Antigua 2021

Last week, for five glorious days and four delightful nights, my hub and I snuck away to Antigua. And we loved every.single.minute. Thanks to my amazing parents, the kiddos were under the best of care while we were away, allowing us to truly relax and soak in our time, together. And we really did. You see, last Spring, three days before we were supposed to leave on a President's Club trip to Hawaii, it was cancelled. We were SO disappointed. And then, when a big guy's trip my hub was so excited to go on was cancelled just a few weeks before, we decided to use the same weekend and get away, finally, just the two of us. We didn't care where except that it had to be warm and beautiful and on a beach. My Lu Crew equals #beachpeople, so we didn't care when, we just wanted to soak in the sun. And we landed on...Antigua!

So, bright and early on a Friday morning, we headed to the airport and away we went! It was a 90-minute flight to Miami, followed by a 3-hour flight to Antigua, and we left the cold, dreary, miserable rainy weather behind us and gratefully welcomed in five beautiful days of hot sun! 

The first day, we arrived to our resort (we opted for an all-inclusive, adults-only resort) and quickly checked in before heading immediately to the beach for a nice, late afternoon stroll. We were SO happy!!!! We then changed and headed out to dinner - it was sushi and it was, no joke, the best sushi I have ever had in my entire life. We ordered so many rolls I lost track of how many we got. But they were all SO good!! 

The next morning was adventure day! We had registered for an excursion on this day - one that entailed ziplining (neither of us had ever ziplined!), followed by a local, authentic Antiguan lunch, kayaking (we found and held a live, giant starfish!), boating, and then snorkeling on a private island. We both agreed that our favorite part of the excursion was sitting on the private beach, talking, and just taking in the gorgeous views. Once back, we hit the pool for some pool volleyball with some of the other guests before changing and heading out for our dinner reservation overlooking the beach. 

Sunday was Valentine's Day and we awoke to the most beautiful rainbow! And after a quick workout and neck-and-neck tennis match that we finally called at 6-6, we hit the beach for the entire day. We love doing this when just the two of us are on vacation together: we will choose one day to just park ourselves on the beach alllllll day long. And this was the day! We also had our Covid testing completed to be able to re-enter the US. Nothing says love like couples Covid testing on Valentine's Day - ha! We ended the day by re-visiting the delicious sushi restaurant we loved so much!

The following day was wide open and we opted to play more tennis, spend more time beach lounging, rent and ride a jet ski, and then end the day in the pool. We enjoyed our final vacation dinner at a lovely restaurant with Caribbean cuisine. So good! 

We had a half day to spend before we needed to head to the airport so we spent it playing one last round of tennis before hitting the spa for a couples massage - heavenly! We enjoyed one last lunch beachside and then headed to the airport to travel home to our sweet kiddos. 

We pulled into our driveway right at midnight and were greeted by the sweetest message taped to the door. <3

We truly had so much fun together and came home refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to dive back into the final month of winter. Thanks for the memories, Antigua! Spring...we are ready for you! 

Why Hello, 2021: Post-January Check-In

Not going to lie: Aside from celebrating my big girl's birthday, I am just not a fan of January. It always draaaaaags by and tends to be cold and dreary, and I am usually in a bit of a post-holiday slump. I think Bella feels the same: 

Yep. She gets it. So, I am not the least bit sad to welcome in a bright new month: Hello February! Before that though, for virtual scrapbook's sake, here is a look at how our January unfolded: 

Covid hit our house. Which meant isolating and quarantining, virtual schooling, getting in good family time, getting fresh air every chance we got, and counting down 'til we were allowed back in the public eye. ;) 

Raleigh celebrated her birthday at home. At the beginning of the month, Raleigh turned 9! We celebrated quarantine style, at home, but she still had the best day, sweet girl. <3

And then Raleigh celebrated her birthday in the mountains. A few weeks later, we continued the celebration with sweet friends during a Mother-Daughter mountain weekend, that I posted all about here. :) 

Tennis playoffs went down. My T2 tennis partner and I also brought home the city championship and were so excited! Tennis is such a great combination of exercise, skill, social time, and constant learning. I take a lesson each week, hit with a ball machine whenever I can, and play matches for fun for extra practice whenever my schedule allows. I am so thrilled to be playing this fun sport and look forward to much more playing to come! 

Banks got his braces off! Banks got Phase 1 of 2 of his braces in September and got them off at the end of January (that's right: two phases. Because, unlike when us 40-year-olds were kids, most kids don't wear braces for three years straight. They have them in two separate, shorter phases now)! And two things: (1) He aged a solid two years over those four months!!!!!, and (2) We have the best orthodontist in all the land. Is she my sister? Yes. Am I biased? No. She and her practice are just that good. I love every single staff member, and my sister is just THE.BEST. We LOVE you, Smile Doctors-Fort Mill! We ADORE you, Dr. Whitney/Aunt Whit! 

We snuck in some family and friend fun. The end of the month also included date nights and happy hours and Greenway trips and barre fundraising and gun shooting and just about everything in between! Once we got the medical all-clear from quarantine, we weren't going to let the rest of January pass us by! 

And THAT is how we started off 2021...a bit of a rocky start but one that is carrying us happily into February. Happy Love Month, friends! <3