Vacation in Dominican Republic

We just got back from our vacation late Monday night. We had so much fun, and I am SO glad that we went. The break was much needed, and it was everything that I had hoped it would be. My prayers were answered (finally)!
We left on Monday, July 14th early in the morning and caught the first plane (Southwest) out to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I say we "caught" it because we were flying standby on buddy passes (yes, we're brave!). We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale after a six hour flight and immediately checked in to the Ramada that we were staying at for the night. Our flight from Florida to the Dominican didn't leave until the following evening. The kids did so well on the flight -- I was shocked! No crying the whole way there! They ate lunch on the plane, took a 2 1/2 hr. nap, and played with all the little dollar store toys that I bought them for the trip. Like every flight we took, we were lucky enough to have a full row to ourselves, so Gabriel got to sit in the middle seat between Jake and I (even though technically he was supposed to be a "lap child" and we were flying "nonrevenue" a.k.a. lowest priority). We didn't spend much time at the Ramada in Florida other than to sleep. That evening for dinner and the next day for lunch we were visited by my Uncle Bruce, Aunt Cindy, and cousin David. It had been four years since I last saw Uncle Bruce and 11 since seeing the others. Jake and I had so much fun just catching up with them. On Tuesday evening, we began the next leg of our journey. We took a two and a half hour flight (Spirit Airlines) to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Then, we rode another 2 hours by taxi to the resort, which was in La Romana. This was a bummer only because it was an extra $100 each way that we hadn't budgeted, but the babies were angels the whole ride.
We arrived at our resort, called the Sunscape Casa del Mar, late Tuesday evening. Our newly renovated room on the first floor (for the stroller) with two cribs was ready for us when we arrived. We were so pleasantly surprised by everything, because we were in the habit of never expecting things to go that smoothly :). The weather was perfect every day we were there -- always sunny and consistently in the high 80's. The babies slept great in their cribs, which surprised us as well, since they normally are used to having a room each to themselves. From that day foward for the rest of the week, we had such a relaxing and fun time. Jake realized that it was the first week that he got to spend with the babies uninterrupted since they were born. The babies napped well, ate well, and had such a great time playing in the water with all the other kids. I am so glad that they got to have those experiences -- I feel that it was so enriching to them to have the socialization and break from routine. Gabe made tons of friends and loved to practice "swimming" in the one foot shallow part of the pool (he would crawl on his hands, floating his legs and rear as he moved) and jumping into the deep end (into our arms). Ariana perfected her waving -- she now waves and grins every time someone waves at her or says 'hi'. Gabe and Ari loved the beach and the pool. They would often fall asleep right there in our arms. The resort itself was really nice. The grounds were beautiful and perfectly manicured. There were flamingoes and palms of every variety. The food was not the best, but as I've said before, I can be hard to please when it comes to food. There was so much variety to choose from, though, that everyone was satisfied.Although this trip was definitely a family vacation, and by no means a romantic getaway, Jake and I did get to have some time to ourselves each day. Since our room was on the first floor and only a couple yards away from the pool, Jake and I would put the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door and sneak out the balcony to have a swim during naptime, alternating checking on the twins every five minutes. This worked perfectly, and we were usually done with our break before the babies were finished napping. Jake also got to go scuba diving three mornings that we were there. Although I didn't get to go with him (because I'm pregnant), I was really glad he got some time to do what he is passionate about.Although we were sad to leave, we knew that it was time to get back to normal life. The way home was probably the roughest part of the trip, but even then it was surprisingly hassle-free. We did travel for 20 hours straight, waking up at 1 AM and not arriving home until 10 PM. Gabe had a couple 15-minute crying spells in the airport, but the plane rides were pretty easy thanks to a baby dose of benadryl and our portable DVD player. I am so thankful that this trip was a success. We prepared as best we could and then we just had to relax and trust that things would fall into place. And fall into place they did. It was very liberating to feel like we are now able to travel with our kids and still hang on to a little bit of adventurous spirit. Now, my only regret is that I didn't take nearly enough pictures (tear*).