Our trip to Punta Cana that almost wasn't...through the lens of a camera phone.

We have returned from our trip to the Dominican Republic slightly worse for wear but a bit more relaxed. On the Sunday before we left, Mom and Dad arrived to begin their week as babysitters for Will and Brighton. Unfortunately they got more than they bargained for when I started coming down with a stomach bug a few hours after they walked in the door. I managed to rest and get some medication, so that I could still make the trip which we left for early Wednesday morning. As we were checking in at the airport, we were unpleasantly surprised again when we realized that Jon had picked up my old passport instead of HIS passport by mistake. We were pretty convinced that things were not looking so good to make it to Punta Cana that day, but Dad did the impossible and drove Jon's passport to him all the way from Covington. This is about an hour drive over the causeway and through some very tricky road construction. Dad had never driven that way before and had to rely on his Garmin and nerves of steel (if you know my Dad, you will detect the sarcasm) :) He pulled it off, and we checked in for our 6:15 flight at 5:55. We cut to the front of the security line, and made it to our gate with seconds to spare. Once we got on the plane we realized another important item had been forgotton--the camera! Jon was very disappointed since he had been looking forward to taking some great pics. (We ended up using his cell phone camera, which explains the poor picture quality.) Great start to a relaxing trip, huh? We were VERY VERY grateful to my dad for making that awful trek and thankful that we at least had some sort of camera. I was still not feeling well on the flights, so I was very relieved to get to the resort by about 2pm. I continued to have some stomach trouble, but Jon was thankfully healthy for the duration of the trip. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The resort was very nice, and we had a fabulous room. We had two dinners with the other Ferguson guests, but we were able to do whatever we wanted other than that. We met some other couples our age and had a great time visiting with fellow Ferguson employees and their wives. We spent a lot of time on the beach because it was so beautiful and the breeze was so pleasant. The breeze was a little too pleasant because I did not realize just how sunburned I was getting until I left the beach. We spent some time by the pool too enjoying fruity drinks at the swim-up bars. There were several restaurants and shops in the main building and along the beach, so we weren't in the sun for the entire trip. We also spent some time just relaxing in our room, especially since I still needed some recovery from the flu. We were able to Skype with the kids, and we called them quite a bit. They did very well, and Nana and Papa seemed to really have a special time with them. I have to admit, I was very very excited to get home and squeeze my babies. I was thankful for the time to relax and glad that Jon was able to reap the benefits of his hard work over the past three years, but there's just no place like home.

This was the view from our room. One, two, three pools and then beach. The breezes were incredible!

Our room was so nice. We had a huge jacuzzi tub and a table set for two overlooking the balcony.

Some unflattering pics of me and Jon pre-sunburn.

The Hard Rock touches-instruments painted on the buildings and various rock paraphernalia. This limo was in the "Music" video by Madonna.

The beach was the best part!

We stayed in a room with the thatching on the roof like this one on the third floor.

Here you can see my horrendous sunburn, the evidence of stomach flu (by my exhausted look and the unfinished drink) as well as the beginnings of some eye trouble that I am still dealing with. The second pic is one of Jon's favorite things in life: the swim-up bar.

The pools were absolutely beautiful. I think we counted 12 or 13 different pools on the resort, but there may have been more!

I loved that the chairs were set on a ledge in the water. It was very nice to cool your feet or the third degree sunburn.

We had a great time despite our troubles. And we were both able to relax for a change. Congratulations, Operations Manager of the Year! Nice bathrobe ;)