Well so it is February and I am just now posting stuff from our Christmas break…oh, well. We all understand how busy life gets and as moms we have very little time for ourselves, especially when the kids are out of school. But anyway…We stayed in PR this year for Christmas and it was awesome! Ben had about 3 weeks off of school and Kalli had a full month. So we thought that we would make the best of it and go see the island. We took one day and went to the observatory. It was open this time and no, dad we didn’t see any aliens. The kids were disappointed with the lack of extraterrestrials as well. We made time for a few new beaches and collected some more shells.
We did the zoo again in Mayaguez in January, it is kind of a family tradition. We have been once a year for three years and it is always in January. We haven’t planned it, it just turned out that way. This time the kids got to feed some camels. We told them they were the Three Kings camels and needed the energy from the food to bring them their gifts:)
We spend the night in Cabo Rojo at a place that was cheap and stuck in a 70’s time warp. But it served its purpose well providing a place for the kids to jump on the beds and shower off from the beach. They kids fell asleep and woke up early enough for Daddy to take them to see the sun rise and the moon set into the ocean while Mommy stayed in the room asleep. We then drove to see the light house in Cabo Rojo, not to be recommended to those with faint hearts and children. It is at least a 100 foot drop into the ocean off a shear cliff with no guard rails! I was very nervous but Ben held the kids tight, especially when Kalli wanted to through rocks off the edge!
We drove up the west coast of the island and stopped back in Mayaguez for the kids to play at this awesome castle park and Ben was invited to play around of golf with a complete stranger, but his clubs where back at home in Toa Alta so no such luck for him.
We drove up further to see Rincon. This is my favorite part of the island. I love the feel of the city, with the white tourists and the surfers and just the more laid back atmosphere. I knew Ben would love it so we stopped there for a few hours and had some great Italian food and took some pictures. The light house there and the whale watching area is just beautiful. No whales spotted, but Ben said we could come back in February and maybe we will see some then…
Then we continued on with our coast drive up to the north coast, after hitting another light house in Agudilla, (3 in one day!) and found some amazing beaches with the waves just pounding against the rocks. I took some pictures just as the sun was setting and with the homeless guy doing his laundry (hey it is still PR) in the ocean. We rang in the New Year back at home with extremely loud fireworks going off at midnight for like 15 minutes in every direction. It was way loud!!
Just a few days latter Herb and Wendy, or Abuela and Abuelo, came for visit and we loved the west coast trip so much we did it all again with them. This time we went through Ponce and spent the night there. My kids just love Ponce for some reason. I mean we have been there like 6 times! Then we drove on the south coast to Cabo Rojo and all the way back to Rincon and Aguadilla and back home. Super long drive, but beautiful! Thank heavens they rented a car. I am not sure that our junker would have made that trip twice in 10 days. We also did the tradition of the Sunday Rainforest trip. Whenever family comes we always pack a lunch and go to the rainforest after church and enjoy the cool air there and hit a few new trails.
Of course no vacation would be complete with out some trips to the forts. I am not sure why our kids love them so much, but they really LOVE to go there. This time we got to go out to some parts we never have been allowed to before at San Christobol and I got some great pictures (the blog header). I will really miss the rich history of the island.
Needless to say, I am so happy that we have been able to see so much of this island and really take the opportunity to really make so many family memories while we have been here.
The kids love olives. And who hasn't put olives on their fingers and eaten them off?
June was so cold! I didn't pack any pants and I had to end up buying a pare because all it did was rain for a month! This is what B wanted to wear while watching TV at Grandma's. He said that his head was "really cold." He has definitely acclimated to the Caribbean.
The kids were ready for business at the 4th of July parade. We always have squirt guns and the kids and the parade people love it!
This is my dad who got hit with silly string. The clown was retaliating after being Super Soaked. (That is a sucker stick in his mouth. It was a tobacco free parade.)
We went to a movie at the park night and watched the princess bride. They had a costume contest and different activities related to the movie, "The Princess Bride." So Cortanie, never missing a chance to dress up, helped get Kalli, B. and Jamie ready for the fun! I think Corky is the perfect "man in black."
This summer was all about hanging out with cousins and friends. It was so nice to see all of you and we miss you so much. It was nice to have all the grandkids together, on both sides, and see how much each child has grown. I mean Kelsey is almost 14! I can't believe how big my nieces are. They make me feel old... But anyway, we made some "Monkey Cupcakes and every kid thought it was fun and the turned out pretty cute.
This is Kalli and Bronsen with Great Grandma and Grandpa Barton at their B & B in Kanab, Utah. We stopped by there on our way to Arizona to visit the Brownings.
