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The second half of the week was just as fun filled as the first.
We had some really perfect beach days.
Of course these lizards were everywhere, but the girls got equally excited about each one.
I'm not kidding, it was like having a private beach. So perfect.
Evie collected all the coconuts she could find, and then Ben threw them into the ocean.
One morning she was served a cappuccino by mistake, so she carefully checked her hot chocolate after that.
Because of his broken foot, we had to get motorcycle rides into Cabarete and to Kara's kite surfing lessons. It was terrifying. I caught myself figuring out the best direction to push Kiersten away from traffic in the inevitable event of our crashing.
Fun nights on the beach. We kept hearing drumming every night, and eventually walked down and met some very nice people at a bonfire. They didn't speak any English, so we didn't outstay our welcome.
Evie spent a whole day digging holes and creating sand art. It was pretty fun, and she was exhausted.
Just a small sampling of her work.
Kara wanted to take kite surfing lessons in D.R. Ben met a guy from Italy who offered to teach her. She opted to do the private lessons instead of group lessons.
There was a fair amount of learning and practicing for the first few days. Her instructor said usually a week of lessons is barely enough to get someone in the water to try, but Kara was out there giving it a go by the second lesson. He said that she was picking it up so fast, and thought it was because of her age. Usually he's teaching middle aged ladies that are more nervous to try.
There were so many kites there. I still can't believe that they weren't all getting tangled together.
Evie came along for the first lesson, but couldn't really play much, due to all the kites.
Dealing with the kite seemed like a pain in the butt all by itself.
I was a little surprised that she wasn't more hesitant. Maybe she was being brave in front of her instructor. But she really did just catch right on.
The last lesson was pretty windy, and it was harder for her to control the kite, but she just stayed out there and kept trying.
She had so much fun doing this, and wants to try again the next time she has an opportunity.
Last July we took a trip to Dominican Republic right at the end of our summer. The first few days that we were there, only a handful of people were at our resort, and it mostly felt like we had the run of the place.
It was nice to get tons of pictures with nobody in the way.
The girls are always tuckered out after a day of travel.
It was breezy and beautiful.
The girls really liked having a pool right at the beach. Evie could get filthy in the sand, and the rest of us could relax in the clean water.
I remember this as being a truly happy moment. I felt calm, relaxed, and grateful to be there.
We couldn't keep our beach baby away from the coconuts.
We were almost always alone in the restaurant for meals. It was nice getting to know the staff so well. They told us that we were there on the first slow week after the summer season, perfect timing!
It was a little tricky for Ben to get up 2 flights of stairs in his boot, but I enjoyed being up there. It was too rocky to use the scooter, so that stayed in the room, and he hobbled around.
We didn't end up seeing very many crabs, so I'm glad I snapped a picture of this lil guy.
Ben, Evie and I walked into town. It was pretty rough for Ben, so we only walked in the one time.
Evie was charmed by the graffiti.
I relaxed with Evie while Ben talked to people, and found a kite boarding instructor for Kara.
They sure loved being able to order all the fancy drinks they could handle.
This frog was quite patient with the girls looking, poking and prodding him. They decided he must be a prince waiting for his kiss.
I also enjoyed my fair share of fancy drinks.
Kiersten is always looking for treasures.
Kara practiced a staff routine she learned at her TKD class.
It was so nice feeling like the only people there for the first part of the week, and later in the week, there weren't all that many that joined us.
