My Sister and Darrin planned a fun weekend getaway to Punta Cana for Darrin's 30th birthday and had an extra room in their villa so they invited us. We thought it would be one of our last chances to travel/take a vacation before the baby comes so we took them up on their offer and we are so glad we did. We flew into Santa Domingo so we could see their house and how they live, which was important to me. It was so neat seeing the "Dominican way of life" that my sister and her family are accustomed to.
We went to dinner the first night we were there and afterwards the guys shared a few Presidentes (popular beer in Dominican) while the girls did a little shopping around the mall. I was impressed from day one with both Erin and Darrin's ability to speak and understand Spanish. At the restaurant Darrin so easily communicated our order completely in Spanish, saying even specific details of the order like that two people were going to share this item or bring Reagan's out first, etc. So neat! Then when my sister and I were shopping, she had no problem asking the lady in Spanish for a certain size or for a dressing room. I should have known my sister would master that first - all the shopping terms! Anyways, it was very cool. For the remainder of the trip, if I needed a translator, I just turned to them and they pulled it off with ease.
Anyways, on to Punta Cana. We drove there - yikes what a drive. It was probably the least enjoyable thing of our whole trip but once we got there, boy was it worth it! The first night we went to a nice dinner at a really neat restaurant called Jellyfish where we celebrated Darrin's birthday. It was not in town and kind of tucked away on the beach so we would not have known about it had it not been for someone recommending it to us. The atmosphere and location were beautiful and the food was definitely not a let down. It was just overall such a great dining experience.
The Hard Rock hotel and resort was where we spent most of our time. The beach was beautiful and the resort was like a dream. We did a lot of lounging by and playing in the pool. The guys appreciated and took full advantage of the swim up bar. Us girls treated ourselves to pedicures at the spa one day. On the last day the guys did a zip line excursion and the rest of us went to the beach out in front of the villa. Grayson being so young didn't get to spend much time outside so we wanted to give him a chance to play in the sand.
Grayson has gotten so big and is like a big sack of potatoes when you hold him. His face just lights up when you look at him. He is so drawn to everyone around him and loves to be played with. Forrest called him Fred (flinstone) the whole time because his feet are so big. My favorite thing is this toy he sits in where he can roam all about the house. It was just so cute to see him run from one end to the other and turn around to see him when you didn't expect it. Reagan is at such a fun age. She is so shy but once she opens up, she is such a talker. She does the cutest things and you can tell she wants to be just like the girls. If me and Sister had on a hat, she wanted to wear hers. If we had our shades on, she made sure to put hers on too. She would randomly just say "Mae Mae, can I have some lip gloss?" She also asked me "Mae Mae, why aren't your nails painted?" My sister said she has even started to ask her, "Reagan is this outfit cute?" and Reagan already gives her an honest answer, "No that's not cute Mommy." Her and Grayson's personalities are definitely different, and almost opposite. Grayson is so laid back just like his Daddy and Reagan well, you know she is like Erin. :)
Overall it was a great trip! Lots of memories were made. I am so grateful for the time Forrest and I had together before the baby comes and am so thankful to get to spend time with my sister in the country that they will be living in for the next couple of years. As you can see, we got tons of pictures!
