Happy Tuesday everyone! I am sharing the rest of our Aruba trip. I was planning on sharing it yesterday, but family time beat blog writing time. I did share a quick little post about our weekend yesterday afternoon.

I shared the beginning of our Aruba trip on Friday. We had an easy direct flight and were in bathing suits so quickly! Here’s a few more pictures from that great ankle pool with the comfy cushions.

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That sunset on the first night was so beautiful!! I’ve read about a flash of green when the sun goes down over the water on the Gulf of Mexico in my favorite summer books and we were looking for it. We never saw it, so I’m wondering if it isn’t true or if it’s only true on the Gulf. Then, we took a sunset walk to see the resorts near ours. We even walked up on a sunset proposal! It was so sweet, and she said yes!

On Friday, our second day, I woke up and tried to reserve 8 seats for us. In the reviews, we’d read that it was hard to get good seats because people get up SUPER early to reserve the best seats. We ended up third row, but it worked out because we had a giant empty space beside us. Quite a few of us are sun shifters (we move our chairs to follow the sun) so that big empty space with an unobstructed view of the water was perfection.

After securing our spot, I headed out for a run in a shirt that was perfect for the day.

Throughout the morning all 8 of us got up, worked out, headed to breakfast and met back up on the beach. It was a beautiful day!! Joe and Jodi did a little investigating and we booked an excursion for the day. We were heading out on a catamaran to go snorkeling! I was pretty excited to see some fish and maybe even a turtle!

Jeff was prepared for snorkeling and brought the Go Pro with us. He got some fun pictures and videos both places that we snorkeled, a shipwreck and near Baby Beach. The water was a little choppy at the shipwreck but there were still lots of great fish to see!

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When we got back to the resort, we spent some more time relaxing on the beach. That night we had Mexican and it was delicious. Unfortunately the choppy sea got to Erin and we missed her for dinner! We headed over to the casino after dinner, but it wasn’t for me. It was a little crowded and smoky and I just wasn’t feeling it. So the girls headed back to the resort while the boys stayed for a little while. We did a little dancing and then headed to bed.

We woke up Saturday morning with one goal – get to the beach earlier! Mission accomplished! Not only did we get front row but Jeff and I went for a run together at the same time and got to the beach earlier that day too.

A friend of ours went to the same resort last summer and had some beautiful pictures from a bar called the Bunker Bar. After laying on the beach for a while reading and enjoying each other’s company, the girls decided to go find it and see what it was all about. We were not disappointed!! It was pretty empty and gorgeous!

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Luckily, the guys decided to come check it out too! We had a great time in the Bunker Bar.

It got it’s name because the bar is on top of an actual WWII bunker. I decided to head down and see what a bunker really looked like. It would’ve been cozy with weapons and soldiers in there.

We headed back to our beach spot and relaxed for the rest of the day looking at that beautiful water! Most of our trip involved just that – beaching with that water view!

We also did a little shopping on Saturday. After all that beaching, we needed a little after sun lotion so we headed over to the Aruba Aloe store. I’m sure it is a tourist trap type place, but there were aloe plants all over the place and the lotions smelled divine and their after sun lotion was just what our sun drenched skin needed.

While we were in the shops, Jeff popped into the casino to make a Super Bowl bet. He found out there were $3 black jack tables! So the guys and Erin headed over there while I spent some time in my new robe and got ready for dinner! This robe/pj’s set is so comfy!! I already have it packed for my next 2 trips!

We had reservations for the hibachi restaurant on Saturday night. I was excited for hibachi until we realized it was a hot section in the middle of your table and YOU cook the food. No thank you! I am on vacation and I am not going to cook my own food! No way! So we headed back to the Mexican restaurant because it was so yummy and Erin missed it the night before. Our dinner reservations were late (9:00) so we headed to the bar for a night cap and headed to bed.

We woke up on Sunday to another GORGEOUS day! Seriously, the weather in Aruba cannot be beat. The only reason that I don’t think we could live there is that I simply can not go to the grocery store when it is 85 and sunny. And it is 85 and sunny every single day!

I decided to run on the “boardwalk” of our resort and the neighboring resort to maximize my water view. Our chairs were in row two today, but we still had that big open spot next to us so we could maximize our sun shifting. Today’s seating also had a little bit of stress. We were hoping to watch the Super Bowl from the little bar near our beach seats but there were only 5 or 6 tables there and we needed two. So we stayed on the beach and kept an eye on the tables to decide when would be the perfect time to move back there.

Chris, Erin, Jeff, and I went over to the adjoining resort to do a little shopping and maybe go back to the Bunker Bar. No way – that bar was PACKED! I was not waiting in line in the shade to stand in the middle of the tiny bar and look around people to take advantage of the view. We found someone with the most genius invention of the trip! A homemade 8 drink carrying tray! Next time, you can bet we will have one of those too!

As the sun started to set, Jeff moved up to the bar to start saving seats. He was thrilled to have this view while watching Sunday of the PGA tournament! You can see our great beach seats too!

As the sun started going down, we gradually moved up to our seats for the Super Bowl. We went in shifts to dinner at the buffet and shower. I was pleasantly surprised by the buffet. The salads were fresh and there was a good variety of fruits, vegetables, and other options.

This was by far the best way I’ve ever watched a Super Bowl! I decided to put on a casual outfit and wear another one of my Sarah’s 40th Birthday World Tour tanks made by my sweet friend Allyson’s company, Seal Stitchery

We all headed to bed after the Super Bowl. It was a great game!!

We woke up on Monday and got seats on the beach one last time. Jodi and I ran along the boardwalk again to keep watching that water. We found a giant hermit crab but he was pretty shy when we got close.

We had a quick breakfast and headed back to the beach. By the way, I could totally get used to someone making me an omelet to order every morning!

Our checkout time was noon, but like most resorts, we could stay until it was time to leave for our flight and they would hold our luggage. Jeff went back up to the room around 11:47 to get everything out and they had already turned our keys off. He was a little panicky, but this was me. If I can’t get to my passport, I guess I’ll have to stay here in paradise!

They reactivated our keys and we were able to get everything out. Booo!! The others decided to go get lunch, but Jeff, Kourtni, and I weren’t done with the sun so we relaxed by the pool for a little while longer. Around 1:00, we changed, got our cabs, and headed back to the airport. I wasn’t ready to go! I asked our taxi driver to go back at least 3 times and then I inquired about the schools, school libraries, and school sports, just looking for a way to stay! It didn’t work out this time.

Aruba’s airport was great. We did wait in some lines to get through security and customs, but I was totally ok with it. We went through US customs in Aruba so when we landed in Baltimore, all we had to do was pick up our luggage and head home. That made it really easy!

That’s our Aruba trip! We stayed at the Divi Aruba and were able to use the amenities at the Divi Tamarijn. I would’ve like a little more counter space in our bathrooms (and maybe a door on the shower), but overall our location was great, the beach was superb, the sunshine was amazing, and I would definitely go back! I’ve heard wonderful things about restaurants in Aruba and I think on our next trip we will venture off the resort a bit to eat and try some other things. That trip isn’t planned, but it will be! I’d love to take our boys there. I’d love to go with my parents and sister/fiancé too! I’d love to go back with friends! So if you fall into any of those groups and want to book a trip to Aruba, I’m ready! My bags can be backed in under an hour!

Have a great day full of sunshine and books!