Lucia and Valentina Share a Snack

Lucia has really taken to helping Valentina eat her snack and by helping I mean trying a couple of times and then eating them herself.

Snacking

Atlantis - Final Day

Well all good things must come to an end. And so it is with our vacation in Atlantis. Of course it was a beautiful day which was a slap in the face to the family that had to pack up, put on long sleeves and leave paradise.

Lucia was not thrilled...

...and neither was Mateo

Goodbye Atlantis

Valentina said goodbye in her own silent way - by taking a souvenir from the breakfast buffet

Atlantis - Day 4

Today was our last full day in Atlantis, so when we asked the kids what they wanted to do the answer was easy.

"Beaches!"

Mateo wanted to conquer the waves this time

And he succeeded

Valentina also wanted to take a dip

So the two of us took a dip also

The kids are "beachy-keen"

Their last hoorah

All of the beach activity knocked little V out for an hour

Mommy and baby girl V

That night, we all went out for a nice dinner...

...Where Lucia was excited to see and be lifted by the man on stilts

Mateo also had to get in on the action...

...And so did the rest of the Vielot- Gonzalez clan

After dinner the kids wanted to pose in front of things again...this "ice-inspired" sculpture reminded Lucia of Frozen

Mateo just wanted his own picture

We made the kids wait until the end of the vacation to pick their souvenir in case they changed their minds. Lucia decided on this large (very expensive) mermaid.

Mateo chose this super cool, super soft (less expensive, but still pricey) stingray he nicknamed Stingy

Atlantis - Day 3

Today was a new day for adventure. Mateo woke up feeling much better and was ready to take on today's sea experience. This time Papi was going to accompany the kids.

A preview of what was to come ... stingray petting!

Before going into the water the kids were really excited about this new adventure

Once their feet go into the water and they felt the rays swarm and bump up next to them...

...fear set in. Mateo was nervous and Lucia freaked out and jumped into Papi's arms

Unfortunately for her they were already committed and Papi was unable to hold her and an entire bucket of chum, so she sat in the middle of Stingray pond and miserably and begrudgingly fed the birds and the stingrays. Not a happy camper.

Once all of the chum was gone, she gingerly made her way back to Papi and...

...jumped back into his arms

Once the kids were back on shore, Papi got some time to go snorkeling where he saw more fish and a stingrays up close and personal

Once the kids got more comfortable they waded back in to shallow waters and gave gentle pats to the stingrays...

...and a starfish. 

Bravo to children who are much braver than their Mama!

After that wonderfully exciting experience, we went and explored more of Atlantis's underwater aquariums

Very cool!

Later the kids had some time by the pool again

"Chileando!"

Even baby V was "chileando"

"Ahhhh this is the life"

"Sun, fun and pina coladas...nice!"

Mateo did some practice snorkeling in the pool

Not much to see but crystal clear water

Later big bro spent some time with his sister...

...Each one of them

And now begins my favorite series of pictures from our vacation. They definitely capture the beauty, joy and absolute fun the kids had on the trip. I also think they look like they could be part of an Abercrombie & Fitch Junior ad... take 1

Take 2 

And final shot...p.s. none of these were staged

Now back to silly pix. The hotel was covered with random sculptures and royal thrones which were perfect for photo ops...as seen here

...here...

...and here

Atlantis - Day 2

Today, our second day in Atlantis, was both a great and unfortunate day. All and all a great Valentine's Day that began happy and ended not-so-happy.

The kids and I were very excited to get to go swimming with the dolphins. Here is a preview for what we got to see up close and personal.

The trainers told us we could feed and kiss the dolphins, but when the kids got close to these giant creatures they were a little nervous about locking lips and instead opted to just feed them fish.

Lucia was even nervous about feeding the dolphin so she just sort of threw the fish in the water near the dolphin...

...but after being around the dolphins for a while, the kids and I were comfortable with giving him a big squeeze

After the dolphin adventure, we decided to hit the beach instead of the pool...

...where the kids had a great time battling the waves

Mateo wiped out a lot but kept on trudging

Litte V took it easy and hung out feeling the warm soft texture of the sand

Lucia took a minute to play with her sis in the sand

Ok this photo is really just to show how super cute she looked in her sun hat...am I right?

After a "tough" day at the beach we needed to take a break to eat

Being this cool makes you hungry

After a nice shampoo and conditioner, Lucia "let her hair down" and channeled ultimate diva for dinner

While Mateo decided to be more  "Cool Surfer Dude"

And V put on a "cute baby" vibe

We all had fun at dinner, but unfortunately shortly after this Mateo proceeded to throw up in the hotel lobby several times. Apparently all of the ocean water he took in finally needed to come out...and it did all over the place. Poor dear. 

Happy Valentine's Day!