SXM - Papa Turns 60!

Dad turned the big 6-0 in December, and to celebrate we'd planned a trip to St. Maarten for March. Brad, Ellie and I (plus Evan, Josh, Papa, Gigi, Meek and Sec) all flew south to enjoy the warm, beachy paradise. 

SXM is not exactly close to PHX, so to make the travel easier on E, we flew into Miami a day before the trip began, stayed overnight there, and then met everyone in SXM the next day. (We did the same thing coming home.) 

The trip was wonderful - we shared a "villa" with Ev and Josh, so we each had a room and bathroom and had a shared living room and kitchen area. Our days were spent poolside or exploring different areas of SXM and eating at some quaint island restaurants. Ellie did INCREDIBLY well - I could not believe how quickly she adapted to the 3 hour time change (4 hours coming back thanks to Daylight Savings) - it helps the adjusting when she won't sleep on airplanes b/c by the time we get where we're going she's exhausted and takes one quick nap before being ready for bed around the right time. 

Some trip highlights:

One of the days we took a full day boat trip out on the ocean to a private island. Trip got off to a rocky start when I threw up over the side of the boat...it was REALLY windy. Then because it was so windy they couldn't take the dinghy to shore, so once we got to the private island, we all had to swim in from the anchored boat to the beach. Thank heavens I'd brought an Ellie-sized lifejacket! With the help of two of the boat crew (young women who were both rescue divers/lifeguards/etc), I got Ellie from the boat to the shore. Necessity, the mother of invention, strikes again. She was a little freaked out, but bringing her back to the boat was much easier. I will never forget the amazing sight it was to look up and see the entire family on shore waving and screaming for us as we made our way in. Everyone loves them some bug. Once on shore, she played and played and played in the sand for at least an hour - happy as a little beach bum. 

The boat trip also included a mud bath which you then cleaned off by jumping in the ocean. It was HILARIOUSLY entertaining. After basically the full day of being on Ellie duty, B took one for the team and hung with her so I could partake. 

Lesson learned that we should probably put a pause on excursions like this until E and any future children are out of the toddler phase (or at least really steady walkers), but it was a really good time.

Ellie loves the water, and now knows the difference between the pool and the ocean (or "oshee" as she calls it). She is still talking about the oshee and wanting to go there. 

She is also obsessed with Meeky, Secey, and Josh. Maybe because they're the ones on the trip who were "newer" to her - I don't know - but she is STILL talking them all three weeks later. 

We had breakfast at a great spot aptly called Z'Best the last morning we were there, and it was TASTY. Savoy and sweet crepes, homemade pastries, all around heaven. The service was slow, but the French lady who waited on us was darling and loved Ellie. She kept saying "coo coo, baby" to her, and we finally asked her what it meant. It's apparently the French way of saying hello when you want to say it very sweetly. We are still saying this to E and she loves it. She says it to us, too. 

There are so many amazing memories, and we feel so fortunate that we got to spend so much uninterrupted time with family in such a perfect setting. I'm working on getting a trip album together, so hopefully the photos should be up soon. In the meantime, here are a few teasers.