Labor'ing in Punta Cana

It's only taken just shy of a decade, but I'm finally savvy to the fact that if I travel during a major US holiday I get a freebie vacation day.

It was a double whammy that my mom's birthday falls on the eve of Labor Day, so it didn't take much more convincing than a simple text that said "you don't REALLY want to spend your birthday stateside, do you?!"

A few days later we decided on the Now Larimar in Punta Cana. I'm a big fan of the Dominican Republic. I always tell everyone, Australia aside, Punta Cana has some of the most gorgeous beaches I have ever seen.

Per my usual routine, I religiously scoured TripAdvisor before booking the resort. Much to my surprise the negative comments were few and far between, which actually made me slightly hesitant. No resort can be THAT good, can it?!

The verdict? It can.

After a slightly rough 5am flight (it seemed like a good idea at the time of booking) out of Indy we were wheels down on the island by noon.  Truth be told, we did a whole lot of NOTHING the entire time, and it was amazing.

Laying by the pool, enjoying the beach, reading books, soaking up the sunshine, people watching, eating copious amounts of delicious food and indulging on all the fruity libations... it was pure bliss.

Being able to escape reality for any amount of time is always fantastic, being able to escape it and have some girly bonding time with your mama is even better!

And even though I'm a loyal Riu Resorts gal, I was pleasantly surprised by Now and would definitely go back!


(No affiliation with any resorts listed, not a sponsored post, just my honest opinion.)

Going back home: reflections on Negril

Another week in my second home has come and gone. I distinctly remember floating on that neon yellow raft Tuesday afternoon thinking 'this is fantastic, for once a vacation is actually not flying by. We've still got 4 more days here' and then I jinxed myself and someone hit fast forward and I'm waking up to a dreaded alarm at 6:ungodly30 AM Saturday morning stumbling into the shower so I don't smell like a walking drug lord, attracting every police dog at the airport. 

*It feels crucial to note here that smokin the dope stick isn't my jam, however I was at a local beach bar the night before where it was nearly everyone else's jam. And boy does that scent linger in your hair.*

Everyone always asks why I keep going back to Jamaica.... why I don't retire that 1552 mile trek after 8 visits. And sometimes I wonder it myself. Until I walk into the hotel and see Jamaican Husband come running across the patio as he grabs me in his arms. I wonder it until we're walking along the beach and play catch up with so many familiar faces of the locals. Until we're on a boat to go snorkeling and realize one of the crew members is the same one I sat atop the catamaran with 2 years ago soaking up the sun.

So I guess the real reason I keep wanting to go back, is because those strangers have become my family. While there were 16 of us that traveled down there, we really had a group of about double that size that hung out every day. It was nearly impossible to walk more than 10 minutes without seeing someone you knew, playing conversation catch up since the last time you were down in Negril. I don't just vacation in Negril anymore, I go back home to Negril! 

 

Each trip we spend less time at the resort, and more time wandering around "real" Jamaica. Each time I fall more and more in love with that little island country. 

Per usual, airfare scouting for the next trip 'home' has already begun. Until then, it's been real Negril 

Coasting for Kids

Pulling off exit 24 Olivia started squealing about the coasters in the distance. 

The last time I had taken that exit I had a car full of friends and we were still sporting our prom updo's and sleepy eyes. It was our high school's tradition - EVERYONE went to King's Island the day after prom. This time I was in a car with a 4 year old, a 9 month old, and my brother in sister in law. The giggles and gossip were a bit different than they had been on the trip 9 years earlier (Whoa. 9 years since high school. Whoa)

Back to the story at hand... we headed down early Saturday morning to hang around the waterpark and ensure we were back at the KI gates at 8am Sunday for the Coasting For Kids check-in.

More than 100 of us traipsed around the park all day in our purple shirts, riding coasters and spreading the word about GKTW. At lunch they told us we raised over $20,000 for Give Kids the World Village, which is SO AWESOME! 

It was a great day. My sister-in-law, mom and I were easily the daredevils of the trip.... often leaving my brother sitting with the kiddos while we rode coaster after coaster. Olivia tackled every kids ride she could, eagerly eyeing the "big kid" coasters for when she grew a few more inches.

In making sure the littlest skittle got the most out of her very first King's Island experience, I introduced her to Dippin Dots, she was instantly hooked!

There were 3 main coasters that we got to ride unlimited on, the Banshee, the Diamondback and the Racer. It was pretty cool seeing the carts full of purple shirts, and realizing what it stood for.

Coasting for Kids and Kings Island provided us lunch, during which they announced the Top Fundraisers and handed out prizes, I'm happy to announce that with the help of all of my awesome family & friends I was the Top Fundraiser from the Kings Island group!

Despite a misty rain off and on all day, we didn't let it dampen our spirits. It was a great time logging a few theme park hours with my family and my inner adrenaline junkie self had a BLAST on all the coasters. I think the funniest moment of the day was when my mom & I decided to ride the Banshee front row, and it started raining. Let me tell you how painful rain drops are when you're flying through the air 70some mph. OUCH!

I can't wait to participate in this event again next year. Give Kids the World is such an awesome organization, and after seeing what they did for Liv and my brother and sis-in-law I want to help them raise every dime I can for these kiddos!

 

King George.

Live music is my lifeblood.

I've seen every one from Def Leppard to Britney Spears, Eagles to Ricky Martin, Billy Ray Cyrus to The Fray, Bruno Mars to Carrie Underwood.... and when I found out George Strait was going on tour for the last time I knew seeing him was a MUST.

Lucky for me, he was going to be in Louisville, just a couple hours south of Indy! And double whammy, my awesome mama had scooped up tickets when they went on sale while I was gallivanting around Australia back in November.

When March finally rolled around, we loaded into the car and headed southbound one Friday after work for a weekend of gambling, good music, and girl time.

I'm glad I've got a mother and a cousin's-wife (not to be confused with sister-wife) who love country music as much as this girl... they're some of the best concert mate's around! 

They had the stage in the very middle of the place, and Jorge spent a little time on each side, which was awesome because everyone got a little piece of the action!

I think my exact words after the first encore were "I forgot how many hits he has had!", for an old boy he sure put on a helluva show. And the little Tom Petty diddy he threw out at the very end of course tied the love knot for me. If this truly was his last tour ever, I'll be disappointed I only saw him once, but I'm glad I had that opportunity!

We stayed at the casino, so I'll let you all guess how much time I logged at the roulette tables. I only walked away about $20 down at the end though, thankfully. Here's to hoping my Vegas trip in a few weeks will have better odds.

After the St. Paddy's stress working all week, driving down to Louisville, the concert on Friday night, gambling in every minute of free time I could find, shopping all over Bardstown Rd and the outlet malls, I can only tell you how wiped out I was when we got back into town. All in favor of extending weekends by adding an additional Sunday say AYE. Aye.

Again.

Losing count of how many times you've been to your FAVORITEPLACEINTHEWORLD is a pretty good problem to have. I'm pretty lucky. Pretty #Blessed if you want to put it that way.

(what's a proper blog post without a JumpPhoto fail?!)

 

 I just got the PTO approved to spend another week in my happy place, and I'll probably counting down the days before we even get a flight booked! Some families do weeks at the lake, or DisneyWorld, or ski trips together... my family has sort of taken on the tradition of "family" vacations to the Caribbean.

I can't wait to see who hops on board to commandeer this trip, I've already got my cousin and his wife, my parents, and a couple of my best girlfriends committed, so it's bound to be a good time no matter what!