"Mister, your baby is staring at me."

We're used to people asking questions about the boys when we're out in public. We have prepared answers for "Are they twins?" Yes. "Are they identical?" No. "Do twins run in your family?" They do now. But what do you say to the little boy waiting behind you on the jetbridge who says as you're boarding the plane, "Mister, your baby is staring at me!"

That's how our mini-tropical St. Maarten trip began on Saturday night. My funny husband said, "It's because he wants you to take care of him on the plane ride tonight," and pretended to hand Matthew over to the kid! (Actually, it began with 8 oz. of breastmilk dumped into our diaper backpack as we backed out of the driveway going to the airport, but that's not a fun anecdote to start with.)

We spent one night in Atlanta because we didn't feel like we'd make a 40 minute connection between flights on Sunday morning. The night in the hotel was unremarkable, but I have to mention it because I snapped this adorable pic. I wonder if the Crown Plaza needs baby models, because this is an advertisement if I've ever seen one!

We bought this Snap and Go stroller for 20 bucks off of Craigslist because we need one that fits through the Xray machine when we fly. It clearly had a rough life before we adopted it, but we like to think that we gave it some love in its golden years. Now, the poor stroller has two wheels in the grave, because when we landed in St. Maarten, the rear axle was bent so badly it wouldn't move. My muscle-bound man wrestled it into barely-working order so we could squeak around the island for two days. Stroller funeral will be held upon our homecomeing to MN. Please send condolences to the blog comment section.

Me, Nathan, Matthew and aforementioned stroller enjoying the sunset.

Steve actually DID have to do some work on Monday morning, during which time I put the boys down for a nap and washed their dishes in the bathroom sink. We headed out to the pool when he came back and it was a good thing, too. The fellas had been practicing their flipping-over skills on the beds, desperately trying to reach the tile floor.

Matthew's unblinking stare!

Steve and Nathan's self-pool-portrait

Nathan loves to splash in the water!

Matthew just loves swimming!

We were able to dip their toes into the Atlantic, too. The ocean was a little too loud or a little too sandy or maybe they were a little too tired to think it was fun. The boys were not upset or crying about it, but they were not enjoying it, either. So that excursion was a short one...it took longer to get us all slathered up with SPF 50 then bathed afterward than it did to visit the ocean. But it was worth it!

It was a lot of hassle getting there and a TREMENDOUS hassle getting back (try missing a flight and renting a car to drive from Atlanta to Michigan OVERNIGHT to make it home for Christmas when you've been awake since 4:30am - now that's what I call a good time!), but when someone asked me if it was worth it, I say yes. Wouldn't you?

Nathan sleeping, Matthew with Steve on the balcony watching the planes land. Airplane geeks, stay tuned: I'm saving the most incredible airplane shots for its own entry!