Weekend Wrap-Up

We thought we might actually have a slow weekend for once so we could get some stuff done around our house but just like every other summer weekend, it filled up quickly.

Thursday night we spent watching the Republican National Convention.  I would not say that I am a republican but a conservative.  I want Luke to learn about our democratic process so we watched Trump's convention speech.  By the end of it he was all in for Team Trump.  He even made us signs to hold like the delegates.  haha

We will also watch the Democratic National Convention and listen to Hillary speak.  I want my children to have their own minds and make their own decisions.  I think it is important to talk with them and teach them the values we have and answer the tough questions.

Then Friday we had a Harry Potter marathon.  We watched the first movie about a year ago and they found the collection in the closet so they wanted to watch the next one.  This was Luke so focused that he couldn't eat his lunch.

We wended up watching movies 2, 3, and 4.  They really enjoyed them but Luke is so concerned for Harry.  We might have to wait a while to watch the next 4.  He wants to know if Harry defeats Lord Voldemort but he wants to know without watching so he can relax.  :)

Saturday morning was spent cleaning out our garage and reorganizing the game room.  Exciting right?  Then we got a call saying that Aunt Patti and Uncle Dale were in town for the weekend.  They would be cooking brisket at Uncle Doug's.  We headed over to swim and hang out with the family.

When we got there we discovered that Brett's cousins, Brandon and Blaine, were also here for Brandon's Bachelor weekend.  The boys decided to head to a bar to celebrate after dinner and I took the kids to see some fireworks at my parent's house.  Their community pool has a summer party every year with fireworks and we can stand at my parents house and watch.

We had to go back and get Brett and ended up being there until about 1:00 am.  Thankfully the kids had a place to play and are pretty easy going.  Lily was out within seconds of getting in the car but Luke stayed awake until we pulled into the driveway and pretended to be asleep.  (Before I get hate about him sleeping in the car like this, know that he was faking so someone would cary him inside)

Since we were up so late Saturday night, we slept in Sunday morning and then met my dad for lunch.

It was nice to be surprised with some family time on a weekend that we thought would be a little slow!

Weekend Wrap-up

The kids wanted to spend the night with my mom so Brett and I got a last minute date night.  We bought a map of the islands we visited on our trip and wanted to get it framed so our first stop was Hobby Lobby.  We also bought some beautiful pictures of the islands that we wanted to frame somehow.  We decided to buy a big frame and put them all in together.  Then we found a fun linen fabric that looks like sand to use as a mat around the pictures.  I LOVE how it turned out!  Now I just need to get some pictures made to finish out the wall.

We had dinner at P.F. Changs and talked about what we want to do for our 10 year anniversary in January.  If you have any good ideas please pass them our way!

Saturday was a slow day.  We had yard work we needed to get done and we are working on organizing our garage and getting rid of stuff.

My cousin and her husband just moved back to the states after serving as missionaries overseas.  They have nothing so we are giving them our couch from our game room upstairs and our kitchen table, along with some other things like our coffee maker, an iron, and some other things that were given to us that we don't use.  The couch and table belonged to our grandparents and were given to me when they passed away.  We were in need of them at the time but I want to be able to pay it forward and let someone else in need have them now.  Elizabeth and Josiah live by such faith and follow where they feel God is leading them.  Their story is an inspiration to me and I am so glad we can bless them too.

Sunday we worked at the welcome desk at church and as we were leaving for lunch Lily came running over saying her shoe broke.  Don't worry, Daddy came to the rescue with duct tape fashions!  :)

Sunday afternoon we went to IKEA to look at couches for our game room and to get desk ideas for Lily's room.  As we were leaving, we noticed there was a Frisco Roughriders game going on so we headed over for a baseball game!

It was fireworks night and we got to go down and watch from the field

Of course they ran around like crazy people

My love

It was a great way to end our weekend!

Goodbye BVI

Our week in Jost Van Dyke was absolutely amazing!  The water is so blue and clear that you can see 30 feet down and it looks like the bottom is right there.

These 2 belong on a beach.

We stayed at Escape Villa.  The property is stunningly beautiful!

There are technically 4 floors of the house.  At the bottom, just off the beach is an amazing covered patio, what they call a "chillax area"  It has a hammock, lots of lounge chairs, a tv, and a bar area with refrigerator and sink.

Relaxing with Uncle David

Standing on the patio, looking out at the beach

You go up some stairs to the first set of bedrooms.  Each room is separate and has their own bathroom.  My in-laws stayed in the room next to us that had a king size bed.  Our bedroom was perfect for families.  It had 2 sets of bunk beds.  Each bunk had a twin on top and a full on bottom.  Brett and I slept in one of the full beds and the kids slept on the twin bunks the first night and then wanted to be together so they slept on the other full the rest of a trip.

View from our floor of the beach (just on the other side of the trees) and patio

You go up another set of stairs to the living area.  It has the kitchen and living space inside with another outdoor living space.  The outdoor area has a big table, some lounge chairs, a grill area, and an infinity pool.

The pool

We ate out here almost every night

Then you go up another set of stairs (all outside by the way) to another set of bedrooms with kind beds and their own bathrooms.  Trent and Carrie had one room up there and Uncle David and Aunt Deana got the other one.  They had a beautiful view!

If you are looking for a place to stay in the BVI, I cannot say enough good things about this amazing place!

We had to be at the dock by about 8:45 to catch the 9:00 ferry to St. Thomas.  The ferry made a stop at St John, where we went through customs.  In case you were wondering, you can bring beef jerky onto the islands but you can't take it out.  My poor husband got his jerky stolen by customs because it could have been exposed to diseases.  We tried to take a picture before she took it but she wouldn't let us.  She thought Brett was going to steal a piece and run, which he totally would have done.  Bye beef jerky.

We arrived at St Thomas around lunch time so we took a cab to a place where we could store our luggage and then found a place to eat.  We still had about 4 hours until our flight so we walked around the town a little.  Belinda bought me a beautiful Larimar bracelet as an early birthday present. I don't buy stuff for myself very often because we buy for the kids so I am very thankful for a mother-in-law who wanted to get something for me.

After walking around St Thomas, we headed back to get our luggage and head to the airport.  We played games and the kids shared a virgin pina colada while we waited for our flight.

We took our little flight to Puerto Rico and got checked into our hotel for the night.  We thought about trying to go out to dinner but decided it was best to just eat at the hotel restaurant so we could relax and get to bed early to prepare for another early morning.  Luke and Lily ate with Aunt Deana and Uncle David.  Here they are playing the "quiet game"  haha!  So thankful they got to spend so much time together during our trip!

We found Lily's Chocolatier in the hotel and this girl could not be more excited that she had her own chocolate store.  :)

Sunday morning we woke up around 5:30 to get ready and leave for the airport by 7:00.

Had to document our short stay in Puerto Rico

When we travel, I always try to dress them in similar colors so I can spot them easily.  :)  They love looking out on the planes.

Then during our 2 flights, we took a bunch of pictures to easy Mommy's flight anxiety.

Love these 2 crazies so much!

While we can't wait to go back, we were all so thankful to be home.

Goodbye BVI - thanks for an amazing trip and memories that will last a lifetime!

Jost Van Dyke: Day 6

Today was our last day out on the boat.  We went out for one last SCUBA/snorkel trip in the morning.    Luke wanted to go but Lily didn't want to until we started to leave the dock and then she screamed for me not to leave.  Aunt Deana and Uncle David said they would stay with her while I went out with Luke.  Thankfully it wasn't long after Uncle David picked her up and they walked away that she calmed down and wanted to play and swim at the villa.  She loved having time with Aunt Deana and Uncle David.

The SCUBA divers

Luke and I had fun snorkeling for a while and then we got out to take some pics.  :)

Luke LOVES to take pictures too!

It was hard to take pictures though with the boat bumping up and down

When we got back, Uncle David was swinging Lily in the swing by the beach - love!  We picked up everyone and headed to Foxy's Taboo.

They were super excited when they found a pretty big hermit crab.

After lunch we walked from Foxy's to the Bubbly Pool.  It was another good hike which was one thing I really loved about the trip.  We did a lot of walking and exploring and the kids loved every bit of it!  They would have followed David anywhere!

We saw this sign as we got to the pool and got a little worried

We got there during low tide though so it wasn't filling like it normally does which we were thankful for because David said it can get dangerous during high tide.  The waves splash up the rocks and can knock you down.  The water wasn't very "bubbly" but we still had fun!

We left the Bubbly Pool and headed to Little Jost, a small island with a bar, to enjoy some relaxation.

This girl found her new best friend!  We found a sweet family from Texas, whose daughter went to Baylor (small world), who had this sweet little puppy and they let Lily play with him the whole time we were there.  She wants a puppy so bad!

And Uncle Trent found some sea urchins

We played around the beach and relaxed in the water for a couple of hours and then had to head back.  We were all super sad to have to say goodbye to David.  I can't say enough good things about him!  If you are ever on Jost Van Dyke and want to SCUBA or snorkel, you need to look him up at Jost Van Dyke Scuba!  He was absolutely AMAZING with the kids, told us so much information about everywhere he took us, and had great insight on places to go.  The kids loved him!  The minute we drove away, the kids started saying they missed him.

We quickly showered and got ready for dinner so we could run down to the beach and take a few family pictures.  We had taken so many in our swim suits but I had let the time slip away from me to take a good family pic.

Our last dinner was at a place called Sidney's Peace and Love.  The guys at the SCUBA place suggested it as a great "non touristy" place to have amazing lobster.  The 4 of us don't eat seafood but we had some great chicken!  It is in a little cove where you can eat by the water and it was peaceful, relaxing and delicious!

Not long after we got home, these 2 passed out!

We had an amazing week on Jost Van Dyke and already can't wait to go back!  Tomorrow we start our 2 day journey home!