One Love

Our week in Negril Jamaica was UH-mazing to say the very least!  I can’t even begin to explain the quality family time we shared.  Being away (I mean, really away) from the day-to-day stuff was completely rejuvenating and pleasurable.  Spending countless hours on the beach, leisurely walking through the crystal clear water and looking for shells was totally addicting.  We spent a lot of time in the Jamaican sun and a little under a tiki hut where we rested.  We let the gentle winds blow any worries away and we listened to the waves crash down on giggling little ones.  Having the whole family together was priceless.  We conversed, laughed, and played together all week long.  Sure we had the I pad, I phone, and PSP moments but, they were very seldom.  Mostly, they were for the plane ride there and back.  I, for one put my phone in my backpack (as soon as we arrived) and didn’t look at it once the ENTIRE week!  We shopped a little, and ate a lot!:)  It was a vacation and week I won’t soon forget.  I am already thinking of our trip back to the island.  This is a 7 mile beach with white soft sand and water so clear, you can see the ocean floor about 6 ft down.  Yep, it’s a pristine beach, thus, there was an unmatched destination for us this summer.

On the bus to our resort, I was able to snap a few of the city of Montego Bay and a few scenic photos.

        

      

We were so fortunate to have my sister in law, and her family travel with us.  Carson made a perfect playmate for Brayden and even Nealy had fun playing water volleyball in the pool with him a few nights!  It was great!

In Jamaica there is a short rain in the afternoons.  Not bad  enough to discourage anyone to visit, I must say.  Two days it didn’t rain at all, and only one day the rain was more than a sprinkle. 

The Show!

As soon as we arrived at our resort, B enjoyed himself a yummy little treat (as he did several times a day…every day on our trip).  A few short minutes after we watched a sweet show!  He totally loves him a little Sesame Street.

 

 

We settled in quickly, I took a quick snap of our view from our balcony patio! Next, we headed straight to the beach.  Just in that short amount of time, the light rain had stopped.  Aah, I miss Jamaica!  This is the exact gazebo Scott and I walked through to get to the alter on the beach at our wedding. :)

 

 

 

 

We saw many ‘o crabs!  Here’s a little sweet one that I might have just scared a little bit as I chased him around, like I was part of the paparazzi.  Poor thing!  Can you see his two little eyes popping out of the sand in the second photo?

 

Here’s to Coca Cola Light!:)  It’s just like Diet Coke.  It’s about the only “light” thing I consumed while on vacation.

    

I just love this one of what it’s like to look straight up a palm tree from it’s base.

This is from under our tiki hut.  Breathtaking!

A few more from the balcony…

I love the colors in Jamaica so bright and fresh!  The pictures below are from a little shopping excursion off the resort.

 

     

I never found out the name of the fruit on this tree.  I’ll find out the name on our next visit:).

This little guy is not too cute.

This little girl was just too too cute!  Her mom worked at one of the little shops.  She took an interest in me, or maybe just thought I was weird.  I am a little over the top when I see cute kids!  I kept smiling and giving her little winks and waves.  I think I won her over.  I asked her mother if I could snap a pic!  I didn’t want to forget those sweet eyes…so curious and big.

 

Flower Finds

   

 

Few Foods to Fill the Tummy

This just might have been my breakfast every morning – a bacon, mushroom and cheese filled omelet with a side of cantaloupe and coffee to drink! MMM!

     

Here’s my sweetness with some yummy freshly brewed sweet tea! Aah!

Glass Bottom Boat and Snorkeling Adventures!

Our Captain, Wade-Jack and quiet, boat mate.

      

The Jones Crew

  

Nealy went snorkeling twice.  She and Scott went and then she went with me.  Brayden was too young, as you have to be 6 to snorkel.   These are photos of when she and I went.  The photographer was “crushing” on us maybe.  I’m just sayin’.  He took so many of us.  He would dive down not having to wear a life-jacket and pick up the neatest sea creatures for us to hold and see.  Some were, sea cucumber, sea anemone, starfish, sand dollars, coral etc.  In the second photo we were holding a sea urchin.  We were instructed to leave everything in the ocean as it was.  Well,….Nicholas, the kind photographer (photo below), offered (oh, let me be clear that Nealy didn’t ask) to sneak a beautiful shell back for her.  She was more than excited!  He cleaned it and found us later that night and gave it to her!  He also gave me some way cool photography tips and showed me how to use some new gadgets better.  Very kind!

 

 

The Walk on the famous 7 mile long white sands beach

LOVE these two cute beach boys….unconditionally!

 

 

Okay, so we walked maybe a mile to another Beaches resort even though there was a bus to take, that left to the resort every half hour.  Walking is good exercise anyway.  Along the way, we found some really great photo spots and neat shells.  The walk should have taken us about 15 minutes but, because we piddled around it took us about 40 minutes.  It was fun the first 30 minutes or so, then we became hot and thirsty!  Good thing there was plenty of cold drinks and a water park at the resort!:)  After a few good hours of playing in the water park and eating lunch, we walked back.  I was SO hot!  I felt like I was physically able to make the walk yet, felt like I was getting overheated.  We made it just fine with a little extra TLC from the hubby.  So, needless to say I wasn’t snapping photos on the walk back.  On the way back it was only about 15 minutes.

   

My picture perfect girl.  She and I had so much fun together.  I was an early bird the whole week so she would force herself early too.  We  were able to enjoy early talks on the beach or at breakfast before the boys woke up.

 

 

We ALL loved the lazy river where we just let the waves take us around and around. 

      

Our Anniversary 7.12.2oo6

The beach at night was unbelievably romantic.  The night walks were great despite the sand flies biting away at us.  I am thrilled our anniversary fell on our vacation week.  Coming back to the island we were married on was such a gift.   I just love thinking about spending the rest of my life with this man.  I am a lucky girl!

Beach Business

      

         

      

More Sesame Street!

 

I totally loved how his eyes would light up with he watched some of his favorite characters perform.  I knew he would enjoy this part of our vacation along with the others!

sneak peek

I’m leaking this one photo out of our family photo shoot on the beach!  We may use these for our Christmas Cards.  They’re just fun.  However, B wasn’t ‘cheesing’ it so, we may take more later.  I’ll still share the rest later, if I choose not to use them for our Christmas Card.  Anyway, this is one of my very favorites!   My teenager!  She’s so pretty and lots of laughs.  This one was snapped so quickly, I just think it exudes our bond.  LOVE her!

Mommy loves these

PSP moment

I Pad moment

 

Nealy and one of the Fire Dancers.  We watched this show, she and I our last night in Jamaica which was our fifth night.  Wow, they were so amazing.  Their skill level was unreal as was their body strength and endurance.  The performance was very entertaining.   They had a few tribal drummers with them too.  They picked me to come up and learn a beat or two…:) Nealy took some video on her phone which I hope to post later.  Greatness.

   

Neat how all 3 are in this photo. 

A few of Nealy’s special finds we’re going to use to make some fun creations!

 

Our Special Star Friend

We were going to keep it and let it dry out.  Then we felt bad.  Scott found it for us, and brought it to Brayden and me right before he and Nealy went snorkeling.  Brayden and I were rushing to get showered and bathed before dinner that I quickly tried placing him in the glass with sea water in it.  He didn’t fit because he was in a straight star shape.  Two of his points wouldn’t allow him to go in.  I wet him a little and had to leave him dangling by two “arms” in the glass, to get B in the bath.  Poor thing.  I was worried about him.  When we got out of the bathroom and dressed I ran out to our patio to see how the little guy was.  He had contoured his little body so that he would be fully submerged in the water.  After seeing this and feeling him crawl across my hand earlier while at the beach,  I knew we had to let him go.  I wanted a memory….so here it is!:)

  

Here is my little helper!  He agreed it was best to let our friend go.  We even chatted about natural habitats!

Our trip was one I wouldn't trade for the world.  Jamaica is such a beautiful place and the people are very nice and charismatic.  I couldn’t think of a better place to have visited this summer.  LOVED it, and having made special memories with my sweet family!  I leave you with these two:

Okay, so these aren’t even half of the photos I took.  There are hundreds more on my computer and quite a few more in the album.  In the album there are some of the colorful building and signs.  There are also a few of the neat wood work that is very popular in Jamaica.  Birds and sea animals are carved of wood (even right out of tree stumps still in the ground) and painted so beautifully…take a peek!

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