!!!Viva Mexico!!!

We went on vacation to Mexico! It all started with me saying, "I want to go to the beach." No, not a beach at a lake, like we do here in Michigan. I wanted to go to the ocean. To smell the salty air, to feel the warm, tropical breeze kissing my skin and hair, and to watch real ocean waves roll into the shore. No matter how much time I spend inland, I will never be an inland girl. And I wanted my kids to get to know my awesome friend, Ocean.

We thought we'd go to Chile (to see my parents too). Too long of a trip, too expensive, and my padres are really busy right now. We thought we'd go to Panama. Too expensive, too difficult to find a place to stay, and not the right trip for this time. Maybe next year! And then we looked into Mexico and found reasonable airfares, a fun place to stay, and very short travel time--two flights that were two hours each. With our crowd, that was a real plus!!

We packed ultra-light. I fit all my clothes, plus all three kids' clothes in one regular-sized suitcase. Agh, but the gear that comes along with the kids!! Car seats, life jackets, regular diapers and swim diapers, little dog tents, sleeping bags... By the time it was all packed up, we looked like we had everything but the kitchen sink. I can't believe we were able to fit all of it in our rental car--the trunk really was amazing! [I think back of the annual summer vacations I took growing up--my parents with eight kids and all of our junk, flying from Panama to the U.S. and road tripping across the country... They were brave!]

Everything but the kitchen sink

We flew to Cancun, but we wanted to actually go to Mexico, so we drove south to a small fishing village, Puerto Morelos. We stayed in a charming thatched-roof hut with basic amenities--running water and fans. No TV, no A/C, no fancy decor. It was perfect--surrounded by trees and flowers and birds. We were in heaven. Although the heat was a little bit intense for our baby (she got heat rash). But it reminded me so much of my simple days as a missionary, with nothing extra cluttering up my living space and the sound of the fan lulling me to sleep at night. We discovered a fabulous quesadilla place ("THIS is a quesadilla!" D exclaimed as he bit into a scrumptious tortilla envelope that held not only cheese, but sauteed mushrooms, chicken, or beef. Yum!) and went there three times in three days. We hung out at the beach, playing in the sand and the water. We walked around town and ate at the local restaurants and shopped at the fruit market. I loved really experiencing another country.

My munchkins loved playing with these shells and seed pods--what great toys!

These dog tents enabled the kids to each have their own "room," even though we were all sharing a room. A must-have for our little people!

Pip loved being "el capitan" of this boat at the beach

Squeak LOVED the sand, the waves, and the water 

 Chiquitita was happy to play in the sand and on the shore most of the time. We still made her wear her life jacket.

D living the dream--doing doctor stuff in a hammock (sadly, during his vacation!) 

The upstairs part of our hut. Not kid-safe!!

We loved that the hostel dog's name was "Nena"--not quite as cute as our Nena though

Pip also enjoyed the hammock

Squeak loved this swing

We went to Tulum one day to see (and show our kids) the ruins of a people that we read about as a family in the Book of Mormon. Mostly fun for the grown-ups. It was a hot, sweaty day!

 The train ride was definitely the crowd favorite

We decided to end our vacation all fancy. So we got an all-inclusive deal in Cancun for the end of the trip. The A/C sure was nice! We were beach bums every day, and then we'd shower off and go to the pool. We ate when (and what!) we felt like eating at any of four different restaurants, we napped when we wanted to, and we basically sat around vegging. Lazy! As I watched the resort staff scurrying around cleaning up and rearranging and cooking and serving and entertaining their guests, I thought, "This is how rich people vacation!" and it felt uncomfortable to me. So many people there were drinking too much, eating too much, and perpetuating an unhealthy lifestyle. It was interesting to observe and experience at the same time. Our last day there felt perfect. I woke up early, went for a run and saw all the trees and flowers that are familiar to me (and that I miss so much), came back and went to the beach and then the pool with my peeps, took a local bus to the market while the kids napped, found some great deals, came back, and went to the pool again. Lovely!

 We got to try out the sea kayak and paddleboat. FUN!

Fine dining in Mexico. Ole!

I'm thinking this vacation thing is a habit I need to return to. D and I are both talented at vacationing on the cheap, but during med school (and intern year), there just wasn't TIME to do anything besides school. Well, our lives are changing little by little, so I think we can start taking foreign trips again. Next stop, D.R.!?!