Punta Cana

Ahhh... Just picture it: 5-Star Sweet Island Paradise of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic... This vacation, hands down, makes it into my top two vacations with my husband- second only to our honeymoon (though he disputes that ;) It really was fabulous.

Our hotel was beautiful. One of my favorites spots on the resort was the big ship moored in the lagoon. (Some of you may know I have a thing with all things nautical lately... I haven't posted pictures of Miles' room yet, have I? :)

Our room was also incredible. We got 24 hr. room service, a butler (who would draw your bath for whatever time you called in, etc.) and one of the sweetest parts, a walk-out pool from our deck. Not too shabby... ;) All inclusive: I pretty much love those words.

Pampering for Sheena Numero Dos: One of the first things we did when we got there is sign up for a massage at the spa. I've never had a professional massage in my life. Needless to say, it was heaven. Brian and I opted for a couple's "Shell Sensations Massage." They used these shells and some others for a good portion of the massage. I thought it was fantastic. Brian said he could've gone for a more deep-tissue type, but I loved how unique and fitting it was for our location. Plus it felt great to me.

In the spa, it appeared that all of the massuses (sp?) were these little petite, slender women.... and then came Brian's... He describes "Big Rosie" as 4 ft. tall, 5 ft. wide, whole lotta woman. Bahahahaaa- I still keep cracking up :D Vacation's not complete unless hilarious stuff happens to Brian!

There's nothing like chillin' under a cabana on the beach having your virgin banana mama brought to you...

Brian did a lot of volleyball playing with his co-workers while I enjoyed relaxing on the beach. I have to admit, this time (as opposed to the last company off-site I went to with Brian) I really enjoyed getting to socialize with a lot of his co-workers. We had lots of great conversations and had a great time hanging out with people.

I have to mention we also went sea-kayaking with one of his co-workers and his wife- such a blast! I didn't get any pictures, but she did, and I hope we can hook up on facebook to get to see them from her. I was a little nervous about being out there on the waves but it was awesome!

They had nightly shows at the hotel that were pretty fun. We went to half of "Rock and Roll" night- we actually had a better time laughing that the drunk old men playing air guitar. Our last night there we went to "Michael Jackson." It was a lot of bad lip-syncing, good dancing and pretty fun entertainment. ;) This guy really did dance pretty good.

And lastly- my favorite part of the trip! :D Brian talked me into surfing lessons. I was sooo nervous! I got there still unsure if I was just going to watch or actually do it, then they threw me the rash guard shirt and I knew I was in it now. ;) But it ended up being fabulous!!! They had awesome instructors that were out there helping us the whole time. They would actually hold onto our board once we were on there, watch for a good wave for us, and then push us out, so all we had to really focus on was our form and trying to stand up- it was a blast!!! The waves were about the perfect size too that I wasn't scared for my life of getting caught in a wave and drowning.

Brian will not stop teasing me relentlessly about the instructor who ended up helping me most the time. Just because he was the only one who spoke english (he was actually from the UK- Kent, to be exact ;) and the fact that he was super-sweet and super helpful does NOT mean he was hitting on me the whole time. ;) Though at first I told Brian he could keep telling me that a British surf-instructor flirted with me just for how fun it sounded until it spiraled out of control. ;) (Though secretly I do still like the sound of it, haha) Ah, George. It was a good time!

I think all of us in our group managed to stand up at least once and get some good rides! I had three really pretty good ones. There was a professional photographer there to take pics for us- we paid an arm and a leg for these shots, but she took a ton (like, 700+) and they were sooo worth it. Be prepared for a mass of photos of the surfing on facebook. ;) Here are some of my favorite shots. :)

Our group! And, if you're curious, that is George there on the far right... haha!!! ;) Oh my gosh, I look at this photo and all I can think is how short I am!

This was the first time I stood up- I was soooo proud!!! That feeling absolutely ROCKS! :D

Hahahaha- this is my favorite wipe-out shot of Brian :D

He looks so good in his rash guard shirt ;D

They brought us fresh coconut juice during our break. Like, the dude brought them on his horse and hacked off the tops with his machete so we could drink out of them :) Pretty cool!
This trip was so fabulous- Firstly, the beach is just always one of my favorites, and I love love love all the new things we got to try and do. Plus it was so good just to get to spend some time together! Miles did so great with my in-laws and that made the trip 200x even more great. My only wish was that we could have stayed twice as long! :) Isn't that how you always feel after a great vacation?