"We goin' 'Ruba?"

Our summer trip to Aruba took on a whole new level of fun this year in that Cael was actually able to look forward to the adventure.  It was adorable to watch his excitement build as the vacation neared and as we talked about all of the fun that he would have.  We spent the weeks prior to the trip discussing everything from the flights on the airplanes to the family members that he would see.  All of those conversations resulted in Cael's favorite question of the summer:

"We goin' 'Ruba?"

He was so excited to go on the trip and we were anxious to see what he thought of his first Aruban adventure that he could fully walk and talk his way through. 

Even with a super-early start to a long day of travel, Cael was a great traveler and loved all of the time associated with airplanes ... looking at them, talking about them, riding in them.  Our day of travel went beautifully and before we knew it, we were in the full swing of Aruban fun.

There were many construction projects in the sand.

Cael loved driving his car, both in and out of the pool.

Iguana feeding was a big hit.

The Benihana chefs were totally awe-inspiring.

There were new and exciting things to look at everywhere we went.

Cael enjoyed every minute of the trip but there was one activity that he clearly loved the most ... the waterslide.  I did not think that this would be "the year of the waterslide" but Cael wanted to give it a try and that was all it took for him to decide that he wanted to go again ... and again and again.

He had no fear stepping onto that slide,

zipping through the curves,

and splashing into the pool!

That face says it all as our kid could not get enough of that slide.  That was a huge highlight of the trip but here are a few of my other favorite shots:

 



It was an amazing trip and on top of the exciting activities, we were able to take in all of the fun with most of our family ... such special times.  Understandably, Cael has already started asking "We goin' 'Ruba?"