Part 2

At long last...

The Wedding:

We all boarded the (thankfully air conditioned) bus and headed off to Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church, which was absolutely adorable. The entire wedding was beautiful, unfortunately I got zero pictures at the church and only a few at the reception. Kaelyn was a perfect little flower girl and did a great job walking down the aisle. While Brennan looked darn cute, he didn't make it a step down the aisle before running back to Maya. But they were both well behaved during the entire mass. At least as far as I could tell from my view up on the altar. I was actually a little worried Bren would try to run up on the altar when he saw me. But he was perfectly content sitting with his grandparents. I think doggy paci and lots of goldfish helped a little.

Here's Brennan sitting nicely with Buppa (photo courtesy of Maya).

Oh yeah, and I almost forgot, he did not wear shoes. That's right. Care Care even bought him some cute little flip flops just for the wedding but he was barefoot for the entire wedding. Truthfully he was barefoot most of the trip. His feet are a little on the chubby side and with a little extra swelling from the heat some shoes didn't fit at all and others he just didn't want to wear. I guess when you're one you can get away with going barefoot to a wedding on an island.

The steel drums during cocktail hour were a big hit. Brennan couldn't resist the opportunity to dance.

And Kaelyn even got to show off her steel drumming skills.

Kaelyn's dress was actually made from the material from Nana's wedding dress. I thought that was pretty special. Here she is party rocking with the beautiful bride.

And teaching Care some moves, no doubt.

The entire wedding was gorgeous and so much fun. I must say they did a phenomenal job, especially considering they were planning it from another country.

Kaelyn and Pop sharing a sweet moment by the pool.

And there was a lot more dancing after that.

The DJ booth was "conveniently" located right outside our bedroom door. Luckily for Maya and Buppa we decided to move Bren's crib to their room on the opposite side of the house for the night. (Sorry! and Thank you!) We let Kaelyn stay up as late as she wanted, but even she decided to go to bed before the party was over.  She must have been so tired that the music vibrating throughout the room didn't even seem to bother her.

Sunday: Karakter, take 2

The next day it was back to "the Bus" for brunch and beach time with the bride and groom and some of the other wedding guests.

Brennan learned his lesson and was content playing in the sand this time.

Kaelyn made up a very interesting game. Here are the rules. 1) Grab as much sand as you can. 2) Run down to the water. 3) Throw the sand in the water. 4) Run back up giggling and then repeat as many times as you can.

Monday: Pinel Island, aka Heaven on earth

Pinel has become our absolute favorite destination when we visit St. Martin. (Speaking for my husband and myself only, but I'm sure there are others who would agree.) It's a tiny little island off the French side of St. Martin. It's about a 10 minute ferry ride and the only thing on the island is two beach restaurants, a small gift shop and a variety of animals. Our favorite restuarant is Karabuni. So it's always our goal to be on one of the first boats over and get a big group of chairs right by the water and close to the restaurant. They serve probably some of the best food I've ever eaten.  The views on Pinel beautiful and serene and the water is so calm and shallow.  It's great for the kids. Seriously though, words cannot do this place justice.

One of the many beautiful views

Just chillin' in the water

Some goldfish in the shade

A little newlywed kayak ride from the main island. Care and Jay didn't make it on the first boat over with us. When they showed up they were going to have to wait another half hour for the next boat so they decided to rent a kayak and paddle over instead.

Hmmm... what should we get for lunch? So many tempting choices.

So I guess I tap my finger on my lip in an exaggerated manner when trying to make decisions, as evidenced by Brennan's new habit of doing the same thing.  When we sat down and I said, "What should we have for lunch?" Brennan started hmmming and finger tapping which was quite humorous.

The kids have turned into quite the seafood aficionados. If only I was better at cooking seafood at home. I think they both ended up eating Mahi here. As did I. It was delectable. As usual.

After lunch was more swimming. And then Kaelyn got a turn in the kayak courtesy of Dada and Uncle Joey's strong rowing arms.

 

Tuesday: Philipsburg

We decided we needed a little break from the beach. So we headed to Philipsburg, the capital of the Dutch side for a little shopping and lunch. Here are some views from lunch at Chesterfield's, Pop's favorite lunch spot.

Wednesday: Mullet Bay

We've been to a lot of different beaches on the island. A few we try to go back to every time. This trip we decided to try something new.  Mullet Bay can sometimes be calm but can sometimes be a little rough. After driving by in the morning and seeing that it was a calm day we thought it was worth a shot since it's pretty close to the villa which might be good in case we needed to get Bren home for a nap. We were not disappointed.

 

I adored the colorful, striped beach umbrellas here.

There was a little beach bar "shack" here. The food was simple - chicken, burgers, hot dogs - but good. And very affordable.

We met a little iguana friend on the beach.

And Kaelyn invented a new game. Mushy Mango Whoa. I have no idea where she came up with this name but this is what she said while playing. Basically, she sat at the edge of the water next to Maya and waited for a little wave to come up and wash her out a little. When this happened she would scream "mushy mango whoa" and giggle uncontrollably.  Of course she was holding Maya's hand but they decided they needed a "catcher" just in case Maya got washed away too. Uncle Joey got that job most of the time but I think everyone else took a turn too.

Check out the cool pirate ship in the background.

Thursday: Le Galion, aka Baby Beach

Most people call this beach Baby Beach. And for good reason. The water is super shallow, warm and calm. It's like swimming in a bath.

It really is the perfect beach for kids. They were both totally comfortable running around at the edge on their own.

Back at the villa. A view of the ocean with a cruise ship heading out for the evening.

Friday: Straw market, Sunset Beach Bar, departures and pool time

Buppa, Uncle Joey and Dennis (aka Dentist, oh my gosh I can't believe I almost forgot about that!) had to leave Thursday afternoon. We decided to hit the Straw Market in Marigot for some last minute souvenir shopping.

And then we headed to the infamous Sunset Beach Bar right next to the airport for lunch and plane watching before dropping the boys off for their flights. We did see at least one person get blown over by jet taking off. Kids, when you come when you're older, don't be stupid. Do not stand behind the jets. You could, and probably will, get hurt. And Kaelyn, you better not be getting any free drinks there.

Kaelyn had a good view of the incoming and outgoing planes thanks to Uncle Joey.

And then we took one last dip in the pool before we had to say good bye.

Saturday: Airports

We had a super early flight again, so we were up and ready to go before the sun.  After repeated attempts to talk to people at the airport and airline we found no sympathetic ears and were stuck with an eight hour layover in Miami. I truly thank God that Maya decided to travel with the kids and me. I do not think I could have done it on my own.  The kids were actually pretty good in the airport. It was a little difficult when they wanted to run around trying to keep track of them and all of our stuff, which was why it was definitely good to have another adult.  The flight from Miami to Indy was another story completely, but I don't want to dwell on that.

Watching "Jasmine" while camping out at Miami Internationl

Playing cars in the middle of the concourse to stay entertained

So... when can we go back?

Five years

I'm sure you all are anxiously awaiting the exciting conclusion of the St. Martin trip, but I must take a commercial break to discuss two big milestones that occurred yesterday.

Five years ago, July 7, 2007, I was lucky enough to marry the love of my life. It has been a crazy five years with plenty of ups and downs (two kids and a dog will definitely do that to you), but I still think I am the luckiest.

"The Luckiest" by Ben Folds - Our first dance

Even though we didn't get to go on a date, we were fortunate enough to actually get to spend the whole day together for once. We tried to have a dinner date after the kids went to bed but had several interruptions from both kids. Oh well. Ce la vie. It was still a nice change and a delicious meal if I do say so myself.

And of course we can't forget about Rudy. After we got married we started looking for a dog. We found Rudy (he was actually named Prince by the breeder). And then we found out he was born on our wedding day. So we knew it was meant to be. And he's been the perfect dog for us. Our first baby:

Look how tiny he was!

The day we brought him home.

His love affair with golf balls begins.

5 years old.

A wedding in paradise, mushy mango whoa and other adventures on the friendly island, part 1

Are you ready for this? I know you've been waiting for it but I'm not sure you're ready. You better grab a drink and maybe a snack before you start reading.

I'll get the whining and complaining out of the way first. I know there are other moms out there who will identify with this. Taking a vacation with a 15 month old is not a vacation. At least not a relaxing one. Brennan did not sleep well the entire time we were there. Naps were hit or miss or taken laying in my arms on the bed or lounge chair at the beach (but somehow I was never able to sleep much while he was). And getting him to bed was pretty much a nightmare. Although Matt, and then Pop, seemed to have better luck than me. I was hopeful that after a few days he would acclimate and settle into a routine while we were there, but I guess I was overly optimistic. I mean we are talking about Brennan here. The child who, even before we left for St. Martin, was not consistently sleeping through the night. So, since he wasn't sleeping he pretty much wanted to be held most of the time. By me. And no one else. Except when Matt was there. But, we were in paradise and from my point of view everything else about the trip was practically perfect (except that Matt couldn't stay the whole time) so I really don't have much room to complain.

Besides, this is where we stayed.

 
Villa Ambiance.  Aaahhhhhh.... Doesn't get much better.

After a very early flight Monday morning, we arrived in St. Martin in the afternoon. Luckily, both kids napped on the second flight. The first couple days we hung around the villa.

The kids played in the furniture. Literally. We walked around the grounds. I took lots of pictures. The kids colored. Brennan mostly on himself. We helped with wedding preparations. And we swam in the pool.

On Wednesday, we met Matt at the airport.

 Kaelyn was a little nervous going in the pool at first and freaked out when we would try to let go of her. But she eventually realized she wasn't going to sink with her floaties on and was swimming around on her own.

Even though it was harder for her to move she liked being in her arm floaties and the dino floatie. We named her Deena.

Kaelyn informed us this was not an alligator but a crocodile because it had a straight nose and lived in saltwater.

On Thursday we finally took the kids to the beach. We went to Karakter (aka "The Bus" because the bar is actually an old bus refitted to be a beach bar), which is conveniently close to the airport since we had to pick Buppa up that afternoon. And they have delicious food. But then again, everything tastes better in St. Martin. Oh, and watch out for the Amstel Brights while you're there. You may need to take a taxi home.

Bren got to put his feet in the ocean for the first time. However, he was not a big fan of the waves. He did try several times but after being pummeled by a huge wave just wanted to be held while he watched. Kaelyn on the other hand got very brave and even went in with Matt and Pop.  She did have to wipe her face off whenever she got splashed but there were very few tears. Compare this to last time we were at this beach (November 2010) when she wouldn't go two feet from the lounge chair and we had to shield her from the wind with Matt's shirt.

Of course Friday was busy with getting ready for the wedding and the rehearsal in the evening.  The kids did great at rehearsal. Bren even made it half way down the aisle one time. Kaelyn was super excited about the gifts she got at the dinner. And I was very thankful to have so many adults willing to help keep an eye on the kids and wrangle them (the whole trip actually).  And thankful for an outdoor showing of Toy Story right next to the rehearsal dinner tent. The highlight was when Auntie LaLa made a little boy cry after he pushed Bren out of his seat watching the movie. Ha!

Don't they look like angels reading their hymnal?

Checking out some of the goodies they got from Auntie Care Care and Jay.

 The big day! Saturday. The wedding! Woot!

First up for the day was the civil ceremony on the beach. It was gorgeous. Of course.

A sweet moment between Matt and Kaelyn while we waited in the shade for the ceremony to start. I wonder what they were talking about...

Just before he fell asleep. Yep, he slept through the ceremony. Probably for the best.

Uncle Jay looked a little hot waiting for his bride. Or maybe it was just the nerves making him sweat. ;)

The beautiful bride walking down the "aisle."

They ceremony was short and sweet and they sure did look happy.

And then it was a frenzy of activity getting ready for the real deal. When we got back to the villa the caterer was busy setting up, hair and make up people arrived and then the flowers started rolling in. Thankfully both of the kids napped during most of the chaos. I'll admit I was more than a little worried they wouldn't and would be a nightmare at the church. The kids woke up just in time to put their wedding clothes on - they sure looked adorable - and then we all piled on the bus and were off to the church.

To be continued...

Something special

Ok, wow! So... giant blogging fail in June. I was totally hoping to get a post up this past week so I could at least have one post every month. But, well, it's July today and you can see that nothing got written in June. So, I've decided to start July off on a better note.  I still want to go back and record our trip to St. Martin (from which we've been back a month now!) but for today I'm going to go with something quick and easy. (I have at least 700 pictures from the trip so even choosing pictures to include on the blog is going to take some serious time.) Oh, and everything else that happened in June probably will never make it on the blog. Oh well, it was a motivationless (so not even a word) month for me.

So, all summer so far Kaelyn has constantly been asking to "do something special." Which usually means she wants to watch t.v. or play games on the iPad. Someone please tell me why we didn't send her to summer camp. Oh yeah, because I was a slacker and never got around to getting the info and signing her up for anything.

So I was inspired by a pin I saw a while back for an "I'm not bored anymore jar." I finally got off my lazy butt and made a version of one about a week ago.  We call it her "Something Special Jar."

Each stick has a different activity on it and whenever she asks to do something special she gets to pick a stick. Now, most of the activities require my participation or help, only a few don't, but I figure it will be good for me too. It will help/force me stay focused on the kids for however long the activity takes. I've been getting distracted from them a lot lately and they deserve more of my attention.

The first one she picked after I made it was "Wash the dog." I ended up doing most of the work on that one but both the kids still thought it was a blast, the dog got clean, the kids will eventually learn how to give Rudy a bath on their own, and it was a half an hour that we didn't have to turn on the t.v.

Today she picked "Hide and Seek." I was totally hoping she'd pick something she could do on her own. But we haven't played hide and seek in awhile and we all had fun.  Kaelyn has improved her hiding skills. A couple months ago she would tell me where she was going to hide every time it was her turn. Now she just purposely makes noise from her hiding spot so I'll find her. Brennan thinks it's hilarious even though I'm not sure he has any idea what's going on. Although he did actually hide in the closet on his own after seeing Kaelyn do it. 

The last place she decided to hide today was in an empty diaper box.

Brennan had to get in on the action but could only find a small wipes box.

And of course, whatever he does Kaelyn has to do too.

Even though she didn't fit in the box at all.

After they spent close to 20 minutes perfectly happy just playing in boxes I'm almost convinced to get rid of most of their toys. It would certainly make keeping the house clean a lot easier.

Oh, and a big happy birthday to Pop today! Your present's in the mail. ;)

Start of Summer

According to the calendar Summer doesn't officially start for another month. But, after all the warm weather we've had the past couple months I'm going to venture to say that we have unofficially started summer in our house. We've been wearing shorts and sundresses, Kaelyn had her last day of school yesterday, I've had to apply sunscreen almost daily and we broke out the sprinkler a few days ago.

Kaelyn was ecstatic when I suggested it. After all, her idea of a good time outside had been to help me pull some very stubborn weeds from the flower beds. I may say I did it for the kids, but in reality I was dripping with sweat after only five minutes outside, so a quick run through the sprinkler sounded pretty good to me.

LOVE this picture!

Bren loves playing in water so much I truly thought he'd be as excited about the sprinkler as Kaelyn. I was wrong. I guess the erratic, unpredictable spraying was more than he could handle.

And it truly felt like summer when Matt came (early even!) with some Bell's Oberon and we sat on the patio watching the kids play until it was time for dinner. I don't know if it was the heat, the fact that I was dying of thirst, the sprinkler running, the relaxed atmosphere with the kids happily playing or a combination of all of these things but that Oberon truly tasted like summer in a bottle. And then I read the label: "Oberon, our summer ale. An American wheat ale with the color and scent of a summer afternoon."

Bren decided he was safer digging in the garden with me and watching the sprinkler from a distance.

A perfect way to spend a midweek Summer, I mean May, afternoon.