beachy christmas

apparently the anticipation of christmas is tiring.

love my truck!

hmmm, what's in my stocking?

happy guy

thanks dad, for my new ear phones.

playing in all the wrapping paper

mmm, appetizers before we get to the island

ry and parker trying to get us christmas lunch

piper cuddling her mama

thee fisherman himself

cutest kiddos enjoying the sand and new toys

friends FOREVER

sylvia the chef in her "kitchen"

checking out the sharks off the dock

not even kidding, this baby boy played in the sand for at least 45 minutes,

silent and completely happy

parker and jomar swinging from the mangroves

each year on christmas, we navigate through new traditions and figure how best to celebrate. this year, my husband was off, for the first time EVER. between christmas and new year's the island is its busiest. it's crazy and we always have the option of working (a lot), on christmas, if we so desire. i have always chosen to stay home with the kids and enjoy christmas with them and whoever else is here with us. well, this year, i had access to oliver's calendar and swiftly marked christmas off. shannon and ryan and their kids were in town and i figured that could be the day they were out on the boat, with all of us as well. it was perfect.

we started the morning out with opening presents and enjoying a yummy breakfast made by grama sylvia. it was so nice that oli didn't have to rush off to work. soooo very nice. he was so relaxed and completely enjoyed hanging out with his boys and wife and mom.

we then gathered all our beach items and got in the boat. picked shannon, ryan, parker and piper up from the phoenix and headed south to our own private island. on our way over, we stopped to grab lunch. fish. straight out of the sea. all the boys contributed and piper even grabbed a rod for a little while. shannon, sylvia and i chilled and watched.

when we arrived to bajo caye, there was only one person there, the caretaker. we took over the island and watched sylvia and oliver prepare our delicious lunch while drinking some lighthouse. so peaceful. charlie and piper enjoyed the sand together while the big boys got to play on hammocks, swing in the mangroves and take naps. we were able to stay on the island for a couple of hours before heading back to san pedro. dinner at blue water grill topped off our night since cooking seemed like too much work this year.

christmas tends to be a bitter sweet day for me. as i'm sure is the same for many. living away from loved ones proves to be tough, especially on special days like christmas. being on this little island for most of the day was exactly what i (and probably all of us) needed. there were no expectations, no traditions we HAD to honor, and no busy schedule to keep. it was the first year char and ted started their own traditions. it was charlie's first christmas that he truly understood it (well kind of) and the first time i got to spend the entire day with my husband.

all in all, it was a perfect day. even though i had occasional pangs of missing people and a few moments of feeling guilty because i didn't cook or do something i thought i was supposed to do, it all subsided. i am thinking that tradition is whatever you make it to be. and everyone had smiles on their faces. to me, that's what is the most important...

i hope everyone had a wonderful christmas as well...