Puerto Rico - Part I

Thursday, September 18, 2014

I'm separating this in two parts because otherwise, it could get prettttty long with all the pictures and the video and whatnot.
so part I is the video.

First though, here's a little bit about our trip...

WHAT A WEEK! We seriously had so much fun. 
we decided to hop around the island and see different parts instead of just staying in 1 place the whole time.
we felt like we saw almost everything there was to see. (I'm sure there's tons more, but we were content with all that we did)

We started in San Juan. (where the airport is) I found a cheap place through airbnb, which was kinda weird/we are super glad we were only there for one night. the girl was there the whole time and it just wasn't in thee nicest part of town, but it was fine and all we needed was a bed to sleep so it worked.
it was fun to explore san juan. it's definitely the most touristy part of the island so we knocked off some tourist "must-see" spots like old san juan and went on our way.
i loved old SJ. it was so beautiful with its different bright colorful buildings.
the food was yummy too. the ben & jerry's in PR is off the charts. they handmake the waffle cones as you are ordering so that when you get it, it is still warm and amaaaazing. 

after SJ, we headed to the northeast side, Fajardo. We took a jet to an island called Culebra where we went to Flamenco beach and spent the day there. it was so gorgeous. that water was insane. while we were beachin it there, a storm rolled in so we just put our stuff under a nearby beach goers umbrella (don't worry we asked) and stayed in the water until it passed. it was actually kind of the funnest thing ever and kind of romantic. (cheesy, but true) we took the plane back and headed to our hotel..which was un.freaking.believable. 
this resort had about 8 restaurants to choose from, a spa, the nicest gym, a water park, a private island, shopping stores (like a mini mall), and more. we honestly didn't want to leave...but we couldn't afford it, so 2 nights was perfect.
when we got there we quickly changed our original plans of going out and exploring and decided to stay at the resort and enjoy all it had to offer for a day. because there was too much goodness to pass up and we weren't about to pay all the money to stay there and not reap the benefits. that would just be stupid. so we did. we dined, we swam, we laid out, we worked out, AND we enjoyed that amazing water park. we actually could've spent a couple hours at just that place alone. at night that night, we did a Bioluminescent bay tour. we kayaked through these mangroves in the ocean and the water was ELECTRIC blue when touch. it was probably one of thee coolest things i think i've ever ever done.

the next day we checked out and headed to our next destination, Rincon, which is on the westside of the island where the surf was. we made a pit stop at the Yunque Rainforest (a must) on our way and it was gorgeous. we hiked to a waterfall that was stunning..minus the tourists. 
the drive to Rincon was about 3 hours (had no idea it was that long), and we hit a major storm on our way..the raindrops were ginormous to the point where we literally couldn't see out the window. but we made it through and then the sun was shining 5 minutes later. (that place is funny like that)
Rincon was the cutest place and just enough rural to get the real life Puerto Rican experience. away from all the tourists and attractions.
we found a beach resort and stayed there for the next 4 nights. we woke up, surfed, ate, came back to our hotel, read our books at sunset, ate dinner, watched a movie, and slept. it was kind of perfect. AND i have to mention the dinner i had at our hotel was hands down the best meal i think i have EVER had in my entire life. it was so good i ordered it 3 nights in a row. I'm salivating just thinking about it right now...
we surfed at 2 spots called maria's and domes. I long boarded 1 day and jason was able to use a short board one of the days and long boarded the next. the water was so nice and warm. i am by no means a good surfer AT ALL, but the waves were so fun and easy to catch that it made me feel like i was amazing! haha it was the best.
on our last day there we drove up to Arecibo, just an hour north to hit up a couple must see spots. We went to this cave called the Cuevo de Ventana..where we literally hiked through a DARK cave with BATS EVERYWHERE and cockroaches and deadly spiders. it was absolutely terrifying..not sure i've ever broke out in a sweat so fast in my entire life. i just squeezed jason the entire time. the view at the end of the cave was unreal, so worth it, but it still gives me chills just thinking about it.
we also went to this spot where there are amazing arches on the water, cool water caves, and we went snorkeling. it was the perfect way to spend our last day there.

it was so fun to getaway with just jason and i and reconnect by spending quality time with each other. although i have to admit, i missed piper more than i'd like to admit. like on the verge of tears when i thought about her. but she was in great hands and i knew she was fine. i just missed my little sidekick. while i was there i realized i have spent every single day of her life with her. every. day. minus a couple hours where we've gone out to dinner or a movie without her. going from every day to not seeing her at all for EIGHT DAYS seems like eternity. jason missed her just as much as i did too. we kept catching ourselves talking about her and every time we saw a baby about her age or size we'd just look at each other with a sad face.

but i truly loved this trip and highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. 
it has something to offer for all types of people. 

here's a little video i put together of our vacay.
(pictures to come in the next post)

 
Puerto Rico - HD 720p from Annie Kimball on Vimeo.

ELEVEN months

Monday, September 8, 2014

wait, can we just talk about HOW my baby is going to be ONE next month!?
I can't even handle it.

this age is SO FUN. 



 she is crawling like crazy and pulling her self up on anything and everything.
she uses her little walker like a champ. 
she can stand for a couple seconds.
she is eating big kid food.
she says mama.
she can understand a lot.
still takes 2 naps a day.
talks all day long.
loves sitting on her knees..kills me.
she is just so fun and energetic and we couldn't love her more.

time just needs to slow down, that's all :)


Proudly designed by Mlekoshi playground