Brody's First Fish

Mission complete!  He finally caught a sunny down on the dock, He was so proud of himself!

Piggy Toes

Ali demanded that I paint her toenails after she saw me doing mine.  She was SO patient and didn't move while they dried.  She was quite pleased with them (and they looked super cute!)

Movie Night

Brody was nice enough to include Alison in his "movie nest" set up!  So nice when they are not trying wrestle!

4th of July

Getting ready for the neighborhood parade to start.  Ali waved at people on the side of the road like she was Ms. America!

Our next door neighbor leading the way in his real John Deere

Alison and her special 4th of July outfit (that was so dirty at the end of the day, I considered throwing it out!)

Relaxing at the picnic in the sweltering heat

Swimming in the Magothy.  Thankfully he kept his mouth closed...

Everyone cooling off

Brody playing with the big boys (our neighbor Tret, his idol)

Luckily, Alison fell asleep right on me at 4 in the afternoon

I actually thought I was going to die of heatstroke!  She slept like this for 2 hours.  Thankfully I had many helpers willing to keep me hydrated and fed.

After a looooong day, we drove the tractor to Jason's house and hopped in the pool (literally, Brody used the rope swing).  Ali decided after a while that she was done and lay down in the dirt.  Fortunately in the Lane House, there is no rest for the weary so we got her dressed in PJ's and headed back to the beach to watch fireworks.  It was a great day!

Aruba

Our greeting on our door at the Bucuti and Tara Resort.  We also had champagne, cheese, and crackers inside...classy

The view from the beach bar every evening

Enjoying happy hour at the beach

View from our room.  We always had a front row umbrella and made out way to the beach bar for lunch, and their two happy hours!  You could also put up your red flag and a very nice waitor would come to grant your every wish.

Our morning walks on the beach

Beautiful water

The water bottles from the resort.  They came in very handy for making drinks in the room:)

Don Juan

My birthday dinner at Carte Blanche.  The food was out of this world!  Only 14 seatings a night and no menu.  A must do in Aruba.  Five awesome courses with wine pairings served by the owners. 

Our favorite beer in Aruba...Amstel Bright (not imported anywhere else in the world unfortunately!)

2 Star fish from the snorkel

Enjoying some excellent rum punch on our sunset snorkel sail aborad the Black Pearl (along with awesome grilled cheeses!)

Jacques Custoe

Amazing sunset from the boat

Wow...maybe too many rum punches?  The humidity was not my hair's friend down there!

Exploring the other side of the island with our jeep.

Natural Arch...we found it after driving around the island for 2 hours and getting lost a million times.  Thankfully, the island is fairly safe regardless of how some of it looks.

Our inconspicuous tourist jeep on what we were told by a local was the "Shake and Bake" side of the island.  It was completely desolate and scary!  Thankfully the jeep waited until the next morning to die in the hotel's parking lot and not here in the middle of absolutely nowhere!

Our last night's dinner at Flying Fishbone.  Seat right on the water for the sunset!

A special suprise.  It was tradition to ruin it for many happy years to come!

My all time favorite vacation picture from the car on the ride home

Sunset at the Flying Fishbone