Hello, Vacation!

Last night we arrived back from one glorious week of vacation in the Canary Islands. Shannon and I had discussed going there for our honeymoon, but decided to save our money and try to go at a later date. Well, the later date finally happened. Shannon's dad and stepmom wanted to go to Europe for their 30th anniversary and to meet us somewhere, so we chose the Canaries. And what a fantastic choice, if I do say so myself.

Lane's expression says it all: vacation was a blast!

In case you're wondering where the Canaries are.

We had a great time. I'm not sure if I'd recommend flying across the Atlantic just to go to the Canary Islands, but if you're already in Europe, I'd definitely recommend them!

The Fairways Club on the island of Tenerife.

We booked a week at the Fairways Club on Tenerife island. It's a pretty isolated resort run by Brits. It's also right next to a golf course, which Shannon and his dad took advantage of a couple of times.

The master bedroom in our apartment.

The view out the back door of our apartment.

We left Istanbul on Thursday morning and flew to Madrid, where we spent the night. On Friday morning we flew to Tenerife, where we met Shannon's dad and stepmom.

Then we spent six fantastic days doing relatively nothing.

Lane's first dip in a swimming pool. (And me being thankful for the second pregnancy in a row that I invested in a maternity swimsuit the first go-around.)

It was great.

It was our first "real" vacation (you know, the relaxing kind, not the "see everything there is to see in as short a time period as possible" kind) in two years, since we went to Hawaii in 2009.

Shannon's dad and stepmom treated him to a round of golf as a belated birthday present.

Shannon and his dad played golf twice: once they played the par 3 course (as a warm up for the real deal), and once they played the whole thing. They both said it's the prettiest golf course they've ever played.

Who could argue with them when you get views like this while playing?!

While Shannon and his dad played golf, Cindy and Lane and I did some of this:

Playing in the apartment.

And a little of this:

Lane is like a little fish. She loved the water and by day two she was kicking her legs around, paddling herself around the deep end by herself.

We went out to eat at restaurants on the Fairways Club property a few times (paella and/or beef bourguignon anyone?)

Celebrating all of our anniversaries, albeit a bit late. 30 years for Lyn and Cindy, 4 years for me and Shannon.

And we ate in a few times as well.

Lyn in the kitchen preparing his "specialty" breakfast, egg-in-a-hole (a piece of toast with a hole cut out and a fried egg in the middle). Cindy and I had scrambled eggs. Shannon and Lyn had egg-in-a-hole. And Lane, as much as Shannon and Lyn wanted her to like egg-in-a-hole, ate scrambled eggs as well.

One of my, Shannon's, and Lane's last meals after Lyn and Cindy left: frozen pizza, watermelon, and (this is the important part) Cherry Coke and Dr. Pepper (neither of which are available in Turkey). Not the most impressive dinner ever, but we wanted to use up food we had already bought that was in the apartment.

Shannon and I got to go on a date one night as well. Shannon wanted to go to a movie, but the only movie playing in English was Bridesmaids, which Shannon wasn't too keen on seeing. So instead we drove into Playa de las Américas and got dessert and coffee and walked around a bit.

Four pieces of dessert for only €6.40. And don't worry, we didn't eat it all, but took back our leftovers and had them for dessert the next day.

While we were gone, Lyn and Cindy took Lane swimming and playing on the on-site playground.

One day we all drove to the Playa de San Juan. We walked around, watched waves crashing on the shore, saw lots of banana plantations, and watched boats and airplanes go by. Lane loved the wind in her hair and watching airplanes. She'd get so excited every time one would go by.

Screaming in excitement at airplanes going overhead.

After Lyn and Cindy left on Wednesday we spent the rest of our time relaxing, going for walks, playing at the pool, and just enjoying our last bit of down time.

We found a gravel path that Lane loved. She loved the rocks. We loved the view.

More swimming. Daddies are the best to swim with.

We had to leave on Friday morning at 1:00 a.m., arriving back home at about 7:00 p.m. yesterday evening. It was a long day of travel, but Lane did great, all things considered (two flights and a 7-hour layover, 16ish hours traveling, only 6-7ish hours sleep total for Thursday night/Friday day). We are refreshed, relaxed, and ready for "real" life again.

The only family photo we have in Tenerife is horrible, so take this one instead as a general indication of what a great time we all had. Gotta love those smiles on my man and my girl!