10th Anniversary in Punta Cana

Last summer, we started throwing around the idea of taking a tropical vacation to celebrate our 10th anniversary. We started researching locations I wanted somewhere all-inclusive and not too far and Patrick wanted all-inclusive and not Mexico.  I really wanted to go to Mexico again but Patrick had no interest.  We contacted a travel agent (yes, I know you can book these things yourself but I wanted to talk to an actual person) and she sent over several ideas.  We decided on Punta Cana.  We booked it last August and we'd been counting down the days! 
We had to be at the airport at 5:30am so we took the kids to my parents Wednesday night.  We were kind of sad to leave them but so excited for a weekend away.  Patrick had never been out of the country and I'd only been to Mexico.  I was really nervous for the logistics of the trip but I knew it would be worth it when we finally arrived.

Bright and early at the airport! 

After 10 hours of traveling our first picture in Punta Cana, in the shuttle to our resort! 

We stayed at the Secrets Royal Beach.  It was beautiful!

We were handed a glass of passion fruit juice, while we checked in and Patrick was adjusting to luxury very quickly.  We got checked in and we were so ready to see our room and unwind. 

I joked with my friends that I was going to Instagram all my outfits.  I think they thought I was kidding. This was my travel outfit.  This sweater is so soft.  It was a little warm when we arrived in Punta Cana but I was fine.

We just had a tropical view room.  But we didn't mind it at all.  We weren't in our room enough to be bothered by the view.

We decided to go ahead and get ready and head to dinner.  We went to the seafood restaurant Oceana.

I couldn't wait to wear this dress!  It screamed vacation to me!

That nights entertainment was supposed to be a beach party and fire show.  We really wanted to go but we also really wanted to sleep.  We rallied and decided to go.  We walked outside our room and it was pouring rain so we decided that was a sign to go to bed early.

Friday morning I woke up before Patrick and ordered room service. While we were waiting for it, I headed out to the balcony with a cup of coffee and my bible to read.  It was a perfect start to each day.

We ate breakfast and headed straight to the beach!

I'd bought this bikini thinking there was no way I'd ever wear those bottoms in public.  But here I am, wearing it to the beach.  Partly because I just don't care what anyone thinks anymore, partly because I'm so proud of how far I've come, and partly because a spray tan is like a miracle.  One of my goals for 2018 was to wear a bikini with confidence and I can check that box now.

I made us these cute cups before I left home!  Ten years feels like forever and just a snapshot at the same time.  I know we still have a lot of life to live, but it felt good to celebrate the last decade.

We ate lunch at the buffet and our favorite was definitely the ice cream! 

I was so worried Patrick wasn't going to like this type of vacation.  I don't know why but I wasn't sure it was his thing.  I worried for nothing.  He had a blast.  By the second day we were already trying to plan how we could come back sooner rather than later.

Dressed up and headed to dinner. 

We planned to eat at the Italian restaurant.  We got on the list and got a drink and waited for about 30 minutes and then we decided to try somewhere else.  We headed over to the Seaside Grill.  Its only for preferred club members during breakfast and lunch but anyone can go for dinner. 

It was right on the beach and beautiful!

We each had the 15oz ribeye and it was delicious.  This ended up being our favorite restaurant.  We liked it so much we ate there on our last night too.

This is pretty much the whole trip.  We slept, we ate, we beached, we ate, we swam, we napped, we got dressed, ate dinner, and the slept.  I loved getting a full 8 hours of sleep every night, plus an afternoon nap.

Saturday morning we got up, reserved our chairs in the shade at the pool and headed to breakfast.  The breakfast buffet was my favorite.  It was amazing and the mimosas weren't too bad either.  After we ate we headed to the pool to relax.

This was my view for most of the day. 

Meanwhile, back home, my mom was handling Park Day at the ballpark.  I got a message from one of my best friends with this picture.  My mom had apparently gotten my car stuck in the mud.  We laughed and laughed.  She said Barrett was so mad. 

We were just soaking up the sun.  Patrick was fried.  I look naked in all the pictures because for the first time in my life I can wear a strapless swimsuit so that's all I wore.  Since we ate breakfast late we skipped the lunch buffet and got a snack from the little snack bar on the beach. 

This was our view while we enjoyed our nachos.

Beach bums!  

We ate at the Italian restaurant this night and it was good. 

The tiramisu was my favorite dessert of the trip!

After dinner we headed to the plaza to watch the Classic Rock show.  We got a drink at the bar and waited for the show to start. 

A guy right by us started smoking a cigar that smelled terrible so we ended up sitting on our balcony listening to the show.

We started the day Sunday with breakfast followed quickly by drinks on the beach!

We walked down to the water and took this picture.  When I looked at it I knew we had a similar one from our honeymoon.

So I had to dig through the facebook and find it.  I can't believe how much we've changed.  

Watched some drunk guys play "water polo" in the pool.

We got ready for our last dinner.  We decided to go back to the grill place because it was our favorite.

I decided to have the cheesecake this time.  It was pretty good but I'm sad I didn't get the carrot cake.  It looked delicious.

We got up Monday morning and went to breakfast before we packed up to head home.

One last mirror selfie.  We had to wait a little while for our ride to the airport.  By this point we were ready to see our babies.

Last flight home!  We didn't get land until 11:00, my dad picked us up at the airport.  We originally planned to just leave the kids at their house and get them the next morning since they were asleep but we had to wake them up as soon as we got there.  Barrett was so excited to see us!  It was so sweet!  Then it was back to reality.  

We had the best time.  It was a stretch for us both financially and time wise to spend 4 nights away but it was so worth it!  We couldn't have done it without our parents.  I felt so bad because everything that had been cancelled during the baseball season was rescheduled for that weekend.  My dad had to leave for one night to go to a meeting.  They had to take the kids to a Saturday morning game and park day (my mom did this one alone, she did get my nieces to help but I know it was a lot).  Sunday Barrett had baseball pictures and Monday he had a game, where it was my turn to bring snacks.  But they handled it all like a champ.  And she even washed all the kids laundry!  Seriously, my mom is a saint.  I knew she could handle it but I also knew it was a lot of work.  I'm so thankful for them!  Patrick's parents checked on our house to make sure everything was fine.  I know not everyone is fortunate enough to have family close by that can help so much.  

We're already looking forward to the next time we get to do something like this!  It was exactly what we needed!