Vacation, Part II

Everyone slept in Wednesday morning.  Kent and I enjoyed coffee on our balcony while we waited for the kids to wake up. 

Then we ordered room service breakfast.  This was such a treat.  The server brought it up and made such a beautiful table setting for us! 

We hit the pool right after breakfast.  Kael and I also played some poolside ping pong.

Unfortunately, Kylee cut her toe somehow on the side of the pool.  They had her fixed up in no time, but suggested she stay out of the pool for most of the day.  She was bummed, but we made it a fun day anyways.

Had lunch at the snack bar near the pool.  Kent couldn't get enough of the seafood while we were there.

We often enjoyed the afternoon shows in the shade, with popsicles. The show this day was a juggling pirate and Kase thought it was SO funny. 

Ordered an afternoon snack of shrimp cocktail and Kent even convinced Kylee to try it!

Kael really wanted us all to see the Teen's Club, so we went in to check it out.  He didn't want any pictures in there, but Kylee happily obliged.

Later that night was our theme dinner on the beach with the other Edward Jones families.

Twinning! Kase acutally has a matching shirt too but didn't want to wear it that night.

We enjoyed the live mariachi music so very much. The food was amazing this night too.

And the sunset was just gorgeous.  

We had a great evening with our new friends!

We ended the night with a Michael Jackson show that was pretty impressive! Another great day in the books!

Vacation!

Hi! I have so very many pictures and stories from vacation to share! So I'm going to break our trip up into several different posts.  I debated for a long time about taking my big camera and in the end, I decided to just have cell phone pictures.  The quality isn't perfect but I'm thankful to have captured so many moments. 

Here we are waiting in the Des Moines airport! Kent had gotten up before 3:00 to shovel our driveway so my dad and mom could come pick us up and take us to the airport.  The kids were so good about getting up early. 

Because a few hours (and a long, but fast-moving customs line) later, THIS was our view!

We couldn't wait to explore the property.  These bougainvillea were so gorgeous. 

The boardwalk between the pools was so fun!

Not to mention the view of those palm trees. 

The water was so amazingly warm.  Kael loved how it was an infinity pool. He said, "Mom, it looks like the pool just connects to the ocean!"

We had a welcome dinner the first night with all the other Edward Jones families. We had a fun time that night and earlier in the day we had met another family that we loved getting to know and spend time with on the trip! After dinner the kids went to Kids Club and Teens Club for a little while. 

The next morning we ate breakfast at our resort at the restaurant right by the beach.  It was so peaceful watching the waves. 

Then the kids went to Kids Club while Kent and I had a quick meeting. The Kids Club was so awesome- lots of activities for the kids to do.  Here they are playing dodgeball!

Once we picked the kids up we went out to the beach.

Why not do cartwheels into the ocean?!

We had lunch at the same place we had eaten breakfast but Kase wasn't hungry at lunchtime, so later he ordered a cheeseburger by the pool. Talk about service! 

Boogie boarding was a hit the whole trip.  I didn't take my cell phone down by the beach a lot so I don't have great pictures of it but the kids all had so much fun doing this.  

Kase loved digging holes in the sand.  Kent and Kylee also had a ton of fun body surfing in the ocean.

There were lots of activities for the adults and older kids too! We enjoyed volleyball in the pool.

The activities director was so fun and we got some good group shots.

Later Kase played some soccer under the palms. Then we went to an ice cream social with the other Edward Jones families. 

Then later that night Kent and I went to dinner to celebrate his one year anniversary of his can sell date for Edward Jones.  The kids went to Kids/Teens Club.  Kael really liked going to the Teens Club. It was pretty cool in there- ping pong, pool, foosball, snacks, video games, a dance floor- he loved it! I had to snap a picture of them all wearing blue on our walk to Kids Club.  

Cindy requested I take some pictures of the food! It was so pretty!

We often always ordered several desserts at a time. This one was delicious.

Here was our view of the sunset that night. I can't get over how gorgeous the sunsets were there!

Our time there was just amazing.  I'm so proud of Kent for working so hard to qualify for this trip.  Unforgettable for sure! This is days one and two so far.  More to come!

Thankful Thursday

I'm so thankful for our neighborhood carpool.  It's a crazy week taking kids to practices, book clubs and camps.  Sharing rides is so helpful!

I'm thankful for my own shower and my own bed after vacation.  Our trip was so wonderful and I can't wait to blog soon with all the pictures!

I'm thankful for a handy husband.  We needed new blinds in our bedroom and he put them up the other night.  It sure looks better than our old ones!

I'm so thankful for good health.  I've heard so much lately about friends and family with serious health issues and I'm feeling extra grateful that we are healthy.

I'm thankful for my parents, who took us and picked us up from the airport- both trips were either super early or late at night.  Also thankful for the snacks in the car when they picked us up because of a super rushed dinner at the Denver airport.  And even more thankful for the groceries they had waiting for us at our house! Fresh milk and fruit saved me a late night trip to the store!

I'm thankful for all my wonderful friends who sent texts before we left for our trip wishing us safe travels and also texts once we got home, anxious to hear all about it.  I love my village.

I'm so thankful for Daylight Savings Time.  My kids have been sleeping in- I've even had to wake them up for school if you can believe that!!

I'm thankful to be back home and in the swing of things.  Although it's not yet warm here, it feels like summer isn't too far away!

Have a good weekend!

Thankful Thursday

I'm so thankful Kase had fun at Lego club at the library on Monday! He felt like such a big kid getting to go in on his own.

I'm thankful for warmer weather which leads to kids running in and out of the house to find friends. Our house has been filled with friends and neighbors over the weekends lately and I just love it.

I'm thankful Kael is proud to take Kase along to a friend's house to shoot baskets and Kase loves to be included.  Kael is a great big brother and protector.

I'm oh-so-thankful that this little sweetie decided to make her appearance! Berkley Marie Simms was born Wednesday morning and we're just so thankful she's here and she's healthy! What a beautiful baby and we love that we got to meet her before we leave for vacation.  She has the darkest hair! The kids are just in love with her already!

I'm thankful that today is the last day of school before Spring Break!

Have a great week everyone! I'll be back in a week and a half or so with tons of pictures I'm sure! 

Weekend Wrap-Up

How was your weekend? We had a great one!

Friday we had dinner out with friends to celebrate Kent and his buddy's weight loss! They've been working out every day and eating super healthy so it was fun to celebrate them. The kids had fun at our house with Keith, Cindy and Kyle.

Saturday morning Kent went into the office for awhile and I got a ton of stuff done around the house while the kids played with friends.  Later he and I went for a walk, then my parents, niece and nephew and my sister and brother-in-law came over and the kids all played at the park.  Then we went out for dinner together.  Love getting the cousins together!

Sunday morning the kids and I went to church while Kent helped his parents put in a new oven at their house.  They have been working hard on a remodel and I know they are so anxious for it to be done! We spent the afternoon hanging around here and the kids played with friends.  

Looking forward to a short week ahead! 

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for brothers peacefully sharing the bathroom.

I'm thankful that Kylee's conferences went well! Looking forward to Kael's tonight.

I'm thankful for visits to Kylee's music class.  She really enjoys music and her teacher is so fun. 

I'm thankful that Kase get to have fun with Grandma so I can go to music class visits.  Kase asked to help fold towels! 

I'm thankful that everyone is feeling well around here. Kael hadn't been feeling great on Monday, and I'm just SO hoping everyone can stay healthy at least until we get home from our trip!

Have a great weekend!