Last Hurrah

We just got back from three days and four nights in Puerto Rico.  Charlie really wanted to go on one last trip in 2011 as a family, so I told him if we could use points and have minimal spending and he planned the trip I would go.  Really, how do you say no to that?  All I had to do was pack and show up.

From the very beginning he wanted to go somewhere warm with a beach.  We used to go on trips like this about twice a year when Andy was little, even when Sarah was little, but we realized this week that we haven't done one since Amanda was born.  How pathetic our travel adventures have become, not adventures at all.

Charlie looked into destinations all over the Caribbean, until we hit a snafu.  Sarah's passport expired in August and it takes 4-6 weeks to get a new passport.  Being that she is only five years old she isn't a big threat to national security and isn't high on the watch list, but we still didn't know how long it would take to get her a new passport.  I took her information in the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and then we waited.  Charlie kept doing hotel research and narrowed down our choices to places that worked if her passport came and others that we would also be willing to go to if her passport did not arrive on time.  In the end, her passport did come before we left, it only took about two weeks (but I doubt it would be that fast for an adult), but he chose Puerto Rico nonetheless.

All we wanted was three days of sun.  Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate.  It wasn't cold, but it was overcast for most of the first and third days, and the second day it rained.  A lot.  On top of that, the water in the pool was cold.  We spent a lot of time in the hot tub, which was the temperature the pool should have been.

Despite all that, we still had a good time.  Not a great time, but a good time.  The kids were forced to spend some time together and even enjoyed a little of it, and we got to try some of the local fare.  The kids got to swim, which they love, and Charlie got to play some catch with Andy, which he loves (I was referring to Charlie loving it, but Andy does too).  I got to forget about wrapping presents, which are waiting for me upstairs as I write, and cleaning the house, which we are all going to work on tomorrow together.  We just got to enjoy hanging out as a family.  A little quality time for everyone.  What more could a mom ask for?