Jammin in Jamaica Day Five

We paddle boated in the morning, did waterslides and the kiddy pool and had Italian supper as adults. It was a fun 'day off' to just hang out.
Two fun moments from the last two days to add in however.
First, when we said the prayer yesterday with the good people from Des Moines, the finished the prayer and Doodle asked 'mommy, why did they say 'almond'? After a quick giggle from the crowd, we had to clarify that they had said 'amen' - they just pronounce their words differently than we do.
The other fun bit was the travel company soiree that was held in the courtyard at the resort. It was a nice way to spend the late afternoon as a family and watch the sunset.

Jamaica Day Four

We awoke this morning to another beautiful warm sunny Jamaican morning. We grabbed a yummy breakfast', put together some peanut butter sandwiches, fruit and lots of water and then boarded the bus. We go to meet and chat with lots of people from Hope Lutheran churn in Des Moines, Iowa. The bus took us to riverside basic school where 3,4 and 5 year-olds ( and lots of them) come for prayer, education and boistrous, joyous singing.
We unloaded and did a quick prayer with the Jamaican pastor, then watched the kid's devotional an the starting of classes. What little resources they have are well used.
While the boys were in class, we adults got to building a chain link fence to keep local animals from getting to the beautiful gardens which can be used for weddings. Later, the boys lended a hand too. The kid's took recess and played soccer and basketball outside. We hoped that we made a difference in their lives. We feel that having our boys witness how little these kid's had between nutrition, toys and athletic gear was something that would leave a lasting impression.
We returned to the resort for some sown time. Monkey finished and went to hang our with sj, but big C fell asleep, so I states wig him until he woke. We dropped the kids off at kids club after their supper, then went for a really fun supper with another couple at the carribean restaurant . The food was good, the company was great and the drinks (called rock steady baby) were great!
As the ladies put the boys to bed, the guys capped off the night with a few games of pool.

Jamaica Day Three

Today was our first day to take in all that the resort had to offer. We got up at a decent time and went down for our yummy breakfast. Monkey has started to figure out how to get what he'd like at the omelette bar by acting like 'people' (or a grown-up for that matter). He's also starting to figure out that the bartenders don't realize that he's looking to get a drink himself - though he prefers a 'happy drink, please'. That's a strawberry dacquiri. Today was able to order adrink for himself for the first time.
We started to relax as a family. Today was a nice day to just settle in and enjoy.
Monkey and Doodle spent a little time doing some crafts in the kids club while the grown-ups read books by the pool or the beach for much of the morning.
Later in the morning we wandered off to the little rock break in front of the resort to check it out. Here are the boys wandering around the rocks looking for anything interesting that they could find.
Then a good round of mini-putt found our way. Largely, we made up the rules as we went along. There was some good cajoling at what would happen when the ball went out of play. It seemed to happen a lot. Maybe even a little croquet broke out during the game. I'm just sayin'.
We enjoyed a scrumptuous dinner at the Asian restaurant where we had fish (Monkey), Shrimp (Doodle), Pad Thai (Daddy) and the Sweet and Sour Chicken (mommy). We got in a few nice family shots and then polished off the night with some yummy cheesecake.
We were lucky enough to catch a beautiful sunset and I was quick enough with the camera to get a few shots for Monkey to look at later.
While the boys went to sleep, we took to the balcony to read a little more until they fell asleep.
What a peaceful day in the warmth and the sun.

We be Jammin in Jamaica - Days one and two

We recently were able to take a trip to Montego Bay, Jamaica as a family. Before I even get into the first blog post, let me preface it by saying that it was a phenomenal family trip. I won't go further than that before I get to the details however.
We woke up really early (read 3:00 am) on Day One and had a fantastic friend drive us to the airport - thanks once again Peter! Here are the boys tuning in to a little bit of some movies before we took to the air.
We made great time at the airport and the flight was super. We saw Cuba just before we landed and Doodle was very excited to be able to go back and tell one of his teacher's all about it. We cleared customs in record time and were out in the sun at the resort after a brief lunch. The beachfront was just gorgeous, not to mention the view from our room.


Woke up early and secured a spot on the beach and a spot near the kids pool. The kids played in the pool until the kids club was offered and they excitedly changed in to dry clothes. We signed them in and they went on a nature walk and did a nature craft.

I went back at 11 and signed them out so that they could play hockey with the Leitrim Hawks and the Jamaican team. We thought that it was the coolest thing ever to see a hockey game played right next to the ocean (summer classic anyone??)

Monkey looked over to see if other kids could play and asked if the Canadian team was wearing the yellow shirts or the black ones. He didn't even notice the colour if their skin, he just saw the colour of the shirts. Both boys got to play (though the camera was working much better during the Doodle's turn - oooh, and check out my favourite player - the guy on the Jamaican team sporting his soccer cleats!)and the doodle even got a water bottle (for wearing a blue shirt) we got some great photos of the game-and of Saje dancing afterwards. Apparently monkey was embarassed that his mom was dancing in her bathing suit. Awwww MOM.
Monkey really enjoyed the quickly setting sun. It truly does set In just about 45 seconds. It was a really nice family moment. The boys crashed hard when they went to sleep at 8:30. We followed closely behind and were surely out by 10.

Puzzle

So we had a friend over to play after church today (will try to get a video of the little concert up soon if I can get it off of my BB). The kidlets set to work on putting together the puzzle that Grandma picked up for them at Value Village.They had great communication while they were working on it and were very pleased when they completed it : )

My kids really don't need toys

And this is why...Dave found a gigantic cardboard box, he leaned it against the basement wall and gave the kids a bag of crayons and some stickers.
Now it has been transformed into a gigantic castle and the boys had a ball creating it : )