We stayed at the Barcelo (The Colonial, not the Beach Club - there are actually 4 Barcelo resorts together) in March. We went for a wedding (so left the kids at home) on this particular trip, but we have stayed at AI resorts with our kids before (they are 11 and nearly 8). Our friends' stayed at the Beach club, and it seemed much busier and noisier than the Colonial. It *was* spring break time though, so perhaps there will not be as many drunken frat boys when you travel, :) Personally, I love travelling to an AI with the kids (we have been to AI's in the Mayan Riveria, Puerto Vallarta and the Dominican Republic; we also have a timeshare condo that is not AI in Mazatlan that we have been to several times). The buffet restaurants always had lots of choices as far as food goes (my son is a picky eater ), with lots of fresh fruit. The beach front buffets tend to carry lots of "American" food (hot dogs, hamburgers etc) that can be a change from the exotic food overload. The fish is always excellent. The entertainment at the Barcelo ranged from hokey-lame to very good. Pick chairs up higher but in the first row for best air circulation and view - it can be really hot sitting with all of those people. There was some noticeable hurricane damage still in evidence on the ride from Cancun to the resort, but the grounds themselves are in quite good condition. When we were there, there was some construction noise as they were rebuilding the pier/headlands. A lot of the actual sand had been blown off the beach, so it was quite rocky in some areas. Bring water shoes or sandals for the beach. There are plenty of chairs everywhere. The 4 resorts together are *enormous* - they must have close to a mile of beachfront, so there is plenty of room to spread out. Personally, I enjoy beach time with a bood and no one bothering me, so it was easy to get lost away from the other people in our group. There were virtually no beach vendors, which I actually kind of miss. I did find the prices for souveneir junk quite high at the resort, and very high on the shopping day we took to Playa Del Carmen. The fancy jewelery factory (don't be fooled by their promises of seeing "jewelery artisans at work" - it is primarily a giant showroom) near the resort actually had not bad prices, but a very small silver selection in comparison to the gold (mucho $$). We probably would not return to this resort again, but only because of the price, as we tend to be three star travellers, LOL. I don't have anything bad to say about the actual resort itself. Carrie

Here is a pattern from Royal Carribean hope it might help soMaking a Hawaiian Lei Give your summer parties an exotic feel by making your own Hawaiian Lei and offering your guests Mai Tai cocktails. Just follow our easy step by step instructions. What youÂll need to make an Hawaiian Lei Number 10 crochet thread (doubled), or waxed dental floss Special lei needle, or large sewing needle with medium-sized eye Approximately 80 dendrobium orchid blossoms (or flower of your choice) Water mister Tape measure Felt-tip pen Step 1: Cut a length of thread (doubled) or dental floss (not doubled) 50 inches long and thread your needle. Step 2: Mark each end 5 inches from the end with the felt-tip pen. (It's helpful to place a clip of some sort at one end.) Step 3: Pluck the stem from each blossom, one at a time or pluck them all before you start.(If you're making a lot of leis, have one person string and one pluck.) Step 4: Sliding the needle on the 'lip' of the flower, pierce the flower about a 3/8-inch below the stub of the stem. Step 5: Continue adding flowers on the needle, gently nesting the end of each flower into the 'mouth' of the next. (The line of pierced blossoms should look like a stack of nested hats). Then grasping every 4-5 blossoms gently in the palm of your hand move them down to the end of the thread. (You?ll need to string about 80 blossoms for a 40 inch lei). Step 6: Finish the lei by nesting the first and last flowers and tying a square knot. Leave a 'tail' to carry the lei with until you are ready to present it. Step 7: Finally, lightly mist each lei as you complete it and store in the refrigerator in loose moistened plastic bags until ready for use. Helpful Hints: Orchids are a lot like lettuce, they don't like to be too cold and they will turn clear if they directly touch the sides of a cold refrigerator. It may help to turn your refrigerator down a little. The leis will last up to five days in the refrigerator, misting as needed - however, they are still best used no later than the next day.

DON'T fly to tiny town il to meet your in-laws...lol, then on top of it being feb, and nothing to do, i got sick... ds1 did disney cruise...ds2 did hawaii cruise dd2 had a destination wedding and then a cruise...dd1 eloped to wa state (we have friends there) really though, it just depends..while one of the neighbors went to bali (8 grand in debt) another went camping, and were totally alone... it does depend on the time of year, budget, and interests...do you like wine country? big cities? historical? or just cuddling in a king bed in a fancy hotel?

St. Martin/Maarten -- the French side. The food in the village of Grand Case is awesome and upscale. Margot is the main village on the French side. Philipsburg is the main village on the Dutch side. It's an easy island to drive around, too. Pretty island. Nice people. Good water sports available. Boating (sailboat or catamaran) on a snorkeling trip over to Anguilla for a day, including lunch at a beach place, is fun, too. I've been to the Dominican Republic, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, St. Croix, St. John, Jamaica, Antigua. Of all, I prefer the cuisine on St. Martin.