Hola!

Traveling is really fascinating.  I was thinking about this last night while I was getting ready for bed.  In the morning I was walking on the beach in Mexico, and last night I was in my own shower.  A feeling of gratitude washed over me.  As Russell shared last post, this was an full on surprise trip for the kids.  Their first international trip!  As the trip got closer Russell and I were having a harder and harder time keeping it quiet.  WEWERESOEXCITED!!!  I also was freaking out as one by one of our family got this horrible crud-fever, sore throat, and cough from hell.  I was oiling them up, using any tip and trick I could to help them sleep and heal before we left.  I kept reminding myself of the serenity prayer, but I truly didn't have much control of anything.


The first day of travel and Mexico was a Longgggg day.  Some memorable moments included the very long line at the car rental place, when we were hoping to get going right away.  Luckily they had conveniently placed a playground right outside Hertz, and the kids were quick to join in with other kids in playing.  As I watched them play, I was reminded that kids truly will befriend anyone!

As we journeyed down to Akumal, it was evening time and we were a bit hungry, very tired, and Russell had caught the crud and was fevering and feeling horrible.  My favorite memory from this day was when we ventured into a grocery store.  The boys witnessed me asking for milk in Spanish ("WOW, Mom can talk in Spanish really good!) and found out that milk comes in cartons and it isn't refrigerated  We learned how to find Sudafed like medicine using Russell's translation app. That grocery store stop ended up saving us as we got into our Airbnb way past the close of restaurants.  Nothing says, "we are on vacation!" quite like having cereal and eggs for dinner at 9pm.

That next morning we woke to paradise.  We knew what the pictures looked like, but when you arrive in the dark everything felt spooky.  The loud waves, the sand that was alive with crabs in the dark, and the unknown territory.  For hours the kids played in the sand, with the water, and utilized the coral like legos.  Russell was feeling horrible still, but at least he was here.  This day included watching pelicans, swimming in the "best place I've ever swam", my favorite salsa I've ever had in my life, and getting soaked in the rain!  It was NYE and we were all in bed by 10pm.  #bestdecisionever

For Tuesday were originally slated to visit here.  Good thing we trusted our gut and didn't go for it.  AJ, Dempsey, and Russell were still very much in recovery mode with  the evil crud.  We decided that since we were LITERALLY on the beach, we might as well stay and enjoy.  Some highlights from the day included Ryker

Ryker hunting geckos

Ryker "hunting" geckos for over an hour with the promise of $100 from Russell if he actually caught one.  No such luck, but he did touch one.  AJ rotated between water time and reading his book that he couldn't put down.  There were times that Russell and I had to call AJ back because our usual careful guy was like a fish venturing further and further out into the waves.  I had a moment during this day where I realized that I had made the switch regarding the ocean.  It once was a place where I had no fears, and enjoyed it in all its glory.  Now since becoming a mom, I realized how much the ocean scared me.  I realized its power and immediately understood why my Dad used to hold my hand so tight as we jumped the waves as a young girl, those waves are terrifying.  Funny how parenthood can change your viewpoints on your most beloved things in life. Speaking of fears....this day I was able to conquer two of mine at the same time- I drove in a foreign country AND a rental car.  I know it all seems silly, but I was a bit fearful of crashing and throwing a wrench in our trip.  BUT I didn't!  We arrived safely to our restaurant and safely back to our condo!

Check out that pelican

Russell got some air!

Tattooed Meg, Bonita!

A visitor we enjoyed at our lunch

Wednesday was our Tulum adventure day.  We tried to explain the historical importance of this place to the kids, and AJ was the only one that really appreciated it.  And no one really appreciated the constant rainfall, except for Russell and I.  I enjoyed the fact that I had PREPARED for this day by bringing umbrellas, raincoats, clothes that were moisture wicking, shoes that could get wet, snacks, towels for drying off and wet bags to keep everything dry. #levelinguponmypackingskills I know I'm a nerd, but I seriously started packing for this trip a month before it happened.  I love being prepared, especially knowing that being wet or tired or hungry can cause an EPIC meltdown for any one of my family members.  In Tulum AJ ordered his entire meal in Spanish, "Cinco tacos de pollo, por favor!"  Proud of him!!!  Ryk was able to throw some Spanish in as well.  After enjoying some long deserved ice cream, we headed to our next adventure spot...the resort.

Like Mother, like Daughter.

Russell and I struggled hard with staying at an all-inclusive.  Would it be easy? Yes.  Would it be expensive?  Yes.  Would the kids be wowed on the amount of pools and food that they would have access to? Yes.  Would they get to experience Mexico at all? No, not one bit.  In fact, we barely played at the ocean at the resort because....well because that wasn't the point at those kinds of places.  We hung out at the water park, and truthfully it actually kind of worked because it was a bit chillier the two days we were there, and the water park was heated.  The best thing about the resort in my opinion was $80 we dropped on a cabana to be homebase for the entire day, the cute little coati I saw on my last day (thank god because it was my goal), and since the beach wasn't much of an option I just was able to relinquish any of my needs and focus solely on whatever the kids wanted to do.   Russell and I talked, at the Airbnb we had to find food and do dishes.  This was not the case at the resort, and I soaked that piece up.

We left after our second day breakfast. A drive to the rental depot, a van ride to the airport, an airplane ride to Denver, multiple escalators and a long line at customs/immigration, another van ride to our car, and a car ride to home.  We were exhausted and we all slept ALL night long last night.  This trip was an amazing experience that bridged two very important things in our lives:  our children and our love to travel to other places that are different than our own.  At times it wasn't easy, but I truly believe that our ability to be calm and confident even in experiences that aren't familiar allowed our children the possibility to take in these new adventures as just that....adventures.  Before we left on the airplane, while we all enjoyed a drink at the airport, Russell gave the children the task that they would do a quick family report after our trip to the family.  They would present on something that they learned while in Mexico, and something that they liked and also did not like about the trip.  Here was what they shared in general- their favorite parts were the all-inclusive.  The loved the drinks/food/and pools.  They did not like some of the food,and getting rained on.

  I learned that my packing was just the right amount, driving isn't as scary as I thought it would be, all-inclusive food continues to not agree with my stomach and turns out to be quite an expensive cleanse experience, I have Spanish phrases that come out all the time #stillgotit, and I think the kids need rolling backpacks because they lost their sh*t at the end because their packs were #tooheavy.