I love watching my 4 boys with their luggage walking down the hallways of the airport, in fact there is nothing better. It means a giant adventure awaits us very soon. One where we can bond and connect and see the wide world together. Vacations to me are truly a gift of memories, one that means so much more then things.
We had planned on going to Puerto Rico in 2020, but when the pandemic hit we were forced to cancel our plans and just wait. Thankfully we got back most of our money and got flight credit for the rest. We then booked a trip to Cancun for exactly one year later with Jake and Alayna and family and we had an incredible experience full of oceans, adventure, and cousin time.
Ziplining at Selvatica was one of the highlights. It was amazingly beautiful going through the jungle and then jumping in the Senote afterwards. All of the kids were up for the adventure and I know Cam put on his brave face, which is that much sweeter to watch.
My family, my joy, my pain, my entire existence.
I ordered soup and it came out like this, unshelled Shrimp with the eyes and all. I was a little shocked, but "When in Mexico".
The four teenagers were inseparable and got along so well. They said this was their favorite meal of the trip, Carne Asada tacos.
Our hosts at our Airbnb. They were so kind and hardly spoke any English, but they were learning and so were we. Dalton practiced his Spanish on them a lot.
This was the view from our bedroom. Ten steps to the ocean and a beautiful bungalow right out the gate. We also had a private pool that the kids enjoyed almost as much as the ocean because there was a lot of seaweed because of some easterly winds blowing that week.
When we were out shopping this baby was tethered to the shop. No adult around, probably in back, but me and Kara were completely shocked and worried.
We went to this park in the center of the town of Puerto Morales where we did our shopping and got a lot of Chicken from the grilled chicken joint. One evening the boys found some locals to play basketball with and got trashed (they were good!), and Kara and Ridge played on the playground a game that Kara called Hola, Adios. It was like tag, but they couldn't speak her language and she couldn't speak theirs. I love watching kids and how they just play with each other, no need to speak, only play.
Lots of Crazy hair when they woke up in the morning!
This was the 12 passenger party van that we rented. We had so much fun cruising around Puerto Morales and Cancun in this van. One day Jake even got a ticket for running a red light and we had to pay the police cash (like paid him off) in order for him to not take Jake's license and make us drive another hour away tomorrow to get it back. The kids will never forget the day we were forced to bribe a Mexican police officer. I am sure he just pocketed the money and had a great evening.
We went to see the ruins in Koba. It is the least visited of the ruins in Cancun, but the coolest to take a bunch of teenagers and kids because it's Mayan ruins mixed with riding old awesome bikes around to the different sites.
It was the last day and we were heading back to the party van when a guy stopped shane and asked if they wanted to snorkel. It was dirt cheap and we had seen some pretty cool rays right by the dock so all the boys went out snorkeling nd the girls walked around town and got some awesome Gellato. Kara said that was her favorite part of the trip. They boys saw Eagle Rays that have spots on their backs and that was definitely a highlight for Shane. In fact, he said that the snorkeling was worth every penny.
This may have been my favorite part of the entire vacation, gathering around this big table every evening sharing some awesome Mexican food and telling our favorite thing of the day. Pure love and gratitude was surrounding that table and also deliciousness. Seeing a new place through the eyes of a child, my child, made me choked up many times on this trip. One day Cameron said "This is the coolest place I have ever seen" with wide eyes and an astonished look as we walked along a busy bustling beach. It is a moment I hope I remember forever.
Braxton would go out here and sit alone almost daily. I am not sure exactly what he was doing, but I like to believe he was talking to God and making life plans since he was about to graduate from High School.
Alayna planned a glow party in the pool one night so Brax and Dakota were in charge of breaking all of the glow sticks.
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