St Lucia I

Happy (albeit tired) to arrive!

Me staring at nothing while the food was on its way.

Nate smiling at me while the food was on its way.


View from our lunch table.

Sunset.

Before dinner.

After dinner. (yes, we had 3 desserts between us)

Morning beach walk.

Engaged?? No. I found a ring I had lost since November. IN MY POCKET. For those keeping track, I lost Nate's ring in Ohio for about the same amount of time under similar circumstances.

Rained out.

Eating at the pub.

Finding a bat outside the pub.

K. Large mountain. This is what Nate and I signed up to climb. Later we would realize we basically both dared each other to do this without realizing it, but at this point, it was too late. The drive to the mountain caused 3 people to throw up...not a great start.

Me trying to keep up with Cameron, our 17 year old flip-flop wearing guide. He may have been going for a good tip, but he said that both Nate and I looked about 25, max. Cha-ching, Cameron.

Nate and I at the top. It was about 2 hours up and 2 hours down. The view was beautiful, but cloudy. The clouds (and rain) however, were mostly likely my saving grace. I don't know if I would've survived with the sun out.

At the half way point. In the background is Petite Piton (we were climbing Gros Piton).

Happy to be done, back at the resort and ready to eat again. It was a great experience, but I'm embarrassed to note that I didn't walk normally for about 4 days.

St Lucia II

At dinner our last night at Sandals La Toc (our first stop). The dinner was tasty, but I'm still suspicious of what was in it...I blame this meal for my illness. Would I eat it again? Maybe.

At dinner our first night at Sandals Grande St. Lucian (our second stop).

Relaxing and reading by the pool.

Picture of the Atlantic side of the ocean. Taken on one of Nate's solo outings while I was hanging out in bed. The night before I had discovered my stomach was extremely mad about something I'd consumed. I watched a LOT of House Hunters.

Propped up before going out for the evening!

In the ocean. The pools all felt like bath water, so the ocean seemed shockingly cold.

Washed up.
Me while I watched Nate play volleyball. As I watched, I thought everyone sucked. 30 minutes later, they talked me into joining and I realized I did too. It's just hard.

Nate was still a star though. Look at that set!

At Tosconini's, a tasty Italian place.

Working off our calories.

In Nate's case, winning off his calories. I'm about as good at pool as I am water volleyball.

We came back to our room and found this. Mrs. Highley was so happy they cared.

St. Lucia III

Nate and I on the speedboat tour on Saturday. I was grateful for how quickly the boat allowed us to see the island...and that I took Dramamine. Wow.

Halfway through, we stopped in Marigot Bay for snorkeling. I really do love it, but I hyperventilate around for 5-10 minutes, then I calm down enough to enjoy it. Nate of course doesn't need a life vest and can dive without sucking up water into his snorkel. Look how good he looks while doing all that.

Us in front of the Pitons. Please be impressed with the size of these mountains (especially the taller of the two) (See other post).





Nate and I in the mud baths. I pictured dunking myself in sloppy mud, but it was really just a group exfoliating session with lava "soap" as they called it. I felt ridiculous, but our skin ended up ridiculously smooth when it was all over with.


You can't tell my Dramamine has started to wear off, can you?

One of the beautiful pictures as a result of Nate talking himself into a park after it had closed. We got back from our tour late, so he ran around and took as many pictures as they would allow (or until they noticed he was still there) while I hung out by the pool.

Dinner at the pub. The food was so so tasty and the decor was fun.

Walking around the resort while we waited for our bus to take us to the airport.

It became very hot, so we took several breaks, including this one.

One our way back to the airport...I managed a decent shot from the car-finally!

Memorial Grey Weekend 2011

We had visitors for Memorial Day weekend and as always, we loved it. Tom, Stacey and Grey braved the holiday traffic down to our house and we were so glad. Both parents looked (and rightfully so) beat when they got out of the car, but Grey bounced out and started running around. Three cheers for a baby Grey with such a happy disposition. :)

We were kinda lazy, but we managed to get out a few times. Our first outing with the crowds was down to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. Honestly the exhibit wasn't anything mind-blowing, but it was fun all the same.

See?


Stacey and young "Greg". Predictably, we ran across someone likely mid-day drunk. She commented on how cute Greg is. I started to get nervous she would try to steal him, so I was happy when she sauntered off.

All the kids getting out their wiggles at the playground before the drive to Hoover Dam.


Mere seconds before I fell off.



Hoover Dam is frightening to me just because. Hoover Dam with a small child was almost too much for me to handle. Apparently Nate too...


I love it when they coordinate...

I also love it when Grey wants to mimic the pose a group of Asians tried out before it was our turn. It was my plan even before I knew Grey's desires, so it worked out perfectly.


Yay for a photographer! The happy family (just prior to Grey's meltdown that was eventually solved with potato wedges and biscuits from KFC thanks to Tom's quick thinking).

It's always different for us to have a toddler (and family) in the house, but we were so sad to have them leave...the house is too empty!