Our Spring Break started on Saturday evening - we drove to Charlotte to hang out with the Huntersville crew for a night before getting on our early Sunday morning flight. Between costs and connection - it actually works out better this way.
Brian and Nancy had an event to attend that night so Brent and I took charge and got to pretend we had four boys!! What a whirlwind! They were too cute together for sure.
Everyone was showered and in bed by 9:45 - not bad! :)
We decided to head back to the Hyatt Ziva in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic - it was such an amazing resort with great food and an amazing water park!
We arrived a little earlier in the day and our room was not quite ready, but we were able to take advantage of the late lunch buffet and lounge around in the swinging chairs. The boys had their Wifi and we had our adult beverages to jump start our vacation!
After settling in, we decided on Italian that night - the boys are not big on pasta (how are they my kids??!?), but after looking over the other menu items, I thought we'd be good. Kade was a bit upset about not getting chicken & french fries and very reluctantly tried the beef ribs. The rest of us tried a bite and they were amazing - slow cooked for 14 hours!! That is why I always ordered 3 things between Brock and Kade to share (beef ribs, buttered penne, 4 cheese pizza).
The view of the pool area at night, all lit up, is absolutely stunning!
The next morning the boys were excited to return to the buffet for breakfast. We all agreed buffet breakfast is the best!
We slathered LOTS of suntan lotion and headed off to the pool! I loved that I could still find front row chairs at the main pool at 10am - chair saving is not allowed.
The water was slightly cool - I told the boys I needed to get good and hot before I got in!
They were happy to jump in with the pool float - and Brock loved acting as the engine in their little train.
We were sitting so close to the bridge, I felt we needed to recreate the picture from April 2022!
 |
| April 2022 (Brock 9, Kade 6.5) vs. April 2025 (Brock 12, Kade 9.5) |
Poor Kade bit his lip when the boys were over by the infinity edge pool wall. He was bleeding pretty badly and Brock swam his hardest to get him out of the pool. After we got him all cleaned up and some more water, Brock realized his actions "I saved Kade!" He was very proud of himself.
Another view of the main pool and our chair location.
Time for lunch (everything revolves around eating at an all-inclusive!) so we headed to the buffet.
A few minutes early means more time on the swinging chairs!
After lunch we made our debut at the water park! Brock and Kade decided on these slides for their first run!
And just like that - they were best friends again.
Brent and Brock left a little earlier and headed to the gym for a little cardio. Kade and I played a little game in the kiddie pool (we were the only ones there!) and then headed back to the room to get out of the sun.
We all got dressed up for our dinner at the Navigator Grill.
Brock played photographer and snapped some pictures of me while we waited for dinner to open.
Dinner was pretty good, but we all like dessert the best!
After dinner, we convinced Brock to get some alone time (away from his family) for a few hours and hang out at the teen club.... the teen club is for 13 to 17 year olds.... no one said a thing when Brock signed in as a 13 year old. :) It's only open from 5pm-9pm and all he wanted to do was play video games. It was nice - gave him an hour of decompression time nightly. :)
That time was also served by letting Kade get some food he would actually eat in the buffet and then some time alone in the room as well while Brent and I explored some other areas of the resort! This part was pretty awesome - the boys are old enough (and connected with Wifi, Apple Watches, and iPads) that we could get some adult time of our own too and not have to pay a babysitter!
