We started off our 2020 doing our very favorite thing together- traveling!
Cruz beat us all twice in cards during our layover in Ft. Lauderdale.
Finally ready to board our flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico!
Day 1: Surfing & Resort
We arrived late but were up and at it pretty early the next morning for surfing lessons!
The kids (and Roger) started out in the sand learning the basics of how to grip the board, how to stand, etc.
Roger went first while we all watched!
There were lots of successes
and also plenty of falls!
Roger put together a video with all our surfing highlights!
Here are just a few more random pictures. Cora was a beast. We were so surprised and so proud of her determination and skill! The boys did fantastic too and picked it up really quickly. Rowan got up on his first try and Cruz was the first one to ride in all the way back to shore.
We can't forget this guy either! Roger said it was SO much harder than it looked and it definitely took him a little bit longer to pick it up but once he did, he was great!
These guys were the most patient, encouraging teachers! Everyone had a really fun morning.
We spent the afternoon at our resort swimming in the pools, sliding on the slides, playing in the waves, resting in the hammocks and eating lots of yummy food!
We also enjoyed the lawn games and played several intense games of giant Jenga.
I got beaten in ping pong by Rowan, Cruz and Roger. Ha.
The waves were SO big in the late afternoons. Can you see Cruz getting buried? The kids had an insane amount of sand in their swimsuits and everywhere else. I'm still finding it in Cora's hair!
Beach dancing
Puerto Rico was fun and so different from other tropical destinations we've been too since it's a U.S. territory. It was fun to see U.S. road signs, mailboxes, etc. while also feeling the Spanish influences on a tropical island in the Caribbean.
We finished off the day with ice cream.
Day 2: Old San Juan
The morning started out a little bit rainy but even so, we were all excited for a day exploring Old San Juan.
First stop was Castillo San Felipe del Morro. The kids absolutely love exploring forts so this was a great stop for all. The fort was built in the 16th century and was such a neat place.
We got a tiny bit drenched on our walk up but no one really minded.
Triangular staircase
According to Cora's teacher, this fort was her favorite part of the whole trip! Apparently more than surfing, the ocean or all the ice cream even! :)
There were little tiny water drainage tunnels all throughout that the kids had a blast squeezing into.
We found a cute little Italian restaurant for lunch. I need to note that I switched places with Rowan for this picture so his plate of uneaten crusts is in front of me. ;) Didn't want any confusion.
Cruz is looking more like his Daddy every day. They were unintentionally twinning in all ways on this particular day.
We walked past the governors house still all pretty for Christmas!
On our walk by the water, we came across a cat sanctuary, part of Puerto Rico's "Save a Gato" program. The sanctuary provides food, neutering and vaccinations for the islands stray cats. There were cats sleeping and hanging out all over in this area. The kids loved it!
The orange door in the background is the original door to the city of Old San Juan.
We stopped by a local park and the kids enjoyed playing with other kids while Roger took a few business calls.
Then we capped off the afternoon with ice cream!
The kids shopped and chose their souvenirs which is why Rowan is carrying around a wooden machete thing. Cruz chose a surfing license plate to hang on the wall in his room and Coco chose a flower hair clip.
We ended the evening on the beach!
Day 3: Resort Day
We had zero plans for our final full day and it was SO amazing. We alternated between the beach and the pool. Coco got a free smoothie for winning at Bingo. She was a hit among the mostly older crowd who were playing.
We played more Jenga and ping pong.
And ran around in the waves.
We had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe which is our go to when we travel and need some American food. We've been to the Hard Rock in London, Vienna and probably others as well.
We also made one last stop for ice cream.
Day 4/5: Travel & Florida
To get the best value out of our Southwest points, it worked best to fly one way from San Juan to Ft. Lauderdale and then grab a one way flight from Tampa to Nashville the following day. This ended up being perfect because Grandpa and Deona live about halfway between the two. We spent a chunk of Sunday and most of Monday with them and Linda. We ate pizza, watched football, played Uno, swam, went to the park, watched manatees, ate delicious chili and enjoyed fun time together. This was the perfect way to finish out Christmas break.
