Paradise Found- Part 1

Lauren, Kalon, and I just got back from the best girls trip ever. We left Memphis one early, early morning to head to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. You may wonder why we went there? JoAnne and Brittany have been there several times and raved about it. JoAnne insisted that we go there if we ever got the chance. We got the chance, so we took the opportunity to go check out Punta Cana.

Flight one to Atlanta.

Flight two to Punta Cana. 

Our arrival flights were awesome. The landings were perfect, the scenery was amazing, but the flight attendants were no fun. We had some pretty crappy assistance on the flights. They were thoroughly ticked off to be accommodating us on those flights. We made the best of it, and turned their rudeness into a joke. They couldn't ruin our day! As we were flying into Punta Cana these were some of the views that I captured on my trusty iPhone!

When we arrived in Punta Cana we were blown away by the airport. We stepped off the plane and walked across the landing strips into the airport, which was a HUGE straw hut/building. 

The airport situation in the DR was less than perfect. We got off the plane excited to get to the resort. We were extremely disappointed to see the looooong lines formed to get a tourist pass. We were in lines over an hour in a straw hut with zero air conditioning. The only air that was flowing in the building was from some large fans called "Big Ass Fans" with a picture of a donkey on the blades.We finally got through all the annoying lines, and made our way to claim our luggage. We grabbed our bags, and headed to find our transportation. Wow, we were extremely overwhelmed with all the people trying to con us into riding with them. We had specific instructions on who to ride with, and we couldn't find him. We were anxious, nervous, and had no cell phone reception at all. After almost resorting to illegal calming drugs, our driver found us. We loaded the bus, and headed to our resort. We were beyond ready to get settled. We were tired from traveling and holding/dragging bags everywhere.

We rolled into the resort surprised that the front of the buildings weren't very pretty. The landscaping was amazing, but the buildings were less than stellar. Well, when we walked into the front doors we knew that the front of the buildings didn't need to be beautiful. The inside, the property behind the front walls, and the surroundings were absolutely breathtaking. We stayed at the Hard Rock Resort, so everything was super cool and edgy. We checked in, and a sweet guy named Moises took all our bags to our room for us. He gave us the "low down" on the resort while we were walking. He was a huge asset to us that day!

This caught my attention, of course. I knew that Dad would think it was cool. This was in the main building where all the restaurants and shopping were. The car looked like a miniature version compared to the huge interior.  

After taking the tour of our "suite" we started unloading all our goods. Needless to say.... we went to the main building and got a buffet supper, came back, and crashed AFTER we got dessert via room service. Fudge brownies and diet coke was on the menu before we could rest.

While I was away I had Suzy's schedule worked out to the "T", so I thought.... I didn't expect to see this little pesky picture come through to my phone shortly after we were settled..

Suzy had been complaining for a couple days about her toe, but I never could find any sores or cuts on it. I put peroxide on it and doctored a toe that I didn't see any problems with. It festered up so quickly that Mimi knew she needed to see the doctor. It was very sensitive and it hurt extremely bad. I hated that I was away from her and everyone else was having to take care of her while she was in so much pain. The doctor never could figure out why her toe did that. There were no sores or cuts, so it is still a mystery. They gave her strong antibiotics that she had to take for 3 weeks! I am proud to announce that her toenail fell off, and she is as good as new!

Kalon, Lauren, and I have terrible sleeping patterns/habits. Lauren snores very loudly, I girt my teeth very loudly, and Kalon snuggles very closely. We were quite the trio. Our neighbors probably hated Lauren and I, and I hated Kalon because she was snuggled so close that I had like a cm of bed to myself. She and I started out sleeping normally. By the end of the night, so was almost on top of me. She has no idea she is doing it in her sleep. We like to pick at her about it.

We woke up pretty early to enjoy our day to the fullest. We caught the buffet on the way out to the beach, and went to claim some chairs. Our first day was pretty overcast, so there were plenty of open chairs. We didn't mind the cloudy skies. We were in Paradise. We were staying out there regardless. Would you stay inside if you had this to look at?

Day 1 on the beach! 

We had to drink Tecate while we were there. We had two choices: Tecate or Dos Equis. We choise Tecate Light as our beer of choice. We had to take this photo with the Five Star huggie. It was a just a little piece of home in the DR with us! 

We were in the DR for seven nights, so this blog will take a few entries to be completed. There are too many pictures to add to just one blog post! Stay tuned.....

Doctors and Popsicles

Suzy and I had a very busy start to our summer break together. To start the summer break off, Suzy had swimming lessons with Lauren Spencer. Suzy went for a total of 5 days for about 45 minutes to an hour per day. The first day or two she was a little whiny, but eventually got over it. I was a smart mama. I decided that I didn't need to be around for the lessons, because Suzy tends to "show out" when I am around. After Lauren had taught her everything her brain could absorb for the day she would run out to the car to get me. We always left with a snack of some sort and a good report card. Suzy now knows  how to swim underwater without a Puddle Jumper. It still scares me to death to think that my baby can actually swim! Not only did Suzy have swimming lessons with Lauren, but Mimi, Papaw, and Memaw took them too! Now, all the non-swimmers of the Geeslin/Pheasant household have some skills to save themselves from drowning.

Suzy left lessons with Pretzels this day. She usually opted for Cheetos or a Popsicle. 

After a week full of swimming and playing outside in the water, Suzy landed a major ear infection. She woke up one morning with blood running from her ears. I immediately called the doctor, and he fit her in the very same day. She had to take some major strong antibiotics and use some major expensive ear drops to clear up the infection. She never slowed down much from having such a bad infection. She kept good spirits the whole time.

The many.... 

faces of...... 

Suzy Smith. 

Suzy scored a sticker and a Popsicle at the doctor's office that day, but it wasn't enough. She had to go to Mimi's house for a "Top-Tart", better known as a Pop-Tart. 

Speaking of doctors.... Kalon asked us to take her cat TinkTink (short for Tinkerbell) to the vet one day. Tink had been limping for a while, and Kalon really thought she would get better on her own. Finally, Kalon decided she may need to be seen by the doctor, because she seemed to be healing slowly or not healing at all. Suzy and I loaded Tink up, and took her to the doctor. I described her symptoms to the best of my abilities. The doctor checked her over very thoroughly, and laughed as he told me that the cat "was perfectly fine". Scott O. suspected that Tink may be milking her injury to get some attention, and I think he was right! The old wise cat knows how to make someone feel sorry for her, that's for sure. As we were leaving the vet's office Suzy said, "Tink needs a Popsicle or somethan', Mama".... I had told Suzy earlier in the day that we had to take Tink to the doctor. Well, when Suzy goes to see a doctor she leaves with a Popsicle every time. She thought Tink deserved one as well!

This is Tink. She's like 100 years old and weighs 43 lbs. I cannot imagine why she would be limping, can you? 

I have been really trying to poddy train Suzy while we have been out of school, but I am having zero luck. She will use the toilet, but you have to ask her or make her use it. She would rather keep playing than tell me that she needs to poddy. I have tried leaving her naked as much as possible to see if that would help. She has even started wearing big girl panties. One day she went through an entire pack of new panties before lunch. I sat her on the poddy every thirty minutes like clock work. As soon as she wouldn't "go", I would pull her panties back up and 5 minutes later she was "wet". When she is ready, she will do it is what I keep telling myself. Gosh, I am SOOOO ready to quit buying diapers!

This particular morning, Suzy decided she would play in her boxes while being in her "birthday suit"...

After "wetting" the previous box, she was summoned to a diaper. She didn't mind one bit. 

Suzy has also spent tons of time taking baths this summer. She takes at least an hour long bath in the morning and usually a 30 minute bath at night. Sometimes at night she doesn't even want to get out of the tub. She tells me she is going to sleep in the tub with her blanket towel. It is a fight to get her out and dressed for bed these nights.

Who knew a Jacuzzi tub could be a playpen for a two and a half year old?