JAMAICA!!

This January we had the privilege of going on a trip with my family to Jamaica.  We were a big group of ELEVEN people.  It was the first time our children flew in an airplane too!  Luckily it was wonderful and we all wish we were still there!

Getting close to Jamaica!!

The whole bunch

Jamaican countryside

Breakfast at the coral cafe.  I loved their vanilla french toast.

Hanging out by one of the pools

The Jade Samurai, a teppanyaki style restaurant

Amara enjoyed the infinity pool because it was only 2 feet deep.

Pizza at Court Jesters was delicious!

Our room's patio.

There were hibiscus flowers all over the resort.

The boys loved hanging out at Jaspers bar.  

Maddox loved his frozen lemonade and Sprite.  I think that may be what he misses most about Jamaica, well at least how easy it was for him to get.

Amara loved the strawberry smoothie.  They had slushy machines at all the bars.

Hammocks!

The Jewel wedding chapel

The sunset was beautiful!

PING PONG!  They were obsessed!

Rubber tree

The cappuccino was great on some of the breezier evenings.

Moonstone was a burger place at lunch then turned into a fancy Italian restaurant for supper.

We enjoyed many nights of entertainment on this stage.  During a pre-show trivia game they got Anton to go on stage and he had to sing the "Golden Girls" theme song.  He was competing with two other guys but they had nothing on Anton.  The crowd loved him.  In the end he won a bottle of Appleton's rum. 

The entrance to the waterpark, Jewel Lagoon.

Ping Pong AGAIN!!

Amara made a little friend Alexa from Toronto.

I love the reflection in Ajay's sunglasses!

Just a bottle of Wata!

Opa and the boys

At the Jade Samurai

Ingrid, our chef entertained and cooked for us.

Amara mastered the chopsticks

Amara went to kids club twice and enjoyed it

Julie and I went shopping in Ochos Rios.  This was the craft market.

At the Platinum Restaurant they had very creative dishes like this one. 

Playing in the huge leaves after a windy night

The coconut fell out of the tree

The girls at the kids club tie dyed the shirts we brought with us.  Now they are triplets!

Crafts with Clive... or C Live as he wanted to be called.

The gardener that cut a coconut out of a tree for us.

Our last morning... breakfast at the coral cafe.

Waiting for our plane, but not really ready to go back home.

Christmas Time

All our Christmas gatherings, concerts and parties are over for another year.  We had lots of fun at each one.  Here is a selection of picture from what we have been up to.

Amber and Amara - second cousins

Only Amara wanted to go and visit Santa this year.

Amara at her Christmas party at school

She got to see Santa again!

Auntie Julie gave her a barbie!  She loves it!

Ajay and Maddox opening their presents

My mom and dad opening the present I made for them.

The boys are excited about their presents!

Amara got the doll she asked for.

Josie and Shannon

Josie, Grandma and Amara

The kids got a keyboard from Auntie Ghislaine and Uncle Sage.  Luckily for me it comes with headphones too!

Sugar Cookies!

Amara was my little helper making sugar cookies this year.  Luckily for me she loves making them, but not eating them.  She says they are too sweet!  Such a weird thing for a four year old to say.

Gymnastics

Amara took a gymnastics course this past fall.  She really enjoyed learning how to walk on the balance beam, do a somersault, cart wheels and hand stands.

Team Handball

The boys are on the Grade 4 handball team this year.  They are really enjoying playing. Truthfully though I had no idea how to play handball until I looked it up online.  They definitely didn't get any of their athletic skills from me.