Turks and Caicos

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.



K waiting for lunch



H and K swimming the first day





Braving the water slide solo

 

Splash!

Playing in the sand





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.



AJ at the water park



Playing at the beach



All bundled up in a towel



Sliding with Uncle Brien



Splashing around the water park



Pretending to be Buzz as he plays at the water park



Snuggling next to his cousin, Abigail



AJ catching a wave



AJ floating around the swimming pool with Uncle Brien



Drinking a Shirley Temple -- he discovered them on this trip, and they quickly became his favorite drink.

 

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.



H playing in the waves with Daddy



H riding on Daddy's back

Running on the beach

Playing in the pool

 

Sifting through the sand



Throwing sand



Destroying sand castles



Catching waves with Daddy



Sitting on a sand chair Daddy made

 

Happy Boy



AJ being buried

Buried



Running away from the waves



AJ playing in the sand



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.


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.





An adult conch



A baby conch -- 2 months, I believe.



A sea turtle the conch farm adopted

A big tank where they grow algae to feed to the baby conches



The mid-sized conches. There used to be a lot more before a hurricane almost wiped them out.



A marine biologist ship-wrecked on the island and decided to start the farm. This is K by the shipwreck.



Sarah and I at the conch farm



Sarah helping K hear the ocean.



Visiting another beach



Everyone looking for shells at the beach



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.

Another Trip to Denmark

Last weekend, we visited Denmark to see Timo's grandmother and parents. It was a low-key trip, which was good, since all of us ended up getting sick. This did not stop the kids from visiting the pool, though, and we took advantage of the access to expose the kids to the water. They swam three times in the two full days we were there.

H hanging out in the pool.

AJ swimming around

The audience

K and H in the pool

K enjoying the pool

We also visited a local dairy where they offer soft-serve ice cream that would delight the epicurean in anyone. AJ chose banana sprinkles on a cone as large as his head. H refuses to eat ice cream, so he missed out on this mouthwatering treat. K missed out, too, since she chose a push-up instead of the soft-serve.

AJ enjoying his massive ice cream cone

It was a sunny day, so we took our ice cream outside to savor in a proper fashion. H warmed up to Timo's parents enough for them to hold him.

Farfar and H

Farfar, Farmor, and H

The dairy where we bought the ice cream

Of course, we were also there to see Timo's grandmother, not just to swim and eat ice cream. She enjoyed seeing the kids play and interact. H let her hold him a bit, and the two of them even had this thing going on where she would shake his hand and say, "Hi," then he would walk off, and return later to do the same thing. It was fun to see them interact.

H and Mormor

Mormor also gave the kids hand-knit hats, and they tried them on for the camera. AJ refused to look at the camera and smile, but that is not so unusual.