Mother's Day

We had a nice Mother's Day yesterday.

For the past probably 6 years, we've done brunch at the local Hyatt hotel. It was always very nice and the kids always loved the kids area they had there. Last year, the buffet went downhill quite a bit from the years before so we really debated going back there this year. We decided to give them one more shot.  However, when my Father-in-Law called for reservations, he found out they were not having a brunch there this year!  So, we sort of scrambled to find a place to go!

We ended up at another hotel nearby called the Strathallen. Gabe and I did an overnight there back in February and it was very nice. The food at the restaurant was really good, so we hoped the buffet would be comparable.

And it was!

Before eating, we took a few photos...the Moms:

Me, my Mom, Aunt Pat, Camille, Molly, Ela

Gabe, Cassie, Avery and I

I took a few pics of the buffet, but didn't get the entire thing...

Desserts!

Seafood table

It was a pretty good spread. They had an omelet station and made on the spot eggs benedict. Also waffles, blueberry pancakes, bacon, sausage, pasta, vegetables, fried chicken. They had a carving station of salmon, ham, prime rib, pork. They had quite a seafood spread, which I didn't really look at. They also had a long table set up of bagels, croissants, pastries, yogurt, granola, and a salad bar. And of course, the crazy spread of desserts!  I think everyone really enjoyed it!

Group photo!

Once we got home, Cassie napped and we just lounged around most of the day. It rained out so it wasn't the nicest of days. It was nice to just spend time together and just chill. We don't get many of those days too often!

Happy Belated Mother's Day!

Aruba-Part 2

Let's continue on with the vacation post, shall we? (You can find the start of it here!)

Saturday we were up around 7:45 and we went out for a pancake breakfast. 

Cassandra ready to roll!

Then we did some shopping at some flea market type spots that we found. We got a few small souvenirs and since it was hot, we had to get some slushies!

Then the girls got a braid put in their hair...even Cassandra who has the finest baby hair out there!

When Cassandra napped, Gabe and I did some shopping-I didn't get anything but just looked around. Then we went for dinner and saw a fountain show nearby then headed home for bed!

Pretty sunset

Sunday we were up around 7:45 again. We had breakfast at home and did some swimming in the pool all morning. After lunch, Cassandra napped and my Mom and I went to the beach to do some walking around.

Palm beach

Palm beach

Palm beach

After Cassandra's nap, we headed back to the lighthouse area for dinner there.

turtles

Avery on the restaurant steps

restaurant views

We heard this is the best place on the island for the sunset so I was anxious to see it....

Cassandra and Avery

Gabe and I

Avery loves playing photographer lately!

Gabe, Mom, Cassandra and I

All of us!

And the sunset? It didn't disappoint....

Love this one

Frame worthy?

It was spectacular....I'm amazed at the beauty in our world sometimes! After dinner, we got the girls in bed and then Gabe and I went to the casino for a bit before bed.

Monday we were up at 7:30. The kids ate breakfast and we got ready to go to another beach. Gabe and I went to this beach (Baby beach) on our honeymoon and we knew the kids would love it because it's so calm. The only bad thing was that it took us about an hour to get there as we had to from one end of the island all the way to the other end. But it was totally worth it!

And we saw a cruise ship in port which was cool!

Baby beach

Baby beach

Baby beach

The kids had a ball at the beach-Avery was loving the water and had so much fun!  Cassandra was in and out of the water and playing in the sand. We got there just in time and claimed the last free palapa so we had some shade for the day, which was perfect!  We stayed at the beach until around 3 and I thought for sure the kids would pass out on the way home...nope! We came home, all got showered up and went out for dinner. Then we got the kids to bed and Gabe and I went to the casino again before bed (do you see a trend here?!)

Mom and I before dinner

Tuesday we were up around 7:15. We had breakfast and relaxed by the pool all morning. We had lunch and while Cassandra napped, Gabe and I went to Palm beach to walk a bit and for me to buy some paintings. We saw this guy while we were out and about....

After Cassandra napped, we went out for dinner on the beach for our last night.

Cassandra and Gabe

Avery and I

My Mom and Avery

the view from our table

Again, another lovely sunset....

The girls had fun running in the sand after dinner a bit!

We got the girls in bed then did some packing.

Wednesday we got up around 8:15. We had some breakfast, took showers, and packed up.

Mom, Avery, Cassandra before leaving

We left the house around 10:45. Our flight was at 3pm and we were told to get to the airport about 3hrs ahead to deal with both customs. And we also had to drop off our rental car. We ended up at the airport just before noon and no joke, we were at the gate by like 12:15. Yep, we had almost 3hrs to kill just sitting at the gate! Not to mention 2 flights home!  The first flight home was a little rough for Cassandra again. She missed her nap and was just not having it. Our layover was fine and our last flight was delayed, but only by about 15min. The last flight went well. Avery lay down as soon as we took off and slept most of the way home. Cassandra finally conked out around 9:45 and we landed around 10:40. The poor things were woken up numerous times between getting off the plane, getting luggage, getting in the car, and getting home. It was a super long day. 

It was tough going home and leaving paradise-we all had such a wonderful vacation!

Aruba-Part 1

It was the vacation we had been waiting (and waiting) for!

It's been a long time coming....our last "vacation" (which was a long weekend in NYC-see posts here, here, and here) was when Avery was only 18months old....she's now almost 5! Yep, a looooong time coming for this trip!

It all started Tues, May 20th. We had a 6am flight, so Gabe, my Mom, and I were up at 3am. We got showered and dressed then woke the kids up just before 4am. Of course my kids were wound up and ready to go-there was no sleeping for them once we woke them! We got to the airport around 4:30 and everything went very smoothly, which was nice. We got on the plane and were ready to head to JFK for our layover.

Avery and Gabe

Cassandra and I

I was a little nervous about how Cassandra would do since she has never flown before. I'll admit, the first flight was rough. Luckily it was less than an hour long-she was not feeling it. I think the combination of being overtired and hungry just pushed her over the edge. Not to mention she had a window seat but was too short to see out the window!

Our layover was a little over an hour and our flights were on time. It was a pretty easy connection (thank God) and before we knew it, we were Aruba bound! The flight ended up being about 3.5 hours and honestly, it flew by! Both girls were great on the plane thanks to movies and the ipad and some toys we brought along.

Once in Aruba, we met with a car rental place and got our ride for the week (a minivan) and we were on our way driving to the house. Along the way, this happened....

We got to the house and met the manager who handed over the keys and showed us around....

kitchen

living room

my Mom's bedroom

the linai/pool

The kids dove right in the pool (as you can see in a few pics above), then we had an early dinner and grocery shopped for the week. Then we all went to bed pretty darn early.

Wednesday both Gabe and I were up around 5:30am (that's what you get for being in bed at 8:30!) and the kids were up around 7. We had some breakfast then headed out for some sightseeing.

First stop...the lighthouse.

Mom and Cassandra

Avery and I

Gabe and the girls

Next stop...the natural bridge!

We came "home" and had lunch. Cassandra took a nap, we all swam a little bit then went out for dinner downtown.

These guys serenaded us with "Over the Rainbow"-awesome!

Thursday we got up and the kids wanted to swim right away. They may have had breakfast first, but did a quick swim in the pool. Then we packed up and headed to Eagle Beach for the morning.

Cassandra's first beach trip!

Chillin'

So relaxing!

After the beach, we came "home", had lunch, Cassandra napped. Then we went for dinner and ice cream.

We let the kids swim when we got back "home" as the pool lit up and changed color. It was pretty cool. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of it!

On Friday we hung out at "home" all morning just relaxing and swimming-the kids just loved the pool!

And we had a lizard friend that stopped by frequently to see us!

Poor Cassandra was a hot, sweaty mess all week long. Her hair was just constantly sweaty and greasy looking no matter what-even fresh out of the shower! Poor girl!

Aren't they adorable?!

When Cassandra woke up from her nap, we took the kids to a little arcade that we found. They had a blast playing games and winning tickets for prizes!

Then Gabe and I had a date night-we went out for dinner then did some gambling after.

The rest of the week coming soon!!