Spring Break at Beaches in Turks & Caicos

My kids live for buffets. (If I'm being honest, though, so do I.)

When a 6-foot-tall Elmo visits...and completely freaks your kid out.

 

Hanging with the locals

Well, we're off to spring break in Turks & Caicos! And we're actually going back to the very same resort we went to last year: Beaches. The pictures above are all from last year's trip. Although a few pics went up on Instagram back then, I never posted them here on the blog--oops!

We had an incredible time there last year, so decided to do it all over again. If you haven't heard of Beaches, allow me to explain: But first, let me say that, if you do not have small children, Beaches is not for you. In fact, if you do not have kids, Beaches will probably be your worst nightmare. But, if you do have little kids, honey, it is everything.

Beaches is an all-inclusive resort where everything is beyond kid-friendly. There's great food for them (let's just say, you won't run in to a situation where there's no chicken fingers on the menu), there's fun shows for them (think more Sesame Street dance parties, less Hamilton, though), there's amazing pools, fun activities, and so. much. more.

One of the highlights of our trip last year was when Elmo came to "tuck in" the kids one night. My son (who, at the time, was obsessed with Elmo) was SO freaked out. He laid stiff as a board for the majority of the time, finally warming up to the 6-foot-tall Elmo at the very end. (You may remember this story from my Instagram. It was actually one of my most popular Instas ever!)

And, above all, the kid's club is unbelievable.

The kid's club. All hail the kid's club! We had never been to a resort with a kid's club before, and after that trip, we swore we'd never go to a resort without one again. For the uninitiated, kid's clubs are basically activity centers (a.k.a. glorified day cares) where you can drop off your kids to play for awhile. This might sound sort of cruel, but consider that 1) very little kids don't want to be out in the sun all day. They get bored. (My son was only 18 months last year). And 2) Little kids can't be in the sun all day. It's dangerous. 

And this kid's club is awesome. They have tons of toys, they have a (shaded) kid's pool, and they have cool activities like treasure hunts, cookie baking with Cookie Monster, and arts and crafts. We would take our son every morning for two or three hours, while we hung out with our daughter at the pool. Then, we'd meet up with him for lunch, take him back to the room for his nap, and then we'd all go to the pool again around 4 or 5, once the sun wasn't as strong.

But here's the best part: There were three mornings when my daughter wanted to go to the kid's club, too. So there were three mornings when my husband and I had two or three hours to ourselves! THIS IS UNHEARD OF!!! We spent it by being SUPER exciting: reading and napping by the pool. And you know what? IT WAS GLORIOUS.

Because of those few hours scattered throughout the week where we actually got to relax, the entire trip ended up feeling like an actual vacation (unlike a mere trip like this one). This is nothing short of miraculous.

So, we're heading out to do it all over again. I've already downloaded my books for those few precious kid-free hours by the pool, I've gotten my pedicure, and I am READY for some warm weather.

**If you want to tag along on our spring break trip, be sure to follow me on Instagram and Snapchat (alyssahertzig). I expect to be snapping a TON. (Get ready, Elmo...)

Do you guys have any fun spring break plans? And have you ever been to Beaches?

(BTW, this post is NOT sponsored in any way, shape, or form. We paid the full cost for this trip. Believe me. #oy)

How to Throw a Sesame Street Birthday Party

My little dude is Sesame Street obsessed. (To give you an idea of the level of his obsession, he now uses Sesame Street characters to describe colors. For example, a red balloon, isn't red, it's "Elmo," a leafy tree isn't green, it's "Oscar," pink flowers are "Abby," and so on.) So, of course, for his second birthday, the party needed to be Sesame Street themed.

(I soon started referring to it as a Sesame Street Pom Pom party though, once I began gravitating towards fluffy, pom-pom-like decor. Turns out, primary-colored pom poms totally remind me of the Sesame characters--go figure.) 

It was a relatively small party (just family and a few close friends--much smaller than his first birthday bash), so I tried not to go too, too crazy. I used some Sesame Street toys that we already owned as decor (that Elmo on the top of the cupcake stand is a well-loved bath toy!), and recycled this gold glitter Happy Birthday sign from my daughter's mermaid party by adding a few pom poms to it. 

I found these adorable Sesame poms on Etsy and they basically made the party. The fondant cake and cupcake toppers were Etsy finds, too--and they totally transformed the cupcakes, as well as the plain-white-on-the-outside cake (the inside was rainbow tie-dye!) that my mom made.

My biggest accomplishment though, was probably the outside decor. I cut Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Big Bird feet out of construction paper (I got the idea and the pattern here), and put them on our front steps. 

And the piece de resistance: the pom pom wreath that I actually DIY'd myself! It came about after I saw a Sesame Street balloon wreath on Etsy that I liked, but thought was kind of expensive. I figured it would look cuter done with pom poms anyway, and that I could probably make it. (Turns out I could make it. And I did! But it took forevvvvver. There are hundreds of poms on there!) The "Nate Street" sign was a printable that I ordered here. 

I loved the plastic Elmo and Cookie Monster cups, too; we served Grady's Cold Brew coffee out of them for the adults. (Yum!) 

After he blew out his candle, the afternoon ended with a dance party. (Taylor Swift-heavy soundtrack chosen by my daughter, natch.) My little guy danced his heart out, and then suddenly, before he even opened his presents, he was passed out on the floor. Presents would wait until the morning when he padded downstairs in his little Cookie Monster pjs to open them. (And let the record show: He is now a big fan of presents!) 

So, this is two. Happy Birthday, Nate. I love you.

Vendors:

Cupcakes: Sweet
Fondant cupcake toppers: Mama Mias Cupcakes
Fondant cake toppers: Peace Love and Cake NY
Water bottle label printables: Maxine Renee Designs
"Nate Street" printables: Invite Unlimited
Sesame Street poms: Pom Pom Momma
Elmo and Cookie Monster plastic cups: Hello Faith
Printable crayon box wraps: Wendy's Printable Party
Glitter Happy Birthday sign (pom poms added later by me): The Bannerie
Giant Big Bird balloon: Amazon
Sesame Street napkins: Amazon
Sparkly pom pom food picks: Amazon (similar)