St. Maarten Monday!

I confess that this is not THIS month's milestone, but 2 months ago Emerson was the lucky traveler once more and got to visit the beautiful Caribbean island of St. Maarten. Half Dutch and half French, we happened to be there during the "down season", which gave us a lot of freedom on the island, and also during the World Cup, which gave us a reason to care about soccer.

There were SO many things we did while on the island, and again many of which others looked at us as if crazy while doing with a baby. Emerson also got to experience a number of firsts while on this voyage.

We started off with a long airplane trip once more, this time through Miami and then into international waters.
Emerson was a little more energetic at this age, so we were glad to have 4 hours in Miami to let him crawl around. However, the meanie American Airlines employee in Phoenix made us check our stroller through to the island, so we had no stroller and had to carry him around (until we just gave in a bought a smart cart). Luckily on the way home the St. Maarten travel agent was nicer and we got to keep it for the return trip.

So happy to play- thank you Aunt Shannon for the blanket!

Daddy is happy at the Irish Pub!

Our makeshift stroller

Sunset over the wing as we fly over the Atlantic

Upon arriving on the island, where we were to stay at Grandmom Davis' timeshare The Flamingo Beach Resort, we found out that the rest of the family got caught in Phoenix due to hurricane shut downs of other airports, so we were lucky to have family friends there for us on the 4th of July!

Emerson spent his first 4th in a foreign country, where there were no fireworks, which greatly saddened his patriotic and pyromaniac mother, but we still grilled and you really couldn't complain as we were staying right on a private beach in a bay.

Emerson's 1st 4th of July outfit!

The "horrible" view that wasn't fireworks

Emerson's first time in the Atlantic!

Yep, that is a shark hat. Too cute.

A patriotic family.

Swimming with daddy!

Other adventures included traveling to yet another country, Anguilla, and seeing the most perfect and secluded white sand beaches ever. (And perhaps drinking the strongest Rum Punches ever). We got a private pirate ship tour in St. Maarten. Mom and dad got to Scuba dive while grandmom and friends watched Emerson. The cousins and aunt and uncle Keiren, Aidan, Brett, and Anji got a lot of baby time! We ate great food, especially on the French side, and mostly sea food, and we relaxed a lot in the water. Emerson seemed to really enjoy the ocean and slept really well the entire trip.

A true "beach bum" playing in sand

Do you want to snorkel?

No, just nap on the beach in my cabana

Getting on the pirate ship in my pirate onesie!

Cups keep me happy while we sail.

As does chewing on rib bones- so yummy!

Up on the prow with the family! So windy and so fun!

May have had a few too many rum punches.

Mom found her an anchor! No surprise...

Oriental Beach Bar lounging

Waiting for my cousins to swim with the dolphins on Anguilla. Auntie tied me in the chair

A private beach on Anguilla where dad found his own "lounge chair"

And so did mom!

Swimming with the cousins and daddy!

And I had to try eating sand at least once while we waited for the planes to land at sunset beach.

Oh, and one time I took a little nap myself, and when I woke up I couldn't find Emerson or Kyle in the water where they had been. I frantically looked around until all of a sudden, there they were, on the floating raft WAY off shore. Awesome.

Emerson "swam" out there on daddy's chest. Good thing Kyle is such a good swimmer and trained lifeguard.

I will say it is certainly easier to have family on vacation to help out, as Kyle and I even got a date night, and to have a condo with a kitchen and American electric outlets.

Goodbye island life!

Overall, thank you to everyone who made it such a wonderful and relaxing vacation. I even got to finish Fault in Our Stars, only the 2nd book I got to read for pleasure since Emerson was born. And we returned to school tanner, more relaxed, and feeling like our summer was fulfilling.