Day 1 “Why are we getting up before the sun?”
I have a tendency to book airplane flights at the most painful times offered, and this trip is no exception. We had to get up at 3:35 in the morning to leave for the airport by 4:15, and as is also typical of me, we didn’t finish packing till around midnight the night before. BUT, we only had one connection and were on the beach by 4 PM that day! In my opinion, which is the only one that counts, it was worth it!
At the wise old age of three, Hailey is a seasoned traveler. She was great on the airplanes, and overall well behaved and very excited to go to St Thomas. Jon and I decided that we were going to “accidentally” lose Hailey’s paci on this trip which could have been a disaster, but she adjusted very quickly and very well – I don’t think she even cried. I received m any compliments on her behavior, and no comments on how pregnant I am - so I was happy!
Immediately upon entering our hotel room she took all her clothes off and was requesting her swimsuit. I was exhausted and starving, but we went to the beach anyway, and within minutes found Uncle Chris and Aunt Ruth (aka the Groom and Bride) and Jon’s good friend Ali (aka “Princess Ali” and the wedding photographer).
We did eventually get to eat that day – and we ate at a prime rib and lobster buffet that was fantastic and worth the wait. After dinner we found Nana and Papa, and after saying hello, Hailey and I left Jon with his family and friends and went back to our VERY NICE hotel room to get some much needed rest! I knew bedtime would the hardest adjustment for Hailey without her paci. I hoped that as she would be sleeping with us for the duration of our vacation it would help ease her into, and after a little bit of protest which was mostly because she was extremely overtired, she slept just fine!
Day 2 “How did she learn to dance like that?!”
Hailey was awake and ready to go swimming at 6 AM. We managed to contain her for about an hour, but were in the pool very early. Nana, Papa, Aunt Beth and Ali all joined us (eventually) and Hailey had fun playing with Nana in the pool. It was nice to have so many extra people around to help entertain our little water bug. By lunchtime she was exhausted and fell asleep before her food made it to the table. Jon and I also had a nice nap that day, and I have to say that a mandatory nap time is a great part of vacationing with our Munchkin. I thoroughly enjoyed MY nap every day.
I have a tendency to book airplane flights at the most painful times offered, and this trip is no exception. We had to get up at 3:35 in the morning to leave for the airport by 4:15, and as is also typical of me, we didn’t finish packing till around midnight the night before. BUT, we only had one connection and were on the beach by 4 PM that day! In my opinion, which is the only one that counts, it was worth it!
At the wise old age of three, Hailey is a seasoned traveler. She was great on the airplanes, and overall well behaved and very excited to go to St Thomas. Jon and I decided that we were going to “accidentally” lose Hailey’s paci on this trip which could have been a disaster, but she adjusted very quickly and very well – I don’t think she even cried. I received m any compliments on her behavior, and no comments on how pregnant I am - so I was happy!
Immediately upon entering our hotel room she took all her clothes off and was requesting her swimsuit. I was exhausted and starving, but we went to the beach anyway, and within minutes found Uncle Chris and Aunt Ruth (aka the Groom and Bride) and Jon’s good friend Ali (aka “Princess Ali” and the wedding photographer).
We did eventually get to eat that day – and we ate at a prime rib and lobster buffet that was fantastic and worth the wait. After dinner we found Nana and Papa, and after saying hello, Hailey and I left Jon with his family and friends and went back to our VERY NICE hotel room to get some much needed rest! I knew bedtime would the hardest adjustment for Hailey without her paci. I hoped that as she would be sleeping with us for the duration of our vacation it would help ease her into, and after a little bit of protest which was mostly because she was extremely overtired, she slept just fine!
Day 2 “How did she learn to dance like that?!”
Hailey was awake and ready to go swimming at 6 AM. We managed to contain her for about an hour, but were in the pool very early. Nana, Papa, Aunt Beth and Ali all joined us (eventually) and Hailey had fun playing with Nana in the pool. It was nice to have so many extra people around to help entertain our little water bug. By lunchtime she was exhausted and fell asleep before her food made it to the table. Jon and I also had a nice nap that day, and I have to say that a mandatory nap time is a great part of vacationing with our Munchkin. I thoroughly enjoyed MY nap every day.
A welcome party was held that evening for the wedding guests at one of the many restaurants on the resort. Hailey was very tired, and it was very humid, but she loved dancing with everyone and was enamored with Aunt Ruth – who is a super fun girl and a wild and crazy dancer. Dancing is not one of Hailey’s parents talents and I don’t think she has ever seen grown ups dancing. Aunt Ruth quickly became her new favorite person in her world. The next morning after waking up and asking to go to the pool, she asked for Crazy Aunt Ruth, and then asked me “How she learn to dance like that? She’s Cwazy!”
Day 3 – Wedding Day!
As I mentioned above we -once again- started the day very early and were off to the pool. We are so used to being up at 5:30 everyday anyway, it isn’t really hard for us to be up that early, but we still like to reminisce about the days when we used to sleep in.
We met Uncle Chris and Ali for the best breakfast buffet I have ever had in my life, went for another dip in the pool, and then had our nap before starting preparations for the wedding. Ruth made arrangements for Hailey to have her hair and makeup done. Hailey was very excited about it, right up till we got there and she realized it was a stranger that was going to do her hair. I had to hold her, but we managed to get her hair done. Once she was in her flower girl tutu and Aunt Ruth was in her wedding dress Hailey was very excited. There were no attendants in the wedding, so Hailey was the entire wedding party. She had no idea what the flower girl was or what she was supposed to do. I tried to explain it to her in the days leading up to the wedding, but without a rehearsal, she had no frame of reference. Fortunately, the wedding was on the beach and casual, and Hailey looked so sweet it didn’t matter. She did walk down the aisle and she did throw the petals, but I had to go with her and hold the bag of petals for her.
I didn’t have Hailey’s 3 yr pictures taken because I asked Ali to take some pictures while we were in St Thomas and during the wedding. She is an amazing photographer who specializes in kids. Her style is exactly what I love, and I can not WAIT to see the pictures. Here is her website in case you are ever in Maryland and need a photographer, and I am sure at some point, Hailey’s pictures will be up. http://www.frecklephotography.com/
This is one of Ali's pictures that I stole from Facebook...hoping that I am not violating any copyright laws, but wanting to show how good she is.
The wedding was beautiful and we made it through both the ceremony and the reception without Hailey jumping in the ocean or the pool. Late in the evening after Hailey and I went to bed, Jon ended up in the pool, but not Hailey and as that was my one big worry, I am grateful. There was lots of dancing at the reception, and Jon and Hailey danced all night. It was very cute, and very pregnant me was happy to sit and watch. On the way back to our room I said to Hailey, “Wow, you really danced your little butt off!” And she replied, “I did? I’m not going to be able to go potty anymore?”
This is another of Ali's pictures...did I mention Cwazy Aunt Ruth is Jewish? Hailey thought this dance was especially great.
Like I said it was really hot, and Hailey was a dancing machine!Day 4 – Move to Frenchman’s Cove
I am addicted to the internet and spend lots of time finding “stuff” online. I actually get frustrated when I don’t have anything to look up or research. I also really like to buy stuff and am most satisfied when I find a great deal. The deal I found for our St Thomas trip was one of my best finds ever. I stumbled across the deal in a pop up ad when I was looking for other – less expensive- accommodations for before/after the wedding. Basically, we qualified for a timeshare special that allowed us to stay in a 2-bedroom villa for 4 nights for $449. I called to see if was available during the time of the wedding – as the villas are part of the Marriott property that the wedding was held at. They were not, but they did have an opening starting the Sunday after the wedding. I hung up, called Jon to see what he thought and called back and booked it, and the nice agent on the phone gave me $50 off for calling him back. All we had to do was go to a 90 minute timeshare presentation during our stay. I am aware that these things can be terrible, but Jon and I were actually interested in the idea of a timeshare and didn’t mind learning more about it. We had no intention of buying one, but didn’t mind listening.
The villas were very nice and it was great to have a kitchen and laundry. The pool on the property was amazing, and had a water slide that Hailey just loved. The food was good and most things were convenient, but very expensive. We spent most of our days in the pool and relaxing. We all got a little sun burnt one day, but not too terribly, and Hailey acquired an earache from all her time in the water, but she didn’t let that hold her back.
We went to our mandatory timeshare presentation with absolutely no intention of buying anything. I knew within 20 minutes of being there that we were going to be making a purchase…and that was before I even knew the price. Because we were interested and both of us ask a lot of questions, our 90 minutes ended up being over 3 hours, but the end result is that Jon and I are the very happy owners of 1 week in St Thomas every year for the rest of our lives. It is not a set week, and we can trade it through another company and go wherever we want every year. We really couldn’t find any reason NOT to do it, so we did! I am pretty sure we will be heading to Hawaii about this time next year…St Thomas was nice, but Waikiki is the perfect vacation destination for me!
This is another of Ali's pictures, of the resort, that I think is just a neat picture.
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