Operation: Plan a vacation on the fly because you are too pregnant to get on your cruise to the Bahamas that you already paid for and you are now stuck in Florida for the week, was a HUGE SUCCESS!!

Sometimes life throws you lemons and when it does, it is good to be with friends who know how to make the best lemonade around!  

When I found out I couldn't go on the cruise Julia and Wendy were SUPER AMAZING friends doing everything to make my tears and guilt go away.  They took care of everything from getting our cruise credited so we can go in the future, to planning a quick new vacation in Ft. Lauderdale for the next four days.  I am so lucky to have some of the best, positive, hilarious friends EVER.  I love these girls so much!  I really wanted them to go on the cruise without me, but they were not going to leave me.  Lemonade I tell you; sweet delicious lemonade!

We decided to spend the week in Ft. Lauderdale Florida; this was never a spot I thought about vacationing in before, but it turned out to be a gold mind.  It was off season so we were able to afford a lovely hotel right on the beach.  Ironically the hotel was shaped like a cruise ship.  It had a lovely pool, private beach, restaurants and below shows the view from our room.  Not too shabby!

Our first night we were all pretty drained so went to dinner and ordered dessert first, it was the best idea; I recommend this plan to anyone having an especially difficult day.  We then sat by the pool and just relaxed to the sounds of the ocean waves as we chatted and laughed about our day.

Two of the days were spent on the beach, swimming in the warm perfect ocean water, drinking pina coladas, chatting and reading our kindles.  It was basically perfect.

We got all gussied up a couple of nights for a lovely dinner.  We had wonderful food everywhere we went.  

We took the trolly around town one day to do some shopping, get a massage and do some more eating.

This was our pool, then our beach, then the ocean.  This was right out of my dreams and I loved living it!

These girls don't love the son as much as I do, so we got them a little bit of shade and I hung out in front of them soaking in as much sun as possible.  I really love being on the beach.  

This beach had the perfect smooth sand and warm clear blue water, it was similar to being on a tropical island I imagine.

We rented a car the last day we were in Florida to visit the Everglades and go on an airboat tour.  Who knew the Everglades were so gorgeous!?  The Airboat tour was wonderful and were able to see lots of wildlife.  Yes, the alligators came right up to our boats, a little too close for comfort, but absolutely fascinating.

Our tour guide Lt. Dan was wonderful.  He kept us entertained the entire trip.

We even got to hold a baby alligator; isn't she the cutest?

We saw an alligator show as well, this is apparently where Gator Boys is filmed, I assume this is a show on Animal Planet, but I don't have cable so I have no idea.  It was pretty flippin' amazing!

Our last night we went to the beach to try to see some of the baby sea turtle nests hatch as this is the time of year that they hatch.  Since there was a full bright moon the week were there, many nest were hatching.  Julia and I stayed out until 2 a.m and saw three next hatch.  It was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever witnessed.  Each nest held 50-85 baby turtles that we got to count and make sure made it into the ocean.  We couldn't take any pictures because any light confuses them and they wont go toward the ocean, but we were there and it was an experience we wont forget.

Here is a video of the baby turtles, so you can get a sense of what we saw.

It was a very memorable trip filled with lots of laughing, inside jokes, sweating, fun and deep conversation.  I love these girls so much and am so lucky to have them in my life. 

Bahamas cruise will be happening, just not until March 2015.

New Adventures

This Gentry family is always looking for something fun and new to do, although we have found some things that we love to do repeatedly at this point as well.  

We have had a few new adventures this summer that we have really enjoyed. Recently we went to Hingham, MA to World's End Reservation.  It is $6 an adult to visit.  It has a kid friendly hike that is 3 miles round trip and you end up with a view of Boston like this.  There is also ocean where you can swim; we saw a lot of kayaks launch from here as well.  It is a beautiful spot and a nice hike for a younger family.  The view is absolutely amazing!

 We visited with some friends we made at the UofU alumni BBQ earlier this summer, our schedules finally aligned so we could hang out.  They live in Plymoth, MA so this was a place we could meet in the middle.  They have a cute boy named Lucious who is Berkeley's age and have a 3 month old baby girl as well.  Perfect, except they are moving to the West Coast in November.  I hate when friends move, it is my least favorite thing.

 If you do this trip bring sun screen, bug spray, water and a swim suit. We were not really prepared but swam in our undies (well, some of us) and had a great time regardless.

Christian and Berkeley also went to Battleship Cove recently while I was working.  It is the world's largest navel ship exhibit and is located in Fall River, MA.  The pictures look amazing and Christian and Berkeley both loved it!  It is home to the USS Massachusetts, the USS Joseph P. Kenned, Jr and the Submarine Lionfish.  Berkeley loved climbing all over the ship, pretending to shoot the guns. 

 Christian spent 1/2 a day there and said it really is something you could look at a full 8 hour day.  He felt there was so much to see and he only got to see a little bit of it.  He highly recommends visiting.  It is a bit of a drive, but if you loves ships, planes and helicopters it may be worth the trip.

Back to Back Camping Trips

Last weekend we camped in the Berkshire Mountains with 12 other families; this has become a yearly tradition and we always have a great time.  We love camping in the Berkshires because we always have lots of friends to play with, we get to swim and play in Laurel Lake and we can attend Tanglewood if the weather permits (luckily it did this year).  Sadly I forgot my camera during our trip this year, but it was a good time, especially for the little man who had endless friends to play with, which is his dream come true.  

The only downside of camping in the Berkshires is the ridiculous amount of mosquito's.  Those darn bugs attacked me even with bug spay and covering up the body with pants.  

The following weekend we camped at Lake Dennison.  This was our first time at this campsite and it was beautiful as it is right on the lake.  I didn't see one mosquito or get one bite, but we did see plenty of spiders and grasshoppers.  The only downside to this campsite was the icky bathrooms.

Berkeley loves to camp; we decided this year we would do more camping instead of weekend trips where we needed to stay in a hotel.  This is our third (and FINAL) camping trip for our family (although I think C is going to take B one more time, but this pregnant body isn't joining in any longer).  Berke loves to find sticks, run around in the open areas, and swim in various lakes/ oceans.  He lives to sleep in a tent and I just love to see him in his adorable red flannel shirt!

King of the Mountain!

 We enjoyed a very scenic swim in Lake Dennison, this is an ideal spot if you have a canoe or a kayak.  Sadly, they don't let you swim outside of the roped off area so that was a total bummer.

 My parents bought us a dutch oven for Christmas last year and we have enjoyed using it this year.  We have made chili, veggie pot pie, peach berry cobbler and eggs this year.  Everything has tasted delicious and this guy has earned dutch oven expert status over the summer.

  This is beautiful lake Dennison at sun set.  If you are in Boston this is a great campsite as it is only 70 minutes out of the city, straight up Route 2, it is gorgeous and the mosquito's are almost non existent.  

Camping while pregnant is not ideal, but it was worth it to spend some quality time with the family and make my little man happy.  

Sand Sculptures

Each year Revere Beach has a Sand Sculpture Festival and we try to go when we can.  Revere Beach is not our favorite beach, but it is close to our house and sand sculptures make it worth the trip.

 I'm always amazed at the excellent  and hard work that goes into these sculptures, it is pretty amazing.  We tried to build our own sculpture and this was as good as it got.  We did have a fun day at the beach, sitting in the sun, enjoying the water and the sand.  I love afternoons where I get to spend time with these two handsome boys.

It's a.....

Today we went for our big ultra sound to find out if this little babe that has been causing so much trouble is a boy or a girl.  We decided to have Berkeley be a big part of the day, so he accompanied us to the appointment.  We brought cupcakes, some with pink and some with blue frosting.  When we were done with the ultra sound we had the technician take Berke out into the hall and he brought in the color of cupcake that indicated the gender.

Berkeley was happy to bring in the PINK cupcakes and announced that he is going to have a baby sister, which he then declared, "She will be my third girlfriend!" Oh dear, we have a bit of education to do on this little guy, but we are all pretty stoked.  Since is the last baby I will ever be birthing, we are thrilled to have one of each gender!

 We are all really excited to add another girl to the Gentry household!  Let the shopping begin!!!

It's a Girl!!

 Side note: Our technician told us this was the cutest way she has got to reveal the gender of a baby in her 8  years of doing this, 5 days a week.  This was not a pinterest idea, but came from my own head.

North Carolina, A Trip South

This year for the Big Gentry Family vacation we decided to visit our friends Brooke and Christina and their two little ones Isobel and Jude in North Carolina.  They are good friends we made when we were at the University of Utah and we have managed to stay well connected to them.  I have loved North Carolina since I worked there one summer as a camp counselor and have always wanted to get back.  Brooke and Christina recently bought a house in Greensboro that had plenty of room to house us; so the cards seemed to aline and we booked our flights.

We had a fabulous week hanging out with our friends.  Berkeley was in heaven as he had two friends as a constant play date for an entire week.  

We flew in to Raleigh/Durham and decided to visit the Children's Museum called Marbles there.  It was one of the funnest children's museums I have been to, it was so much fun for the kids.  There was a lot of sticker shock while we were visiting; we were pleasantly surprised that the Children's Museum was only $5!!!  What a deal compared to prices in Boston! 

After we wore the kiddos out, we drove to Greensboro.  The next day we went to the Greensboro Science Center, which was super duper fun.  It had just added an Aquarium which the kids loved.  The best part was that our Museum of Science Membership in Boston got us into this museum for FREE!  Score!

Berke was nervous to touch the sting rays, but finally did it with the help of his dad.  As you can see they are both pretty excited about it (can you tell Berkeley is a mini Christian?)

The Science Center also had some really fun exhibits about the body, reptiles and other fun things.  Berke got to pet a lizard and a snake which he was pretty nervous about, but he overcame his fear.  My favorite reptile was the two headed turtle and the 95 year old sea turtle.  They also had a mini zoo at the Center (yep, they had everything) and we got to see a newborn Gibbon, a red panda and enjoy the petting zoo.

The fourth of July was spent very patriotically, naturally.  We enjoyed a fabulous parade in downtown Greensboro; the kids loved collecting candy and waving their flags at the floats.

These two are two adorable daddies had a great time together.

We listened to a fun kids band, played some drums and then became too hot from the humidity and had to head home to cool off for a bit.  Once we were rested and fed, we went to the most American sport around, baseball.  We sat on the grass and cheered on the Greensboro Grasshoppers.  In the bottom of the 9th it was a tie game and one of the "Hoppers" with 2 outs hit a home run!  It was a great ending to the game.  Some of us enjoyed the fireworks show afterwards; others of us had to have their mom cover their ears tightly to drown out the sound and continually ask when it was going to be over.  

I really love how diverse and beautiful the land of North Carolina is; we drove 1 hour through  lovely country sides to Hanging Rock State Park and enjoyed the day at the Lower Cascade Falls.  It was beautiful and shallow enough for the kids to explore and have fun.  Here is our whole crew!

Berkeley can always be found in the most unexpected spots, he always keeps me laughing.

Other Greensboro highlights included getting pedicures with Christina, eating Krispy Kreme donuts and pimento cheese, visiting the civil rights museum, playing with Stella the coon hound and having a goofy and fun date night where we were able to explore downtown Greensboro.

Did I mention the Berkeley and Isobel became the best of buds; they played so well together and wore each other out every day!

Sunday our family gave Brooke and Christina's family a break; we drove down to Asheville to meet up with some other friends who were in Brevard, NC for the summer.  We left early and met up with Ben and Jihey at the most delicious breakfast at the Sunny Point Cafe.  Asheville has a culture much like Cambridge, MA, but it much more beautiful.

After breakfast we spent the day exploring the Biltmore Estate.  We have visited the Breakers, which is the mansion where the Vanderbilt's spent their summers which is amazing, so we wanted to see what their "regular" home was like. As you can see this is not your typical home.  This "home" has 250 rooms, 111 of which are bedrooms.  It was remarkable to tour the house (even though we went quickly as to keep a certain 4 year old entertained), to see how these people lived.  

Not only is their home gigantic, the entire estate is HUGE!  We walked through some of their gardens which were beautiful, drove a 1/2 hour within the estate to see the old farms and the winery.

I have always wanted to stomp grapes since I saw the episode on I Love Lucy where she does it.  It was a pretty gross sensation, but I'm glad I did it.

Every day on vacation was filled with rain, but it didn't stop us from too many activities.  Sadly we left our umbrella in the car while visiting the farms as we thought we were in the clear of any rain.  We were wrong!  It started to DOWN POOR.  While we went for cover for a bit, Berkeley decided it would be much more fun to run and play in the rain, so we did that too.  We were drenched by the time we got to the car.

The next day both families drove to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina.  We enjoyed the warm ocean waters; we swam, played and enjoyed the sand as well.  I loved swimming in warmer water and wish so badly that the New England beaches were just a tad less chilly.

After fun in the sun, our kiddos were pretty pooped.

Brooke and Christina were such  wonderful hosts.  They let us take over their house, made us delicious food, played tour guide, and stayed up late every night talking and laughing.  We all had such a fun time together that we are hoping to get together again soon.  I still love North Carolina and could see myself as a Southern Bell at some point in life. The South will always have a special place in my heart, I just love it!

It is crazy to think that this is our last big vacation as a trio, next summer when we head out west to visit our families we will be a family of four!