The long awaited day had finally arrived. September 28th we were scheduled to head out to the D.R. Two days before our scheduled trip a massive hurricane was set to hit Florida the day of or day after flying in to Florida. We kept watching the news and checking the path of the storm because we were supposed to fly into and out of Fort Lauderdale. We were getting really worried that we wouldn't even be able to make it because of the Hurricane. So sadly, on Wyatt's birthday we were a little stressed out about what to do about our flights. We really did not want our trip to get canceled because we couldn't get there. So Brandon searched for different flights to see if we could change our flights so we could make it to the D.R. It was pretty stressful. Mostly, because we were trying to make sure that my parents would get the same flights as us. As soon as we changed our flights into Baltimore the flight we got looked like it was full. Then my parents were worried that they wouldn't be able to get on the same flights out. It got pretty stressful. Thankfully, it all worked out. My mom was able to call Southwest and the flight we got into Baltimore had more seats that she was able to get. So we were all set with both flights into Baltimore and then the next morning from Baltimore to the D.R.
So September 28th we got up nice and early and made our way to the airport to start our first day of travel.
The crew walking with all our luggage.
Ethan was a big help and was super excited! Plus Brandon had put a cap on Ethans peg tooth so it would look normal. haha It turned out pretty good!! Sadly, it didn't last long. He lost that cap the first night in the DR.haha
These boys were so excited to be on the tram taking us to our terminal.
Kayden did not want to walk the whole way. It was quite a long walk. So he got to take a ride on Gigi's suitcase. He thought that was pretty fun!
After grabbing some breakfast and making sure all the kids went to the bathroom our terminal got changed. Then we were finally getting on the plane!! This was our first big trip with our kiddos! They couldn't wait to go play on the beach!
The first flight Kayden was pretty restless. He didn't want to watch any of the movies that I had downloaded for him and Emmett to watch. So Poor Brandon had to deal with him trying to climb all over the place. That and Emmett had to deal with Kayden kicking him and not letting him just enjoy his shows. Brandon was pretty done by the time we landed in Baltimore. Our flight into Baltimore was smooth for the most part. Although we did have about a 30 minute stint or more where we had more turbulence than I have ever had on an airplane. It was kind of crazy!! Of course the younger boys thought it was fun and would giggle. haha Ethan and Wyatt were able to watch some bigger boy movies. They were pretty enthralled with their movies since they watched "Guardians of the Galaxy" followed by the "Infinity War" I have not let them watch it because there was not a good time to let them watch it without their younger brothers around. So they were pretty excited to watch those movies. It was nice to just sit back and watch some movies. Although I did feel bad for Brandon. He took one for the team dealing with Kayden. haha Plus he was going to do it every flight so that I wouldn't hurt my back. He is seriously an amazing man!!
Once we finally landed in Baltimore we had to wait for our shuttle to the Hotel. Thankfully, we were able to just walk to get dinner across the street. After some Chick Fil A we headed back to the Hotel to see about swimming. Sadly, the pool at our Hotel was closed. They told us that we could use their neighboring hotel's pool. So the lady at the front desk called the shuttle and we waited for them to come pick us up. She told us it would be about 20 minutes. Well it was about an hour that we sat in the lobby waiting for the shuttle to come get us.
Kayden was loosing it. He was so tired from being up so early and not napping on the plane. It had been a long day for all of us. So he was bonkers and it didn't help that we were in a lobby just hanging out for almost an hour. So he was hiding under the pillows and popping out. Ethan and Emmett would cover him up and then he would pop out. Then Kayden and Emmett would run and run. It was nuts. I knew they were so tired and I was about to call it quits and just go back up to our room and let the kids chill. They needed to get their energy out though. So we waited until the shuttle arrived.
Finally the kids went and sat outside on the curb to wait for the shuttle to arrive.
We finally made it to the pool. The main pool was freezing and the hot tub was nice and hot. There was sand all in the bottom of it though. Plus we didn't bring Kayden's floaties because Brandon didn't want to worry about trying to dry them for our flight the next morning. So we figured it would all be fine.
Well it made the evening super stressful. Haha With Kayden being so tired he was not listening at all. So he kept trying to get closer to the edge of the big pool after we constantly told him not to. It was not a relaxing evening. We probably should have just brought his floaties and figured out how to dry them after.
We played for about 45 minutes and then called for the shuttle.
Which took another 30 minutes.
So while we waited for the shuttle again I had he kids do jumping jacks and push ups. There were an insane amount of birds in the tree outside the hotel. The tree was moving from all the birds inside. It was pretty crazy!
We almost decided to walk back to the hotel but we found out after the shuttle got there that there were no sidewalks on the way back. So that would have caused a problem. Anyways, we finally made it back to the hotel and got everyone showered up and let them watch some TV before heading to bed.
The next morning was another early morning. We got up at 6 and headed down to grab breakfast before making out way to the airport again.
With all of the kids with us it was a little crazy trying to make sure we had all the tickets and passports ready to go.
Watching the planes take off!!
After waiting around at the airport for a little while it was finally time to board again for our last flight before we got to party for a few days.
We were very excited that this was our last flight before we made it to our destination.
Here we GO!!! Dominican Republic here we come!!!!
The flight felt pretty long and for how tired the kids were they really handled it like a champ.
We MADE IT!!!!!!
I bought some cool airplane iPad and phone holders so that the kids could share watching movies and Brandon and I wouldn't have to hold our phones the whole time. They sure came in handy!
WE MADE IT!!!!!
We had about a 30 minute drive from the airport to the resort and Kayden fell asleep the last minute as we arrived. We didn't get to explore the D.R this time. We figured it would be fun to just hang at the resort instead of trying to leave to show the kids the poverty of the DR. We didn't have too many days to play. So we thought it would be better to just play this time and then next time we can take them off the resort once.
Yay!!! Let the fun begin!!
Funny how different the Hard Rock is from the other resorts we haves stayed at in Punta Cana. This one was not the tropical resort feel that we were used to. Our first impression of the place was not that great. It was so dark and Americanized. Sadly, we were also informed that the last Hurricane that came through hit them and there were 6 restaurants that were closed. So that was a bummer to hear. We were not super excited to eat at the buffet more than just for breakfast and lunch. So that was another strike. Although, that was not something they could do anything about. It took a while to get all set up. Kayden was super tired and grumpy that he was throwing fits. We were also all very hungry! After eating lunch and the buffet we went to our rooms.
Our room was awesome!! Sadly, Papa and Gigi's room had ants in the bed. So that took them like all afternoon to figure out. They had to wait around for people to come help and then my Mom went down to the front desk to get their room changed. They didn't want their beds fumigated and that was all they said they could do. So finally they got their room switched. But then they had to wait for the bell boy to come get their luggage and take them to their new room. So while they dealt with all that junk we took the kids down to the beach to let them play.
The boys had a BLAST playing in the water and the sand!
Kayden kept grabbing sand and throwing it at the waves saying, "Oh no you don't" haha It was so funny!
After some time in the waves we took the kids to the kids pool area to play in the pool and rinse off all the sand. Of course as we rinsed the boys off in the showers Kayden decided to sit down and pick up a clump of netting or hair. I was so disgusted!! I was so worried about them drinking the tap water and getting stomach aches and diarrhea that this just made my fears even worse. Haha Kayden has no concept at this age!
Then they were off to play in the water.
The kids had fun playing in the pool. Then we got cleaned up and headed to the Buffett to eat some dinner.
So tired!!!!! Such a long couple of days!
Our first impression of the Hard Rock was not a great one. We were starting to wonder if we should try switching to a different resort. We had really loved Melia and were considering going that direction. My parents were not having a great start to their first experience with the DR and we were not too happy with how things were going either. On our way to dinner that night the fire alarms were going off. I asked Emmett what he had done and a guy walking next to us laughed and joked around with Emmett too. We ended up chatting with him for a bit and found out that he was the manager of that Hard Rock. Brandon asked him if there was any passion fruit juice in the resort. He said he wasn't sure but that he would check it out.
He then showed up with a bunch of passionfruit juice for our crew and introduced us to the cook and a couple of other people. He told them that they needed to take care of us. That if we needed anything just to ask them. That simple act changed things from that point on. Things started to look brighter after that night. The guy even asked if he could get a picture without family. He was a nice guy. He went and searched at a few different bars to find Brandon some passionfruit juice. We felt a little special! haha
So that night after a long day and a little bit of frustrations it was time to settle down for the night. Kayden and Emmett were so tired. Ethan and Wyatt were tired as well but Brandon wanted to take them to the magic show. So I stayed back in the room with the 2 youngest and Brandon took the older 2 to the show. I ended up falling asleep before they got back to the room.
The next day started off pretty good. We hit breakfast and then some ocean and pool time.
The rest of our trip was spent enjoying the beach and the pool as well as the water park. The kids were super bummed that the bigger 3 slides were closed and Ethan got pretty moody about it. They all ended up having fun there in the end. We ate lots of soft serve chocolate ice cream and Pina coladas. The popsicle shop was really fun too. We would stop by on our way to the buffet and end up getting a popsicle and some candy's. haha The kids loved being able to eat all the junk food they could handle. The Buffett food was ok and by the end of our trip we were all done with the food. Wyatt was done with the food after the 3rd day. He barely ate anything for his meals. He said everything was gross. Haha Kayden didn't eat all that much either. Thankfully they had hod dogs and fries at food trucks in the water park and they had a taco truck by one of the pools. All 3 of the older boys got rub rashes after the first full day of boogie boarding. They sure loved boogie boarding and since the waves were smaller Emmett conquered his fear of the ocean and had a blast in the waves. We also went to a few shows and the kids really liked them. The one they liked most was the Michael Jackson show. Anyways, enjoy the pictures..
The kids played so hard in the ocean that first full day. They all had sand rashes from all the boogie boarding and didn't want to go near the ocean after that. Brandon and I were able to go on a walk down the shore line for a little bit while my parents kept an eye on the kiddos. We wanted to see there were any other areas that would be better for snorkeling with the kids. We walked pretty far and then headed back. There were a lot of other resorts that were way more crowded than ours was. So it was nice to head back and see an almost empty beach. That was a plus for sure with this resort and the time we were there!
Ok this picture I have to talk about. Brandon was just telling Kayden to be careful on the boogie boards and then a wave came and he somehow fell under but his legs were still on the boogie board. So he got lots of salt water and sand in his nose and hair. This didn't stop him. As soon as he had cleared out his nose he was wanting to go back in.
Wyatt's face!!! haha He was so exhausted!!
Didn't even make it to dinner. haha Fell asleep during the Hibachi show.
Thankfully, they had a cafe that had some fruit and bread that Kayden ate when he finally woke up.
He got to enjoy a hot dog in his bed with Gigi cuddles. Doesn't get much better than that.
The only thing the kids didn't like about the Michael Jackson show was the Thriller part. They had people dressed up in costume that came out in the crowd. They also showed most of the thriller music video. That pretty much freaked Wyatt out and he looked like he was going to cry!! We tried to focus on the fun parts of the show instead of the scary and told Wyatt they were just dressed up. This show made my boys obsessed with Michael Jackson. They wanted to be able to dance like him after that night. haha
Birthday Boy!!!!
We got to celebrate Brandon's 40th Birthday in the D.R. Pretty good way to celebrate I think!!! It made it hard to try and make it special for him but we were on a trip in the place that he loves so that had to make it pretty special!
They even had Dominica Food by the pool that day for lunch. It was super tasty! Kind of funny that they made this on his Birthday! The other days they had hot dogs and chicken. So it worked out really nicely that they had this his Birthday!
Tired buddy!!
Milkshakes!!
Although they didn't have as many fruity drink as they did at Melia they had lots of places with Kid friendly treats. We had so much soft serve and to be able to have popsicles and milkshakes was pretty awesome with kids around.
Showering all 4 boys at once! haha Trying to make it go faster!
We got all cleaned up to take new family pictures that night before dinner!
The pictures turned out pretty cute!
Then we were off to a steak dinner for Brandon's birthday!
Happy 40th to this Handsome Man of mine!!!
Kayden would not sit still. He started running laps around the table.
After dinner we went and played some mini golf!
As soon as we finished our golf game it started to drizzle on us. Then it started to pour on us!
We were SOAKED!!! haha So we got dried off and then went to the Lion King show to finish off the night!
The boys didn't like this show as much. It was kind of little kidish! They did a great job for the resources they had.
So tired he can't even feed himself! haha
The rest of the trip was more swimming and a circus show the kids got to be a part of as well as face painting.
Papa's beach style! haha
A little us time. My parents took the kids back to the room while Brandon and I went to the Buffett to see if they had anything worth while to eat. Which they didn't haha Brandon got some more passion fruit juice and then we headed back to the room.
Kayden was not a fan of the bubbles. haha
This was a nice thing to have on our patio. We only used it once for the kids and once for us. It still felt nice though.
We had the same server quite a few times and he would come by and joke around with Kayden. Kayden always got scared and would hide from him. It was so odd to have our outgoing talk to everyone Kayden not wanting to talk to anyone and hiding from people. haha
At breakfast this guy picked up Kayden and walked him to the table. Kayden was trying to get away from him the whole time. haha
He was so shy and timid around this guy! haha
He tried so hard to get Kayden to like him. haha
Off to the water park again. On our Last day the last 3 slides the boys wanted to go on opened up. The kids were so excited!! Ethan said that it completed the trip!! haha
Enjoy the pictures!!
Emmett had a rash on his chin and it was bugging him because of all the salt and sand. Then it stared to peal really badly. After that it got a lot better. Even Ethan who has issues with his hands pealing was saying how much better his hands were doing while we were there. That would all end as soon as we got back home. haha
No beach trip is complete without burying someone in the sand. haha
I was so glad I had brought a couple cars with us. Kayden asked for cars like as soon as we got to the airport and he had time to think about it. haha He would bring this truck with him and play with it while we were eating. haha Silly kid!
This was the souvenir he chose from the store. haha What a nut!!! It had candy in it and he was so excited that he got a new car.
Brandon and I sat in the hot tub one time. We had to take advantage of the only hot tub that we had access to. haha
Then the day came for us to leave!
Our last breakfast!!
We didn't have time to go swimming or really anything for that matter the morning that we were leaving. So we got ready to leave and then just hung out and tried to find things to do while we waited for our van to arrive that would take us to the airport. So what better to do than to stand in a store window like statues while you have nothing else to do. haha
These kids are so funny! They stood there for a good amount of time.
Michale Jackson moves.
These boys are such goof balls! haha
The kids also got lots of time playing Farkle on the phone. It ended up becoming every time we sat down to eat the kids would ask if they could play someone in Farkle. It was fun though. This one time I had told them to wait because we had a lot of traveling ahead of us where they could play Farkle. Papa didn't hear me say that and let Wyatt play. So Papa got in trouble.
Right before checking out I wanted to go find one last Pina colada! We went walking around to go get some and the kids were so tired and ready to go home. Wyatt was complaining that it was too hot and he couldn't walk anymore. He was by far the most worn out by the end of the trip. He didn't want to eat anything they had to give him and complained about the heat more than the other boys.
So we knew we had had a good trip and worn them out enough that they were ready to go home.
Good Bye Beautiful place!!! Until next time!!!!
We were ready and yet sad to leave!
A random Dinosaur on the side of the road! haha
The last leg of our trip was a lot of airport and airplane time. We had 2 basically 3 hour plane rides ahead of us and a 3 hour lay over.
This pretty much sums it up!! Kayden trying to stay happy and busy at an airport! The other boys encouraged him by doing it themselves.
Thankfully Chick Fil A was open at the Baltimore airport. The kids always enjoy that. So we ate dinner and then tried to keep ourselves busy while we waited for our last flight home.
Kayden wanted to buy some crackers. I told him to stand in line while I got some money! He looked so tiny standing line with all those adults. haha
A little card time while waiting for our flight. Or course our plane got delayed like an hour. So we were getting home even later than we had planned. It was going to be a late night!
By the time we got on the plane it was after 10. The kids were super exhausted!!! Kayden was asking for his blanket before we even got on the plane. He fell asleep before we even took off. Emmett was trying too hard to fall asleep and was so tired he kept almost crying because he wanted to sleep so bad. Kayden kept kicking him while he was trying to sleep which just made it worse for poor Emmett.
Ethan and Wyatt were so tired they were slap happy. They were historically laughing at like everything! Especially at inappropriate things! Thankfully once the flight started they chilled out and watched some movies.
We didn't even land in Denver until after midnight!
While taking the Tram back to baggage claim I joked that the Tram was going to shut down with us inside. Well it didn't shut down with us inside of it but it stopped at the next terminal and told us to get off because the Tram was now non operational.
We had arrived so late at the airport that even the Tram was closed. It was like 1 in the morning.
We had to walk actually really far to get to baggage claim. Which was really rough because it was so late and the kids were so tired. Kayden had slept the whole flight to Denver minus a couple of times waking up crying because he was uncomfortable. Emmett tried to sleep and slept for a little bit but also watched some movies when he couldn't. Ethan and Wyatt stayed up the whole time watching movies. I was surprised that they didn't fall asleep while on the plane.
Then we sat around waiting for our luggage to arrive.
It was such a long day and long night. The kids were champs dealing with all that traveling in one day.
Over all it was a great trip. It started out a little rocky but it was a blast and we had so many Fun times. We dealt with a few melt downs and a few tears from exhausted and overheated children. Other than that we had so much fun and we got back home thinking we need to do this again with the kids. So it must have been fun if we were already wanting to go on another trip with the kids as soon as we got home.
Another thing that I did not expect on our trip was for Kayden to actually go to the bathroom while we were in the DR in the toilets every time he needed to go to the bathroom. I was worried that he would have accidents on the long plane rides or just because we were out and about swimming all day long. However, he did awesome and would tell Brandon when he needed to go to the bathroom and he would go with Brandon and me or Gigi. He stayed dry the whole trip! I couldn't believe it. He had been so hard to get him to not be scared of using the toilet until he switched to his underwear. Then once he did he was a champ. I just didn't expect him to do such a great job our whole trip. It was amazing!!! Yay for no more diapers! Wyatt and Ethan did a great job at helping out with Kayden when we needed help. I called the kids schools that night while we waited for our luggage to let them know the kids would be late to school the next day and Brandon had the office adjust his schedule so he could go in a little late as well. We got home and in bed at about 3 in the morning. A super long day to end our super fun trip!!! We have so many good memories of our trip!! Can't wait till our next one!!!
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