Well -- we survived our first family beach vacation... barely :) Ha ha -- seriously though... this trip was full of highs and lows -- and it will definitely be a trip we will remember! (Snapfish pics here if interested)
It started out with us trying to check into our resort and discovering they were over-booked. UGH!! So -- after much complaining/negotiating (and almost a few tears -- I was pretty tired from the day of travel), they sent us down the road to a different resort (actually a nicer, higher rated resort) for the first few days. They promised us a room upgrade and two free massages when we returned -- that helped to sweeten the deal :)
Here are the kids the next day -- ready to hit the pool!! They had a blast -- the resort had a designated kids area... a shallow kids pool, a kids club, and a big splash park full of sprinkler-like equipment. Very cool!!
Playing in the pool at the first resort:
This picture was taken Thursday night before dinner -- at this point, Noah was starting to feel under the weather :(
Well -- he went downhill pretty fast. He spiked a fever that night, was coughing a ton, couldn't fall asleep, and started breathing heavy/wheezing. We decided at around midnight to call the resort doctor.
He diagnosed him with two ear infections, tonsilitis, and fluid in his airways (not quite down in his lungs thankfully) He gave us three different medications and the worst part was he told us to keep Noah away from water for the remainder of the trip. Not only was he worried about water in the ears and Noah swallowing water -- he didn't even want Noah to be breathing the chlorine, or salt-water, or being around the moisture/humidity of the water. UGH!!!!
I felt SO sorry for Noah -- we pretty much had to divide up during the day a lot for the remainder of the trip. Evelyn and I played at the pool while Travis and Noah would walk around, visit the kids club, etc. The kids were able to play together when they wanted to play in the sand, but we kept Evelyn out of the water when Noah was around so that he wouldn't get too sad :( It was all pretty heartbreaking. He is a trooper though -- and had a great time anyway :)
Evelyn seemed to come out of her shell a lot this vacation -- she was approaching little kids left and right and becoming their friend, playing with them in the pool, dancing with them, etc. It was pretty cute :)
Here she is at the pool at our second resort:
So -- regardless of the trials we were put up against, our family came together and had a wonderful vacation together. Was it the picture-perfect vacation I had hoped? No. But the weather was beautiful, the resorts were top-notch, everyone we met was ultra-friendly, and we were all able to get away, relax and have fun together for seven days. A success in my book :)
Got a last-minute call to help out & babysit our neighbor Turynn today... she came over right after the kids laid down for their nap/quiet-time (ugh!!). But -- both Evelyn and Noah were thrilled when they woke up to find their best friend waiting for them. They were wild & crazy & had a fun afternoon & evening together :)
Good news to share - I have a fun event to look forward to.... my college friend Kara is coming out to visit in March!!! She will spend a long weekend with us -- I can't wait! She is starting to get into running --and we might even run a 5k together that weekend. I still remember my first 5k... it would be fun to share her first race experience with her :) 
