My white Christmas this year consisted of white sand instead of snow and bathing suits instead of snow suits. My in-laws invited all of their children and thier families to a resort on the Caribbean island of Turks and Caicos for Christmas. We all enjoyed a fabulous time, and I was more than happy to trade the cold, dark days of Sweden for a warmer, sunnier climate.
As to be expected, most of our days were spent by the pool or at the beach. K decided she wanted to learn to swim, and, after the first day she ditched all her swim gear except her goggles. I was thrilled that she finally overcame her reservations about the water. She enjoyed diving for rings, turning summersaults underwater, and braving the water slides solo.
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| K waiting for lunch |
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| H and K swimming the first day |
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| Braving the water slide solo |
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| Splash! |
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| Playing in the sand |
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| My little fish |
AJ also developed a level of comfort in the water, although he is not quite swimming, yet. He occasionally donned his water wings, but he did not constantly rely on them. Timo spent some time trying to teach him to body surf on the small waves that crashed on the beach, and I know he enjoyed the time with Daddy.
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| AJ at the water park |
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| Playing at the beach |
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| All bundled up in a towel |
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| Sliding with Uncle Brien |
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| Splashing around the water park |
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| Pretending to be Buzz as he plays at the water park |
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| Snuggling next to his cousin, Abigail |
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| AJ catching a wave |
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| AJ floating around the swimming pool with Uncle Brien |
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| Drinking a Shirley Temple -- he discovered them on this trip, and they quickly became his favorite drink. |
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| AJ and Patrick partially buried in the sand |
H still relies on his jacket and water wings, but he was like a little buoy, floating around the pool and enjoying himself. He also received a body surfing lesson, but to a lesser degree than AJ.
AJ and H also enjoyed the sand immensely, but in two entirely different manners. AJ liked to fill the buckets to build sand castles and sculptures, while H found pleasure in destroying each and every bucketful of sand that had been tipped over. H also enjoyed throwing sand, making his sun goggles that much more essential. Thankfully, he didn't really throw it at people.
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| H playing in the waves with Daddy |
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| H riding on Daddy's back |
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| Running on the beach |
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| Playing in the pool |
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| Sifting through the sand |
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| Throwing sand |
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| Destroying sand castles |
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| Catching waves with Daddy |
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| Sitting on a sand chair Daddy made |
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| Happy Boy |
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| AJ being buried |
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| Buried |
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| Running away from the waves |
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| AJ playing in the sand |
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| Playing games with Jonah, Anne-Marie, and Daniel |
I spent time with the kids, but I also managed to participate in some activities on my own. I braved the artificial surfing pool, kayaked and snorkeled with Timo's sister, Sarah, in the ocean, ran barefoot on the beach, and raced down the water slides. This was all thanks to Timo and his wonderful siblings who helped with the kiddos.
Timo built sand sculptures with the kiddos, swam in the ocean and pools with them, took care of his share of dirty diapers, and still managed some beach volleyball and water slides.
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| Timo playing in the sand |
We spent one afternoon on an island tour, where we visited a conch farm, a different beach, and a huge sink hole. Timo and the boys stayed behind, but K and I went with almost everyone else.
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| An adult conch |
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| A baby conch -- 2 months, I believe. |
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| A sea turtle the conch farm adopted |
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| A big tank where they grow algae to feed to the baby conches |
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| The mid-sized conches. There used to be a lot more before a hurricane almost wiped them out. |
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| A marine biologist ship-wrecked on the island and decided to start the farm. This is K by the shipwreck. |
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| Sarah and I at the conch farm |
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| Sarah helping K hear the ocean. |
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| Visiting another beach |
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| Everyone looking for shells at the beach |
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| The sink hole. The picture doesn't really do it justice. |
On the plane leaving the island, I sat next to a native, or, as they like to call themselves, a "belonger." He spent much of the flight answering my questions about the island, and I felt like I learned more from him in one short flight than I did during our entire visit.
Looking back, we created a lot of memories, enjoyed some quality family time, and just had fun. It was a great trip.
