Hello, hello!
Well first and foremost, HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEET HUBBY!
Andrew Shull, you are my most favorite person EVER.
I am so so grateful you get to be mine.
Celebrating you today is easy.
I love you SO much! xx
Okay, today is both Wellness Wednesday (about a breast cancer screening tool I used) AND the first recap from our Spring Break vacation to St. Thomas and St. John.
So much to share on this Hump Day 🙂 .
If you’ll recall, last year…
…our family went on the BEAUTIFUL Norwegian Viva for Spring Break and enjoyed a seven night cruise through the Caribbean. We had the best best time (recaps HERE) and decided while we were on that cruise that we wanted to go back and do a land vacation the following year.
So, that’s how we ended up with this Spring Break destination.
St. Thomas had been one of our ports of call last Spring Break, and we liked it so much that we wanted to head back and visit.
As much as the Shull family likes a cold weather vacation, we really, really love sunshine for Spring Break.
I’m going to go ahead and spoil the ending of this story…you guys, we had the BEST time. It was truly one of our favorite Spring Breaks (and we have had MANY awesome Spring Breaks!). Andrew and I aren’t sure whether it’s the fact that our kids are getting older, or the fact that we’re now counting down how many we have left (only two as a family under one roof!), or the location…I’m not sure, but for whatever reason, this one just felt EXTRA special.
Okay, we packed up and left Dallas on a Sunday morning and headed to the beautiful Caribbean…
…here we are about to land on St. Thomas 🙂 .
We arrived, headed to our hotel to check in, and then went straight to dinner…
…our first dinner on St. Thomas was at 3 Palms, and it was by far our favorite! We loved the location, the service and the food.
We sat out on the patio by the water but look inside. So cute, right?
After dinner, we headed back to our hotel and crashed for the night.
The next morning…
…I enjoyed our gorgeous hotel room view while doing my quiet time and drinking my coffee.
The ocean + my Bible + coffee is my favorite combination.
We stayed at The Ritz Carlton St. Thomas, and it was spectacular!
This is basically how I spent my day…
…and not just me…
…I now have FOUR little beach readers 🙂 .
When I wasn’t beachside with my book…
…I was eating the yummy food or…
…in the water 🙂 .
Beach time is the best time!
We also all loved…
…the pools and slide too!
Day one was super FUN!
Later that night, we cleaned up and went to dinner at Isla Blue.
Day TWO started with…
…my cute AMAZON COVER UP.
After that, we headed back to the beach for our last full day on St. Thomas…
…another gorgeous day!
I am rapidly shrinking next to these two.
The water is clear and gorgeous here. It was the perfect place for these two…
…to head out and paddle board.
Ashby LOVES to paddle board. Madeley loves to have Ashby paddle board her around, haha!
When they were done paddle boarding…
…they took out a kayak next. They had so much fun out there!
After a full day outside, we cleaned up and stopped back by…
…3 Palms for aperitif time. We enjoyed it so much at night, we wanted to see it at sunset too.
When we were done, we walked from our resort over to…
…the cozy cute Caribbean Fish Market for dinner.
Another great day 🙂 .
And that’s RECAP #1 from our Spring Break trip this year!
Now, OF COURSE, our travel agency would love to send YOU to St. Thomas or St. John or on a cruise or to Europe…Mexico, Asia, Australia, Africa…Walt Disney World…too! We love what we do and want to work with you too! Contact us today for a free quote and more information.
A few extra things to note…
…I brought, of course, my COLLEEN ROTHSCHILD QUENCH & SHINE KIT. I always bring one with me when I travel. If you haven’t tried their amazing hair products yet, this kit is the perfect way to sample them all!
I also brought with me…
…my beloved DRAWSTRING COSMETIC BAG…
…I have been using it for years and have never had anything break while traveling. It’s SO GOOD!
And my very loved TOILETRY BAG. I keep this stocked at my house all the time, so it’s really easy to grab and take with me when I travel. It’s a great place for me to use samples that I receive when purchasing other beauty products.
You can catch everything I PACKED FOR SPRING BREAK HERE too!
Now, make sure you hop over and see today’s WELLNESS WEDNESDAY POST about a breast cancer screening tool I used too!
I’ll see you guys tomorrow! xx
Elspeth Mizner says
What a beautiful first few days! Thanks for sharing!!
http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
Laura says
Sounds and looks like a GREAT start to Spring Break! What type of room(s) do you stay in to accommodate the 6 of you? Looking forward to hearing more about the coming days!!! 🙂
Kristin says
Parenting tip: tell your kids they can only apply to colleges that have the same spring break! I’m only half joking. We haven’t had a family trip since the summer after our son graduated from high school, unless you count our daughter joining us when we go to visit him. I miss those trips. Fortunately, our son and his wife were able to join us on a trip to Italy last summer.
Jessica says
For our Spring break, the kids and I were in IL visiting my family. I saw my Dad’s bible was falling apart and held together by tape. I told him about this blogger I follow who had her bible rebound and was very happy with the results. He sent his out that week and got it back yesterday.It looks great, feels sturdy and he loves it. Thank you for the recommendation.
Mix and Match Mama says
This makes my heart so happy!!! Don’t they do amazing work? I am so happy your dad did it too.
MelanieL says
I love a vacation recap, yay!! So glad you had an amazing time. I felt our vacations getting better and better as my kids got older but the summer vacation right before our girl left for college in 2023 was one I will hold in my heart forever as the very best! I knew life would never be the same as it was that summer and I cherished it with my whole being.
Happy birthday Andrew! 🙂
Amy Azza says
MelanieL, my daughter left for college too in 2023, and we took a summer vacation before she left that I will never forget! I hope your daughter is thriving and loving college. My daughter absolutely loves her school. I can’t believe they will be juniors in college in the fall.
Laura says
What a great vacation. I’ve been to both St. Thomas and St. John. Both well worth going to and both so beautiful.
Erin says
I have the hanging toiletry bag and lay flat drawstring bag. Both are so convenient.
Paula Hobbs says
Happy Birthday, Andrew!!! Spring Break looked soooo fun!!
Alison says
Happy Birthday Andrew! I love a vacation recap! Enjoy all the moments! Where is Madeley’s bathing suit from? It’s so cute!
Mix and Match Mama says
Target 🙂
SS says
Happy Birthday to Andrew!!! Love the sunny pix. Miss M taking full advantage of being the youngest… 😂
We have been socked in with clouds for so long!!! It has been raining all day and cold.
I can’t wait for temps to be warmer so we can get out to watch for the Auroras like last year!!!
Richelle says
Just FYI – since you are a TA so I am sure you would want to know this… we stayed at the Ritz in St Thomas in July 2022 & the seaweed/algae/kelp/whatever it was, was so bad the beach was barely usable. It smelled, attracted bugs, & made swimming impossible. Not sure if that issue is seasonal or if it was just particularly bad that year or what. So glad it was beautiful when you went!
Shaye Dodson says
Yes Richelle – we went in 2017 and you wouldn’t believe the pictures I took. It was some of the worst seaweed I have ever seen. So bad, we could smell it everywhere & they had to close the beach while we were there. We stayed at the Ritz also & I loved the resort, but was disappointed in the lack of beach access due to it ☹️
Carol says
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Andrew.
K.K. says
Happy birthday, Andrew! Yay also for breast health conversations. AND yay for excellent beach vacations. We are getting to the coast in May, and I’m counting it down.
Jeanette says
Happy Birthday Andrew!! That looks like my kind of vacation 😁.
Jodi says
What do your 2 bigs do during days at the beach? As mine have gotten older, sadly wave jumping, sandcastle building, and beach toys have lost a bit of luster. How do yours stay engaged in a day on the sand?
Mix and Match Mama says
They are ocean people. They swim, paddleboard, kayak, nap, read a little…things like that.
Dawn Keller says
My daughter got married at the Ritz in St. Thomas in 2014. They honeymooned on St. John. Have been to both several times and just love the area. The Ritz was wonderful to us and planned everything for the wedding.
Mix and Match Mama says
How amazing is that?!
Eliza says
Madeley loves to have Ashby paddle board her around…that made me laugh out loud 😂
🎈HBD to Andrew!
And I agree w you….as our kids have gotten older (our youngest is a HS sr, eek!) any time we’re all together either out to dinner or traveling, it’s just the best!