Green Grass...No, it's Astroturf...Oh Well, Close Enough!

And here is the next installment of our "Catching Up From the Summer" series: Beach Vacation!

This past June, while the big kids were still in the states, we got a disappointing email informing us that the hotel where we had vacationed for the last six years would be closing immediately. We didn't even have time  for one last trip! We were all sad about not being able to return to a place that holds such special memories for us, and we weren't really sure what we would do when it was time to take another vacation.

Fortunately, we didn't have to figure it out for ourselves. Some friends called in August inviting us to join them at a new place that none of us had been to before. We were able to work our schedules out, and just a few days later we were driving up to to a beautiful villa with its own private swimming pool! It didn't take the kids long to test out the water!

It was a lovely 3-story villa with a separate apartment on each floor. There was no one on the third floor, though, so our two families had the whole place to ourselves. It was a perfect set-up. And yes, the beautiful green "grass" on either side of the pool was actually astroturf, but we didn't mind a bit.

From our second-story window, we could see the gorgeous blue sea across the street. On the second day, the dads walked over to check it out and discovered that they could walk out just a short way and see all kinds of beautiful fish with their snorkels. From that point on, we all took turns making snorkeling trips to the beach. Neither Lee Anna nor Sawyer had ever snorkeled before, but they were big fans of it by the end of the week. Lee Anna was very nervous before her first trip, but she cautiously made her way out into the water, glued to her Daddy's side. Once she realized that there was so much to see, however, she forgot all her fears and could not get enough. She came up from the water more than once just to exclaim, "Oh Daddy, it's WONDERFUL!" 

Sarah Claire didn't get to snorkel this trip, but she did enjoy the pool time. They had a collection of fake lily pads to use as decorations in the pool, but Sarah Claire thought they were way too fun to just use for decoration.

One morning, we took the kids to visit a local aquarium.

  They loved pointing out all the fish they saw!

The windows had these little ledges that Sarah Claire perched in so she could be up close to all the action. She just sat there and watched while Sawyer and Lee Anna raced around from tank to tank.

So while we're still sad that we can't return to our old favorite spot, we're glad that we were forced to try something new. We had a wonderful, relaxing week with lots of sunshine, good food, laughter and relaxation. Hmmmm...I think it's time to go back!