Mexico 2013!

We spent last week in Riviera Maya, Mexico!  It was a great week and a needed break from routine and chores at home (says Me!).  It is not spring break for us, but Logan is only half-days, so its not a huge deal.  ;)  Maybe we will always take a non-traditional "spring break" since church scheduling is a little tricky with Easter, etc.  We'll see...

We went to the airport early on Saturday morning and took a flight with Papa and Nana.  We were lucky to have "Economy Comfort" seats on the plane for an extra bit of room!  Also, my dad declined his upgrade (even though we insisted!) so he could hang with us and the kiddos.  :)  The kids were DREAM TRAVELERS!  Seriously - they are amazing and humbling.  They were patient, well behaved, and totally fun.  It was great!  Our plane on the way had little screens in every seat which was an awesome treat.  Eden slept the whole way!

International travel with kids is a bit grueling because of the extra wait time around immigration and customs.  Then after that its a long wait for check-in at the resort.  We were all pretty exhausted by the time we got to our room in the late afternoon.

 We were ready to explore and get some dinner!

Logan and Bennett especially thrilled about watching the wildlife: iguanas, crocs, birds and lizards!

My view on the way to dinner.  Too cute.

Eden was captivated by all the bright flowers, plants, and people.

Logan enjoyed a mango smoothie...he's been waiting for this since our last trip to Mexico!

John and Logan took a look out at the wavy ocean.

Logan was thrilled to be in Mexico!

Bennett was sleeping through dinner!  Eden, too!!

But in the morning, we were ready to hit the pool!

 Our 3 little swimmers!

Eden is such a good walker and so sturdy!  When we got to the pool I realized how GREAT it was that she was able to walk around.  So much better than if she was a crawler right now.  She loved exploring and walking around.  Of course, she had no fear of walking straight into the pool, so we were all on super-alert all week!

I remembered some sand and water toys this year so it was fun to show Eden.

Checking out the pool with Papa!

Our first day at the pool someone offered to take a photo of us which was great because I don't think we got another the whole week!

 One of the pools at the Grand Mayan has a sandy little beach so it was fun to play in some sand.  The beach isn't much for playing on at this resort.  Eden wasn't too sure of the sand anyway.

On this day it was sprinkling and cloudy.  So, we enjoyed the sand as much as we could.  Logan and I swam around in the pool and played some ball.  Then Logan spotted a girl named Kiera that he met the day before and they played together in the pool and in the sand.  Bennett was napping, so it was nice for Logan to play with someone.

 

Eden liked her first sip of a fruit smoothie!

The nappers!  Benny had a sleep almost every day.  Eden did a great job napping on the go...she would fall asleep in the stroller, we would walk her to sleep, or she would just cash out on our shoulder when she was ready.  She was so good on this whole trip and really a breeze!  Bennett was exhausted and I think traveling for him is pretty tiring.  He generally doesn't nap at home.  Being on vacation, out of routine, in a new place was a little tough for Bennett this time.  The weather over the week was patchy, so without the heat and sun, the pools were cold and there wasn't a lot to keep us entertained.  The boys  didn't want to swim a lot because it was chilly.  I think we had expected the vacation to be like last year : the boys couldn't get enough of the pool, their inner tubes and kick boards!  It was much different.  Still great, but a bit more challenging.  Thankfully John was amazing with Bennett and usually helped him out of his funk to enjoy the day.  Also, my parents were hugely helpful as always - willing to do anything and everything for/with us.

 

So...I learned pretty quickly that bringing some activities down to the pool to keep the kids busy if they didn't want to swim was a great idea.  Bennett always loves to color or work on a project.

Logan sometimes liked to just snuggle up in a warm towel after a swim.

Logan also joined in on a couple Kids Club activities.

 Logan's dolphin mask creation

Eden loved being carted all around in her stroller - she was happy as can be!

And of course, cute as can be, in her adorable collection of swim suits!  :)

Eden was a great "helper" with the sunscreen stick...

Love to see Benny's big smile!  :)

It didn't take Logan too long to get super comfortable in the water.  He did so great!

 I have so many photos of iguana and crocodiles!  I'm adding them in because the kids LOVE them!

 We had a super special kids' night on Tuesday - it was Disney Show at Del Lago and so fun.  We were happy the kids enjoyed it so much!

Me and my girl!

Papa and Logan: good buddies!

Hanging out on the balcony.

 Nana with Eden.  Special girls.

Evening walk to dinner.

 Our family...silly as usual.

Papa and Nana with their three grandkids - also silly.  :)

Bennett got tired of all the walking and usually asked to be carried...everywhere.  It was tiring for Papa and John.  This resort requires quite a bit of walking to go anywhere, so it got old pretty quick for Bennett.  Logan always walked and observed lizards, etc.

 Dinner before the show was a hit - mainly because of the self-serve ice cream for dessert!

Logan and Bennett couldn't have been more pleased to see their favorite characters: Buzz and Woody!  Along with lots of other Disney princesses, etc.

 A random photo of me with Logan and Eden while we waited for dinner another night.

Pool play...most of these were taken on our last full day, which was probably our best weather day!

So much fun!

 The Explorers!  Exploring was by far the highlight for my boys!  They loved searching for animals and anything else in nature.  They like to pretend they are "Wild Kratz" brothers - a nature/exploring show from PBS Kids.  We saw lots of iguanas, crocodiles (in their own caged habitat), flamingos, geckos, lizards, birds, and even a white-nosed coatimundi!

The flamingos

 

Wild Kratz Brothers (aka Eiselt Brothers!)

The week was so windy, we barely spent any time at the beach.  Its not much sand, more rocks and tide pools.  Of course, our explorers loved to look in the pools and see what they could find.

Walking to Havana Moon for a breakfast buffet on our last day.

Walking out on the pier.

I love this view with the bright colored shutters.

Our family minus Eden (sleeping in the stroller).

Checking out the tide pools

All the boys

Even Papa wore the Petunia Pickle Bottom!  :)  And then we were off to pack up and catch our plane!

Many thanks to Papa and Nana.  Happy for them: they still had a week of vacation.  I joked with them when we left about how "now you can have a vacation!".  Let's face it: little ones along is a different kind of vacation.  Lucky for us, the grandparents love it - chaos and all.  It was wonderful beyond words!  We're grateful!