home again

Royal Resorts- Cancun, Mexico

We had a FANTASTIC time!! So much to say but here are just the highlights:

We relaxed by the heated kiddy pool, lounged on the lanai overlooking the ocean, ate way too much guacamole, read in spurts, swam, collected seashells (who knew jumping into the waves to find treasures would be so meditative?), painted ceramics when the weather was crappy, picked up said ceramics looking far better than how we left them (gracias senorita), and enjoyed many a Happy Hour. Andy cooked a few yummy meals, the dads played tennis, the moms did yoga, and I attended a once in a lifetime hamstring stretching class. We watched the Olympics and alternated date nights. We contemplated why the ocean is salty, why figure skaters bother with the nude nylon on their outfits, and how long Orca whales live (the ones that don’t eat trainers)? We sipped lattes in the morning and collapsed minutes after the kids went to bed at night. A few things we did not do (due to having the children along) include parasailing, scuba diving, and sleeping the entire night through.

The little girls played from morning to night while we chased after them packing and repacking beach bags with supplies and snacks. They played games like “Princess and Stepmother”, "Dora” (the ever present fourth child on this trip), and “Born Baby” Lauren’s game about caring for an infant. The girls has so much fun and were on their best behavior 98% of the time, which is far better than my personal average of 58%. Several older people even commented on how well behaved they were, usually only minutes before a minor tantrum erupted. No one got too sunburned or sick although there were lingering colds and new teeth that caused some issues, mainly at nighttime.

I honestly never thought I would be that parent taking a kid along on a MY beach vacation and I will admit, it was different than the trips of days gone by. But the joy of seeing Norelle go from clinging to us to water wings to splashing around the kiddy pool all by herself singing songs & meeting news kids was so great! She loved waking up every morning to see her friends and spend another day on vacation running through the resort and playing in the water. Watching her have so much fun reminded us what life and family is all about!! We treasure the memories and the photos from this trip and are so grateful we have awesome friends to share these precious times with!

just had Lasik like Dad

playing!

the whole gang

the Ho gang

@ Margaritaville

Kenna climbs like a monkey, too!

Lo, the self-proclaimed Dolphin Princess

beach bums
Mandatory ice cream breaks, enforced by local government

What up?

a double guac Happy Hour

Party peeps