Bahamas Part II

 Bahamas. I don't even know where to begin.  It was December when my siblings and I got together and we bought my parents a Christmas gift to the Bahamas.  We explained that we would send them off to a place where they don't have to make their beds or cook or clean and just lay back, chillax and have a good time.  Then they said "what fun would it be without you kids" so then Thanh and her husband were going to join them.  But Thanh's husband Alex couldn't commit to coming due to his new job so then Thuyen, my other sister took Alex's spot.  My family is very persuasive so they got me involved and I wanted to go and would not have a difficult time since I only work 1 day a week for a few hours. But I didn't want to go without Dan and he still had a few weeks left for paternity leave.  However, he lost his passport and hadn't put much effort in renewing so we went back and forth on deciding if he and Reena and Debrie would go to Disneyworld or something and meet up with me and the boys.  The idea sounded good until I decided I wanted to do a cruise and hey let's just all go and have a good time so that's what we decided and paid extra to speed up Dan's passport and booked everything last minute but that's how we are!  As Dan's sister described us...flexible and spontaneous and I'll add adventurous!  I even offered to Dan's parents as a gift but they weren't sure on the time frame so that'll have to be next time.

 We arrived in style, with our shorts and short sleeves but soon found that we needed less.  It was so humid and hot!  Everything was picturesque and beautiful.  There was a crowd of bikini models that showed up and we weren't too thrill about that because it meant Dan had to look down on the ground but I'm trying to block that out of my head and not let that destroy our good memories of the place. 

 My dad was so happy to be with his grandson.  Honestly if my parents weren't there to help babysit, I don't think I would've enjoyed our time as much there.

 The sand was perfection.  I've never seen anything so smooth and divine!

 We stayed at the Wyndam resort.  There were a few pools to swim in after you are done at the beach

 The natives were black.  I did not know that.  I was thinking they'd be more Hispanics

 So divine it doesn't even look real!

 The water was so clear we could see the fish underneath us.  Occasionally we could feel them swim under our legs

 Everyday morning 'til night the buffet and restaurants have food for you.  All inclusive was a bad idea for a foodie like me.  I ate way more than I needed.  I put on probably around 5 lbs when we left!  I mean look at this!!

 

 All you can eat???  oh so so bad for me!  I was so grateful for a high metabolism because I had no control

We went snorkeling for hours.  We could see many different kinds of fish

They had game rooms and live entertainment.

They put on a pretty nice musical, the Lion King

If the Seattle summer did not tan my kids that much, they are definitely tanned now after all that sun

It was so hot and humid Roro's curls went wild

We biked outside of the resort to see the natives and tour around

My mom found a palm bush similar to the palm bushes she had growing up.  They have sweet palm seeds you could eat. 

 My sisters were so sweet and took on the job of feeding the kiddos at every meal.  It's so nice to have siblings without kids. My parents helped feed the kids as well

 The resort was full of things to do that we didn't even feel the need to go else where.  From sailing, canoeing, snorkeling, to archery, acrobatic roping, volleyball, and tennis!

Sunday was General Conference so we knew there wasn't a congregational gathering but Dan looked up a possible ward building.  He and I left the kids with my family and went on a 3 hr date.  It was so nice.  We went to the church building and found out that LDS.org was not up to date.  What we found was a baptist church only so we attended a sermon anyway and asked for some water.  We met with a member, Verona Macintosh.  I asked her if she had a coconut tree in her yard and she said yes.  So, me being the not shy person that I am asked if I could visit her house.  So we walked to her house and she showed us around.

She had a nice banana bush!  I felt like I was in Vietnam again.

She also had a walnut tree

And sugar cane bushes

And YES!!!  COCONUT TREE!

We made Dan climbed to get some coconuts of course!  He had a lot of fun

And Verona chopped up the coconuts for us.  What a sweet lady!

Ummmm...fresh from the tree.  Nothing better!!

Verona's husband is a taxi driver.  So of course to return the favor she asked if we want to go anywhere to allow her husband the opportunity to have our service.  Of course we obliged and he took us to the famous market down town.  We had a lot of fun shopping there for hours

And we got gadgets to bring back of course!

 Whenever we weren't swimming in the ocean we swam at the pools  and the hot tub at night. 

 My mom gave the girls a nice nails do over completed with palm trees.  Seriously my mother is so talented.  Any talents I possess it is because of her genes!

 The last day we celebrated Ronin's birthday.  I went to the front desk, ordered a cake for Ronin and they made it for him.  It was the most relaxing birthday for me!!  This was what I wrote on FB about his birthday: Roro, my loveable, curly haired boy, full of energy, excitement for life turned 3 when we were in the Bahamas. He spent all day in the sun playing in the water, had his grandparents and aunts' arms wrapped around him as we celebrated his birthday on the Grand Bahamas Island. He's got a gorgeous golden tan from having been to the hot humid Vietnam, Florida for Disneyworld, Legoland California, and now the Bahamas. This 3 yr old is a bit of a world traveler. We love him more than anything in the world and so glad he is a part of our family.

 And then it's back to the boat

 Sailing back to Fort Lauderdale before the storm. We were so lucky our last day was 2 days before Hurricane Mathew was going to hit and everyone at the Bahamas was getting ready to bar up the windows and such.  One couple was just arriving at the resort for their honeymoon only to be told to go back to Florida. 

 We got a nice hotel in Fort Lauderdale and went exploring the area the next day

Beautiful city.  Loved the Bahamas and would go back in a heart beat.  So glad we got back to Seattle before the storm hit.  We planned this trip in 2 weeks but thankfully with all the inclusive package, it was a nice and relaxing vacation.