All of a sudden it’s June

Aaand…we’re back! From Jamaica, New Zealand, and many other local adventures…

The last time I posted on here was March 30, which was about a week before we left for Jamaica for a wedding. Jamaica was incredibly fun – it was our first experience together at an all-inclusive resort (Nick had been a few times with family, I had never been to one) and it’s going to become a yearly thing for us. Being in the Caribbean where the only thing you have to worry about is if your drink cup is empty or what was the last time you applied sunscreen was totally the most relaxing vacation we’ve ever been on. We only had to worry about what time of day it was twice – once, the day of the wedding – and the second time, when we had an appointment for beachside massages. So amazing!

We stayed at the Grand Palladium, which is run by a Spanish company, so all the architecture is very Spanish. The food at the a la carte restaurants was AMAZING, especially because I had low expectations for an all inclusive. However, you did have to wait a long time (no worries…we just had a drink or two). The beaches were gorgeous, if a bit rocky, and there were tons of pools including one huge party pool in the middle with a swim-up bar. It was totally beautiful there and the only reason that we wouldn’t go back, is because we want to try a ton of other resorts.

After we came back from Jamaica, we had a few days to get ready, and then three family members arrived to stay with us for a couple of weeks. We had a great time showing them around – we went all over San Jose, and took them to Santa Cruz boardwalk, breakfast in Sausalito and wine tasting in Sonoma, Pebble Beach & Monterey Bay, and San Francisco.

It was wonderful to have them all here – can’t wait to see them again!!

That all brings us to the end of April, and to when I left work for a 4-week sabbatical (everyone gets one after 5 years of employment – amazing benefit) to hang out with my grandmother in New Zealand. More details on that next time, but first, here’s what the first few days of sabbatical looked like…