Puerto Rico Escapada romántica

We found out at the end of December that Kevin had earned an awards trip! to Puerto Rico!! My oh my...so exciting to think of spending a few days in the warm sunshine with my favorite person in the whole world. Very proud that he worked so hard this past year and qualified for this amazing trip for us. I felt like it was time for an "us trip" again. It didn't have to be somewhere exotic, just somewhere where we could let go of all the responsibilities for a bit. :) Puerto Rico sounded just fine.

Although letting my mind think of leaving all those "little responsibilities" behind, was a bit overwhelming for me. I love them so. They are my life...my lovies. It was also the first time that I would be leaving Deacon overnight for one night, let alone four. Although very excited, my heart ached a bit. I spent the next several weeks preparing which included putting together our family manual for the caretakers that would be staying with our children while we were gone. It ended up becoming a ten page manual when all was said and done. LOL! There are so many details that make our family run smoothly. Our parents split the week, each staying two nights. So grateful for their willingness to help!

We left early...4:15am...on a Monday morning. I got the tears out of the way within the first hour and then I was too busy picking out a breakfast spot, getting lost in my magazine, taking a nap on the plane, holding my honey's hand & imagining all the things we would do that week. Here we are in Charlotte, North Carolina waiting for our connecting flight to Puerto Rico!

We arrived just in time to check into our room and get ready for the company dinner party taking place down by the beach.

Some quick shots in our room before heading down.

It was already dark by the time we got to the party. I could hear the waves on the beach and the breeze felt so warm and fresh. I was eager to explore the next morning though. Yummy food and fun adult conversation were a treat at the dinner party and a great way to start out the week.

Call me crazy, but I just could NOT sleep in the next morning. Since there wasn't time the night before, I was eager to explore and WALK WALK WALK.
The beautiful views did not disappoint.

That's how we started out our day each and every morning. A nice walk on the beach soaking in the sights, sounds & smells. The beach and I get along very well!

Loved the time for uninterrupted conversations.

This was what we saw as we began our walk one of the mornings.

After our morning walks, we worked up an appetite for breakfast.

Oh what joy to sit at a restaurant and eat slowly and quietly focusing only on the person sitting right across the table from me. :) Pure JOY! My favorite breakfast treat were these cute little yogurt parfaits in shot glasses. They were made with honey on the bottom, topped with granola, then yogurt and a dab of whipped cream. So cute and delicious too!Next thing on my to-do list for the day...lay by the pool and do nothing.And that's where we spent most of our day each and every day. The weather was beautiful...in the 80s. Laying in the sun by the pool with a magazine in hand was just what the doctor ordered.

Our little pool side friend.

One of the highlights of the trip was spending time with friends from Northwestern that we know well and love. Meeting new friends was the icing on the cake. Sitting by the pool and chatting with friends...it's just a lovely time.

Here's a group shot of those that were at the pool with us on that day.

On Tuesday night, we took a bus to the town of Old San Juan with a group of friends.

I loved all the beautiful tall buildings in town.

So fun to explore the town, do some shopping & grab some Puerto Rican food.

This was a fun little restaurant with outdoor seating we found. Loved what the waitress was wearing!

The tiny town tour group. :)

One fellow from our group was taking charge and leading with the map. That just happened to be my husband. It seemed we walked and walked, trying to find more shopping...trekked up a steep hill and walked some more. I needed to go, if you know what I mean...and it seemed we were never finding our coveted destination. So we finally asked an officer for some direction to the shopping and he pointed the opposite direction of where we were headed. Thanks, honey. :)I was so glad we took this little detour though because when we turned the corner there was this beautiful site. This historic fort provided the keystone to protection of the Spanish Empire that spread across the Caribbean. I wish we could have gotten a closer look, but it was getting dark and soon it would've been time to catch our bus back to the hotel.Lucky me, there was a Starbucks right on site at our hotel. I'll have a caramel frappachino lite with light whip everyday please. :)On Wednesday afternoon, we took an hour bus trip to Fajardo to go kayaking. This wasn't just any kayak trip. We first kayaked through a beautiful canal with trees on both sides and saw green tree iguana's and beautiful birds. If you look really closely in this picture, you'll see a dolphin fin in the background. :) Then we entered the Bio Bay...a huge open bay surrounded by nature. It was a bit scary, kayaking at night...but the stars and moon were so bright. It was gorgeous. The main reason for kayaking there at night was to see an amazingly beautiful hidden creation....when you stir the waters after dark, millions of glowing plankton emit luminescent sparks and flashes. When I brought my hand up out of the water, the water glowed and sparkled as it ran down my arm and onto my lap. It was unreal! What a special treat from our Creator! I'm repeatedly amazed at how creative our God is!

On our bus trip back to the hotel, we stopped at a tiny little restaurant right on the water. Our group was basically the only customers there. The owner was our waiter, he also was the fisherman that caught the fish that he served us that night. I wish I would have gotten pictures from that night, but we didn't take our camera because of the kayaking. It was a special night though with amazing food and great company.On our last night, I wanted to take some pictures around our hotel and on the beach since we didn't have the opportunity yet.The gateway to the beach.Our last dinner in Puerto Rico was at a Japanese restaurant with others from our group. This is a fun experience when they prepare your food and do a little show right in front of you. Our first date was at a restaurant like this. Our dinner group.On Friday, our flight wasn't until 1:30pm. It was nice to take one last walk on the beach and have breakfast one last time, but I was ready to get back to my babies. :) It was midnight when we finally arrived home and of course the kids were tucked sweetly in their beds already. I immediately went into their rooms...I just had to touch them. Our sweet babysitter helped the kids make this welcome home sign.So fun to wake up on Saturday morning and have kids in jammies slowly creep into our room and cuddle with us in bed. So fun to give them the gifts we had brought back. Somehow, we didn't get a picture of Deacon with his maracas. :)So blessed for the opportunity! I'm refreshed, energized and ready to be a mommy again.