Punta Cana, DR - The Beach

Nick & I have travelled to several different beach locations for vacation...St. Lucia, Mexico, Florida, Hawaii...and I honestly don't know if any of them were as beautiful as Bavaro Beach in Punta Cana.  The water was a gorgeous blue/green/turquoise color with waves crashing of shore along a natural reef.  The ocean breeze coming off the Atlantic was enough that we never once felt hot. It was perfect. 

 

Since our goal this trip was relaxation, we spent our entire trip (minus we morning excursion) lounging on the beach, walking on the beach, and just enjoying some time to ourselves.  It was a more laidback trip than we normally take...but with us being there for a shorter time than we're used to, it was nice to not have any plans. 

The beach was wide and long, and while there were definitely spots that were crowded, we never felt that way on our beach.  Plus it's always a fun time to people watch when you're vacationing on the beach. 

Our first day there it rained a few times, but the sun would pop out in between...and otherwise it was absolutely gorgeous weather.  85+ degrees with a perfect ocean breeze! 

 

 

Not gonna lie, I didn't know if I'd ever feel comfortable being in a bikini again after having Elyse...but thanks to Zumba and watching my diet, I was feeling as confident as ever! 

 

 

Bavaro Beach, I'll definitely be back...you provided us with the perfect location for our romantic getaway!

Next up...our activities & the food! 

Punta Cana, DR - The Resort - Luxury Bahia Principe Ambar

Hubby & I headed out for Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on April 25....leaving our baby girl with my parents for the first half of our trip and then she was transferred to his parents for the last half.  We were away from her for 7 nights, and spent 5 of those in paradise. 

 

 

We had discussed several different vacation options, from a cabin in Colorado to a resort in Cabo...and then we realized that we could fly to Punta Cana and stay at an all-inclusive for basically the same amount, or less!  I did tons of research and we finally settled on an adults only resort. 

This was initially a decision to stay away from kids so it would be somewhat quieter and a more romantic trip; however, this ended up  being a good decision for a much bigger reason.  Without kiddos filling our resort and beach, I found myself missing Elyse a WHOLE LOT LESS...than if I had seen little girls and boys running around all day every day! 

 

We stayed at the Luxury Bahia Principe Ambar section of the Gran Bahia resort.  This is a mega-resort with 5 different sections and TONS of restaurants.  I honestly could not have asked for anything more in a resort.  We normally stay at smaller resorts, many times that are not all-inclusive, and we were definitely pleasantly surprised with our experience.  All of the negative issues mentioned were not an issue for us. 

I had requested a king-size bed, corner room, and all mentioned that we were traveling as an early celebration for our anniversary!  And they recognized that by putting a banner on our door, leaving us a nice fruit plate, and also a welcome bag with t-shirts and a bottle of local rum.  A very nice first impression for sure! 

Since we really only had 4 full days & 2 half days at the resort, we had planned all along to keep our schedule fairly free and just relax and enjoy our time together!  This was such a great decision and definitely made our vacation seem to last longer since we weren't running from activity to activity. 

The resort was full of various pathways &walkways that were lined with incredibly maintained foliage, statues, and gorgeous tropical plants.  We definitely felt like we were in paradise! 

 

We had breakfast most morning at the snack bar by the beach.  We found our relaxing spot for the day, left our towels & books for a few minutes and had a wonderful breakfast with French toast, fresh fruit, and lots of yummy pastries.  It was the perfect start to each day! 

Overall I would definitely recommend our resort to others, and also I would love to go back and visit again in the future!  It was the perfect location for some rest, relaxation, and recharging that Hubby & I so desperately needed!  Next up...the beach! 

Mother's Day Weekend 2013~Perfection

I honestly don't know how my Mother's Day weekend could have been any more perfect!  Friday night we stopped for dinner at one of our favorite local burger joints, complete with suzy q's &root beer floats and then we made a family trip to Lowe's for some various house stuff...Elyse loves Lowe's so this was no problem for her.  Hubby & I finished off the evening curled up on the couch with a Redbox...Jack Reacher.  A good action flick. 

 

Saturday we still had some Mother's Day shopping to finish up so we got up early &headed out for several errands.  After achieving our goals and even managing to have a random, spontaneous lunch with my cousin & his wife & their 3 kids &their niece...we headed home for the afternoon so I could enjoy my Mother's Day! 

 

With us visiting both of our mother's on Sunday, we decided that I could celebrate Mother's Day on Saturday afternoon.  I mentioned to Hubby that all I really wanted to do was pick up some colorful flowers and start filling the flower pots that were empty & lining the inside of our garage.  Hubby of course obliged, and after we got Elyse down I got to work planting a few pots and getting a few more flowers in the ground.  I still have so much to do...but at least we have some color on our front porch now!   

We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening playing outside, grilling a pizza on our Big Green Egg, going for a family walk, and finishing things off with smore's!  And Hubby & I also had the privilege of watching another Redbox...Argo. Great movie! 

Still maintaining that crinkle-nosed grin!

Momma & Elyse...don't touch my marshmallow!

Possibly one of my most favorite recent photos! 

Who needs spaghetti for a Lady &the Tramp reenactment!  Gosh how I love these 2!

Sunday morning I was treated to yummy cinnamon rolls, a sweet card from my girl (written by Hubby), flowers, and two presents...a new dress & new sandals picked out by Elyse (or at least she chose between two options that Hubby gave her)! 

Oh how blessed I am! 

We rushed around & headed to church where we had a fabulous message about praying for & with your family and then we headed over to Hubby's parents house for Mother's Day Lunch.  We brought Mamaw a beautiful pot of flowers, and my SIL had also had our nephews paint a platter at one of those "paint-your-own" pottery places.  We put all the kids footprints in a train car and included the verse Proverbs 22:6a~Train up a child in the way he should go.  Of course she loved it! 

And then everyone was thankfully in a great mood so we snagged some Mother's Day photos! 

I have to include this one with Toot's ankles crossed...my little lady!

Oh how much joy this picture brings me! 

Hubby & his momma!  I can't believe we got him to take this picture...

& Elyse was done with photos!

Oh how blessed I am to be a part of this crazy family! 

All the mommas!

& all the ladies! 

Check out those pigtails! 

We headed down to to my parents' house for Mother's Day dinner...where Elyse was thankfully game for some more Mother's Day photos! 

And all the Smart ladies...Millie (come on Harper, any day now), Elyse, Gigi, & Me!

Elyse LOVES my parents' dog Bailey!  and Bailey is SO super gentle with her!

&hugs for Bailey!

The proud parents-to-be...induction date...May 21!

& my precious family!

Momma & Elyse

Me & my beautiful momma!

Checking out the pool..still a little green, but we'll be swimming in it in NO time!

Just chilling with Uncle Nick & Aunt Millie

Who needs dinner when you can have ice cream & strawberries?

Hope you all had an amazing Mother's Day as I did...it was a pretty perfect day!