First Snow Shoe adventure today! 

The temps were a little warmer so we decided to give it a try.

 Whole crew in show shoes, ready to take on the trails!!

After about 10 mins there was a lot of this...

 Sloane's snow shoes did not fit her little feet well so she was walking along side us or in the carrier on Mike's back pretty much the entire time. But despite all the tired legs, we did have a really great time.

The trail that we decided to take was just shy of 2 miles. The crew did pretty well, but by the end Sloane, Margaux & Maeve were show shoe-less. They were "so tired!" I was excited & loved the adventure. I asked who was ready to go again... the consensus was NO! They are all content not going show shoeing again anytime soon. Good thing we tried it before I bought a set for the whole family. Gary, myself, Katie & Mike will go alone next time!! xoxo

Winter in full force here now. December was so mild, it felt like it was fall with the warm days. Now we've transitioned into full winter. Lots of snow & the girls are loving it. 

Margaux & Gary made a fun little sledding run in the front yard, yet she still preferred to sled down the driveway & into the road. 

Fresh snow also makes for fun time in the hot tub. They love getting our & rolling in the snow. Refreshingly cold, but feels so good when you get back in. Today she hung with Marin. We laugh every time she is over because of the name. 

Big game tomorrow! The neighbor kids even made a Go Pack Go tower. 

Love the snow. Everything looks so pretty outside.. although the forecast for the next 10 days includes snow every day. Doubtful that it will hold true, but either way a lot of shoveling & more outdoor fun! xoxo

A few more pics from vacation. There are just way too many, which is a sign of a great vacation I guess. We met many locals that we quickly made friends with. Lots of stories about the 2017 hurricane that really damaged the island. So interesting. The island has definitely come a long way.  I met Nayda in the market & by dinner time she was sitting at our table telling us stories about her life. She really had us all laughing.

The island had several rainy periods throughout each day/night. Typically they would last about 5 mins & it was sunny again. We could watch the clouds go right over. This one was a heavy & happened at night while we were all on the beach. We all crowded together like penguins in an attempt to stay warm. 

Often right after the rain we'd see rainbows throughout the day. 

We caught this one from our balcony.

Sunday night we enjoyed the Packer game from a local bar. Crazy how many Packer fans we met on the island & saw that night. Thankfully they won & we all had a great night. Different outcome would have put a little damper on the evening. Excited for this weekend's game. Wish we could watch from the same place. Take us back!! 

Go home day. We got packed up the night before so we could spend Wednesday morning on the beach before it was time to go. So nice to have 3 more hours of relaxing by the water.

A quick lunch on the beach & we were headed home. It was so nice to be at the resort & have the beach option there. Not as nice as the other beaches on the island but this wasn't a bad view either... just different! We had the perfect combination of resort days & exploring time.

One more ferry trip back to St. Thomas & the airport...

And headed home to our kiddos.

We all left saying we'd be back. So looking forward to it already!!! Until then we left feeling relaxed & sun tan. Now spring break to look forward to. xoxo

And that's a wrap on St John 2020! We are home & back to the freezing cold/snow. St. John was 85 every day & full of sunshine. As we flew in last night the pilot announced that the current temp at home was 9 degrees, wind chill below zero. Burrrrrr! Such a great week with friends. These three had so much fun playing in the waves & body surfing. There was quite a bit of wind while we were there which felt great with the heat... but also made the waves very fun.

The ladies worked hard tanning & enjoying cocktails on the beach with an occasional swim in the warm ocean. The water was so refreshing. 

The elevation on the island made for some great photos & also a little bit of treacherous driving. We rented a car quite a few days so we could explore the 9 mile long island & the beaches.   

A few of the beaches were so remote it felt like we were on our own private beach. Others were full of people {but nothing too crazy} and had more action/people watching. All of them had crystal clear teal blue water with lots of great sea life. Maho Beach was the place to enjoy snorkeling. One of my must-do's while we were there was to see the sea turtles & we saw tons of them. We also saw small sharks & sting ray. Really a cool experience. I wish I would have brought a water camera or a case for our phones. Could have been some really great photos. All uploaded into my mental memory! 

So many photos it was hard to choose just a few to post. 

The scenery was just breathtaking & the sound of the waves is just so relaxing. We had a week full of really great days.

 The nights were spent in the nearby town that was full of great restaurants/bars. We enjoyed all of the food at night especially after being on the beach all day snacking on whatever food we had access to & exploring little food trucks around the island. Gary needed a new Hawaiian shirt for vacation... 

First trip of 2020. This was taken in Cinnamon Bay. We had the beach to ourselves. 

Cinnamon Bay was by far my favorite as far as scenery. Beach was empty & it was just beautiful. Very remote & lush foliage as well as the cliffs of volcanic rock. Wendy & I joined in on the rock stacking and left our mark with the formation in the bottom right of the photo with the driftwood across it. 

40 year old us!

No one else we'd like to vacation with. The four of us have made quite the list of adventures together. Just added this one to the list. Can't wait to see what comes next. Aside from spring break, these two are next to turn 40! 

Broaghen parents enjoying Honeymoon Beach.

I want to go back already! So nice to be home to squeeze the girls & give them some love. They had a great week with grandma & really enjoyed all the good food she made for them. I may need to step it up a bit now! xoxo

Today it is my turn to cap off the birthday week at the Browns. Happy Birthday to me! 

We were up at 4am to get to the airport & made our way here...

Beautiful blue/teal water & sunshine of St. John. The perfect birthday present. 

We flew into St. Thomas, needed a 30 min. taxi to the ferry dock & 15 min. ferry ride to St. John. We were happy to arrive at the resort & explore a bit before our friends arrived this evening.

View of the bay from our Villa at the Westin. 

And an amazing sunset over the water this evening. So looking forward to exploring the island tomorrow & checking these beautiful beaches off our bucket list. Nothing but sunshine & relaxing in the forecast for this week. 

Not a bad way to spend a birthday. Thankful for this vacation & our friends celebrating with us. Cheers to 40!!! I'll post more pics when we get home! xoxo

Happy 40th Birthday Gary!!! 

How did we get to 40 already? As much as the number has crept up on us, we definitely don't feel it. I remember my parents turning 40 with birthday parties filled with black over the hill décor. At that point in my life it felt like 40 was so old. Now I wonder if looking back, our kiddos will feel the same. Today we celebrate Gary...

And Margaux. They shared the day. She was also gracious enough to share her cake. {It has been sitting for days, not even cut with all the illness & iffy bellies} 11th birthday cake that read Happy Birthday Margaux with a giant fish on it. A special choice from Uncle Mike who ordered the cake & Marg asked to be surprised. It made us all laugh.

We added a little sign that said Happy 40th Gary to the cake & we were good to go! As close as all of our birthdays are, we have never joint celebrated. This was a first & I think they both enjoyed it!

We invited a few friends over to help us celebrate...

And they all enjoyed the birthday glasses I bought for Margaux & friends.

Happiest of birthdays to two of my favorites! Can't wait to celebrate again in a few days on a beach!! Only thing that would make it better would be if our kids were joining us. BUT... I'll take the adult vacation too! The girls could use some grandma time! haha Counting down the days... xoxo

Just as I suspected, Margaux ended up sick Thursday evening. Long, not so fun birthday for her. Good news is, she is feeling much better!!! Bad news is Marin ended up sick last night, so now it has gone through all three of them. Ugh! 12 people from our New Years Eve group ended up sick. So this virus is definitely a contagious one. I just feel so bad when they are sick... breaks my heart.

We are definitely hoping this is the end of it. Fingers crossed.

Happy that Maeve & Margaux are feeling better & Margaux is ready to celebrate! Yesterday she was home from school again after being sick the night before. Just so happens that Hayden was also sick so they had both been exposed. Thankfully by mid-day yesterday they were both on the mend & so we let them hang a bit. It was nice to hear Margaux giggle & have some fun after being sick. 

They had lunch together & requested cookie dough for dessert. They also requested a birthday re-do at the ice skating rink! Long list of demands when you miss your birthday. So to the ice rink we went today... Marin opted to stay home & was okay with us taking Margaux & her friends.

Sloane & Mike joined us too. Sloane's first time on skates... very entertaining & she did great!

 We spent a few hours at the rink, the kids had a blast. Such a fun atmosphere.

We were all just happy that Margaux finally got to celebrate a bit. Hoping that is our one & only time that someone is sick on their birthday. Big bummer, but something tells me she'll get much more celebration time this way. Tomorrow we celebrate again for Gary's birthday. She decided to wait on her cake & share with dad tomorrow which was so sweet! Happy re-do Birthday Margaux!! xoxo

Happy 11th Birthday to our favorite Margaux!! 

The house is all decorated & there are streamers on her door...

But unfortunately our day was not all about the celebration, but instead our patients. Bellies were not feeling well & I had two kiddos home today. So once again January 2nd was not Margaux's first day back to school after winter break. (I feel like I jinxed it by saying they could use another day off yesterday!)  Her class birthday treat will have to wait & the celebration tonight will be postponed. She spent the day home with me & that made her happy despite not feeling the greatest. We watched a few movies, played a game (in the brief moments she was feeling up to it) and most of all just laid low. Had soup for lunch on the special plate...

 Hung out on the couch most of the day resting... 

 Maeve was up last night throwing up all night into the morning. She seems a lot better today but still stayed home. She was happy in her little fort under the coffee table most of the day, but was so sad that getting sick meant we couldn't celebrate the big bday. I assured her that it was out of our control, so sweet that she was so concerned. She also still has not eaten. I am just waiting for Margaux. I fear she is next & that is not a fun way to spend your birthday. Currently she is alseep on the couch. 

Poor girl, lots of snuggles today.

We love you Margaux & will celebrate soon, I promise! Birthday celebration pics to come & lots of cake to be eaten!!! xoxo