Cake by the Ocean

On Thursday, we had our first of three days on the boat we rented. While each day was a bit different, we basically enjoyed time exploring other beaches,  chilling on sand bars (where knee deep water goes forever), being on the water, and time at the "chat n chill" island bar with the sting rays. 

The evenings were all spent with meals at at home (one of which included enjoying "cake by the ocean" thanks to the boxes cake mix I brought from home). The last meal of the trip we had a Chef cook dinner for Rachel's birthday which was very fun! It was nice to be at the house in the evenings relaxing after a long day on the water. 

Checking out the sting ray on the sand bar 

Shallow water going on forever 

Little Exuma

It's hard to summarize our amazing time in Little Exuma, Bahamas. The house, our (what ended up being a private) beach, our traveling companions, and great weather except for one very windy day (and that provided opportunities for boogie boarding and body surfing) - all made for a great trip. It's also the little things - like the boys looking for the landmarks of the drive, making up songs,  and Marshall learning to drive on the "wrong" side of the road. 

Because I want to have it documented, here's a quick synopsis of the first part of our trip - the "land portion." 

Sunday - arrived at Papaya House around 3:30. We enjoyed beach time and cooked burgers. 

The view 

Monday - gorgeous day hanging at the house and the beach. There was snorkeling, kayaking, digging in the sand, and relaxing with the view of the teal blue ocean. 

Tuesday - WINDY! We hiked down from our house along the coast, we watched Pirates of the Caribbean which was filmed just down the road from our rental, and played lots of rummy cube. We ventured to the other side of the island for dinner to get out of the wind which was a nice outing with great food. 

Crashing waves during our hike 

Outdoor dining - D-man was surprised all the seating was outside 

Wednesday - excursion day. Pig beachcomber, starfish hunting, beautiful vistas of the Atlantic, and visiting endangered iguanas. We ate at Shirley's which is in "the fish fry" (shacks similar to food trucks) just outside of the Georgetown at the recommendation the owners of the house we rented. 

Starfish 

Iguanas 

Picture Day!

Check Off Florida

D-man was excited that we decided to have a stop over on our way to Bahamas so that he could check off Florida from his list.  T-man was excited to test out his new snokle gear in the pool. Marshall and I were excited for beverages by the pool. 

It was a long day, but we're on our way. 

Pool time 

Pizza (and beverages) by the pool 

Nana and Pop Visit

So nice to have my parents here for a long weekend. It was a pretty laid back weekend, but we did manage to watch lacrosse, hit the driving range AND play a round of golf, do a bit of shopping, enjoy drinks on the patio, take some walks, and just enjoy being together. 

Putting with Pop 

Lacrosse scrimmage 

Shopping for hats 

Using the golf membership from Nana and Pop 

Shopping with Nana 

Sweet Cow for ice cream 

Girls Weekend (kind of)

Ok well, not really a true girls weekend, but cocktails, wine, sushi and a day of skiing comes close (even with two kiddos around). 

It was great to have Nadja and Fisher here for Saturday evening and then with us on a quick trip to Eldora. It was perfect temps and snow was pretty decent for spring skiing. It even started snowing after lunch. So fun to be able to go skiing so close to home with a great friend! 

Wrestling Wrap-up

Middle school wrestling came to an end at the district meet. D-man went 1-2 in a couple of hard fought matches for a season ending record of 7-5. While Marshall and I were shocked he wanted to go out, he really enjoyed the season so much so that he just said, "I really love wrestling, but not enough to give up basketball." 

The best for me was watching D-man take tips from Marshall and be on a school team with kids in all middle school grades. 

Taking it all in