Aruuuuba!

We have just taken our first official family vacation, planes and suitcases and everything. How did it go? Awesome! Myself, Jason, Ashton and our condo had a fantastic time. We had a nightmare travel day on the way back, complete with delays, plane electrical issues, missed connections, etc. but Ashton was a little star. Sleepwise, there were a few nights he was up at 3 am crying. When I checked on him, I was shocked to discover he had put on his swim trunks and was standing in his crib clutching his floatie and snorkel, all ready for the beach. I had to tell him it wasn't quite the time. Those were tough nights but overall, we couldn't have asked for a better week. Ahhh, Aruba. Land of white beaches, warm water, sparkling sunshine and...pointing. What? Yes. Ashton didn't even know what to do with himself there was so much pointing going on. He started off with a kind of half-point:

And then quickly graduated to ocean points, in-your-face points, and my favorite, the on-the-balcony-and-behind-the-back point. Collect them all!

At one point (no pun intended), I joked that I hoped the dark spot in the water he seemed to be indicating was not a shark. Ha ha. Um but then I didn't swim at that particular snorkel spot. I am a firm believer that children can teach us a thing or two and perhaps danger in the ocean is one of them.

There was of course lots of fun in Aruba besides pointing. Because we had such a big group, we all did our own thing during the day at times and then met up at the lazy river at 4 pm for floating and cocktails. After that, showers, big dinners every night in our villa or out on the town, and then the beach bar or the casinos! I admit we got into quite the vacation routine, complete with Jason's eggs every morning. There was an afternoon cruise/snorkel trip, shopping, pool time, beach time, tuna sandwiches, frozen drinks with way too many calories...heaven. Thanks so so much to Poppy (my dad) and Mema for making the trip happen and getting us all together. I have far too many pictures (ahem, 580 to be exact) to post them all here, but my dad always says that if you come away from a vacation with just one or two good ones that's all you need. So, in the interest of moderation, these are my family favorites:

Aruba Ariba! Now it's on to the next...trading the sun and sand for turkey and stuffing - off to make my Thanksgiving list and hit the hay. Good night!