DR - Days 4-8

OK, don't know if I can remember everything from the past week.

Monday, we started out for the resort which is 3.5 hours drive east of us. We broke up the drive by stopping at Cueva de las Maravillas. It's a cool lighted cave that's pretty extensive and has lots of heiroglyphs in it. Photos were not allowed though. :( Then we made it to the resort by 5ish. Kids rushed to get suits on so they could play in the pool and beach before dark. When I got in my bag, I realized that I forgot all 3 swimsuits I brought! They were all back at the apartment in Santo Domingo. Grrr! I guess I could have gone topless like 1/3 of the others but I opted out. I stopped by the gift shop to buy the most modest suit I could find and it wasn't cheap.

Tuesday, this was a day of complete playing at the beach and pool. The smoothies were endless. We literally didn't go back to our room once. The beach has never been much of a safety issue for us because our boys are sand players, not water players. But, this time it was MUCH different. Bryce was out of control! He loved going out and getting pummeled by the waves. They'd carry him all the way in and he'd get up gasping and with "blind eyes" and we'd ask if he was OK and he'd say, "That was AWESOME" and then run back out. He spent hours playing in the waves on Tuesday. That night after dinner we went down to the beach at night to see the stars...so pretty!

Wednesday, the highlight of the day was our neice got lost on the beach and it was terrifying. We didn't find her for about 25 minutes and we are grateful to all the people of every nationality (Americans are minorities here...mostly Europeans) who helped us look. We were done with the beach after that and hung out at the pool the rest of the day. That night, Kay and Cheryl stayed with the kids while me and Robb and Scott and Lori went out. We basically found an open table and played some cards and had some pina coladas and then hit the discoteca for about 15 minutes before going to bed.

Thursday, this was the day we were supposed to check out. Since Kay and Cheryl had to go back to Santo Domingo all day Wednesday for meetings and then drive all the way back, they decided they wanted to stay and have one more day with the kids! It was a little cooler today which I didn't mind at all. It was a very relaxing day for everyone. Soaking in every last minute of the resort. That night the adults played games in one room and the cousins played in another hotel room and they loved hanging out by themselves!

Friday, checkout day! Lor and I hurried down the beach to the tent shops to get some Larimar pendants. Larimar is a pretty blue stone that is only found in the DR. I love mine!

Summary: Robb didn't get to scuba any day because of low visibility. (Big bummer) We were all going to go parasailing, even the boys. We didn't decide till Thursday though and it was too windy that day and Friday too. (Another big bummer) The food was mediocre which I think is the norm at any all-inclusive however they did have spectacular bread, cheese, & sushi. The kids had more blue hawaiians, pina coladas, bahama mamas, and frozen lemonades than I can count. Avery learned to drink from a straw while there which I think had something to do with her love of the smoothie! Kids became much better swimmers and had an amazing time with their cousins. So much fun and so relaxing! Many many pictures to come...