from his Halloween costume selection and his excitement surrounding this holiday, I think I may be the mom of a future service man...

(OK, it's been a half hour since I posted this and have to add that I just had to giggle inside when I looked out the window to see the boys not only putting up the flag but also reciting the pledge of allegience in their pj's...) What CUTIES!!!



Other news of the week: Sage starts asking for a big girl bed! I think she has finally realized after a few play dates at friends houses that she still sleeps in a crib while everyone else seems to have big girl beds. Being that it's not something that you just run over to Target and pick up, Jack decided to take the side bar down on her crib and turn it into a day bed. It seemed to make her very happy, so happy that she hasn't been able to fall asleep until after 10 p.m. the last few nights. sigh...

Happy Halloween!!!

It seems like this year Halloween just snuck up on us. It didn't help that the flu worked it's way through our family and with all the buzz about swine flu, I spent most of October paranoid of what symptoms belonged to which virus. By the time whatever illness we had worked it's way through all of us (with the exception of Jack), two weeks of October had passed by. Thankfully the house still got decorated and everyone was well for Halloween.

I'm always amazed when I see or hear about people carving their pumpkins a week or two before Halloween. Are ours the only ones that would be moldy or start to shrivel up? So like always, we wait until the last possible moment. This year it meant Halloween morning. It's tradition for the kids to looks through a bunch of pattern books that we have accumulated over the years and pick out their favorite. Then dad works his magic. It came as no surprise when Sage found herself in a debate between "the castle" and Minnie Mouse. Each night she prays that we'll travel safely on our Disney cruise. Granted that cruise isn't for a few more months but clearly Disney is on her mind nonstop.

You can see the "goop" affects everyone differently...



Clearly it's more fun to throw the goop rather than put it in your bucket...



The beautiful work of dad:



Every year I dream of the three kids going as some sort of theme for Halloween. This could include Star Wars, superheroes, cowboys and a cowgirl, etc. Sadly, I don't think that day will ever come. Ty seems to be interested only in the costumes that have lots of gear. This could include built in muscles, masks, swords, arm pieces, etc. This year, that meant Bumble Bee from Transformers. Connor is more of a less is best type of person. He doesn't go for masks or too many extra things to put on. So for him Captain Underpants was right up his alley. For those of you who don't know who Captain Underpants is, he's a character in these chapter books that Connor LOVES reading. This costume would have consisted of tighty whities and a red cape. Yes, that was it. Simple! Now, granted I would have been all over this idea considering the cost would have been next to nothing but I knew that this would not be weather appropriate for Seattle. Thankfully, he then decided on an Air Force pilot. Sage had a hard time deciding on what to be. Every trip we made to Target she would beg for a different costume. Once she stated begging to be some pink pony/unicorn type thing, I knew I could talk her into anything as her mind just kept changing. During the past few weeks she has picked up this "cowgirl" accent she likes to do. I persuaded her into being one for Halloween. Once she got past it being a "boy costume", she was ok with it.



Can you say "Sleepless in Seattle"? Well, that was what my night would be like following all this candy. Sage had taken off the wrappers to a dozen or so suckers and taste tested each one within a few minutes of getting home. We have a rule that goes into effect the morning after Halloween and that is that for each piece of candy they eat, they have to eat something healthy. I think Connor's skin should be turning orange any day from all the baby carrots he has eaten...



Ty was born to trick or treat. He has more energy and desire than anyone. Connor on the other hand, always tells us he's going to trick or treat "all night" but we laugh when after about 30 minutes he asks what time it is because he's concerned it's getting close to bedtime. This year it was 7:15 when he hinted he was starting to feel tired and his bag felt "heavy". Sage continues to crack us up as she runs behind the boys screaming "don't ring the doorbell yet". In the end, Ty outlasted everyone.

So after two days of life, the pumpkins are tossed. In loving memory...



Halloween 2009...check!