Vacation Time!

We left our house at 4:00 am to begin our summer vacation in Puerto Rico!  Jack has to work in the San Juan office this week so the kids and I went along with him for some fun in the sun.  We had an early morning (6:00 am) flight from Moline to Atlanta, and then a fairly quick connection to San Juan. The kids did GREAT on the plane, and we arrived in a balmy San Juan around 1:30 pm.

New activity books helped pass the time.

Several new readers on the Nook provided more fun.

My secret weapon for the 2nd flight - Ring Pops at takeoff!

Ring Pops + Happy Kids = Relaxed Mommy

Owyn and Jack have a list of things they want to do while we are in Puerto Rico: zip lining, kayaking, canoeing, beach time, and rainforest hike, to name a few.

For Zoee and I, the list is substantially shorter: beach and pool.

We were off to a good start on day one with lunch on the hotel's outdoor patio. Although I wasn't really planning on lunching with this guy...

The shadow Mr. Iguana is crawling towards is from Jack's chair.

Owyn absolutely LOVED being so close to an iguana without a cage or window separating them. Zoee and I, however, had our feet up on our chairs. We need to get used to it though because we have read that iguanas are plentiful here!

Then we hit the pool for a couple hours.  The kids were so excited to finally put on swimsuits.  It has been so cool at home since school got out that today was our first visit to ANY POOL so far this summer.  As we walked down the hotel steps toward the pool, Zoee just couldn't contain her excitement...

"I hear people laughing and they sound like they are having so much fun! Doesn't it sound just wonderful Mommy?!"

Our hotel tonight is right on the beach with a beautiful view

Owyn loved jumping off the mini waterfall. Over and over and over again.

Zoee, in her new princess water wings, showed off her swimming skills with lots of back and forth floating, kicking, and paddling.  She even found a new friend, a 4-year old boy from Chicago who also just got here today.

During the flight to San Juan today, the pilot kept referring to Puerto Rico as "paradise" when he talked about the weather, the local time, or our arrival. As we left the pool tonight, Owyn solidified the statement as he took my hand and said, "This really IS paradise!" 

We are looking forward to many adventures during our stay in this paradise!