Has it been a month already?! The last 4 weeks of our new life here in Puerto Rico have been such a whirlwind ride, it’s time for some R&R! We drove to the other side of the island and checked into the beautiful Las Casitas Resort in Fajardo. It’s a village of cliffside villas nestled within the El Conquistador property and is part of the Waldorf Astoria hotel collection, so it’s definitely a splurge.  A little mix-up with our reservation resulted in an upgrade to a 3-room villa with a full view of the ocean— definitely a good sign for the new year! This view was enough to keep this traveling brood in one place (for a change!).  We spent the rest of our day just chillin’ by the infinity pool and jacuzzi overlooking the Atlantic ocean and Isla Palominos, a private island owned by El Conquistador. Normally, we have to pull the kids out of the pool, but this time around, they were trying to get us to leave— tough job! When we finally pried ourselves away from the comforts of Las Casitas, we headed over to the crown jewel of Puerto Rico’s natural attractions, the El Yunque rainforest.  Rain was definitely part of our day as we trekked down slippery slopes to the La Mina Falls.  It’s a .7 mile steep hike to the falls— strenuous for sure, but if my sister and her 8-month-old baby can do it, so can you ?  (This was our mantra for the other kids when they were about to complain!) By the time we got to the falls, Dylan wasn’t in a good mood as he had slipped a couple of times in the rain.  Not even the sight of cool, flowing waters could calm him down— so we had a little heart-to-heart talk.  We asked him — “Would you turn your back on the waterfalls and go home upset and tired, OR would you rather forget your worries, take the leap and swim to the falls?” Happy to report that our little dude went for it, with Ninong Anthony guiding him and a whole crew cheering him on! Proof that weekend excursions are growth opportunities! Rock on, buddy! After Fajardo, it was time for a different adventure.  We drove inland and up the mountains to try our other favorite Puerto Rican export — coffee!  We ended up in the town…

With the holidays in full swing, we welcomed another guest into our home, “Ninong” Anthony!  And what else could be a more fitting welcome for our favorite godfather but a trip to the home of his favorite Puerto Rican export — rum!  We drove to Casa Bacardi, 15 minutes away from our new home, where we sought to learn about the history of rum and tour the distillery — ok, who are we kidding, we were there for free mojitos and cuba libre! Energized from all the rum-tasting, we went on a whim the next day and went cave-trekking.  We drove up the mountains to Cueva Ventana, a series of caves that led to a breathtaking “window” cliff view of Arecibo.  What makes this more impressive is that we hiked this slippery path with 3 kids under 10 and a baby strapped to Ninong Anthony’s back. Think of that when you’re feeling like skipping on a workout 🙂 All that trekking got us hungry, and we were lucky enough to be invited to our first home-cooked Boriqueno dinner.  Our fave right-hand man, Rafael, and his lovely wife, Angela, hosted us for a night of cocina criollo, bachatón and laughter that somehow overcame the language barrier. The kids were also not to be left behind as they too got their first party invitation!  They spent a full afternoon jumping their hearts away at the local trampoline park, Altitude, and celebrated the birthday of their new friend, Olivia. Last but not the least was the ultimate New Year’s Eve celebration.  We spent a carefree day chillin’ on the pristine sands of Dorado Beach (a Ritz Carlton Reserve property), then changed gears and danced the night away at the Ritz’ NYE beach party, where the kids had their fill of pineapple juice and the adults had unlimited pours of “adult juice”. We bid farewell to 2016 by the bonfire, and counted down to 2017 with fireworks, champagne and hugs from Ant-Man ?

After working hard all week with Rafael and his team to make sure there were no open wires, no water leaks and most especially, no bird nests, it was time to move into our home.  Our moving truck was still delayed, so we bunked on an airbed and DapperGanger inflatable lounge chairs for the night.  While we love these chairs on a hot summer day on the beach, not so much after 4 hours of sleep.  So we headed the next day to a nearby Rooms to Go outlet where we pretty much got most of our furniture so we wouldn’t be left sleeping on cold hard ceramic tile. Our stuff finally arrived!  I must say, the tetris-like arrangement by the movers back in California stood its ground  through 3,600 miles of pavement and ship cargo (Thanks, Chris and your Home Depot sidewalk movers!).  Once again, Rafael came to the rescue and had a team of folks helping us unload our stuff and haul them up 3 flights of stairs. After a few days of unpacking, we decided to take a break and visit Old San Juan.  We’ve been here a couple of times in the past, but we never get tired of walking through cobblestone streets, gazing at colorful colonial buildings and watching kites flying over Castillo San Felipe del Morro.  It also doesn’t hurt to feed our hunger pang with tapas and paella at El Picoteo inside the beautiful converted convent hotel, El Convento. We also welcomed our first guests in our home!  Our sister and her two lovely kids came just in time for our first Christmas in Puerto Rico.  It made all the difference to enjoy a special cooked meal (made by our sister) and have family over for Noche Buena.  Waking up to Christmas morning with excited kids tugging at our sleeves to open their gifts from Puerto Rican Santa was just priceless! We ended the week on a high note as we attended Christmas mass at our neighborhood chapel to celebrate the real reason for the season and to thank Him for the countless provisions we’ve been blessed with.  Then we spent some quality time bonding with family on a quiet Christmas afternoon in Dorado beach.  #grateful

It’s been a week here now, and so far, so good.  The kids are slowly settling in — from the anxiety of the plane ride to seeing our new home and meeting new people.  They’re still a little shy busting out their Dora-level Spanish, but seeing their parents bravely communicate in a mix of sign language, Spanglish and Google Translate seem to have boosted their confidence.  The locals have been extremely friendly and accommodating; another big plus was meeting neighbors with young kids who are also new transplants to Dorado — definitely reminds us of our neighbors back home! We finally saw our new place, which looks great on the outside — until we stepped in to find birds nesting on the fridge top, and a few other things…  We quickly made a beeline to the nearest hotel to setup camp and prepare for a week-long mini-version of “Fixer Upper”.   We also met with Rafael, our all-around handyman, a.k.a. the person we can’t live without!  He’s already replaced “Brood Papa” Ron in my iPhone favorites list, and he doesn’t mind because it’s the same on his side! We were also welcomed with pouring rain and moody weather.  Below is a sample of what it’s like at 10:00, then at 10:10 (and repeating again every hour or less), although with this view from the top floor of Embassy Suites Dorado, we really can’t complain!  If there’s any consolation to our friends in cooler climates, the tropical weather also means a barrage of mosquitoes who clearly love fresh-off-the-boat meat.  If you’re visiting us, a gift of organic and efficient mosquito repellent is all we need! To immerse ourselves in some Puerto Rican culture, we decided to hit the mall on a Sunday afternoon in the height of Christmas shopping.  This is a lesson in so many ways — from aggressive driving to creative parking strategies, sifting through crowds and remembering to bring a jacket in the mall, learning directions and finding the best soft-serve ice cream!  We also realized that we didn’t need to ship much because they have almost everything here as in the mainland.  Oh, and the kids got their first picture with a Puerto Rican Santa! We ended the week on a high note as “Brood Mama” Dawne celebrated her birthday. We drove down to the neighboring village, Dorado Beach (a Ritz Carlton Reserve), where the adults spent the…

A year ago, we went on a 6-week sabbatical to South America with our two young kids. We both were taking a break from intensive careers that, quite frankly, put a strain on our #1 job (parenthood) and our #1 priority (our family). The first part of our trip was, like many we’ve done before, checking off items on our bucket list. The second and most important part was about rekindling our passion for life and each other. We dropped our to-do lists and focused on what made sense, what felt right here and now. It was magical. One particular moment struck the most — we were on the boat home from the Amazon, and Ron and I took a last look at the rainforest. Staring deep into the green unknown, I asked him, “We’ve always said we’d take this big leap of faith into unfamiliar territory — what are we waiting for?” He looked at me and said, “I’m waiting for you.” I stopped. It was a question for me all along. I’ve always been the one with the carefully managed agile boards and the never-ending task lists that kept me awake till the wee hours of the morning. After over a month of fully investing into our kids and each other, I said, “I’m ready. Let’s do it.” So here we are, a year later — finally making the big leap. We’ve uprooted ourselves from the familiarity of our Northern California life, and moved 3000 miles away to Puerto Rico. It’s been a crazy ride preparing for this (because we just can’t take the planner out of us), but it’s a calculated risk that we’re hoping will pay off. Hello, Dorado!