Our fourth day, we stopped in La Romana, Dominican Repbulic. All the siblings stuck together. We really didn’t know what we were going to do, but we lucked out and got a great taxi driver. He dropped us off at his favorite beach: Dominica Beach. We lounged, played and ate a local lunch at a beach hut. One of the shop owners was on the beach trying to recruit shoppers. He gave me a really cute beaded necklace for free. He said, “In Dominica, a gift is a real gift.”

Next, he took us to Casa de Campos where the rich and famous like to vacay.

{Where Jay Z & Beyonce vacay…I’m sure Blue Ivy will be joining them}

We finished the day by visiting Altos de Chavon. It was designed as an artist retreat and the chapel is where Michael Jackson & Lisa Marie Presley were married. I loved the architecture and the jungle lusciousness.

Dominican Republic was our favorite unexpected gem.

Happy 5th Wedding Anniversary to my Love!

Day 3 was our 5th wedding anniversary and a day at sea. We spent it lounging in the adults only serenity area and got pina coladas. We splurged on a couples massage and loved it.

That night was a formal night. It was fun to get all dressed up and eat lobster!

{Alligator Fritters}

When we arrived in port, Nassau was celebrating Junkanoo (their form of carnival). Dan, Tammy, Husband and I stuck together and headed for the beach…the wrong beach, my fault. We caught another taxi back into town and it turned out to be good timing because we got to see the Junkanoo parade that had been going all night and was just about to end. It was pretty incredible.

{There’s a guy underneath this float, carrying it on his shoulders.}

After the parade, we went to the right beach, Cabbage beach. We camped out for the day: reading, playing speed miton, relaxing, etc.

{Happy 5 Years!}

We loved the yummy dinners in the dining room all together. We ended each night with the warm chocolate molten cake with vanilla ice cream and hot chocolate, so frothy and yummy.

We set sail via Ft. Lauderdale on a 7 night cruise to the Caribbean, thanks to Joe & Janet’s hospitality.

{We said bon voyage on J&J’s deck}

{Party Ship! There’s a huge outdoor movie screen on the opposite side}

{Trivia Game Show…Husband owned it}

{Winners!}

We rang in the New Year in Ft. Lauderdale. More on the Cramer Cruise to come later.

For Christmas, Husband and I gave my mom tickets to see the touring production of West Side Story. When I was about 10-years-old, we sent to see the play because my dance class was doing a piece to “America.” It was so fun to get all dressed up, go to a yummy lunch and a great musical…all together!

{I just love my momma}

Christmas morning was perfect. Little Man was so excited for every present. Today, if you ask him what Santa brought him, he’ll say “M&Ms,” so looks like Santa has it easy next year. He played great with his toys while Husband and I exchanged gifts. We finished off the morning with a yummy breakfast, I perfected the family breakfast casserole, and then headed off to church for a wonderful Christmas program.

We sang “Silent Night” for the closing hymn at church, and you have to understand Little Man is really into singing right now. During the closing prayer, he was yelling “Silent Night, Holy Night, Silent Night, Holy Night, Shepherd, Silent Night…” I tried to keep him quiet, but it was pretty cute.

{Little Man’s big gift was his own balance bike. He rides it in the basement and can’t get enough of it.}

{We had our friends over for a really delicious dinner. It was so fun having them over and splitting half the dishes.}

{PS The turkey turned out pretty ridiculously good. If you come for a holiday, I promise to make it for you.}

We spent Christmas together as our little family in our own home this year and loved it. We missed being able to see family, but there’s nothing like creating holiday memories in your own home.

{Christmas Eve breakfast: homemade eggnog yogurt & granola}

{Sledding behind our home. We got 10 new inches of snow two days earlier, so it was perfect}

{Lots of cooking. I loved every minute of it.}

{Made & decorated cookies for Santa}

{New Christmas Eve tradition: seafood/Italian. We had roasted shrimp with homemade cocktail sauce, lobster and saffron fettuccine, Caesar salad & baguette. Yes, it was yummy.}

{Christmas carols & nativity story}

{Twas the Night Before Christmas songbook from Nana & Papa}

{Finished the Santa advent}

{Video chatted with the Cramer gang & opened PJs from “Gandma & Gandpa”}

{…and put out Santa’s cookies}

Merry Christmas to all and to all, Good Night!

My clever Husband likes to call today Christmas Adam…because it’s the day before Christmas Eve, as in Adam and Eve.

Anywho, we went bowling tonight. Haven’t done it in for-ev-er. Little Man was a fanatic and had the people on either side of us eating out of his hand. We’ll definitely be going again.

{He loved waiting for the balls to come out}

{I know this picture is way out of focus, but it just shows how determined he was}

Last night, Husband’s awesome company got a suite at the Avalanche {hockey} game. It was ah-mazing; that’s the way to see a game. The food was so yummy: roasted chicken, red potatoes, gourmet sausages, fancy nachos, Mediterranean grilled veggies, cheese platters, fresh fruits, pasta salad, and a dessert cart that would knock yo’ socks off. The hockey was fun to watch too. Little Man stayed home with a sitter while we had a great night on the town.

Pardon the iphone pictures, I thought the DLSR just might be a little too much. Just a titch.

{Round 2 of food: balsamic tomato, fresh mozzarella salad & roasted veggies with herb dip. I think I was the only one that touched the veggies…I seriously thought about asking for a doggy bag because it made me sick all the deliciousness that was going to waste}

{Rounded out the evening with my favorite: carrot cake}