Meanwhile, back in Lee’s Summit…

While Mom and Dad were in Jamaica chillin’, 

We were busy back at home.

Jackson and Weston swam in their first invitations—

And Jack made the finals in the 500!

Tucker earned MVP for his football team

And was featured on the LSFA Facebook page,

Showing off some of his awesome moves

We’ll catch them up when they get back…

 

Jake and Lexi’s big day

The family’s all here

The afternoon rain has gone away

(After a brief 30 minute rain delay…)

Let’s get this wedding started!

Lexi looked amazing

And a few sprinkles didn’t make the couple bat an eye

Love the groomsmen’s outfits!

The bridesmaids were lovely too

The vows made everyone tear up

(And the best moment was when Jake misheard the priest

And shouted, “oh yes, I love her!”)

And just like that,

There is a new Mr. and Mrs. Woods!

We took a few pictures

Everyone looking fancy!

This calls for a group shot

We were treated to a beautiful sunset

Before heading off to cocktails,

Dinner,

Toasts (which may or may not have been written by ChatGPT)

And a lot of dancing

Before ending the night 

With some pretty terrible karaoke

And the best picture of the trip:

Guess sitting in a lounge chair in the ocean all day

Isn’t very sunburn friendly!

It was a beautiful ceremony and an awesome party.

Mom and Dad were glad they made the trip!

 

An adults-only vacation

Cousin Jake is getting married in Jamaica…

At an adults-only resort.

So Mom and Dad are off on a couple’s adventure

For only the 3rd time in the 17 years since having kids

(And definitely the most extravagant trip!)

The first day was a loooong day of travel—

And topped off with a big family dinner.

(And their new friend Shamar at the end there)

The next day,

They tried out the aqua bikes—

Which clearly NO ONE can make look cool.

They were actually a lot of fun.

The afternoon brought rain—

Which isn’t unexpected

(It rains every afternoon in most tropical places we’ve visited).

But the AMOUNT of rain was unexpected.

It POURED for several hours,

So much that the pool nearly flooded the pool bar

But they made the best of it,

Grabbing some drinks and sitting in the pool.

The big bummer though

Was that their big wedding party catamaran trip had to be cancelled.

Clearly didn’t slow anyone down too much—

Chelsea is still smiling!

(And yes, she does have a swim suit on

Even though it looks like she’s hanging in a bar

With a bottle of wine in her bath towel!)

Once the lightning subsided,

They headed back to the ocean

With the crew to hang out until dinner

How about an after dinner swing?

Day 2 started out beautiful

But the afternoon brought rain again…

And a cancelled catamaran.

But rain just brought card games

And a cool sunset

Day 3…

Gorgeous again!

Mom and Dad went snorkeling this morning

And saw some awesome trumpetfish,

Urchins, anemones, and even a ray

They came back to find the Mother and Father of the Groom

Relaxing on morning of the big day

Sounds like celebratory espresso martinis are needed!

Mema and Pappo took a hit from Steve and Carol

And had a very similar relaxation plan

Mom and Dad can’t sit that still.

They went kayaking instead.

But they eventually relaxed a bit

Before heading to the wedding

(More on that later)

The made the absolute most of the last day,

Starting with more snorkeling,

Paddle boarding with the starfish,

And another round of breakfast espresso martinis with the family

And guess what?

The catamaran trip finally happened!

Gotta love a catamaran!

They moved up the time today—

And barely beat the weather out!

The rode to the other side of Negril

And got to swim in a cave

And you should see the video of Pappo going down

The huge slide on the boat!

Then it was Happy Hour on the beach

(Yes, those are shots…)

Soaking in every last minute

Surrounded by tons of little starfish—

They called this one Lucky!

And tonight,

They finally saw the Negril Sunset everyone raves about…

A few days away every 17 years

Were probably deserved…

And enjoyed to the max