Jamaica

Way back in January, our family headed out to Kansas to attend Amman and Liz's wedding in the Kansas City Temple. The kids did pretty well on the flight out--Luke was my little seat buddy. We tried to watch a few movies, but mainly just ate a lot of pretzels. The turbulence was pretty bad and Evan kept yelling, "I'm too young to die!" Everyone kept looking back with a scared look on their face. He said a prayer and felt much better. Poor little guy. I was proud of him for thinking to pray first. Everyone commented on how good the kids behaved. It did not always seem that way to me, but I'm glad we weren't a nuisance with our 4 little ones.

The evening before the wedding Amman and Liz had their wedding reception at the ward building in Emporia. It was so heart-warming to watch those two so in love! And it was great to see all of our family! It was such a perfect evening.

The next day we headed up to Kansas City. The older cousins graciously watched all the little kids in the chapel across the street while we headed over for the sealing. It was so special and such a wonderful reminder of the great blessings in store for us and the promises made. Amman had waited a long time to meet the right girl and to see them finally united and so in love and grateful for one another was beautiful and inspiring.

After dinner with everyone, Jonathan and I headed out on our own "second honeymoon". Our kids went with my parents back to Emporia while we stayed at a hotel in Kansas City. I was pretty sad and anxious leaving them, but my parents were very reassuring. I am so grateful for them!

Jonathan had surprised me with my first passport on my birthday and told me we would be leaving somewhere after the wedding--somewhere warm. So on Sunday morning we woke up early and headed to the airport. He showed me a picture of our destination and told me we were staying at a couples-only, all-inclusive resort in Jamaica! It was so exciting!! I love spending time with just him and to be going on this new adventure together just made it more thrilling.

We flew into Atlanta and then boarded our connecting flight to Montego Bay. It was crazy flying over the ocean and the water was beautiful! We landed and then were shuttled to our hotel, a 2-hour drive away in Ocho Rios. It was humbling and a little scary to see the world outside of our bubble in the U.S. The streets were rough and the drivers crazy! I was hoping we would make it to hotel alive. They drive on the other side of the street as well, making it feel even more different. There were goats and other animals along the side of the road, and tons of slums. I would see mothers taking their children to school and think about how different and similar our lives were. It felt a little weird being shuttled away from all of this to a place of luxury.

We arrived at the hotel Sunday evening and were told, not asked, to have a drink. So began our love with non-alcoholic pina coladas and fruit drinks. We got to our room and saw the amazing view out our balcony:

It looked like the ocean went on forever and ever! It was amazing. We got settled in and it was 3 hours later than Kansas, so I called in to check in with the kids. All was well. Then we went down for dinner, just the two of us. It was so nice. As we got back to our room though, I started having a panic attack about being so far away (an ocean apart!) from my kids. I started worrying if something happened to us or them I would not be able to get to them quickly. I was really anxious that night and didn't sleep too well.  But after praying and talking to Jonathan, the next day I felt better and was able to enjoy our time together.

Monday morning was rainy. We went to breakfast and then decided we would try to do the Catamaran Cruise that afternoon. Luckily the rain and clouds cleared a bit for our cruise. 

The views were amazing and it felt pretty cool to ride on this boat with just the ocean in front of us. We anchored the boat and jumped off and swam for a little while. It was so fun!! The boat ride made Jonathan a little sick, but he was okay by the time we got in the water. :) 

That evening the resort hosted a party with dinner and entertainment.

They had lots of dancers and one fire-breathing man who also did the limbo under these fire-soaked sticks. It was crazy but so cool!

The next day, Tuesday, was my favorite! The weather was absolutely beautiful and the water so clear! We started off the day taking a snorkeling class in the nearby pool.  I'm glad we did the class, because the mask and breathing was something I needed practice with. 

After our class, we headed out in the glass-bottom boat to the coral reefs. It was the coolest experience to snorkel with Jonathan by my side! The fish and corals were amazing to see in person. It was so fun and I totally want to do that again someday soon. 

  

I had accidentally breathed in a bunch of water during our class and with all the waves and motion, I was feeling a little sick myself after snorkeling, but it was so worth it! :)  

We hung out by the beach and had another pina colada while we played some card game and soaked in the sun. :) There was a little island by our resort called the uninhibited island. Let's just say you should close your eyes when riding past this place. Eek!

That afternoon we had a couples massage. This was Jonathan's first massage and he loved it! They were great and very professional. We were so relaxed after that!!

That night we went to dinner at an Asian restaurant they had in a gazebo off of the island. It was very yummy and we ate a ton. We then walked around and sat on a bench overlooking the ocean. I just kept pinching myself as the waves crashed on the beach and the stars shone so bright above us. It was very beautiful and romantic.

  

On Wednesday we went right to the shuttle at the entrance of the resort that took us to the famous Dunn's River Falls. Our tour guides were hilarious and we had a lot of fun climbing the falls together. We started from the bottom and hiked all the way to the top together. We got soaked, but what a beautiful place!! The views were spectacular and breathtaking. Again, I just felt so grateful to be sharing this with Jonathan.

After we got back to the resort, Jonathan had a planned another adventurous afternoon with river rafting and zip lining. But I was so pooped and just ready to lay out at the beach. So he went on his adventures...

…and I laid out in the sun all afternoon. It was awesome. I put up a flag whenever I wanted a drink and read a book and slept. Paradise.

That evening Jonathan told me all about his adventures over dinner at the nicest restaurant at the resort. It was delicious! Lots of fresh seafood and yummy desserts. I was stuffed.

 

This picture below cracks me up. The photographers loved posing us before taking our picture. The restaurant was very romantic and we couldn't believe it was our last night on the island!

The next morning we ate breakfast and walked around some more, taking in the gorgeous views. 

That afternoon we took the shuttle back to the airport and headed for home. We were so ready to see our sweet kiddos and hug and kiss them again! It was such an unforgettable trip! Sometimes, during a rough moment, we'll pretend we're daydreaming and still there... "Shh! I'm in Jamaica!" Haha. Thank you so much Jonathan for making it happen!!