Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July!!!

It was definitely a busy day, but filled with family, fun and travel to Houston.  Hectic, but all worth it.  I started the day with the family at the 4th of July Parade in Arlington.  It is something that I've been going to since I was little and I even marched in the Parade with band in high school.  It's a tradition that I like to keep up for my kiddos.  Although oldest DS doesn't enjoy it nearly as much as the littles, we all still had a lot of fun.

Jeesh, I feel so short next to oldest DS and DH.  : )

After the parade, we headed to IHOP for brunch, as youngest DS has been bugging me for weeks to go there.  Right after we finished eating, we headed home so I could finish packing, as I had a couple of things in the dryer I needed to throw in my suitcase.  Got everything packed and gave the littles hugs and kisses because they were going down for their naps.  I headed to the nail salon for a mani/pedi before heading out for my trip.  I thought I would have plenty of time, but I ended up cutting it awfully close. 

I got there about 1:30 and they typically do them both at the same time, but today, I only had one person doing both of them.  Don't get me wrong, it was a fabulous pedi.  So relaxing and she did a great job with the leg/foot massage.  By the time she finished with my pedicure, I only had about 20 minutes before I needed to be home and get going to the airport.  I actually had her just go ahead and do the polish, without doing the manicure, which was fine.  She did such a great job.  I copied an idea one of my other surro-sisters used and they turned out fantastic.

 

After I let them dry for about a minute or two, I headed out to the airport.  The two boys were up, so gave them more hugs and kisses, but DD was still napping, so I didn't get to tell her by.  I did tell DH that I would FaceTime with them later.  Technology is so wonderful.  I made it to the airport right at an hour before my flight.  It was originally running about 5 minutes late, but when we got on the plane, there were only 9 of us.  Wow!!  It was the least amount of people I have EVER seen on a flight.  Therefore, we ended up getting into Houston about 5 minutes early.  Guess we made up some time with the plane being so light.  hehe  C & W met me at the airport.  They had been at the Astro's game, so we stopped by their place so they could pack a bag.  They were going to have a stay-cation at the same hotel for the night.  Such a great idea.  The hotel is in an area called CityCentre and there was a big 4th of July celebration planned.  They packed a bag and then we headed to the hotel to drop off our things before going to dinner. 

The hotel is beautiful and very modern.  If you are ever in the area and need a place to stay, I would definitely recommend it.  It is Hotel Sorella. 

 

There are so many restaurants and shops nearby too.  After we checked in and dropped off our bags, we walked over to Brio for dinner.  We have a Brio at home too, but I've never been before.  It was fantastic!  DH and I will definitely have to go for dinner sometime back home.  The atmosphere was good and the food was great.  W ordered a carpaccio appetizer and OMGosh!!  We all laughed when it came because it was HUGE!!!  It was on a plate that we called a boat, it was so big.  It practically took up half the table.  We all ate some of it, but there was still some left.  C & W gave me such a sweet card and beautiful gift at dinner.  Made me all teary.  They are so incredibly sweet!  IM has one just like it.  I made three wishes before I put it on and made the same three right after (just to make sure). 

 

After dinner, we walked out of the restaurant to people everywhere.  The streets were packed with everyone waiting for the fireworks.  We decided to walk back to the hotel, hoping that they would only be allowing guests in, which happened to be the case.  Yea!!  We walked up to the pool area and found a good spot.  We didn't have to wait too long before they started, but I really enjoyed visiting with C & W and listening to the live band that was playing in the courtyard below. 

 

 

It was such a wonderful night and we are all so excited and hopeful for tomorrow!!

Great appointment and visit!!

Got to the hotel in Houston a little after 10pm last night.  Definitely a bit exhausting to make that drive after working all day, but I think it beat getting up at 3am to make the same drive.  My appointment was at 8am and C and I had discussed just meeting at the clinic at 7:45am.  C & W were both going to come, along with C's mom M.  C's Mom has been staying with her to help her recover from her surgery.  It's funny how things work out sometimes, as I parked and started to head in, I had already gotten on the elevator and realized I had forgotten my phone, so went back up one floor to go back to the car to get it.  As I was almost to the car, I saw a vehicle pull in that looked like W's and sure enough, it was them.  Timing couldn't have been better.  I was introduced to her Mom and we all walked in together.  C looked great and I couldn't believe that she had just had major surgery just a week and a half before.  She had a follow up appointment yesterday and they removed one of her drain tubes (on the right side), which is great and means that the healing is going well. 

When we got upstairs, we checked in and got to visit a bit before they called us back.  C came with me (for the fun part) and W and M waited in the lobby.  We went back for the ultrasound and "physical" first.  Dr. M actually did the ultrasound, so it was nice to see her and get to talk to her a little bit, as well as ask a couple of questions.  Everything was great!!  My lining was at an 8.6!!!  Yea!!!  I'm so glad that I asked them to start the vaginal Estrace early, so that we didn't have to push the transfer back.  I was so afraid we would have to cancel and move it to August since I can't take any time off before or after due to other colleagues being on vacation.  I asked Dr. M about my Estrogen level being so high after the first check and if it could cause any issues or be "too high".  She said that it can only be "too low" and that a high number doesn't really impact the cycle as much.  That was definitely good to hear. 

After we finished the exam, C and I headed over to get my blood drawn.  Such fun!  They took 9 vials all together.  8 the first time and 1 the second time.  Yes, I said 2nd time.  She had pulled vials for all of the FDA required labs, but forgot to pull one for my second E2 check.  Ugh!  Good thing I'm a pretty easy stick and I'm not afraid of needles.  She was really good too and didn't leave any bruising and was very apologetic that she had to do it again.  She kept saying, "I'm so sorry.  I always like to get them all at once."  It was quite funny though because they don't use traditional tape when your done.  They have some sticky bandage type material they wrap around.  This time it was bright, neon green.  I joked that I had on my Hulk bandages.  LOL!  As we were checking out, Barb came over to say that my E2 level was at 2815, which was fine.  Glad it hadn't shot up a ton since the first check on Monday.  She was so excited for us and I have to say that she does seem to be much more on top of things this time around.  We got all of the testing done early and I don't feel rushed, which is fantastic.  She said she would send me the updated calendar and that we were on for transfer July 5th.

C & I headed back to the lobby and we all headed to brunch.  It was still really early, a little before 9am, so I guess you could still call it breakfast.  C rode with me and I followed W and M.  We went to a place in City Centre called Flora & Muse (http://floraandmuse.com/index.asp), which was right by the hotel where I was staying.  We all ended up getting breakfast, since they didn't start serving lunch until 11:30am.  W is a lot like my DH in that I think he would've totally ordered lunch if they had been serving it.  C, her Mom and I all had the exact same thing.  We got to chat and had great conversation.  C's mom lives in the DFW area and coincidentally enough, not far from my work.  I think it will be nice having her close because if C & W aren't able to make an appointment, I figure her Mom could join me if she would like.  Her Mom is just as sweet as she is and has such a positive outlook too.  When we were done with breakfast, we had that hostess take a picture of the 4 of us and one of just the 3 of us as well.  We all headed back to the cars and I figured since I had a little bit of time before check out, that I would grab a short nap before making the drive back home. 

I got in a good 30 minute nap and then headed back home.  I was excited to see my DH and babies.  The drive wasn't too bad and I even made a little stop just South of Waxahachie.  I saw these Sunflower fields on my way down, but didn't really want to stop, but made a note on my phone where it was so I could stop on my way back.  They were amazing and SO big.  I've never really seen any up close before and when I looked even closer, the brown part is actually made up of a lot of tiny flowers (I think the seeds are in the middle of each one).  Beautiful!!  I had to take a few pictures and luckily, I know how to work the timer on my camera so you can see how really big they were. 

 

The day is almost here.

Oh wow, I'm so tired.  It's been a very busy and long day.  I wish I had taken the day off, but it all worked out just fine.  Worked today (luckily I left on time at 4:30pm) and then headed straight to the airport.  My flight was scheduled for 7pm, so I was there in plenty of time.  When I arrived, I noticed there was a 6:30pm flight as well, so went to the desk to see about getting on stand-by for that flight.  I parked my butt in a chair and waited for them to start boarding.  After a little while, I was glad that I had gotten on the standby list, as the 6:30pm was showing delayed to 6:40 and the 7pm flight I had a seat on was delayed to 7:10pm.  They had called 3 other stand-by names prior to mine, so I really wondered if I was going to make it.  Finally, they called my name and I got in line to board. 

Then came the fun part.  I was walking down the ramp to board and I see people checking their bags.  I knew why when I saw them doing it.  The flight was completely booked and all the overhead storage was already full.  Ugh!!  All I kept thinking was, "I can't check my bag", "shit, I'm not checking this".  I get up to the flight attendant and he asked me my final destination.  I told him Houston, but that I couldn't check my bag.  I explained that, "I have a lot of medication in my bag" and that I couldn't check it.  Not only that, I had my camera in there too and I really didn't want to hassle with taking all that out and then checking it.  I asked if I could go back and keep my seat on the 7pm flight I was on originally and he explained that I would have to go up and check with the desk.  I head on back up the ramp and go up to the desk.  The desk agent said that he had just closed the flight, but he was going to see what he could do.  As he tells me that I need to go to the gate agent and let her know to remove me from the flight, she is coming up the ramp and tells me to come back down.  They found some space for my bag.  Yea!!!  I was so thankful.

When I arrived in Houston, C & W were there to pick me up.  The actual pick up area at Hobby can be crazy, so they told me to just go out through ticketing and they would pick me up there.  I think that ended up being so much faster too.  We had planned on going to dinner before having them take me to the hotel, so that's where we headed.  We went to a wonderful Italian place with great ambiance.  It was pretty packed too and the food was great!  There seemed to be several celebrations and one of the coolest things was how they celebrated birthdays.  With cotton candy!  It was so neat.  They brought out a glass container that looked like a vase full of cotton candy and a sparkler in the middle.  I wish I would have taken a picture.  C said that we should tell them it's our birthday just so we could get one because we both love cotton candy.  I had a great time visiting with them.  After dinner, they took me to the hotel and I got all settled.  Before going to bed, I did take some time to paint my nails.  Green for luck and to match my shirt.

Whirlwind Trip

Wow, what a day.  I have had the busiest couple of days off in a long time.  I'm glad I kept Thursday off too, because it was just as busy as Friday.  I had to run tons of errands, then we had family pics with my favorite photog for Spring.  Plus, I wanted to get a family picture before I'm pregnant again.  After pictures, I had a band booster meeting at oldest DS's school.  I finally got home and got to get ready for my trip to Houston today.  It was definitely a whirlwind trip.  My flight out was at 9am for an ultrasound appointment at 11:45am.  Unfortunately C & W had to work in the AM, but C was going to meet me at the clinic at around 11:30am for the appointment.  I'm so glad that she wants to be so involved.  I do want them to be as involved in the entire process as they are comfortable with.

The surrogacy community is so large and I have been so blessed to have met several surro-sisters in different cities.  I know of 2 in Houston that I have met before and I was so lucky that Denise volunteered to pick me up at the airport and get me to the clinic.  It was a nice drive and we had some time to catch up.  I got to the medical center and hung out in the lobby for a little while since I was pretty early.  About 11:25, I went ahead and headed up to the clinic and checked in.  Right after I checked in, C walked in.  We didn't have to wait very long before they called me back.  I went back for blood work first (as always) and then we headed to the room for the ultrasound.  We sat and chatted while we waited for the nurse to come in to complete the procedure.  It's funny that when the nurse came in, she had mentioned again that they want it to be over a 7.  Really?!  Is it 7 or 8?!  Oh well, either way, I was already there.  She took all the measurements and said that it was a 7.9.  I was just hoping that would be sufficient for them to move forward and not have to push the transfer again.  After the appointment, we had them page our NC so that we could confirm that the US results were acceptable and that they weren't going to need me to come back again the next day since I was scheduled to fly out that afternoon at 4:30pm.  The NC came out and said that everything looked good and we would still transfer next Friday.  Yea!!!  Such great news.

We left the clinic and then headed out to meet W for lunch.  The weather was great, so we ate outside at Cafe Express.  I really enjoy talking to them and getting to know them even more each time we get together.  They have been through so much and both have such a wonderful and hopeful outlook on everything.  The conversation always seems so easy with them and I love that.  I was a little self conscious at first because I was afraid that maybe C and I would talk more and that W wouldn't feel included, but the conversation seemed to flow well between all 3 of us.  After we finished lunch, W headed out to play golf and C took me to the airport.  I gave C her gift and I'm so glad she liked it.  It was an Origami Owl locket that I selected each element for.  She put it on right there.  Made me so happy. 

Good luck charm for transfer.  The pink charm says "hope" for a cure, the ring is for C & W's marriage, a "faith" charm, the yellow stone for fertility and the green stone for luck.

We headed to the airport and I was quite early, so when I checked in, it gave me the option to change my flight.  I was able to get a flight out an hour earlier.  Yea for not sitting at the airport forever. 

Last Day in Paradise

 

Yes, it was a wonderful trip and it was our last day in paradise, but I think we were both excited to see our kiddos.  I was determined to do some yoga on the beach before I left, so that is exactly what I did.  I got up with the sun (only because we forgot to close the blinds by the desk, so it was starting to shine right in my face - all things happen for a reason) and threw on my work out clothes.  I stepped outside and realized it was a bit chilly, so went back and grabbed my sweater to head down to the beach.  It was so beautiful first thing in the morning and it was so quiet and peaceful.  Perfect for a morning yoga session.  I grabbed a golf cart (it was now a little after 7am) and headed to the beach.  I learned on the ride down that it was unseasonably cool this morning for Playa and it was around 50 degrees.  Once I got to the beach, I found a spot that I thought would be good and set all my things on a chair nearby.  I laid out my towel and started my session.  There were a few other people on the beach so early (no more than 5 or so), most just walking and a couple running along the tide line.  The water was surprisingly warm, but the sand still oh-so-cool.  My session lasted around 45 minutes and afterwards, I set up the timer on my camera to get some shots of a few poses.  I haven't taken any photos of my poses for a few years, so thought it would be a great opportunity and should make some beautiful photos.  I took a lot myself and then I had a nice lady running by with her son, take one with my phone.  (The photo below).  I think they all came out great, but absolutely love the one she took.  After I finished all the pictures, I had seen some people with really large conch shells, so thought I would walk the beach to see what I could find.  It was also really relaxing just listening to the water wash up on the shore and let the water run over my feet.  I actually found quite a few really great shells further down on the beach between another resort and ours, including 2 really large conch shells.  I thought the kids would love them and they would be something unique that I could bring back for them.  I had so many that I wrapped them in my towel, so I wouldn't drop them and placed it in my back pack.

 

 

When I was done walking the beach collecting shells, I grabbed a golf cart and headed back to the room.  On the way back, I saw the President of the company on a morning run.  When I got back to the room, I threw on my swimsuit, denim skirt and t-shirt since we were going to grab some breakfast before heading to the beach.  DH had his swimsuit and a t-shirt on.  We headed to La Lagunas for the breakfast buffet.  It was pretty good.  I stuck with the cottage cheese, fruit, some eggs and oatmeal.  Not too bad.  They had SO much food.  After breakfast, we rode a golf cart down to the beach and collected a few more shells and then headed back to the pool.  On our way, we thought we would get a few more photos of the locations around the resort before having to head back and get ready to leave.  Here are a few of them.

 

This is the infinity pool at the edge of the resort, next to the beach.

The pool bar (which was not open yet)

This was part of a maze of pools. A lot of them were connected, but there were big obstacles in the middle of them, which made it seem like they were separate pools.

It was a little bit overcast, so after laying by the pool for a little while, we decided to go ahead and head back to the room, order some room service for lunch and then get ready to leave.  Luckily, I had packed almost everything the night before, so there wasn't much left to do.  We had a wonderful lunch.  DH had clam chowder (for the 4th time on the trip - he said it was fabulous...and obviously, his favorite) and a steak.  I had a shrimp cocktail (that was phenomenal), a salad and a roasted chicken.  Once we finished lunch, we grabbed our luggage and headed to the lobby to meet the group.

 

A few minutes later, our charter bus arrived and we all loaded up to head to the airport.  They asked us to identify our luggage before it was placed on the bus (to avoid forgetting anyone's luggage I assume) and I couldn't find my bag.  Ugh!!  This is why I don't ever let my luggage leave my sight I thought to myself.  I'm frantically looking everywhere and the little bellman takes me to another area it might be.  Nope, not there.  Seriously?!  On the last day?!  Well, I walk to the other side of the bus and they are loading luggage there too.  They start unloading some of the bags and what do ya know?  There's my bag.  Whew!!  I went to get on the bus with DH.  We got to the airport, checked in and headed to the gate.  We were definitely plenty early and Mexico security was SO much easier than here in the states.  The terminal was like a mini shopping mall, so DH stayed with our stuff, while I went to grab some coffee and check out the little shops to see if there was anything else for the kiddos.  I did find some fun little, wooden whistles (almost like a recorder) and a bracelet for DD along with a bookmark for my Mom.  She has always been a reader and that's usually what I bring her back from vacations.  It started when I was back in HS and brought her a nice leather one back from Ireland.  The flight seemed so long going back, but I watched a movie, so that helped.  We arrived home, deplaned and headed to the car.  It was a little funny, because I NEVER check bags if I don't have to, so DH and I each had a carry on.  We walked through baggage claim and I saw a few of my colleagues and told them, "Have a great night.  I'm sure I'll talk to some of you tomorrow." with this big grin on my face.  They looked at me funny and one asked about our luggage.  I said, "We've got it.  We don't check bags."  Kinda felt bad for them, but glad to not have to wait for all that luggage.  We headed to my Mom's since she was keeping the kiddos to say goodnight.  We both had to work in the morning and she was taking the day off already, so we just let them stay there one more night, but definitely wanted to see them. 

 

 Here is a video with a lot of the photos from the trip.  Not the best quality, but it will do.  It was such a WONDERFUL trip.  Mexico Trip Photos

Ahhhhmazing!

We will be here until Sunday, so today was our first full day.  The company chartered a 65 foot Catamaran for a snorkeling trip.  Unfortunately, DH doesn't do well on the open water, so he stayed behind.  We learned the hard way on our honeymoon in Jamaica (maaaaany years ago) that he gets sea sick.  I, on the other hand do just fine, so I was going to go.  I would've felt bad knowing that my company had paid for us to all enjoy this special trip if I had not gone.  It really was a lot of fun.  We all met in the lobby of the hotel at 8am, where they had a charter bus waiting to take us to the boat.  It was so much bigger than I thought.  It really was amazing.  This is the boat we were on.

 

There was a 30% chance of rain today and it was sprinkling when we left the hotel.  By the time we arrived to the dock where the boat was docked, it was still lightly sprinkling and the crew was drying the covered areas and sweeping away the water.  Our tour guide assured us that she had spoken to the Big Guy upstairs and it would be a great day.  Once the boat was untied and started to pull out of the bay, the rain cleared, but it stayed a bit overcast while we traveled along the coast to our destination.  Even though it was overcast, it was still fairly warm and comfortable on the boat.  It had a bar, a grill on the back and 3 bathrooms below deck and ran on a crew of 6 I believe.  I just had bottled water to drink, as I wanted to enjoy it as much as possible and knew I would be snorkeling when we arrived at our destination.  I just wish I had realized how big the boat was going to be and that there would be a covered area.  I did bring my "good camera" (DSLR) on the trip, but didn't want to risk the rain continuing or not having a safe place to keep it, so I left it at the hotel with DH. 



A little overcast on the ride out to the reef.



Once we got to our destination, most of the clouds had dissipated and the weather was beautiful.  They dropped anchor and we all grabbed our gear for our snorkel excursion.  We swam over to a reef about 100 yards away and I saw some beautiful fish.  I could've hung out there for hours.  It's so peaceful once you stick your head under the water.  All the fish swimming around and the quiet under the water.  It was amazing.  The snorkeling really didn't seem to last that long, but it was still a great adventure.  We all swam back to the boat and turned our gear in.  Some people decided to rest, while a few of us had some other fun in mind.

 

Napping on the netting.  This was the best place to rest, because the sun was so warm, but the netting provided a nice breeze to keep us cool.

 

 

While they finished grilling our lunch, several of us just swam in the ocean (without our life jackets, as we were required to wear them for snorkeling).  Oh my gosh, the water was perfect.  It was cool when you got in, but it felt great after we were in for just a few minutes with the sun shining.  We even had some fun jumping off the back of the catamaran.  It was like jumping off a high dive and I even did a front flip.  SO much fun.

 

Lunch!!  We had a choice before we got on the boat of chicken, beef or shrimp.  I'm in Mexico...of course I picked shrimp.  It was fabulous!  They had a macaroni salad, a traditional salad with corn, guacamole and chips too.  Mmmmmm.

 

After lunch, we headed back to the dock and back to the resort.  We were able to take a group picture in front of the boat before we left.  It was quite comedic actually, as one of my colleagues had slipped on the boat and hurt her back a bit, so she was sitting on a golf cart.  Luckily she was able to make it into the picture too.

 

When we arrived back, I found DH and took a shower and changed clothes for our Eco-boat tour and then dinner.  We learned a lot on the tour too.  The weather was beautiful and the tour was about 45 minutes and took us all around the property.  There are actually 3 properties connected to each other that are all owned by same group.  They explained that way the Cenotes work and how they had to create the canals because all of the rivers are underground.  It took them 18 years to build/create these 3 resorts because they had to ensure that they were keeping the environment protected.  They had to drill away all the limestone above the Cenotes and then the water came up through them to create the canals.  It was amazing how clear the water became as we got closer to the source of the fresh water and the closer we got to the ocean, the cloudier it was due to the mixing of the two waters.  They have over 400 species of animals on the properties and they are a refuge, so they are not allowed to destroy or capture any of the animals.  There are crocodiles, all kinds of birds, ducks and fish.  It really was a great tour.  We wanted to take another one before we left, but we just didn't have the time. 

Me and DH on the Eco-boat tour.

 

DH had made reservations at one of the restaurants at the resort, El Puerto and we headed that way.  Luckily, where the boat docked, we just had to walk up the stairs to the restaurant.  We had a wonderful, romantic dinner.  The food was FABULOUS and it was really nice to spend this time together, especially before beginning this next journey!

 

Our Appetizers - Coconut Shrimp and Crab Cake

Bonus Dessert F to B (Peach Macaroon, Chocolate,
Mango Jelly and Chocolate Pyramid)

 

Our table overlooked the area in the picture from the first day.

 

 



 

 

 

 

 



"Work" Vacation

 

Today we left for Playa del Carmen, Mexico for my incentive trip for work. It is a trip that we, as Managers earn each year for exceeding our goals. This is the first one I have been able to attend, as the first time, my youngest DS was only 5 weeks old and I was not going to leave him home (even though it would be with my mother) at 5 weeks.  I was still breastfeeding and it would've just been too hard, plus I would miss all of that time with him.  The 2nd time, I was pregnant with baby "E".  I was NOT going to miss it again and I'm so glad we went. 

This trip is for managers and spouses, so DH got to come along too.  We flew out of DFW at 11:10am and arrived at The Fairmont Mayakoba around 3pm.  Here are a couple of pictures from our arrival at the resort.                    





            

              The entrance to our resort.



The view from the lobby.

  

We got into the lobby, checked in and headed to our room. There were about 42 of us all together and we all had Casitas like the ones on the right in the picture above, but ours were on the left.  The path to get there was absolutely beautiful and the rooms were just as nice.  We got to the room, unpacked a few things and then I had to get off to my one and only meeting of the whole trip.  When we walked in, the room was amazing!  The bathroom was huge and DH joked that we would just spend the whole trip in there.  hehe

The bathroom.  There are actual trees behind the glass. 

 

Luckily, it was a pretty fun meeting, complete with champagne and all.  I don't drink much at all to begin with, but realistically, I've only had 2 glasses of wine since baby "E" was born and obviously, nothing for the 2 years before that due to cycling and being preggo.  Needless to say, after the 2 whole glasses of champagne at the meeting, I had a little buzz going.  The meeting was a "roast" of sorts (the comedy type of course) where the Sr. Management team discussed the accomplishments that got each of us there, customized to our strengths and in some cases our hobbies.  It was really fun.  After our meeting, we all went to grab our spouses for a little mixer since not everyone knows everyone.  The company I work for is not huge, and most of us have been there at least 5 years or more (a lot close to 10 years +), so most of us know each other and each others spouses, but there are a few newbies too.  I met DH at the restaurant they had selected for the get together.  It was quite fun.  They had a musician playing and of course, open bar.  LOL!  I only had a pina colada, although I'm quite sure several of my colleagues had much more to drink. They also had a photographer, who took pictures of each couple, as well as a group photo (which I will have to post later due to a photoshop mistake - quite funny really). 

Not the best quality, but it's a picture of the picture.  : )  <3 him so much!!

After visiting for a while, we headed back to the room to finish unpacking and turn in for the night, as it had been a pretty long day and I had to get up early on Friday for the catamaran trip, plus it was dark and we couldn't really see a lot around the property.