Not everybody has family members living in the Caribbean. But for those of us who do, we bear the dreadfully unique and sacred responsibility of fulfilling our familial obligations by making it a point to visit our sun-soaked relatives, especially if we live in Indiana and visit during the autumn, when the weather is beginning to get cold in our homeland. Duty demands it.

And so, in accord with our sacred duty, our clan of 5 recently boarded a plane and headed for Montego Bay to spend a little over a week with Elizabeth’s parents, who are presently residing in Jamaica, a place where they’ve been working and ministering for a number of years now. It had been over 7 years since Elizabeth and I last visited the island (we were newly engaged back then!), and so we decided earlier this year that it was high time to make a trip back down. Not only would it be fun to take the kids some place warm and tropical, but it would be a great chance to let them spend time with their Nana and Papa, as well!

Taking 3 small children anywhere is an adventure; taking them out of the country is downright crazy. But all in all, things went incredibly smoothly, and we ended up making it there and back without losing a child (or our sanity!). In between the travelling, the vacation was great! We spent most mornings either at the pool or at the beach, and we spent most afternoons relaxing and hanging out at the house with Elizabeth’s parents and two youngest brothers (Nate and Matt). We also ate a lot of really good food, celebrated Brenna’s 4th birthday, survived a jellyfish attack, had an adventure on the open seas, engaged in some spirited FIFA contests on the PS3 (I won one game out of about 30), and managed to come away with some half-way decent tan lines. To sum up the trip, here are some of our favorite pictures (a few of which are courtesy of Papa, who got a lot of good photos, as well):

On the plane and ready for take-off (after waking up at about 4am).

After making it to Nana and Papa’s house, the first order of business was some relaxation in the hammock!

The day after we arrived, this little girl woke up as a FOUR-year-old.

Heading to the beach. (Who needs a car seat anyway?)

These girls were ready to swim…

…as was Langston.

Relaxing in the sun.

Felicia’s face is priceless.

Uncle Matt and Langston.

Nana and Papa with Langston.

Celebrating with the birthday girl!

Pool time…

Nana and Papa with three little fishies.

Going for a ride.

Taking a walk down the road to a little shopping center.

Hilariously bad attempt at a family photo.

One afternoon we drove to an ice cream place with a playground. The girls loved it!

Felicia navigating the monkey bars (with a little help).

Langston thought swinging was pretty fun, too.

Is that not the most adorable picture that could ever be taken?

A (slightly better) attempt at a family picture.

Me and my lady 🙂

Eating ice cream (boy was it good!).

More fun on the hammock, this time with baby brother on board.

One evening, Elizabeth and I got to have a date night out on the town.

Our view of the sunset while eating dinner.

Selfie on the pier (after I nearly got us lost at night in MoBay).

More swimming at the beach.

Uncle Matt giving Felicia a toss into the sky.

Returning from a great adventure on the open ocean with “Big Yellow.” (We stuck Nate on there the next day and went out with three people piled on top of Big Yellow.)

Ice cream (again!)…this time with Uncle Nate.

Last day at the beach.

Langston discovered that he really like playing in the sand.

The two cutest sisters in the world, enjoying one last Jamaican sunset.

And speaking of Jamaican sunsets…

The five of us!

We went out to eat on the last evening. Here’s the whole gang.

Classic Langston…if his eyes got much bigger, they might pop right out of his head.

Watching a cruise ship sail out of the bay.

Some quality mother-son bonding on the plane ride back to the States.

The tireless travelers, who did a marvelous job navigating the airports with their roller bags in tow!

Dinner in the Atlanta airport on the way home.

A super cute combo!

It goes without saying, but we truly had a great time. It was a blessing to have 10 refreshing days of family time, and we owe a HUGE thanks to Nana and Papa (a.k.a. Mom and Dad, a.k.a. Gary and Marty) for hosting us and to Uncle Nate and Uncle Matt for giving up their bedrooms and letting us invade their worlds. It was a vacation we won’t soon forget!