Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Back to Reality

Last week, Todd and I went on a family vacation to Aruba with my mom, her husband (very much a father-figure in my life), my 3 brothers and their significant others.  On most vacations we go on, I see the magnitude of consumerism that many people take part of and quite frankly, it bothers me.  I won’t sugar-coat it and tell you that my family didn’t take part in the consumerism because we did.  This is what Todd and I came home with:

 
 

Of these souvenirs, we purchased the change-purse (for $1) and postcards (again, $1).  The t-shirt and reusable bag are from a donkey sanctuary we visited – my mom bought these items for me.  The purchase of the t-shirt donates a bale of hay to the donkeys, which I love.  The reusable bag is something that I have started to collect when we go on vacations because they are practical and don’t take up a lot of space.

Aruba was absolutely gorgeous.
There is no way Todd and I would have gone on our own due to the expense involved in flying there and the general cost of everything on the island; however, it was a great vacation with family.  We are fortunate to have parents that are thoughtful and considerate enough to take the entire family on a dream vacation like the one we just had.  We had a lot of fun, many laughs, and made a lot of memories (and I’ve got pictures to prove it!)  This is the first time I’ve spent any length of time with both of my stepbrothers in the past 10 years my mom and her husband have been married and it was a blast. 

Here are a few pictures from our trip:


View of Venezuela (from plane)

View of Aruba (from plane)


Blue Crabs


Sunset

Our Snorkeling Spot (we went twice - it was awesome!)

Sunken Ship From Underwater (1938)

Sunrise View from Across the Street of our house

Pool lit up at night (view from back porch)

Natural Bridge

Lighthouse

Sunset

Sunset (from sunset cruise we took the day
before we had to leave the island)

 
We are back to the reality of waking up to an alarm clock, taking care of the critters, going to work, and working on the homestead.  Even though I could have stayed in Aruba for another few months, I am happy to be back to our “regular” life in Ohio.  Bulbs are starting to emerge through the soil, there are buds forming on the fruit trees, and life is good.  I wouldn’t exchange my reality for anything.

8 comments:

  1. Wow, that looks beautiful! I can't imagine the cost! And welcome back to reality... :)

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    1. Thank you, Jacob! I cant imagine the cost either with 9 of us! Yikes! My parents are very generous and I will never forget the color of the beautiful water. I look forward to going back in 10 years for their 20th! :-) Maybe by then, we can treat THEM! :-)

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  2. Oh, your pictures are making me drool... Haven't been on vacation in awhile since I have a new baby at home. Jealous!

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    1. What a wonderful reason NOT to go on vacation! :-) Getting away can be glorious, but I "there's no place like home," in my book.

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  3. I'm jealous! I really want to go to Aruba. We almost went last year but the price jacked up right before I was about to book it. We ended up going to the Dominican Republic instead "Poor man's Aruba." I loved it, but I still want to go to aruba!

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    1. The pictures that you see online of Aruba are pretty true to life. It is out of this world. I hope you get to go soon!

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  4. The colour of the water is stunning!

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