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Welcome

Welcome to my little corner of the world. I am so honored by your visit today. My name is Kristi and I am married to my college sweetheart(I refer to him here as "Mr. Incredible"), momma to my 2 beautiful girls who are growing much too quickly, a high school computer teacher, photographer, and a gardener (at times~right now I'm growing weeds). I love to laugh, drink strong Starbucks coffee, take pictures, and be anywhere my family is. Jesus is my Savior and I try so hard to be the wife and momma that He has called me to be. I often fail but He lovingly picks me up, dusts me off, and encourages me that with Him all things are possible. Feel free to join me on this journey of faith, stop in and say hello, look around, and leave a comment~I love comments. Why "Kiki's Corner?" My nephews call me Aunt Kiki and I love that too.

Treasured Memories as Big & Deep as the Ocean

I've been giving hints all week as to where in the world did we go on vacation....did you guess???


Did Cinnamon Bay give it away?


A few guessed Hawaii....and oh I would love to see that someday, but that's not it.


We were blessed to go to....drum roll please...St. John in the US Virgin Islands!


We have been planning this vacation for months, November to be exact.

This trip was planned in celebration of my graduation and the joy of finishing the calling that God placed on my life when He began wooing my heart that it was time to go back to school and finish what He started in me at Baylor University so many years ago.


Mr. Incredible and I began secretly planning the trip of our dreams.

We were overjoyed when my parents, his parents, his sister, brother-in-law, and their 2 boys decided to join us. They were all so sweet to offer to throw a graduation party but my heart was set on celebrating in a different way and we all decided to make it a family vacation.

I tried to blog from St. John at night but the internet was a bit slow and I didn't want to miss a moment with my family.
Would you like to see a little bit of our vacation?
I promise, I narrowed down the volumes of pictures a lot!
Ready? Ok, here we go!


Here we all are at the airport:







And here is where we were blessed to stay:



The 2nd house just above this triangular roof in the bottom left hand corner is South Palms where Mr. Incredible's family stayed & the yellow house just above it is called Abrigado and it is where we stayed with my parents. (You can click here and here for more info about the houses. Just keep in mind that we normally don't travel this lavishly. It was a gift from the Lord and we treasured every memory we made here).



This is what we saw when we drove up to our home for the week:



I felt like a giddy little girl at Christmas. It was way better than I dreamed it would be!
And these are the beautiful views from our patio:










A few beach scenes:






Gorgeous sunsets:



Fun times in the swimming pools:


Surfer boy:



Getting ready to hit the beaches:


A view from our master bedroom windows: Sister Time


I miss this pool!


When you visit St. John, it is fun to rent jeeps for the week.

This is my dad who became the expert jeep packer.

We would take beach chairs, rafts, and a cooler filled with sandwich fixings, water (a lot of water), fruit (which is like gold on the island), and chips. Speaking of chips, have you ever tried Uncle Ray's chips? Oh, my goodness they are good!


We snorkeled almost every day. The Lord delighted us by surprising us with beautiful sting rays, a giant starfish, an octopus, sea turtles, and numerous incredibly gorgeous fish of all kinds.


And catching some rays on the beautiful white sandy beaches. Ahhh.





Sandcastle fun:


And cousin time in the ocean:
(They have lollipops on their mouths...not cigarettes...I'm just saying...now I feel better!)

This is my youngest nephew. He called all of the girls, "My Lieb." We are not sure where he got that but he tells us that it means, "My love."





And my oldest nephew:
He and I got to touch a few sea turtles while we swam with them....it was so cool!


I didn't want to miss out on a photo opportunity. So my family and my parents planned ahead and brought white shirts and khaki shorts. I had my heart set on getting a photo for this year's Christmas card. Cinnamon Bay was the perfect spot:


Now, I just have to pick one. Do you like this one?

Or this one?

I love this one:


Hannah and her Daddy walking on the beach:


I'll spare you the other 200 pictures that I took of our portrait session....you are welcome!
On to shopping. The first official day was rainy...rats! So, what's a family to do? We got in the jeeps and headed to downtown for a little shopping:

And we found these hats that are perfect for 2 Texas girls in paradise.

Poppie (Mr. Incredible's dad) planned a fun wave runner outing:


Rachel and her Daddy:


Hannah and I: (that's the only picture of me in a bathing suit that you will ever see on this blog!)

After an amazing week, it was time to go home. How is it that time goes by so much faster when you are on vacation?
We had to be down the mountain by 5:15 that morning (which is 4:15 Texas time) to catch the boat ferry that would take us back to St. Thomas where we would catch our flight home.
We parked the jeep, for the last time {sniff} and then I saw something crossing the road. What is it??? Could it be??? Yes, it was....it was a crab!

I ran after him/her {do they have a gender in crabville?} as fast as I could. It was like a cartoon....the crab saw me and started walking/running faster. This was the look "it" gave me when I snapped the picture....I think it flashed its angry eyes at me!



Oh, there are many more photos, but I think I will just stop here.
It was an amazing vacation filled with memories
to treasure for a life time....and that is quite a blessing!

One of the deacons in our church asked me if we all still loved each other after our trip together. I smiled and said yes, even more than ever...if that's even possible.
Joyfully,
Kristi
I am thrilled to post this on Hooked on House's "Hooked on Friday's" blog party & Melissa's "The Inspired Room's "Beautiful Moments."


24 comments:

Melanie said...

Oh, Kristi...it looks like such a great trip! I think it is so fun that all your family could go along.. so very special.

Lana said...

Love them! Oh what a true blessing! Those times will be remembered forever!

Carry Grace said...

Hey Kristi, it looks like you whole family enjoyed a well deserved vacation.

Teresa said...

Having family together and a Beach- life doesn't get any better than that. =)

Kim Milius said...

What a great way to celebrate! (And congratulations on your graduation.)

I love the family pictures with the white & khaki.

Anonymous said...

How fun!! Those pictures are gorgeous, looks like you guys are having an amazing time. Soak it up!

Bdubba said...

Love the pics! I have family in Tortola, BVI and I LOVE visiting - you pictures just reminded me. Congrats on graduating too - great way to celebrate!

bp said...

I enjoyed your pictures so much, Kristi! I agree, the crab looks angry, that's neat you got a close up picture. What wonderful memories and such a great thing to celebrate together!

Renae Moore said...

WOW! What an outstanding vacation! Great memories, fun times! Thanks for popping by and the sweet comment!
Blessings...

Leaon Mary said...

OHHHHHHHHHHHHH GIRLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
I'm breath taken! It is GOOORGEOUS
THERE! I lovelovelovelovelove that photo of the sunset and all the boats
OHMIGOSH; but they are ALL beautiful!
Your family is amazing. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA how truly blessed you are?!
What a dream come true! I'm thrilled for you!!
Your nephew is a hoot..
My lieb...
WHAT A LITTLE LOVEBUG!
He's gonna break a lot of hearts*
Your family pics are wonderful.
I adore the one on the drift wood!
GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR WHOLE FAMILY!
And congrats on your graduation!!

Kelli said...

Looks like so much fun! Makes me want to go...NOW!

The Summer Kitchen Girls said...

What a wonderful vacation you must have had - great locations & family....you couldn't ask for more! We are so glad that you stopped by - blessings right back at ya!
Karla & Karrie

count it all joy said...

Kristi, your holiday looks amazing. What a rare pleasure to spend beautiful, quality time with the whole family. Thanks for stopping by, nice to meet you here. Meredith xo.

Erica said...

AMAZING! What a fantastic way to celebrate a wonderful accomplishment. Heavenly!
The pictures were gorgeous!

Laurie said...

Wow, I am not supposed to be jealous of your trip, right? I am glad you had the trip and have those wonderful photos and memories.
Blessings, Laurie

Shannon said...

What a great vacation!! Love that infinity edge pool. Too die for!! Well, not literally. But it is nice. Thanks for stopping by my blog, Nonnie Bear. I love meeting new people.

Brenda Pruitt said...

Looks like one sweet adventure!
Brenda

Unknown said...

What an amazing trip - the holiday of a lifetime.

Love the planned photo for the christmas card.

Hi from Northern Ireland.

Leaon Mary said...

Kristi,
How does your neph say My Lieb?
Write me back when U have time. I'm curious how he pronounces it... --
He's starting a new thing in my family, and WE JUST HAFTA SAY IT RIGHT* LOL

Anonymous said...

Hey Kristi! I loved seeing your pictures. It looks like you guys had a great time. Aaron cracks me up. Did you know that "Liebe" is the german word for "Love". I know that because of my college trip to germany and we had to sing some songs in german. So I think Aaron was calling everyone... my love. : )

Kim @ Homesteader's Heart said...

Amazing! That's the only word I can think of to describe that! I know you all had a blast!! Love the pictures.
You just put a spot on my wish list.
Hugs to you my friend.
Kim

Kathy Schwanke said...

ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!! WOW You are so blessed. BEAUTIFUL! I am so happy for you to be able to go & I will be showing your pictures to my husband =D !!!!

Brenda said...

The views are simply breathtaking! So glad you are enjoying your wonderful family vacation!

jeanne @ Inspiring Ideas said...

Unbelievable beautiful!!!! How wonderful to have extra family join you! What memories!