Day 4 - Francis Bay

Birthday girl getting her beach hair!

Got a late start to our day so we decided to head to Francis. We were lucky - we got there around 10 and grabbed one of the last 3 spots in the parking lot.
Some singing on the way!

Beautiful Francis Bay!

Time to get our snorkeling on!

Ashlyn came back in and said: "We didn't see anything...except fish!" We might have spoiled the kids with snorkeling by starting at Maho the first day. The kids did find some creatures in shells that got them excited.

Uncle Bryan found some beautiful shells, including a gorgeous white one that he gave to Savannah for her birthday. Too bad I didn't take a picture of it.

We spent a lot of time hanging out in the water, talking...

and floating around on that wonderful raft and tubes. Thank goodness the Clarks brought those along.

Castle building...

posing for pictures...

eating...

and hangin' out with the local chickens.

David and Xander enjoying some quality father/son time!

Goofing off - "heads in water".

Watch out for the birds!

It's always fun playing with Uncle Bryan!

The birthday girl enjoying her special day!

Time to explore!

Teeny tiny fish!

They loved to nibble on my toes!

Discovering all kinds of little creatures living on the rocks.

So cool!

Love our family!

Checking out the pelicans.

This guy perched above, staring down at us for awhile, making me a little nervous that he was planning something...

This little cutie with her grandma.

And a little dead fish. Seriously, what's the deal with our family and dead fish...

Can't get enough of our little Ciara cakes!

There were tons of little creatures that loved to attach themselves to us. For me, it was a sea slug. This little crab looks oh so innocent...

but poor McKenna got one stuck in her foot!

Lots of pictures with my cute kids!

Muscle boys with Uncle Bryan photo bombing in the background.

Me and my Dad...

and my sis!

Later that evening - goofing off while making dinner!

A reenactment of a Dirty Dancing scene. Nailed it!

The birthday girl gets first dibs at the tacos and quesadillas for dinner! (Heidi's face!)

Xander is looking a little rosy red! (Kellan's face!)

Make a wish!

As if a trip to the VI wasn't enough, Savannah gets to open a few more gifts!

Enjoying some chocolate cake with cousins.

A little game of pool to end the evening.

These cute boys in their house. I'm glad I took this picture because this was the last night they both slept in here together, Kellan ended up staying with his parents the rest of the trip and Noah slept in the main room on a couch.

Xander, however, loved his bachelor pad!

Day 3 - Hawksnest

Weather - Beautiful!
Early morning chicken chases

The morning sunscreen application process; Uncle Bryan is not quite done rubbing in

Smoother morning for everyone getting ready and out the door
Beach - Hawksnest.
Arrived around 9:30 and had our pick of the beach. We found an awesome shady spot under the trees although Bryan was none too happy about the ants feeding on a bug carcass by his spot.
The waves were unusually rough for Hawksnest

The kids went off snorkeling right away but were not as impressed this time. They all said, "There's just a bunch of fish and coral." Guess they were spoiled by Maho. They were also all sunburned and tired from the day before so they were a little less enthusiastic.

The day included a lot of hanging out in the water, throwing balls, and floating around on floaties and the raft.

I loved hangin' with this little cutie!

Ahhh, paradise!

My beautiful sis!

Bryan enjoying pure relaxation!

The good life - eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while floating on a tube in the Caribbean. Doesn't get much better than that!

Raft antics!

Unfortunately the beach got super crowded which was so sad. There was this huge group of girls next to us blasting their music as if they were on spring break in Florida. They were also floating around on their paddle boards and just bumping into people without any kind of apology. It was nice to get away from them by strolling down the beach and spending some time sitting on the rocks at the point. While hanging out there with Dad and Xander, Dad teased Xander about starting the trend of guys wearing pants under their bums. There is a picture of me walking with Xander down the beach at Hawksnest when he was just a little guy with his bating suit hanging down below his diaper. It was a fun memory!

Thank goodness for our shady spot because that's where Savannah spent most of her time due to her terrible sunburn from the previous day. The only bad thing about our shady tree spot was the overhanging branches; Heidi and I both hit our heads pretty soundly several times throughout the day.

Lots more digging in the sand...

and burying people.

A girl and her shells!

One of my favorite things to watch during the day was the birds.

I even caught one diving into the ocean to get its lunch!

Our cute family. Not quite sure what David's looking at...

And the daily ritual of spraying off sandy feet and legs when we'd get home each day.

While David and Ryan ran to the store, Heidi, Ciara, and I swam while the other kids ran around doing who knows what. Heidi and I had a great discussion about all kinds of things and then Ciara and I talked about her preschool friends as well as what I should get her for her birthday (a pink phone).
 Dinner - grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, beans, and fruit
Nightly Devotional - Dad talked about the Holy Ghost and I told of my experience with our ancestor Agnes V. Finegan and her desire to be sealed to her husband
Movie - Zootopia