So I finally FINALLY got through my 1100+ pictures! If someone actually cared to get through ALL of these, it would take quite some time- and for that reason, I'll keep the captions to a minimum.
We left on vacation to Cancun, Mexico on Nov. 20th. We stayed 8 days at the Moon Palace Resort. Our group consisted of our family, Todd's mom and her husband, Galen, their kids at home, and each of Todd's brothers with their families except one- Chase. He and his wife honeymooned there a couple months prior. All in all, there were 20 people.
Here are Ashton and Raegan awaiting the shuttle from the airport to the resort.
Our kids were super good on both of the flights to Cancun. We were shocked how easy they were. On the way home... not so much. But we traveled all day and late into the night on the return trip. We were grateful to start the trip off on the right foot.
The resort kiddie pool area.
Brielle was happy all week just to be able to play so much with her buddy, Cousin Makya.
My sister-in-law, Amber with her son, Quentin.
Lainey loved the slides but needed to learn how to safely get around a water park. At first she kept slipping and toppling over everywhere. The water was a foot deep in the kiddie pool, so perfect for her to have a blast in, but deep enough to make me nervous.
Working on their tans. Our kids did pretty good with the sun. Brielle barely burned a tiny bit on her back the very last day and it was gone the next day. Pretty good for a red head!
Lainey was super sweet and happily napped in her
stroller outside by the pool once a day, every day there.
They brought this iguana around to everyone by the pool that day to pose with. It was SUPER tame. I had to watch it with people for a while before I trusted it because the pet iguana we had growing up was no where near as nice.
Lainey's not such a fan of it... She kept scooting herself further and further back until she started crying.
Uncle Billy with Cousin Q
Pedicures and manicures! These were complimentary with our room- even for the girls! We were all pretty excited about that.
Not every resort has beach property and this one only had a narrow stretch, but it was pretty. They had beach volleyball down there that the older kids enjoyed.
Looking for sea shells
Cousin, Camden loved the sand!
Uncle Travis
Karate on the beach!
Adam and Katrina- can't even tell she's FIVE months pregnant!
I LOVE this one. Hilarious.
(Kris and Amber)
Gotta love brothers.
This was a water park owned by the resort- nice because we got in free!
She kept pushing this about 50 feet down from where the strollers were because she wanted in those waves so bad! Of course we'd catch up to her once she got to the water.
(Obviously taken by their photographers)
All tuckered out in the room.
Lainey's favorite place in the room to play.
Waiting for our bus.
Had to be early for it with 20 people trying to catch the same bus before it filled up!
Taking a boat to Isla Mujeres.
This was the sister boat to ours.
Todd's mom, step dad, Billy, and Jayden at the end.
Jordy and Travis.
Adam and Katrina
Isla Mujeres
This destination had a place to snorkel, swim, and dolphins to get pictures with.
(Their photos)
Snorkeling!
They told us Brielle and Makya were big enough to do it... but once we were out to sea and they broke out the gear, they confessed they didn't have flippers/mouth pieces/goggles their size. They made do with the big stuff but they couldn't seal their lips around the mouth piece. So it wasn't a true snorkeling adventure for them. It was my first time and it was cool to see all those fish! I tried hard to get to touch one but never succeeded... fast little guys.
I love how she always sticks her tongue out.
The restaurant we ate at on Isla Mujeres
Kris and Rae Rae
More of that little tongue!
Jordy Jo and Q
Painting ceramics for souvenirs
After looking through these I realized it looks like we were in swim suits the entire time! I guess I never had my camera with me in the mornings or evenings when we all met up for dinner time or the few breakfasts we met up for. Room service was free so we did most of our breakfasts in our own rooms. We were by the pool or the ocean all of the rest of the day until dark. But we did do two "adults only" dinners while the older kids babysat and did room service in the rooms. One of the dinners we dressed up. We should have taken a picture of that because everyone looked really nice.
We also went to a couple of shows in the evenings there- Michael Jackson and the Mayan show, which were cool.
The kids did really well in the sun. We used the biodegradable 8-hr. sunblock and put it on each of them twice during the daytime and no one burned. Well, Brielle got a tincy wincy bit pink on her back but it was gone overnight. Pretty good for a red head! So using that and wearing the swim shirts during the really hot hours worked great for them.
It was an all-inclusive resort and the only souvenirs we bought were the ceramics we painted, so it turned out to be a pretty economical trip. And we came home to a winter wonderland with several blizzards. So we're in the mood for Christmas and some Christmas shopping! We put our tree up December 1st and we've been making hot chocolate every evening! Have a wonderful holiday season, everyone, and be safe in all that snow (if you've got mass amounts of it like we suddenly do).
