Yippee!!! My husband has been home from Puerto Rico for about a month now. He was able to take 3 weeks off of work to spend time with us before going back last week. It has been really nice (and somewhat interesting) to watch him and Luke get to know each other better. It seems that a father's bond comes naturally though.
We were able to take a few days to make a trip up to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota while Adam was home. I know...who knew there was anything to see in ND? haha. Here's Luke, all ready to go! (jk, jk) 
A group of many wild horses at the national park:
Beautiful scenery:
This picture reminds me of a Lisa Frank painting for some reason... haha:
A semi-family photo - Luke was sleeping in the car:
Posing by the Little Missouri River: (Theodore Roosevelt chased bandits down this river as a Deputy Sheriff)
The North Dakota scenery on our drive home:
We stopped in a little town (Hettinger, ND) for some R&R (and ice cream from a random place called Pepy's).
Adam enjoying his Pepy's while reminiscing about the good ole' days when playground equipment could KILL you:
Luke's first time in a swing!We had a great time on our mini vacation to North Dakota. I'm so glad that Adam is home. I finally feel like our little family is complete again. I must admit, it's also nice to have help with the babe too. Adam is such a great Dad, and I love him so much!
The day after Luke and I arrived, Adam had a special mini-trip planned for us. As soon as he got home from work, we caught the ferry to a little island called Vieques. Adam had arranged for us to go see the bioluminescent bay that night. We snapped this cute little number while waiting for the ferry:
Adam had arranged for a "tour guide" to pick us up from the ferry. I say "tour guide" because once we arrived in Vieques, we were greeted by a man named Din Din, who said he would take us to the BioBay in his van. Now, this van was obviously a work van that was unmarked and white, without normal seats in the back. There were two seats that had been taken out and set in the back sideways, and another "seat" that was a tire with a pad on top. We lifted Luke and his entire stroller up and into the half-empty van (as there was nowhere to buckle him in anyway). Mind you, it was about 11p.m., and our little family was in the back of a creepy van being driven to the middle of nowhere by two Puerto Rican men listening to loud Spanish music. 
It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. The water was so clear that you could see every single fish lighting up the microorganisms as they swam away. I'm talking hundreds of neon blue fish. Din Din took us out to his fishing net, where he piled it onto the boat, along with a dozen or more fish. When we made it back to the van, his companion tied the net up in a tarp and tossed it in the back...with us...right beside Adam. We couldn't help but laugh about the whole experience. Din Din was kind enough to take us to our little hotel room on Vieques that Adam had reserved. It was really fun and cute. The next day, we took a stroll down to the beach: 
Adam rented some snorkel gear and swam off to the little island in the distance, where he was told there were a lot of tropical fish:
I, on the otherhand, did NOT swim to the island, as I would have been sure that a shark would eat me, and I would have drowned out of sheer, unnecessary panic. We headed back to the hotel and relaxed on the balcony while waiting for a taxi to take us into the city:
We toured around the town and headed back to the main island. While in Puerto Rico, we introduced Luke to the swimming pool!
He actually seemed to like being in the water with mom and dad!
Here is a cute picture of Luke and Adam on one of our beach strolls:
One day we headed into Old San Juan to see the forts that were built in the 1600's. While crossing one of the bridges, I saw something come up for air in the water. Adam thought I was just being paranoid because of my fear of sharks, but a minute later, it surfaced again! It was a manatee!
After viewing the main fort, we headed to another one where hundreds of people go to fly kites. Adam decided to join them:
It was so neat to see all of the different kites flying in the air. It reminded me of the book, The Kite Runner (read it!) Luke was more interested in the grass than the kite:
When Adam had let the entire spool of kite string out and the kite was really high in the air, he handed it off to a random person as we were leaving. I think they were confused...but happy! haha. Here I am by one of the old fort lookouts, which are symbolic of San Juan:
While Adam was at work, Luke and I relaxed on the beach. It was hard to try to keep him shaded in the hot Puerto Rican sun!:
My sunblocked baby:
One night we went to a VERY local BBQ joint called Bebo's, where no one spoke English. Here's Adam with our 1/2 chicken, plantains, and Spanish-English Dictionary:
Honestly, it was the BEST chicken I have ever had! So good...mmm...
I had never been snorkeling, and I was absolutely amazed by how many hundreds of fish we saw! The water was so beautiful and clear, and I even saw a stingray!
On the catamaran back to the dock, we saw a humpback whale! (not an amazing picture, but you get the idea!)
One of the last days in Puerto Rico, we visited the El Yunque Rainforest, where we hiked down to one of the main waterfalls.
The rainforest was amazing, and I was very tempted (and prepared) to swim in the waterfall, but we had a pretty long hike back, which I knew wouldn't be fun wet:
Luke was pretty worn out by the end of the hike!
It was so wonderful to visit Puerto Rico, and I feel so fortunate that I was able to go see my husband while he was deployed. (The virgin Pina Coladas every night weren't so bad either!) He should be home June 10th, and I can't wait for our next adventure!
And the Grand Finale ----Luke started laughing last week! The beginning is a little cut off, but he was sucking on the socks I put on his hands...you'll get the idea!
Luke with my brother Sam - he really did love Sam, but this picture cracks me up! :
Sara and I went on a picnic at the park. Her big toes were chilly so she borrowed Luke's socks:
Luke touched grass for the first time! I think he liked it...
Here is my sister Sarah, who's having a baby girl in June. I'm pretty excited that Luke will have a cousin his age on my side of the family!:
This is my brother Adam and his fiancee Annie. We decided Luke kind of looks like Adam...I think it's the hair: 
Luke and I went for a stroll for the first time without his carseat attachment. I think he prefered being able to look around at his surroundings rather than my face!
Tired boy for Grandma:
