Game Ball Again!!!!

Hunter has really enjoyed baseball this year. His coach is wonderful. He tells them life is like baseball. Even if you are behind, keep trying and you can come back and win the game. Hunter was awarded the game ball for the second time at today's game.

Court of Honor

Hunter was awarded his first patch in boy scouts today. He is really enjoying scouts and loves all the camping trips. He is the spokesman for his group of scouts. He helps make decisions within the troop.

Hunter and his friends

Jordan is now a Webelo

Jordan had his cub scout graduation. He is now in Webelos which stands for we be loyal scouts. We were still on vacation so Mom took him.

Jordan

I am Jordan's den leader so it should be an interesting year.

Jordan receiving his achievements

Punta Cana

We took a 30 minute horseback ride down the beach. The water was crystal clear and beautiful. We had not been on a horse in years. We thought the horses looked tired. While the guide was taking pictures of all the riders, one of the horses sat down with the rider still on him. I was so glad that was not my horse.

Back in the saddle

One of our favorite things to do during this vacation was to sit on the beach under these umbrellas. There was a slight language barrier between us and most of the workers. The 2 years of Spanish that we took in high school has long been forgotten. One of the ladies that brought drinks on the beach had no idea what we were ordering. She would act like she understood and brought us what she felt like. It was always a surprise what drink you would receive.

Relaxing on the Beach

We also enjoyed floating in the pool. The grounds of the resort were beautiful.

Chris floating around

Even though it was the rainy season, it mainly rained at night. It only rained two days we were there and one of them was the day we were leaving.

Chris drinking on the beach

The waterfall pool was our favorite pool. It was less crowded and our favorite bartender worked there. He had he our special drink which we both loved... The Osvaldo Especiale

Kim in the pool

We enjoyed walking down the beach. Once you walked passed the resort, there was only palm trees lining the shoreline on the beach. It was beautiful.

Kim

This was the location that the weddings took place on the beach. There were about 2 weddings every day we were there. After the couple was married they would take some "trash the dress pictures." The bride and groom would get into the water at the beach and then get in the pool fully dressed. We talked to several couples that were married that week and they all loved the pictures. So much for passing on your wedding dress to your daughter.

Charlotte's Web

Today was Charlotte's Web day for the 3rd graders at Jordan's school. They just finished reading the book and had a country fair based on the book. The kids and teachers dressed up as country folk.

Mom and Jordan

Since we were out of the country, Mom took him to the fair. They had booths set up with games and activities based on the book.

Stone and Jordan

Stone and Jordan have been best friends since kindergarten.

Jordan, Hunter (not his brother but another Hunter) and Bradley

Jordan had a great time at the fair.

The Resort

The food at the resort was good. But several things were very different so I tried lots of new things. In the morning, we normally ate at the buffet. But some mornings we ate at a sit down breakfast restaurant. There were several stations were they would prepare food for you. There was an omelet station, a crepe station, a smoothie station, etc. I was amazed at all the juices they made. There was celery juice, watermelon juice, beet juice, carrot juice, etc.

Some of the juices

There were 8 restaurants on the resort. Each with a different theme. We tried them all except one. In the picture below, we were eating at The Lobster House. As you can see in the picture, they cut the lobster long ways. But anyway you cut a lobster it is delicious.

The Lobster House

My favorite drink at the resort was the cocaloco. They took a coconut and cut the top of it off with a huge knife. Then they mixed the coconut juice with rum and a mixer then poured it back into the coconut. Not only was the drink delicious but you could scrape the sides of the coconut and eat it.

YUM!

We also enjoyed eating at the Mexican restaurant. The food was delicious and so were the margaritas.

The Mexican

Two nights that we were there they had huge buffets. As you can see in the picture below, one night everything was white from the tablecloths to the clothes that the waiters wore. I was glad we ate early that night. There was a rainstorm right after we ate and they moved everything inside.

Chris

This picture was taken at the beach buffet. They were slicing meat directly from the side of the pig. I passed on the pork that night but at least we knew that they were serving pig and not cat.

Punta Cana

Chris and I went on a vacation together alone. Our parents were nice even to take care of the boys while we were away. So for 8 days we were kid free.

We went to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Our flight left from Charlotte Sunday morning. We got up very early Sunday morning and drove to Charlotte. We had a direct flight to Punta Cana. It was about a 3 hour flight.


You can tell we were in a different country from the airport. Look to the roof on the airport. It almost looked like a very large hut. After we disembarked, we walk a pretty good distant to the entrance of the airport which women with fruit baskets on their heads greeted us and made us take a picture with them. Next we were charged a $10 per person entrance fee to enter the country. Welcome to the Dominican Republic.

It was about an one hour drive from the airport to our resort. You could tell the country is very poor. But the mountains in the distance were beautiful. They have the highest mountain in the Caribbean.



Our resort was beautiful. It is an all inclusive resort so the food, drinks and some of the activities were included. We have stayed at several all inclusive resorts. It is one of our favorite ways to vacation. It is so nice not to think about how much everything cost and order whatever you want.

Our room was amazing. It had a sitting area, jacuzzi, flat screen tv, mini bar and a private hammock and outdoor sitting area.


In the front of the resort, there was a very large garden. There were ducks, parrots and flamingos. The flamingos were a lighter pink than the ones of the zoo and had no odor. I know they get their color from their diet. I bet what the feed them at the zoo causes that smell also. In the picture, I'm standing about 3 feet away from the flamingos. There were about 5 at the resort.

One day we went on a 3 km bike ride. We rode to a local shopping area and back. There was another "couple" with us and a guide from the resort. The other couple were 2 gay men from New York who refused when I offered to take a picture of them together. We figured they were still in the closet back home.

It was very hot and the humidity is high. The humidity was so high that the gum in my pocketbook got moist.




Down the beach from our resort was this shopping center. We laughed at how the used the names of major US chain store. There was Target, Kmart, Sears and Walmart. The Walmart sign even had a star between the l and the m. All the stores had basically the same thing in them and no prices on any of the items. All prices were negotiable.

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day, we spent the day at the zoo.
It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed being together.

My boys

I love watching the flamingos.

Jordan is always up for his picture to be taken.

Jordan

How many Bristows can fit in a tight space?

They are almost finished with the new kangaroo exhibit at the zoo. But we really miss the seals. I read they are going to rebuild the seal exhibit. I hope they do very soon.

One of the new exhibits at the zoo

For Mom and Dad's Christmas gift, we bought them a brick at the zoo. Their brick is beside the reptile and aquamarine complex. It is neat finding it.

Mom and Dad's brick
Click on it to make it larger

Elephants

On the way back home, we stopped and visited with both our moms.

The Bristow's

The Poole's

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day!

ShawFest 2010

We met Jake and Trish at Shawfest in Sumter at Shaw Air Force Base. Hunter was camping with the boys scouts in Beaufort. There were planes to look at and a fantastic air show.

Jordan in the cockpit

There were lots of people at the air show. It was hard to find a shaded area so it was very hot.

Jordan "flying" again

There was a continuous air show going on throughout the day. This was Jordan's favorite part of Shawfest. The below picture is of a biplane with a person walking on the wings. Jordan and I both decided we would rather stay in the plane.

Jordan touring another plane.

The last part of the air show was the Thunderbirds. They were amazing.

The Thunderbirds

Trophy Day

Jordan soccer season came to an end. His coach was great. Jordan really improved throughout the year.

Striker's team picture

Silly team picture

Jordan's coach is part Indian. So every year at the end of the season, he gives everyone an Indian name. Jordan's name was Boundless Red Antelope. The players loved their new names.

Boundless Red Antelope and his coach

Jordan loves his trophy. It is his tallest trophy so far. The boys received pewter trophies and the girls received golden trophies. Jordan asked why the girls were in first place (gold) and the boys were in second place (silver). He is so funny. But honestly the girls on the team were the best players. I'm sure the trophies were different colors because they only made them in a certain material to get the girl or boy figure on it.

The trophy