Days Thirty-Three and Thirty-Four in the Dominican Republic

I'll begin by apologizing for not posting the past couple days. We've been going, going, going since we arrived at the hotel. Then, when we get back to the hotel room, and I remember about posting, I'm too exhausted to post anything. So, I'm posting now as the kids are getting their "last swim in the pool" before we leave the hotel for the airport. 

When talking to Steve about some of the goals for this trip, he mentioned four things they like to accomplish: Work, Learn, Reflect, and Fun. As I look back over our trip, I can see how we were able to do all of those things throughout our time. In the Dominican Republic. 

These last few days have fallen under the categories of "fun" and "reflection." The girls really wanted to get to the beach another time, however, it cost almost $85 to catch a taxi to the beach. So, Steve and Sandra recommended that we wait till the end of our trip and stay at a hotel on the beach. Rachel and I had stuck away a little bit of money for such an opportunity. So, we jumped on it. It's been a perfect way to wrap up our time here in the DR. 

Interestingly enough, we've had another set of "culture shock" moments at this resort. We're not used to staying at fancy, high-end places and felt extremely out of place for the first part of our trip--kinda like hillbillies going to the city. We were reflecting on how we went through many of the same emotions and responses as we did during those first few days in the DR, over a month ago. It was an interesting contrast. I all started off after the bell hop helped carry our bags to our rooms. I realized I should tip him, but how much do you tip a bellhop? By the look on his face when I gave him the tip, it wasn't nearly what he typically received. Ooops! Oh well. Eventually, we settled in and embraced the differences (like we've been doing for the past month). 

The place is very nice! I could show a bunch of pictures, but will limit it to a few. We've spent most of our time here playing in the pool, swimming in the ocean, and hanging out at the coffee shop. Yesterday, we bought a snorkeling set and used it around the swimming area. I think I enjoyed it even more than the kids. I didn't want to stop. Just by snorkeling around the swimming area, I'm pretty sure I saw almost twenty different types of fish--all different sizes and colors. The kids have also enjoyed walked the beach, looking for shells. I've also been trying to teach Rachel how to handle beach vendors, but she's till too nice :-)

The kids have also enjoyed some of the other activities around the resort. As you can see from the two pictures above, the resort has an chess board built into the lawn outside of our rooms. They also have a climibing wall--technically, I think it's called a bouldering wall. The kids have made sure to use the bouldering wall at least twice very day. We also sat outside for quite a while last night playing chess. First, Erin and Lauren played against each other--Lauren won. Then I took on both of them as a team. They played very well together. Yet, I was still victorious in the end. It was a lot of fun. 

Now, we will be wrapping up and packing p in the next half hour or so. They have scheduled a taxi to take us to the airport. While we've all enjoyed the varies aspects of this trip, I think we're all ready to be home as well. I know I have been antsy to get home for the past couple days. 

You can be praying for our travels today. It's pretty stressful trying to direct a family of six through an airport. You can also pray that things go smoothly throughout the day--that we get to our gate in Santo Domingo without any hiccups and that our flights are on time. Also, pray that we arrive home safely tonight. We are scheduled to arrive at the Minneapolis airport around midnight tonight. Rachel's parents are picking us up and we will be spending the night at their house tonight. It will be nice that we don't have to treck all the way home tonight. Thanks for all your prayers throughout this trip. God has very very good and very faithful. We trust that He will continue to be with us as we travel home. 

Buenos Dias!