Our adventures in Antigua...

After we spent some time in Florida at the first part of our trip, reconnecting with family and friends, we got on another plane and headed to Antigua to visit Papa Ted, along with Aunt Courtney and (soon-to-be Uncle) Chris!

Daddy & Kaylee on the plane...

We arrived in Antigua very late after some weather delays in Puerto Rico. Basically, we flew around the tail end of a hurricane and the planes were very full flights because of previous delays. When we got to Antigua we had to stand in line and go through Immigration before we could leave, so we got to Pillar Rock Condos where Papa Ted lives and pretty much went straight to bed!

Just chilling out at Papa Teds, with Chris and Courtney!

The first morning after we arrived, Ian, Chris and Courtney had reservations for a zipline tour of the rainforest. Papa Ted and I stayed behind with Kaylee, watching the beginning of the adventure and then waiting for the others to finish up and join us again.

Ian on the zipline

Kaylee and Papa Ted

Papa Ted is showing Kaylee something interesting...

After the zip line tour, we bought souvenir photos and a movie, picked up some souvenir brochures, and then headed over to Mama Pasta for lunch. Their gnocchi was really REALLY delicious!

Lunch at Mama Pasta

We mostly relaxed the rest of the day and went swimming in the condo complex pool. It was Kaylee's first time swimming and for the first couple minutes she wasn't too sure about it, and then she started having a blast and we splashed around for HOURS. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy relatively cool day, and we were *mostly* inside, but Kaylee managed to get a kiss of sun that was a little hot that evening and was a little pink for a day. You can clearly see it in the following pictures... By the second day it had faded AND we used high SPF sunblock every single day first thing in the morning and never had another burn even though we spent HOURS at the beaches.

Kaylee's first time in a swimming pool!

Finally she couldn't keep her little head up any more and just put her head down and closed her eyes while Ian was chatting.

Kaylee fell asleep on Daddy at the pool.

The next day we went shell and beach glass gathering at a beach just down the road about 1/2 mile. It was a gorgeous day, and there were tons of shells and beach glass there just waiting for us. Papa Ted held Kaylee while we were all shell hunting and she eventually got sleepy and conked out on his shoulder...

Sleepy time...

This place also had a gorgeous beach, and we went there for a while and went swimming. Later that evening, we had a birthday cake for Kaylee's first birthday. She got to spend her first birthday in Antigua! What a very lucky little girl! We can't believe it's already been a whole year that she has blessed our lives; we are the luckiest parents ever and look forward to many many more wonderful years of experiences and love with Kaylee. (She had more birthday celebrations as well, which will come with the next post.)

Still a little too young to get the concept of blowing out a

birthday candle, but she thought it was interesting.

Yay! Chocolate cake! I can't wait to try some!

Oh yay! It's my birthday! Cake! Mmmmmm, good!

The next day we did some more exploring around the island, seeing the sights, seeing an amazing view from the top of a mountain in the park, and by evening we ended up at Shirley Heights for music and food and drinks. It was an amazing time, and a very full day.

Kaylee in her car seat while we drove around...

The next day, Courtney and Chris had to leave by mid-day, while we stayed on until the end of the week. We spent most of the week at the beach - swimming and snorkeling. The beach immediately behind Ted's condos was so beautiful, and the beach just up the road a bit was totally amazing as well, with the cleanest, whitest sand... and we also went to Darkwood Beach where we picnicked on the yummiest fried chicken EVER and then Papa Ted entertained Kaylee for a while and Ian and I went snorkeling. They have the biggest conch shells I have ever seen! So a couple more beach photos, and then on to the next post for more birthday pictures!

Kaylee and Daddy at the beach... FUN!!!

Kaylee *finally* relented and allowed us to
put the sunglasses on her. Once she realized
she could see without squinting, she left them
alone and wore them most of the afternoon.
CUTE!

Until next time!