A carribean vacation to remember...

After 3 years of my mom living in St. John, Virgin Islands, we decided to make a trip to go visit her! So we booked our flights, packed our bags, and persuaded Carie and Justin Facenda to leave behind their precious Kyler and join us for a "toddler-free" vacation! We had a great time snorkeling, eating, touring the island and even got to experience a category 3 hurricane - Earl! 
It was nice to be able to focus solely on Ada and give her our full attention without having Abby around stealing the spotlight! Abigail had a great time back home with her Great-grandparents, GeeGee and Papa! And was definitely spoiled by the time we got back!!

Ada and Papa had some quality time in the days before our trip! Both my girls really love their Great-grands!!

So on a Thursday afternoon, we said goodbye to Abby and drove to Myrtle Beach where we would fly out the next morning. Kamden and Ada did so great with all the traveling. Ada had a bit of a hard time on the plane with her ears during the takeoffs and landings but other than that she was wonderful! 

We had to take a ferry from St. Thomas where we flew in, to the island of St. John, where mom lives. 

On Saturday morning we were up bright and early for a quick tour of the island. It was so gorgeous and the water so blue! But the heat...oh the heat...and the lack of ac every where we went didn't help either. Poor babies were constantly soaked in sweat, but you never could tell they were unhappy by the huge smiles on their sweet faces!

We did a lot of touring the sugar mills on the island. Each one had a great view and amazing construction with the rocks!

Mom was house sitting a Bed and Breakfast the week that we were there and with that came the use of their 2nd house which had an amazing view and overlook. It was an amazing spot to just sit back and relax! This was also the one day that we actually went snorkeling. All the days after were murky from Hurricane Earl. Mom, Joe and I were able to see a turtle and Carie and Justin saw a stingray! The water was so beautiful and the natural beauty was amazing! The picture on the top right is when Joe turned himself blue - he had used kid's sunscreen and it had a blue tint to it!

The second day we were there, we woke up early to check out the beach! The water was so gorgeous and blue! The snorkeling wasn't too good because of the hurricane that was heading our way, but we just enjoyed playing in the water and working on our tans!

That night we were treated to a steak and lobster dinner by mom's boyfriend, Frank. He manages the Caneel Bay resort, which is where Kenny Chesney and Renee Zellweger got married. The resort was gorgeous and had a sugar mill on the property as well as random donkeys and deer! 

Amazing amazing sunset!! It looked like the sky was on fire!

On day three, we prepared for Earl. And by prepare, I mean we sat around checking Facebook and watching the weather forecasts! We were all a little worried that our flight might be delayed but luckily once the storm passed, the islanders of St. John were quick at work to get everything cleaned up and back to new! The storm was a category 3 hurricane as it passed over the island and quickly turned to a category 4! There were winds of 135mph right at our shoreline! It was Carrie's first hurricane and I have to say, she weathered it pretty well! Joe and Justin were our official "Storm Chasers" and they dressed appropriately for the part!

The last day of our trip was the day after the hurricane hit. It was an overcast and windy day but that didn't stop us from getting out and sightseeing just a little more! There really was minimal damage - with the exception of some boats that had been tossed onto the beaches. The workers of St. John did a great job of cleaning all the trees and limbs up really quickly! We drove around a bit and did some more touristy picture taking before heading back to the villa to sit by the pool and relax. 

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 Thank you Justin and Carie for leaving your precious son, Kyler and braving the hurricane with us in St. John! We are so extremely thankful that the Lord put our families in the same place at the most perfect points in our lives! We love you guys!