Before I write about vacation I wanted to fill you in a little about the few days before we left. Kylee had an indoor meet at ISU and ran a PR in the 4x800! This group of girls had the third fastest time in Centennial history for that race. So proud of her. Kent got delayed coming home from Dallas so he wasn't there but the rest of us plus grandparents and Garrett all got to see her race. Super fun.
Kent finally got home and Kael got home too so we quickly unpacked and repacked their stuff and got ready to take off the next morning for Nevis!
Luckily we got a notification before we left home that our flight was delayed. Better to spend time at home than in the airport! Also lucky that we made our connecting flight in DC and got to Miami for a very short overnight then up for our flight to St. Kitt's the next morning.
Our view was pretty spectacular flying in!
Then we took a van to our ferry over to Nevis. Again, a gorgeous view. And so proud of my kids for how well they travel. It had been a long day and a half to get to point and they are troopers for sure!
We arrived at the Four Seasons and the entire property is just stunningly beautiful. We had two rooms and were thankful for the extra space! Kase was so excited he put trunks on and he ran to the pool right outside our room. Whoops turned out that was the adults only pool! In the end that didn't matter much since we hardly spent time at the pool and were at the beach much more. We were just loving our connecting rooms so that was the important thing.
Kase just chillin' in his robe after his swim.
This is the view from our second floor balcony. Welcome dinner the first night was so fun and it's always so lovely to see the kids all dressed up!
The food was great, the music was great and we met some great people already. Then we took a twilight walk on the giant pier (this turned out to be one of our very favorite and almost nightly activities). We saw TONS of amazing things. Starfish, sting rays, barracuda...so neat.
The next day we hit the beach! Snorkeling was amazing right here on property. And the beach was perfect for swimming. Protected, not very big waves, perfect sand, private...honestly it was just so lovely.
Crystal clear water too!
We did hit the pool briefly so we could clean up a little and order some lunch. Boys played football.
Cheeseburger in paradise. Also poolside chips and guac for me and Kylee. There's nothing better!
Kael's hair was ridiculously amazing this trip. I'm not sure if there wasn't much humidity or whatever but he got comments on it everywhere we went!
We had tried to sign up for the group monkey tour but in the end decided to just rent golf carts on our own and go around property to find some monkeys and some adventure. It was seriously SO fun. We saw tons of monkeys! And it was really neat to explore the entire grounds- the golf course was so pretty. And Kael loved driving one of the golf carts!
Nevis Peak in the background. A sunburned Kase. We tried so hard with the sunscreen but poor kid was even burned on his calves (from snorkeling). Of course it's all turned to a gorgeous tan by now!
The monkeys were so, so cute and fun to watch.
Then we got cleaned up for dinner. This was the view from right at the bottom of the stairs to our hotel room. I mean, come on! Gorgeous view and even more gorgeous girl.
The boys weren't as willing to take one million pictures like Kylee was but I do love this one of them on the pier in their sunglasses!
Sunsets for days. We tried to catch it every night off the pier or at dinner.
We had a fun dinner this night! Dinners were included on this trip for us so we let the kids order anything and everything they wanted to try.
Another night ending with a pier walk.
Kylee was SO diligent about running on this trip. She ran nearly every morning and had a great mile loop around the property she did several laps. We would always see people later in the day who would ask her, "Was that you I saw running this morning? You were booking!" She got lots of compliments on her dedication. She and Kael also went to the fitness center several times.
More beach time the next morning. We snorkeled almost every single day after breakfast for a couple hours.
Then decided to head off property to a cool lunch spot we had heard about! We took a taxi there so it was fun to see some more of the island and our driver gave us a little history about everything we passed so that was neat. This place was so crazy cool. We walked in and immediately they asked if we were the Pattersons and then led us to this super private spot set up that looks like it's in the middle of the jungle! It was actually an old sugar plantation turned restaurant/boutique hotel. We saw almost no one besides our server the whole time we were there- it felt so exclusive! Also monkeys were climbing around on the tree above us so that was fun lunch entertainment!
Safe to say Kase very much enjoyed his BBQ ribs.
Back to the hotel to try out one of the other pools on property. Loved the popsicles they gave us there!
Kent got a haircut (he had missed one before we left home because of his delayed flight getting home from Dallas) so when he was done with that he was ready for a beach walk! We brought the football along of course.
Then time for the theme dinner! Such great-looking, well-behaved kids. I was really a proud mom.
Love this guy who makes all these trips and memories happen for us.
Kael lookin' like a stud.
Loved this cute photo spot they had set up for us on the beach!
There were people there braiding hair and some of Kase's friends got it done so he wanted to also. He does not have enough hair to braid- ha.
But this lady worked her magic and gave him a cool hairstyle he loved!
Later another Jones guy challenged Kase and his friends to a headstand contest. Kase won because of course he did.
Kylee got some braids too!
The fireworks were AMAZING this night. Seriously so memorable. There was a band also and the music was so great- really impressed with this whole theme night.
Breakfast gang. One of our very favorite parts of the day and of the whole trip actually. Breakfast was SO good here. Best of any trip I have been on.
More beach time. Football, photo shoot.
Then we had a family spa afternoon! The boys got massages first then Kylee and I. Afterwards we all used the cold plunge/hot tub area and I just had to pinch myself thinking, "this is actually my life."
Cold plunge with a gorgeous view of Nevis Peak. Relaxed, refreshed, happy. We all declared our massages to be the best ever.
Kael let me take some pics once in awhile. Kase not so much.
Thought this door sign was cute!
Dressed up for dinner again.
Sunset on the pier- Kase has made friends with the bartender by this point in the trip so he got a nightly fist bump and several Shirley Temples.
I LOVE THIS PLACE AND THESE PEOPLE.
This was our favorite dinner. Kase took a very "I'll try anything" attitude this trip and ordered a whole lobster. We all held our breath a bit when it arrived and he realized he was going to have to pull it out of the shell but he LOVED it. Later the chef came to check on us and Kase told him, "This is literally the best lobster I've ever had!" The chef was so proud. We didn't really have the heart to tell him it's the only lobster Kase has ever had- ha.
Giant Tomahawk steaks for the boys. Great food and maybe even better desserts!
Kase finished his food and noticed it had started raining so he wanted to walk outside the canopy (we had been eating outside but under a covered spot) so he took off to see how hard it was raining and slipped right on this spot and fell down. One minute later the staff came out and put up this "Caution, slippery when wet sign" out so we all laughed about that.
There was some live music at the bar right next to our restaurant so we sat there for a bit. Love that Kylee captured a picture of me and Kent. After this we headed to our room and played a little cards.
Next morning was catamaran day!
A bit cloudy but we didn't mind because we had been having to put on sunscreen sooooo frequently it was kind of nice for a break! These are the buddies Kase hung around with.
Snorkeling was fun here because we got to explore a sunken ship!
Love making memories with the fam.
Back to Nevis (we had snorkeled by St. Kitts) Kase and company ran straight for the beach. There was a huge trampoline in the water for them to play on at our resort so they loved that. I sent Kent and the bigs to Sunshines for lunch! I had read about this place that was just a short walk up the beach and they loved it!
They came back and spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach with us then we got cleaned up for dinner. My guys looking so handsome.
This dinner the food wasn't as amazing as the night before but those views were hard to beat. Seriously it was right on the water.
Kase could see big barracuda right by these rocks literally right next to our table! Cool experience. But then we did head back to our favorite restaurant for dessert!
The next morning Kent and Kase had a fishing trip. The bigs didn't want to go and that was just fine by me.
Kase caught something even though it had started raining and got kinda rough out there! They had a blast.
I enjoyed my morning with Kael and Kylee. We had a late, slow breakfast, walked in the rain a bit then I sat on our patio and read while Kylee walked the entire length of the beach and Kael relaxed too. Lovely.
We let the kids order room service a couple times which is a luxury but much appreciated when some people are hungry and others aren't. Kael said the food was great!
Final night dinner and Kylee was here for it. Allllll dressed up and ready to take pictures. She looked beautiful.
Kael even indulged me and let me snap a few of him! He also came along to our photo shoot as very dutiful and responsible older brother who held Kylee's phone and lip gloss while she smiled and posed. He's the best.
That VIEW. That GIRL. That SUNSET!!!
Kael too!!!!!
I had told Kent and Kase to come out at the last minute as Kase would not want to have to take photos for a half hour. They looked great when they joined us.
At the final night dinner they always have an activity for the kids. One option this time was bracelet making. We had all made our way inside but Kase stayed out with his buddies- we all assumed they were throwing the ball around outside but later Kase came in and gave this to Kylee. We all almost cried (ok maybe not Kent and Kael but definitely me and Kylee). I don't know if you all realize likely how difficult it was for Kase to sit still for so long to search out the bead to spell Nevis Monkey and string every one of those pink and white beads on. And the fact that he thought of Kylee to make it pink and make a gift for her was just so sweet especially when he chose to do that instead of throw a ball around with his friends. I hope she keeps it forever. She was really touched.
Dinner was great. The company was great. One final night walk on the pier.
Nevis looks good on you, girl!
When Kase woke up the next morning at 7:00 and found out our ferry didn't leave until 10:45 you better believe he squeezed in one last swim.
And when the bigs found out we had time, they also fit in one last snorkel!
Hard to leave this place.
Love these three together.
One last hop on the trampoline. Funny story- turns out there is space under the trampoline (it's pretty taut- not super bouncy) where there is a net you can sit on. I did not know this and one day kinda freaked out after losing Kase and his friends for a couple minutes. I sent Kael out to investigate (he's the best) and he assured me it was quite safe and they were all present and accounted for.
Bye bye, beach!
I think every trip we come home from we say is our favorite trip ever. But I do feel like we did this one right. We didn't take too many excursions but we did enough to not feel bored or like we missed out on seeing things. We made friends but also spent lots of time just as a family of five. We actually relaxed (I finished three books, you guys!). We ate great food and tried new foods. We indulged in lots of desserts and we also worked out. We saw monkeys, we appreciated the beauty of the place and *maybe* most importantly- we all made it out of the St. Kitts airport. Whew. That's a story in itself!
It's a really long story so I'll try a short version here but ask me in person sometime if you want!
First of all some guy told us that his wife gets super motion sick and she was right by Kylee on the van on the way to the airport. So that started things off with a super anxious/stressed Kylee (who has a major vomit phobia) and the rest of us just trying to figure out how to help her. We get to the airport and it is crazy busy with zero organization and people just shuffling us around from one line to another- WILDLY inefficient. We get stuck in line behind a very nice family who has four million items to check not enough hands to fold their own strollers/lift their things, etc so we took an eternity to get through bag check, then upstairs to TSA where it is seriously the most archaic system I have ever seen. We had our passports and paperwork checked no fewer then 7 times by 7 different people and there is no precheck line so we all have to take off our shoes and the whole thing. Then there was some major confusion about liquids and ziplocs (with everyone- not just us) and they pulled Kent and Kylee off to have their things inspected and tried telling them they would have to go back to the gift shop and buy ziplocs and get back in line- um, NOPE. The boys and I had already gone through and I sent them off to buy snacks and use the bathroom so I was guarding all 5 roller bags but Kent needed me to come back and take some of the liquids (they wanted them divided up among us 5 evenly which....wha???) but I couldn't leave our bags alone because the airport was packed there was literally not even standing room. This is not even the worst of it, people. When Kylee and Kent finally get through, it's almost time to board and we barely had time to use the bathroom and grab a couple bag of chips (no lunch and a 4.5 hour flight ahead of us-eek).
Anyhow, we go to board and of course Kael and I got randomly selected to be searched. So they escort us to a completely different part of the airport, take our passports (!!!) and then begin the most painstakingly slow process. There were a couple others on our flight getting searched too which I was so thankful for because our flight was literally supposed to leave in less than 10 minutes. I heard my name called over the loudspeaker and tried to get someone to help search us to move the process along and finally another person came- she even searched through my hair. It was super weird. Another guy jokingly asked, "They're not going to leave without us, right? I mean, my family is on that plane." And then they gave us this awkward look and kinda shrugged their shoulder so I did not feel good about that. Finally we got our passports and luggage back and took off literally running outside to our plane. When we got their the pilot/flight crew stood at the top of the stairs and yelled to me, "your husband saved a spot for your luggage so come up and we'll have to gate check your son's luggage". I was thinking in my head- that's weird Kent would save a spot for my luggage but not Kael's but whatever. So I kinda waited by Kael for the attendant to tag his luggage to be gate checked but the crew kept yelling and pointing at me and told me I needed to come up and load my luggage. So I walked on the plane thinking Kael was seconds behind me but in fact he was not. I put my luggage where the attendant told me to (turns out it was a different guy saving that spot for his wife's luggage it wasn't even meant for me). But by this point Kael still wasn't on the plane. I slowly walk towards my seat and ask the attendant if my son was on his way up. She asked me how far away he was. I told her "he was just at the bottom of the steps right behind me- you guys said you were gate checking his luggage then he just never got on the plane." At this point I'm kinda freaking out- they are announcing for everyone to take their seats and I just keep awkwardly standing in the aisle not knowing if I should make a break for it and run back to try and find Kael or if they're going to make me come sit down and FINALLY I see Kael walk on the plane. I have never in my life been so happy to see that buddy and so, so relieved. Kent says they wouldn't have left without him but I know Kael was worried I could see it on his face when he finally got to us. OMG I could have cried. We nearly left our 18 year old in St. Kitts all by himself.
Suffice to say we had the BEST trip but Kent will not agree to be flying through that airport anytime ever in the future. EEk!
