Jamaica!

After months and months of planning and anticipation, we packed up and headed for Jamaica for Auntie Nicole & Uncle Phillip's wedding!  James and I were so excited to travel- we hadn't been anywhere since Keira was born- and Keira was thrilled to be visiting the beach and to be a flower girl for the big wedding.  We left on a Friday night red eye, which I was incredibly nervous about.  I thought that Tyler would be fine and sleep through the entire flight, and I prayed that Keira would sleep.  I had to hold Tyler for all of his flights, but Keira had her own seat, and we brought her car seat.  Luckily, she slept almost the entire way to Jamaica.  Thank goodness we brought Cyndi, Ben, John, and Catherine with us- we made everyone carry a child or a piece of equipment (car seat, stroller, etc.)  Keira was so excited about the plane ride, she wouldn't sleep at the airport.  Our flight left at midnight and she was still awake, and pretty pleasant, which surprised me.  The plane took off, and Keira counted down and shouted "whoo-hoo!" when we were in the sky, and then almost immediately fell asleep, and stayed asleep until we landed in Charlotte for our layover.  She was most unhappy about being woken up and having to get off the plane.  (Apologies to anyone who had to listen to her screaming in the United terminal in Charlotte).  Luckily, we had her stroller, and after a little walk around the terminal, she was back to sleep and we could all sit and be quiet.  Tyler was definitely more of a challenge because he had to sit in our laps on all of the flights.  I think I got about 20 minutes of sleep the entire night!

Once we got to our villa, it was absolutely worth it, we had lunch and Red Stripe while looking out at this!

The villa was absolutely gorgeous, and the staff (we had a cook, housekeeper, butler, and gardner) was absolutely wonderful.  They cooked, cleaned, and made sure that we had an awesome week.  The house was amazing, we were so glad we decided to rent a villa for our trip!
The highlight of our villa was definitely the patio dining.  Every meal, our entire group gathered on the patio for delicious food, prepared by our cook, and gorgeous views!

Mmmm.... yum.

The grounds were beautiful, with amazing gardens, fruit trees, and our own private beach and dock complete with kayaks for our personal use!

We each had our own room, with bouncy beds- Keira practiced using them to do her favorite thing- making her brother laugh!

A few days after the wedding, the majority of our party took a chartered bus to Kingston and visited the Red Stripe Factory, The Bob Marley Museum, and a locals only beach.  The kids, Uncle Greg, and I decided to stay at the Villa- a three hour bus ride each way did not sound like fun with our little chicklets. 
The group started at the Bob Marley Museum, which was Bob Marley's actual home after he became famous until his death.  James describes it as "pretty cool", full of memorabilia from his life and career. 

After the museum, they were off to the Red Stripe Factory.  Phillip's brother, Junior, works in the factory and arranged a behind the scenes tour.  Aside from the intense heat, James and the group really enjoyed seeing how Red Stripe was brewed and bottled. 

Plus, they got to wear super cute hats, goggles, and steel toed shoes. 

After learning all about how it was made, the whole group enjoyed an icy cold Red Stripe in the (air conditioned) bar.

Finally, it was off to Phillip & Nicole's favorite locals beach for sand, fun, fish, and festival (delicious Jamaican bread type food).

Keira, Tyler, and I decided to hang out at the villa and relax while everyone else traveled to Kingston.  James's brother, Greg, opted out of the trip and decided to stay at the villa and get in some good niece and nephew time.  I was so glad he stayed, it was great to have some one on one time, plus I was much more at ease having two adults while the kids were in the pool.  We went swimming, ate a delicious lunch, and walked down to the beach for wading and seashell collecting.  All in all, a wonderful, relaxing day!

On Friday, our group decided to leave the wonderful villa and venture out to Dunn's River Falls, a very famous waterfall in Ocho Rios.  We had to split in two groups- climbing a waterfall wasn't exactly 6 month and 3 year old friendly.  We hooked up with a tour guide and started up the falls. 

It was actually much easier than I had originally anticipated.  There was a very clear path, and the guide absolutely knew the path.  The water was cool and felt awesome!

The one downside to using the guide was having to travel with the group.  There was A LOT of climbing, then standing around and waiting for everyone in the group to take pictures.  (I'm talking to you, kissy face newlyweds.) :)

Of course, we stopped for a few pictures as well.  The falls probably weren't the safest for pregnant ladies, so Catherine climbed the adjacent stairs and documented our climb with the camera.  A very nice guide offered to escort her, provided she tip him generously at the top.  :)  She did say she learned about the local plant life along the way.  :)

The guide also wanted to make our climb a party, so we split in two groups, sang a song, and had a splash fight.  I'm pretty sure our side won.  :)

The falls were breathtaking, and we definitely enjoyed our climb.

We did it!

James stayed on the beach with Keira and Tyler while I climbed.  When I got back down, he decided to go up with the rest of the group, who wanted to try it without the guide (much quicker the second time).  Tyler was taking a little beach snooze (I was so jealous), so Keira, Sonya, and I decided to play in the water while we were waiting.

Keira loved being tossed around in the water.  This was just one of many special memories I have with her of our time there.

We had five families in our little villa family; Our family,

John and Catherine,

Ben and Cyndi,

The Pendrey bunch,

And Monique and Nate, whom I never got a picture of (oops!).  Here we are, posing with our awesome staff on the villa grounds. 

While the travelling and relaxing was wonderful, we can't forget that we were there to celebrate Nicole & Phillip!  Our first full day on the island was one of my favorites.  We started with the rehearsal at Nicole & Phillip's villa, followed by a big party at the Brown family farm.  It was a warm day, and when Keira discovered that their villa was directly on the beach, there was no keeping her out of the water, suit or no suit!  Because I didn't bring a change of clothes, Keira turned their villa into a nude beach- no tan lines for this girl!  Luckily, it was all family there, plus, it was a private beach.  Who knew it would be a full moon in the middle of the day?  ;)

The drive to the farm took a few hours, but I was so excited to see a different part of Jamaica.  The Browns live out in the country, and not many visitors to Jamaica get to see the country.  Even our driver, who lived near Ocho Rios, had not been out that far in over 20 years.  The roads were definitely not ideal, but we made it up and it was totally worth it!  It was absolutely beautiful, and I loved meeting Phillip's family and seeing where he grew up.  We toured the grounds, looking at the crops (bananas, coconuts, etc), and stopped at the creek/bathing pond.  There is indoor plumbing and bathrooms, but when the farm is packed with people, the family will take their soaps and bathe in the creek- I'm betting the cool water feels amazing- it's pretty hot!

Phillip and his brother, Junior, got to work making sure we all stayed hydrated with coconut water and satisfied our sweet tooth with sugar cane.  Nothing store bought here!  They brought out their machetes and started hacking away.  In no time, we were sucking on fresh sugar cane and drinking coconut water out of the coconut.  Better than any resort!

James tried it out, but he was a little more hesitant.  He was sure he'd lose a finger!

Yum, fresh coconut water!

The Browns definitely know how to throw a party!  In addition to the coconut water, we had an abundance of mixed blended drinks (some with no alcohol for our little peeps), red stripe, and lots of delicious home cooked food.

Tyler can't wait to try a Red Stripe!

The local Jamaicans definitely loved our kids, and were so great with them.  Keira was entertained the entire time, and I'm pretty sure Tyler was being carried and snuggled the entire day.  We were so glad we brought the kids with us, we loved watching them have such a good time!

After (over)eating our jerk chicken, curried goat, rice & peas, and festival, the party really got started.  The DJ set up speakers that were at least 15 feet high, and started "bumping" the reggae.  The Browns definitely know how to dance and taught us Americans a thing a two about shaking our booties, or as the gospel reggae song goes, "shakin' that booty that Jesus gave us".

Even Tyler got in on the dancing!

Keira became fast friends with Briana, Phillip's four year old niece.  Briana has been to a dance party or two in her years, and could out dance just about every person there.  Keira tried to copy a few of Briana's moves, much to my delight.  It was really cute to watch. 

The rest of us had a great time dancing and celebrating Nicole & Phillip. 

We knew that the rehearsal was just a warm up for the wedding, and we couldn't wait to see how much fun we'd have the next day.  According to Nicole, that was a typical Jamaican party, so I'm making a note to attend as many Jamaican celebrations as possible.  :)

We capped off our wonderful day with a night time swim.  A perfect ending to a great day!

The rest of the week, we spent time relaxing, kayaking, swimming, getting massages, and most importantly, enjoying each other!  Nicole and Phillip's villa was most easily accessable by kayak, so we popped a life vest on Keira and paddled over, then enjoyed a little ocean swim. 

We loved spending time with the family, especially having Keira and Tyler get to know their family members a little better.

Things like this make me a little more glad that I have straight hair.  It was just a little humid.  :)

 

I even managed to get a little midday nap in!  I was actually trying to convince Keira to nap.  I guess I was a little too convincing.  

James and Keira went out exploring in the water- it was perfect in our little bay, no waves, cool, but not cold, and beautiful!

Our gardener, Gilbert, loved the kids and even brought over his son one day for a little playdate with Keira. 

We loved every day of our vacation, and were so sad to leave.  We had such a good time with everyone.  Where are we going next!?!