Eric’s brother, Ray, and his wife, Jennifer, came to visit us for a week! They had originally planned to come last year some time, but then the trip fell through. We were really bummed and thought they weren’t going to make it at all. They surprised us a couple of months ago and said they were buying plane tickets! We were thrilled.
This was the first time the four of us have been together for more than an evening without their kids, Rylee (7) and Tyler (almost 4). Of course we love the kids dearly and have missed them a lot this year, but it was kinda cool for all the grown-ups to have a whole week to play and relax!
They got here on Saturday, January 16. On Sunday, we took our time getting up and cooking breakfast…until I figured out a pet sitter for Addie and found a beach hotel for us. As soon as that happened, we were out the door and heading to Punta Chame within the hour!
Punta Chame is at the end of a long (for Panamá) peninsula about an hour and a half from the city. It’s been on our list of places to visit for a long time because it’s known for kitesurfing, and Eric has been wanting to try it. When Jennifer said she’d be up for giving it a go too, that sealed the deal.
We checked out the beach the first night, and it’s gorgeous. You can see the mountains on the mainland on the other side of the bay. Between that, the incredible sunsets, and all the kites everywhere, it’s just beautiful.
Ray and Jennifer – 11+ years of marriage and going strong!
This is what happens when you take a photo mid-cartwheel.
Before dinner on our first night in Punta Chame.
Eric’s cool new sunglasses, since he left his good ones back in Raleigh during his last trip back.
Ray and Jennifer
So you can get an idea of how many kites were out there…
Ray watched a crab go down into the sand and decided to dig down and find him. He dug…he did not find a crab.
Eric supervised the crab-hunting dig. Jennifer and I just enjoyed watching the brotherly bonding…or whatever.
Jennifer is an amazing photographer. She took my bridal portraits, actually, which I LOVE. On the beach, however, we asked the boys to handle the cameras while we pulled out our tricks. Jennifer is a certified Body Combat instructor (a fast-paced martial arts fitness class), so she practiced her moves while I did some capoeira.
Me pretending I’m a ballerina.
Jennifer and I jumping off the sand-cliff.
Back to working on my moves now that my wrist is doing okay (knock on wood).
Jennifer’s got a killer handstand. I’ve got a ways to go still.
Jennifer’s first capoeira lesson!
Meia lua de frente
Eric jumping up on the sand-cliff.
Brothers – it’s all a competition.
Jennifer’s killer jump to the top of the sand.
BodyCombat pays off!
The next day, Eric and Jennifer braved their first kiteboarding lesson while Ray and I drank Balboas (Panamanian beer) and watched. We were pretty happy to be on our end of things. It looked like a lot of hard work!
Ray got hungry and found a crab.
This is the smallest kite they had (for training)…still huge!
Ray did a good job of helping out!
Eric with his instructor, Nino, from Austria. We love him!
Pensive Ray.
Eric heads off into the water.
On day two of Eric’s lessons, Jennifer did her whole BodyCombat workout. This girl is dedicated.
Eric and Nino. The hats and bright shirts are standard issue for Machete kite instructors.
Meanwhile, Ray and I found a dead puffer fish. Yuck.
We were proud of our kiteboarders!
I can’t remember the exact order of events from the rest of the week, but the three of them enjoyed Eric’s new favorite board game, Terra Mystica, over a couple of nights.
On Tuesday night, Jennifer came with me to capoeira! She did an incredible job. She’s already an athlete with a lot of rhythm, so it seemed like a lot of things came pretty naturally to her. I was really impressed. She even joined in on a roda at the end of practice, and I got to play with her! I was really touched that she came with me and very proud of how well she did.
The next night, we switched it up and went to a BodyCombat class. I had never been to one, and Jennifer has been an instructor for a little while now. She’s really passionate about the program, so I wanted to check it out and support her in the way that she supported me by going to capoeira. It was great having her in front of me since she already knew all the moves. It was very cool to see her in her element! It was a great little group of folks too, so we had a good time.
BodyCombat!
On Wednesday before BodyCombat, we drove up to the Atlantic ocean and enjoyed a ziplining course in the middle of nowhere. There were some doubts as to whether or not our poor little Toyota Yaris was going to be able to make the 4 km off-road trek to the beginning of the course, but she pulled it off! That poor car…we could really use some kind of 4×4 sometimes in this country, but she has taken us through a lot! Anyway, the ziplining was great – a lot more relaxed about rules that in the US. Still safe though, Mom. I promise. J-Ray has the photos from that, so maybe they’ll be in a later post.
On the way home, Jennifer, Ray and I took the train from Colón to Panamá (Atlantic to Pacific ocean along the Canal), while Eric drove the car home, just like I did when his parents were in town.
Eric took Ray to the Canal the next day, then to Panamá Viejo on Friday while Jennifer and I enjoyed some rest. Oh, and one night there was a dance party in the apartment…yes, just the 4 of us. Somehow this happened:
Just two brothers, solving the world’s problems.
On Thursday night, before their scheduled departure on Friday, Jennifer and Ray found out that their flight had been canceled due to snow in NC. Remember the snow/ice storm a few weeks ago? Yeah, that. I knew they were ready to get home to the kids, but Eric and I were thrilled to have them for 2 extra nights. The whole week was just really relaxing and fun. We’re so grateful to have had so much of our family visit us this year!
And now, here it is, your moment of Zen:
