Saturday, September 27, 2014

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic


August 2 – 12, 2014

On the way home from Germany we stayed at Secrets Royal Beach, an all inclusive adult resort in Punta Cana.  It was a nice way to celebrate our 29th anniversary.  We had a great time relaxing, eating & drinking.  We had privileges at the sister resort next door which gave us more dining options, so that was nice.

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Our room was a very nice, clean, spacious, well appointed room in a great location on the property with easy access to everything.
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The beach was huge and we could walk forever… really nice.
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These are the swim up bar bar-bartenders and they were great.
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What’s wrong with this picture?????  No drink in my hand!!
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Once a week they brought out this really cool bubble making dragon to the swim up bar pool.  They played music, tossed around balloons and everyone had a great time with it.

Rocking out to YMCA


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These are my footprints in the sand… turned out cool.
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These turtles loved us because we brought bread to them.  We discovered them in this pond on a walk one day.  As soon as we crossed the bridge and stopped, they swam to us as fast as they could.  Obviously people feed them all the time. 
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We saw these guys up in the palm trees on a regular basis clearing out the coconuts and the dead branches.
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More pictures of the huge beach.
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This scene cracked me up so I took a picture.  Click on the photo to enlarge it and you can see the names of the shacks… “Wal*Mart” and “JC Penny”… yep, that’s where I want to shop!  I guess the locals thought it would be a draw for the tourists…. NOT!!
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Check out this glass bottom boat… I don’t think so!!  Who in the world would spend money to go out on this piece of crap?
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The local entertainment staff one evening.
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We met this really nice couple from Germany, Mesut and Tatjana and we become fast friends.  We enjoyed each other’s company and ended up having a few dinners with them, as well as running into them during the day.  The trip was their first “all inclusive” experience and they were having a ball and enjoying every minute of it.  They had a lot of questions for us since we’ve been going to all inclusive resorts for many years, and we were happy to answer their questions.
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I met Mesut & Tatjana in the pool one day after playing an organized game.  As we talked, Mesut mentioned that they had been together for 9 years, but they were not married.  So I kiddingly said “what are you waiting for”.  Little did I know at that time he had a plan.  
Mesut & Tatjana on beach

Mesut is quite the romantic.  He planned a  sunrise on the beach with a bottle of champagne, and an engagement ring… and he got a video of the whole proposal !!  Tatjana only thought they were going to have champagne while watching the sun come up.  I believe she thought the camera was just for some still shots and was not aware that he was video taping it.
Mesut & Tatjana sunrise proposal 3Mesut & Tatjana sunrise proposal 2

She said “JA” (yes in German).  I found out that after they dated for several years, Mesut asked her Father for her hand in marriage a couple years ago.  This was important to Mesut that he had her Father’s blessing.  Her Father said no because he wanted her to finish her studies.  So Mesut waited and recently asked again and her Father said yes!  So he planned out this romantic proposal in the Caribbean.
Mesut & Tatjana sunrise proposal YES

We exchanged contact information and hopefully we’ll be able to see them again on our next trip to Germany, or when they come to the states.

Friday, September 26, 2014

August & September Adventures


Joey’s 6th Birthday

Joey turned 6 years old on August 13th.  I can’t believe this cute little boy is another year older… he’s getting so big!  We celebrated with a pool party on a warm summer day and the kids loved it.  Here is the water logged birthday boy.

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His brother Alex is the other water logged little boy.
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Jessica made this great Darth Vader ice cream cookie cake.  It had layers of big cookies and ice cream and decorated so cute.
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Although it didn’t look so good after cutting into it, it was sooooooooo yummy!!  She didn’t anticipate the frozen cookies being so hard to cut, hence the mess.  We all had a good laugh over it as we ate this wonderful cake.  I guess Jessica will have to go back to the drawing board and re-think this before she makes another one.
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Alex didn’t mind the mess, he loved the cake.  Check out the drip of ice cream below his left knee… LOL
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It’s always so exciting to open presents!!
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Jessica’s Is So Talented!!

These are just a few of the cakes and cupcakes that Jessica has created and everything is edible.  She is beyond talented!!

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No, these are NOT real Lego’s even though they look real… everything is edible!
Lego Cake & Cupcakes 1Lego Cake & Cupcakes 2Marilyn Monroe 1Marilyn Monroe 2Mickey Mouse 1Mickey Mouse 2SharkTurkeyUnder The Sea Cake 4Under The Sea Cake 1Under The Sea Cake 2Under The Sea Cake 3


Quick Trip to Arizona

The weekend of August 22nd I went to Arizona to attend a funeral.  My best friend from high school is Paula and her sister Kathie passed away after a long battle with cancer, Kathie was only 54.  Kathie was so loved by everyone and she wanted her family and friends to have a “Celebration Of Her Life”, so that’s what we did.  After the service we went to her Mother’s house and celebrated her life with dancing, singing, swimming, eating lots of great food, talking, and of course a toast to Kathie.  It was a beautiful day all the way around and I was honored to share the day with her family.  Paula is the oldest of 9 children so the family is HUGE to say the least.  It was wonderful to reminisce with Paula’s siblings, her kids, and her Mother Barbara.  When we were in high school I use to babysit Paula’s younger siblings… LOL.  I completely surprised everyone by just showing up, as I didn’t tell anyone that I was going.   It was a very special reunion.

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These are Paula’s kids which I also used to babysit when they were little.  Whenever I visit Paula in Oregon, I always hope to see her kids & grandkids during my trip…. such a beautiful family.
Jason, Angela, BarbaraPaula, Kathy, Barbara

Although it was a very quick trip, I wanted to see my daughter and grandkids.  Fortunately they didn’t have any plans and I was able to have a short but very nice visit with them.  Matthew works all the time so my time with him was limited.  But Friday night we were able to go through old photos and tell silly stories from years ago.  We all had a good laugh at ourselves and the family.

Aug 22, 2014 Lauren, Vovo, & Matt

Lauren and her friend did the “Ice Bucket” challenge which was going on at that time.  They were brave and made the commitment… good for you girls!!
Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS 2014



Catta Bella Tournament


I participated in the Ladies Catta Bella Golf Tournament September 4-6, 2014.  It was another fun year because our team is so much fun… these ladies are awesome.  Unfortunately I played horrible and was not able to contribute to the team, but I still had fun.  This is my partner Susan… the brave woman who keeps inviting me back every year Winking smile
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Tracey, Debbie, Kathy, Susan
Tracey, Debbie, Kathy, Susan