Punta Cana By Day

i think our trip to punta cana made the top of my favorite vacation list. i mean, how could it not? i was surrounded by my closest family and friends in paradise and i married the love of my life! i'm not sure any vacation in the future will ever be able to top that.. 

it was so much fun.. i want to go back to those days.. basking in the sun with no responsibilities, the toughest decision was where we wanted to eat dinner, the spa was amazing, the people were better.. please, can i go back? pretty please? 

dreams punta cana resort and spa has one of the larges pools in punta cana with multiple poolside bars and activities. we spent most days sipping on cocktails and lounging in "colton's corner" (cleverly named because there was a shallow section making it my nephew's favorite place to play) or by the swim up bar. we played volleyball, water polo (which, turns out, i'm pretty terrible at) and even did paddle board yoga.

i'm pretty sure we belong here.. 

 auntie jeanne had a wonderful time and spent most of her days at the spa! we joked about "jeanne sightings" throughout the day as she would (rather obliviously) stroll past us in the pool with her white hat.

but that spa.. it was amazing.. of course it was where we got our hair and make up done for the wedding but ben and i also got two couple massages and spent so much time lounging. they had a hydrotherapy area with steam rooms, saunas, whirlpool, ice bath and multiple types of showers. thank goodness my hubby likes massages now.. he had never had one until about a month before our wedding! crazy guy.. had no idea what he was missing!

our water polo attire.. yes, they forces us to wear these silly hats and sign a waver! 

 

on occasion i convinced ben and everyone else it would be a good idea to go to the beach! unfortunately there was red tide so the water was filled with seaweed but it was still the beach and it was beautiful!

there is something so calming about the ocean.. i could sit beneath these tiki umbrellas for hours and listen to its waves crash, read a book, doze off.. and be perfectly content.  

one afternoon there was a mahi mahi and paella event for lunch. as we waited on the beach, a little boat pulled up and delivered the fish fresh! it was so cool to watch and even better to eat! 

we went kayaking.. which was slightly terrifying because the power of that water is no joke and last time we were in the dominican ocean ben and i nearly drowned

my favorite time to be on the beach was in the early morning before breakfast.. when most people were still asleep and we had it all to ourselves. ben and i headed down on numerous occasions to sip on our morning espresso with the best views in the world. 

one morning we got adventurous and attempted pistols on some driftwood.. ben made it look easy and i struggled big time. 

 our last morning i somehow managed to convince ben to wake up early enough to watch the sunrise on the beach.. it was absolutely breathtaking and the perfect way to end an unforgettable trip.