We had a busy yet relaxing Christmas break this year. We started our break off a little early taking off for Iowa on the afternoon of the 15th due to bad weather heading that way. We arrived safely before flying out of Cedar Rapids to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic on the morning of the 17th. Jimmy’s parents decided to forego Christmas presents this year and take us all on a trip to an all inclusive resort in Punta Cana. After a few issues with our reservation, or lack thereof according to the resort, we were settled in our rooms by late that same night of the 17th. We awoke to sunny skies, 80 degree weather, beautiful turquoise water and white sand beaches the next morning – does it get any better than that? We enjoyed 5 days of relaxing by the ocean and/or pool, sipping on tropical drinks, and reading books. The resort offered a buffet style breakfast and lunch so it was easy to come and go as you please. Then we’d all get cleaned up and head out for dinner each night. Most nights we would walk around a bit, play cards in the lobby or in our rooms, or enjoy a show. One of the afternoons a few of us got massages and Robin and I got a pedicure and foot massage at the spa, but other than that we just enjoyed relaxing. I absolutely love the beach and love warm weather so it was a perfect start to my Christmas vacation!
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| our resort - ocean blue & sand |
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| our villa |
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| jimmy's parents and brother josh at dinner |
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| jimmy, his sister jena, and i |
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| view of the beach |
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| jimmy and sister jalissa in the ocean |
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| our last night:( |
We then arrived back to the snow filled fields and cold temperatures of Iowa on the early morning of the 23rd. We only had 1 hiccup in all our flights and it was on our last leg from Chicago to Cedar Rapids on the night of the 22nd. Due to an issue with the cargo door on the airplane we were held up in Chicago for a few hours and didn’t end up getting back to Cedar Rapids and to the Grover household until 2am or so on the 23rd. From there we spent the next few days hopping back and forth between Cedar Falls, Dike, Grundy, Independence, and Rowley for various families Christmas’. To the Davis Christmas on Christmas Eve day, church in the evening, pit stop at Gma Davis’ for Christmas after church, then onto the Grover household for Christmas after that – then onto Gma and Gpa Smedley’s for Christmas day lunch, followed by Christmas at Gma and Gpa Dieken’s Christmas night, then one last Dieken extended family Christmas on the 26th and we were done. I’ve often said how blessed we are to have family that lives close to one another so we don’t have to pick and choose where we are going to be when. However, at the same time it makes it challenging to be all places at once! But, after a few days of running all around we were able to relax and enjoy a whole week off of work! All of John Deere is shut down from the 23rd until Jan 3rd so while many other companies go back into the office between Christmas and New Years we enjoy the time off! Jimmy did plenty of snow mobiling with my dad and brother while I enjoyed a day of shopping with my mom, sister in law, nephew and niece and a day with a few of my best friends from high school and meeting Bailey’s new baby Kinley.
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| nephew devin ready to open |
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| my parents with devin and eden |
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| the boys snow mobiling |
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friends from high school - hayley, bailey with kinley, and bethany |
We decided to head to Des Moines on Thursday to see my best friend from college Katie and her husband Ty, my sister Jacinda and brother in law Clint, and another good friend Katie. We were able to enjoy our annual Christmas exchange, catch up on each other’s pregnancy and holiday break, and enjoy a yummy dinner at one of my favorite restaurants and a movie that night. We stayed the night then hit the road shortly after we woke up on Friday morning. Des Moines was getting some nasty freezing rain so after breakfast we loaded up and hit the road back to Springfield. After an hour or so of slow driving we drove out of it before hitting 60 degree weather in Springfield! It was a nice change from the cold to come home to green(ish) grass and warm temperatures.
Overall we had a very nice Christmas break filled mostly with family time. We often times told each other how crazy it is to think of next Christmas and that our babe will be 7 months old by then! So many things happen in a year - last Christmas we weren’t even married and this year we are married and have a baby on the way! For all we know we could be pregnant with #2 by this time next yearJ Breaks always go by too fast with too many things left undone but we enjoyed sleeping in, relaxing, and enjoyed being together lots this past week. Now back to reality – was 6am a little too early for anyone else this morning?!
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