Spring Break '25

Next up, was our spring break trip to Punta Cana! The kids were each allowed to invite one friend. Cadence's friends couldn't make it, but Darren could! The Friday night before we left, Darren spent the night at our house (the Rileys were going to be out of town that weekend). I sent Jim and Veronica a pic of Darren with his buddy, Oden, on the couch together.

We left Columbus on Saturday afternoon. We had flights out of Cleveland. It was Darren's first flight! He was a little nervous, but excited. The kids were good at helping ease his nerves.

They gave him the window seat.

Our first flight was to Charlotte. We had a short, overnight layover. We had a smooth flight, but I think D got a little nervous at landing!

The sunset was so pretty during descent. 

We stayed at a Hilton near the airport that night. It had a huge atrium where you could see the rooms -- like the inside of a cruise ship. The kids wanted to stay there, it was that cool. 😎

We had a super early flight the next morning (Sunday), to Punta Cana! We stayed at Finest Punta Cana. It's an Excellence family, all-inclusive resort. We have been so impressed with the company with past trips, so it was a no brainer when trying to figure out where to stay. The first thing we did when we got there was hit up the buffet. We were starving!

The kids were so excited and loving that it was all you can eat.

Since we arrived a little early and couldn't check into our rooms quite yet, we walked around the resort.

After we could change into our bathing suits, we hit the pool! The kids thought the blog was fun.

The boys played some pool while we waited for a table at one of the restaurants. We tried a different restaurant each night!

The view from the room Cadence and I stayed in. We loved the swim-up pool!

The kids buried Colin on the beach first!

Of course they had to try out the batting cages.

We brought our Beteyah set with us, knowing it was the official sport of the Dominican Republic! Junior was a member of the staff and had fun playing with the kids. Even one of the waiters had to take a short break to play!

Each room with swim up accessibility had its own hammock -- Cadence was impressed with herself because ours was really difficult to get on...and stay on!

Cadence got some pretty pics around the resort.

This sequence of pics is cool!

The kids got a different mocktail every day

The boys found ways to entertain themselves while we waited for dinner. I tried my best to keep in contact with Jim & Veronica while we were away. Sent them this silly pic of the boys.

We hit up the gym most mornings!

The kids loved this swim-up bar!

Taking a stroll on the beach

Lunch with a view! We enjoyed lunch one day at Las Dunas and had a great view of the Caribbean.

The kids were determined to use chopsticks

More beautiful photos taken by Cadence!

Darren was the next (willing) victim to be buried in the sand 😂

The kids were proud of their work

Fitting

Colin took pics of our food -- some of the items were out there!

The boys tried lamb chops

Cadence's chicken tenders & fries 😆

On our last day, we were up early enough to catch the sunrise

This is how they served honey at the breakfast buffet -- I had to share a pic with the 'rents!

On the way to the airport

Landing in Miami (right before Colin left his phone on the plane..ugh)

We stopped at a Cuban restaurant for dinner. My drink was so pretty.

The strip was so pretty and a nice walk

Colin liked all the cars

Gelato for dessert!

Breakfast the next morning before we went to the airport to head home. It was so yummy.

The parrots were so loud!

We had an AWESOME trip. We have some great memories from our time together. We love reminiscing about our vacation, especially with Darren. We had some great food and great laughs!