Garrett and I were lucky enough to get away to the U.S. Virgin Islands for the week. I spent a few weeks making sure everything would be okay at home while we were gone, that's definitely the hardest part about leaving...making sure someone can do my job as well as I can. I know I have control issues, but I like routine and order. I make lists and schedules and insurance release forms and directories of friends and family to call in case something goes wrong and then pray that all will go as planned. Brooklyn, one of our favorite girls in the world, came over to spend a few nights with the kids and then my mom came up and took the kids for a night and then Whitney had them for the weekend...it all worked out perfectly! Our kids, especially Kenna and Ashlyn, definitely step up their game when we are gone and I really appreciate that...they are growing into dependable and beautiful and amazing young women. I'm so grateful G and I can get away and enjoy each other.
This vacation was amazing! We stayed on St. Thomas, in a hotel right on the water. As soon as we got to the hotel, we dropped off our luggage and headed to the beach. We stopped for lunch at Coconut Joe's, a little beach cottage restaurant right on the beach...that's where I had my first virgin pina colada of the trip, something I look forward to when we travel.
The next day we took a ferry to St. John to spend the day snorkeling. That was probably my favorite part of the trip. St. John was beautiful! White sand beaches with water that was clear for 30 feet below...it was exactly what I was picturing in my mind. Once on the island, we then took a taxi over to Trunk Bay where we spent the day snorkeling and laying on the beach...this is my heaven. Garrett loved taking underwater pictures of all the fish and coral to show the kids. We ate at the Iguana Grill on the patio and just watched the people passing by...while we ate, kids were just getting out school and that was fun to see. What a different life they must live on St. John. We found the perfect turtle for Wyatt in a little shop and then boarded the ferry back to St. Thomas. Later that night we took a night kayak trip around the bay of Carolette Amalia. It was the funnest thing ever! We sat in a clear kayak with led lights around the lip of the kayak and paddled around the bay. Our guides were awesome, telling us about the Islands and all the cruise ships that port there daily, about the million dollar homes on the hills and even fished out a sea urchin for me to hold...I loved this!
Garrett took his fly rod on the trip, hoping to get out on a boat, but everything was booked. He scouted out a few different spots on the beach that worked well. We woke early one morning to fish off the rocks and later that day came back to that same spot where he got a few on his line, then headed over to the dock and that's where he landed some yellow snapper and another tropical fish...I enjoy watching him fly fish and taking pictures. It is definitely an art!
Thursday we could choose to either golf at Mahogany Run or take a catamaran out on a sailing/snorkeling adventure on the Island, Great St. James. G loves to golf and even though I know he worries about me being alone, I knew that's where he wanted to be, so I made plans with some girlfriends I met last year on the Cabo trip and we spent the day together on the catamaran. I met up with Jules and Kimberly and met a new friend this year, too, Kelly, that I plan to keep in touch with. I have loved getting to know these women. Julie and her husband, John, and Garrett and I hit it off last year the minute we met and have stayed in touch all year long, looking forward to seeing each other again in the Virgin Islands. They have four boys and one little girl, they are active in their church and their community and everything is about their family...we've loved our friendship with them. That afternoon G and I met up and hung out at the amazing pool and then ate appetizers at a little place on the beach called Havanna Blue...loved the atmosphere there.
We didn't do much shopping on this trip so ended up getting the kids their gifts just in the little beach shops and knowing we were stopping for a layover at JFK airport, we thought it would be fun to get Ashlyn a travel bag that says 'I love NYC' for her upcoming trip to New York City with her dance group. Kenna loved her sea glass earrings, Ash loved her bag, Wyatt loved his turtle and Colt would have loved the seal I bought him, but dad thought he might be too old for stuffed animals, so at the last minute (as our shuttle was about to leave the hotel) I exchanged it for a t-shirt, which Garrett hated when I showed him while on the shuttle, so as we waited at the airport, we shopped for another t-shirt for Colt...Colt hated both when we gave them to him!! He quietly cried because he was hoping for a stuffed animal. It was the saddest thing ever. I want to keep our boys little and Garrett wants them to grow up and be prepared to leave their momma so they can go on scout overnighters and serve a mission...sometimes we see things differently, yet I understand and value his thinking.
These trips are always a dream come true...we are blessed.
We didn't do much shopping on this trip so ended up getting the kids their gifts just in the little beach shops and knowing we were stopping for a layover at JFK airport, we thought it would be fun to get Ashlyn a travel bag that says 'I love NYC' for her upcoming trip to New York City with her dance group. Kenna loved her sea glass earrings, Ash loved her bag, Wyatt loved his turtle and Colt would have loved the seal I bought him, but dad thought he might be too old for stuffed animals, so at the last minute (as our shuttle was about to leave the hotel) I exchanged it for a t-shirt, which Garrett hated when I showed him while on the shuttle, so as we waited at the airport, we shopped for another t-shirt for Colt...Colt hated both when we gave them to him!! He quietly cried because he was hoping for a stuffed animal. It was the saddest thing ever. I want to keep our boys little and Garrett wants them to grow up and be prepared to leave their momma so they can go on scout overnighters and serve a mission...sometimes we see things differently, yet I understand and value his thinking.
These trips are always a dream come true...we are blessed.
