Last Call

Our last full day in Punta Cana Al learned how to Windsurf.  This picture is for you Sarah.

Al is good at everything he does especially if it's a sport:)

We went back to the Plaza El Pirata around lunch to purchase our gift for Alex and a souvenir for me.   We ate at an authentic restaurant the locals in the Plaza recommended to Al.  We were the only tourists in there and we were the only White ones so we stood out, not to mention my pregnant stomach.

Here is the authentic lunch we had.  The chicken was a little dry, they stole the potato salad recipe from America, but the rice and beans was good.

Every store sold the same stuff, but Dominican Wal Mart tracked us down on the beach the day before, so we promised we would buy from them.  I love that they stole all the American store names.  Behind the Wal Mart sign is a Dominican Payless.

This was our last date night in the Dominican.  

Al waiting for the casino to open.

Some cool huts on the beach that were lit up at night.

We had a yummy Lobster dinner that night. These were our friends Terri and Chris we met from Austin, TX.  In the 4 days we were there, we were seated next to them at 2 dinners and 1 breakfast which is totally random considering the odds.  I switched this picture to black and white because I was the same color as my dress.  I don't know how much more sun my skin could have handled.  I also wore a 2 piece again and I guess I didn't apply the sunscreen evenly so my stomach fried in weird patches.  lol  Guess I won't be wearing a 2 piece for another 2 years.

Our flight didn't leave until 3pm the next day so we enjoyed those final beach hours before we had to leave paradise.

The bracelets the resort segregated you with.  There were 3 or 4 different color wrist bands and white was the bottom of the totem pole, so silly.

The craziest boat/paraglider ever.  How random is this and would you ever fly in it?  No thanks

One last dip in the ocean

 I loved spending time with Al for 4 days straight with no distractions. I wish we got to do that more often, but it just makes me appreciate it that much more when it happens.  Thanks for a wonderful vacation/baby moon.  Love You.

Paradisus Golf

Al somehow talked me into watching him play golf.  Next time I'm finding a resort without a golf course and casino :)   We both didn't have clothes to play golf in, but the resort said we would be fine.  We saw 2 other people playing on the course that day and we started at 7am.

We saw all sorts of random stuff on the course including a dog.

This actually turned out to be one of my favorite days.  Throughout the course we saw workers cleaning up the course.

On hole 17 some of them were chopping off all the coconuts on the trees.  Al had them chop one for us and we had the freshest coconut milk.

One of them was trying to sell Al some golf balls that he had collected along the course.  We started driving to the next hole and I said we should go back and buy those balls from them. Then we decided we should give each of them some money.  Al had them chop a few more coconuts for us to drink and then one to eat.

Later that day we found out these guys only make .25 cents an hour so I'm so glad we gave them money.   They work so hard out there and deserve a lot more than that.  

Enough coconuts for everyone.  I wish we could have taken some home with us.

Later that day we snuck over to the Palm Real Royalty club and sat under one of the many vacant cabanas. It was like heaven.  I found a little drink stand that made fresh fruit smoothies.  You chose the fruit and then they add water, sugar, ice, and blend.  

The ocean was beautiful and so warm.  I got in everyday and swam with Al.  

My belly button was too sore for more sun so I put the belly back in hiding.

The best part about our cabana was the tree next to it.  Random people would be walking along the beach and then come over to the tree and pose on it.  In just a few hours I saw at least 5 people do this.  Talk about great people watching.

That afternoon Al and I walked along the beach and stumbled on the Plaza El Pirata flea market.  Earlier that day I was telling Al I wanted to find a place like that to buy Alex a present, it was perfect.

There was a DJ outside playing good house music that I could have listened to all night.   Al kept joking how we had crossed the other side of the train tracks because the beach was ghetto and so were our surroundings.  We decided to head back to Palma Real.

The best thing about all inclusive is the room service.  That night I got a little aggressive and ordered us a pizza, french fries, green salad, fruit salad, drinks, and chocolate cake. It's kind of a gamble because only 2 out of those 6 things were actually worth eating.  Whoops

Punta Cana

Our long awaited trip to the Dominican Republic was amazing.  I've been worried for months about leaving Alex and how he would react since I've never left him over night.   We've been together for approximately 640 days straight.   Al's parents flew to California and stayed with him for 5 days.  We left on a red eye to Atlanta and had a 5 hour layover until our next flight.  We got there around 6am and were so tired.  

It was sooooo cold in this airport and Al was in shorts and a t-shirt.  Luckily I brought a pillow from home so we layed down in a deserted corner and spooned to keep warm.  We probably looked pretty ghetto and when we woke up our deserted corner was packed with people...lol

We made it to Punta Cana around 2 that afternoon.  The entire airport is huts made out of palm trees, pretty amazing.

We got to our resort around 3 and were on the beach by 4. We stayed at the Paradisus Palma Real all inclusive resort.  We took a chance by booking it during hurricane season, but we had perfect weather the entire time.

The best part was the resort was dead.   We had the place to ourselves!!

Our first night at dinner.  It was like going on a date every night, so fun.  The food wasn't amazing, but I guess that's what you get with an all inclusive.

Our first day there was so relaxing.  We laid at the pool, took a nap, ate, swam, had some drinks, and then did the same thing at the beach.

This was the pool around 9 or 10 in the morning, not a soul.  I think the most people I ever saw in it at once was maybe 20.

The photo you've all been waiting for.  I always see pregnant women at the beach in 2 pieces, so I got brave and decided to wear one.  My stomach hasn't seen the light of day since I got pregnant with Alex which was over 2 years ago.  I thought it would be cool to tan my tummy so I lathered it up with sunscreen and ended up frying my belly button.  When I'm not pregnant my belly button is completely normal, but  as soon as I'm pregnant it pops out.

Al tried signing us up for scuba diving, snorkeling, catamarans, and canoeing, but they wouldn't let me since I was pregnant.

We scored our own hut right by the pool and it was amazing.  We read books, napped, laid in the sun, and did nothing.

A cool sandcastle the resort  built every morning.

Since we've been married I've bugged Al to get certified for scuba diving, but he has sinus problems so we've always been nervous.  The resort had free lessons and the first one was in the pool so Al decided to sign up.

The dive went great and Al said the pool was amazing under water :)

A cool couple chair that I want to own.

A little afternoon snack on the beach.

It was an amazing day and I'm pretty sure my stomach didn't get any darker...lol #nicetanlines

Our second dinner was at the Teppanyaki grill.  Our chef reminded me of Al's brother Trevor, a black version....lol

Every night the hotel had a different show and the first night was Michael Jackson. We sat down in a dark ballroom for about 5min and watched some clips from a movie.  Michael Jackson came on stage and lip synced to an awful recording.  When we heard the audience cheering on the the recording we turned to each other and knew it was time to go....lol    There was a really good band playing in the lounge and they were singing all our favorite 90's alternative hits.  I wish they would have been there every night.

Labor Day 2012

Labor Day weekend was filled with lots of fun family time.  Al built Alex his first fort and then he thought he could walk on top of it, yikes.

Fun in the fort.

Sushi dinner.  Alex thought it was pretty cool to dip his chopsticks in his dads miso soup and then lick them.  I ordered him a cucumber roll thinking he would love it since he loves the taste of seaweed, but his favorite thing was Gyoza. 

On Saturday my friend Laura had a huge yard sale at her house.  She lives in the prime location so it was great.  She advertised for it to start at 8am, but there was a group of people at 7am.  I've never been into yard sales, but people take these serious.  They have to be hoarders.

Alex was finding all sorts of cool stuff to take home.

Laura and I

That afternoon we went to El Porto Beach.  Alex enjoyed a Happy Meal mixed with sand, so nutritous.

Al entertained him for at least 30 minutes by digging a hole.  

Coolest Dad ever.

Trying to look at magazines with Kristin, but it doesn't really work with Alex :)

Family picture and 1 of my 2 maternity swimsuits.  I'm already sick of wearing them.

I forgot the baby powder so Al showered with Alex, haha.

That night we had some friends in town from our old ward so we went to dinner with a big group in Glendale.

3 of us are pregnant.  Pricella is 32 weeks, I'm 30 weeks, and Celia is 28 weeks.  

Sunday morning I made German pancakes before I realized it was fast Sunday, whoops.  Good thing I'm pregnant.

That night Alex got his very first haircut.   He hates bibs so he screamed until I took off the cape.

I ended up holding him and then he was fine.

I love his new hairdo and I saved his curl in a ziplock bag.

On Labor Day we went to Huntington beach with some friends.  Mia and Alex love each other.

Free entertainment is the best.

When we first got there we made the mistake of letting him go in the water.  Al let him play until he started shivering and then we took him out and cried until we walked far away and played in the sand for awhile. He thought sliding off the sandbar was pretty cool.

Nude Beach Models

One more trip in the water before we left the beach and then he cried for about 5 more minutes.  Hopefully next summer will be more relaxing when he understands he can't just run in the water.

Happy Labor Day