Day 4 and 5 in Mexico

Fri. Feb. 22nd--Day 4

 On our way to the Office for breakfast

The kids wanted to stop and watch the black swans swimming

 Carrying the beach toys 

Enjoying the water

 Playing in the sand in front of the Office

 Lydia and Maggie

After the beach, we went to Pueblo Bonito White (the resort next door) and used their pool for a change of scenery.  They had waterfalls and bridges which was cool, but they didn't have a baby pool.  So we only used their pool one day.  

 Garrett holding Noah and Bella, behind him Josh is carrying his kids, Caleb and Hannah.  Paige is under the waterfall and Lydia is swimming under the water.

 Love this shot of Lydia jumping out of the water.  

Another one of the dads and the kids

 Swimming under the bridge

 Grandma and Bella taking a break to get warm

 We loved ordering lunch down by the pool.  Loved the nachos and the pina coladas.

 Later that night, we went out to dinner to celebrate Georgia's birthday which was on the Monday before we got there.  Sorry the picture is blurry.  After dinner, Josh arranged to have a pinata there for all the kids and grandma to bust open.  I didn't get any pictures--just video.

 Garrett, Mindy and Noah

Sat. Feb. 23rd--Day 5

 Today we spent more time out on the beach.  The girls wanted to get their hair braided, so in no time, we found someone willing to do it.  Bella went first.  Poor kid...it really did hurt.  These ladies pull the braids TIGHT!  

 They really were brave and didn't complain at all...until it was over, and then they told me.  :)  They were glad they had it done, though.   

 Playing in the sand--Noah, Bella, Caleb and Hannah.  Josh and Garrett were down by the water.

You can see Lydia's red face...it felt like we were constantly putting on sunscreen, but hers and Paige's face still got burnt.  Bella kept her hat on the whole time she was in the pool, because she doesn't go under water, so she didn't get burnt.  

 This was the craziest thing I have ever seen.  I don't even know what it was.  You can tell that he is attached to some kind of motor and that thing on his back shoots out water and propels him up in the air.  He'd only be in the air for 5-10 seconds and then go down in the water (sometimes under water) and then he'd shoot back up into the sky.  It was so weird!

 Garrett and Lydia were the only ones to get in the ocean.  Lydia loved it!  Noah kept wanting to see sharks for some reason.  He'd want to see one in the pool and one in the ocean.  I'm not sure what his fascination was with sharks, but I'm glad we didn't see one.  

 He loved running into the water and then running back up the sand.  

 Eating lunch by the pool.  Their favorites were grilled cheese and Noah's was a hot dog.  (Mostly for the fries though.)

 Tanya and Georgia holding a table up to keep baby Luke locked in and away from the pool.

 Back up in our room, this is our "room with a view".

 Playing dominoes again before dinner.

 This night the resort was putting on a Carnaval and you had to reserve spots for their buffet dinner and the entertainment after.  It was a little spendy for just "ok" food.  The other adults liked it, but I'm a bit more picky I think.  There wasn't a lot for the kiddos either, but I don't think that's who they were catering it to.  The atmosphere was cool, though.

 They had masks that you could wear to get a picture taken in.  Then they put your picture on a bottle of tequilla that you could buy as a souvenier.  No thanks, I'll just take my own picture.  Paige, Bella and Hannah.

 Tanya and Hannah

 The entertainment.  The emcee and his two sidekicks

 People walking on stilts and juggling, etc. They also had people doing fire dancing, but none of our pictures turned out.  They also had little games for the kids like musical chairs and stuff as part of the show.   

 These guys were pretty cool--they had some crazy dance moves

Then, they had people banging on drums and this lady dancing around shaking her stuff. 

I know this picture is terribly blurry, but the camera was having a hard time focusing in the dark.  I put it in because they handed out balloons like this one to everyone to wave around.  It was kind of a cool sight with the music playing and the drums.  

Then they started a congo line.  It was at this point that I took my kids to bed because they were tired and cranky and they (nor I) cared about joining the congo line.  After we got the kids in bed, Jim, Georgia, Garrett and myself stayed up playing dominoes.  The music and drums were still going strong.  I'm not sure what time it ended.  

Day 2 and 3 in Mexico

Day 2--Wed. 20th

Grandma Georgia was nice enough to french braid all of the girls hair before we headed down to the pool.  That was so nice because it kept all their hair out of their faces.  Plus, I don't really french braid... 

Lots of pictures in the pool...that's really what we did everyday.

Josh and Tanya and their kids finally got here today.  They were supposed to come on Monday, like Jim and Georgia, but they had misplaced their daughter, Hannah's passport.  They called the airlines to see if she could just use a birth certificate and they told them yes.  So, they got to the airport the next day and were checking in, when they were told that they HAD to have a passport.  I guess they were given incorrect info on the phone.  So, they went back home and searched that whole day and part of the next day and could not find it.  So, they eventually went some place where they issue passports to see if they could get another one printed, but according to the records, it had already expired.  So, somehow, they were able to get a new one processed that day and were able to catch a flight the next day (Wed.)  Just to add to all that, the airline lost some of their luggage--and it just happened to be the suitcase that had their baby's clothes and some of their daughter's clothes.  AND on top of that, their baby (almost a year old) happened to have a big blowout at the Mexico airport, and they didn't have an extra outfit for him.  So, when they finally arrived--they were glad to be there, but pretty spent.  So, Tanya didn't come to dinner with us; she was trying to get baby Luke to sleep.  

Out at dinner.  

Bella, Josh, Caleb, Maggie, Georgia, Jim, Lydia, Mindy, Noah, Paige and Hannah.

Day 3--Thurs. 21st

Breakfast at the Office

 Most mornings we had cereal/toast in the condo.  But, our favorite was to eat breakfast at a place on the beach called the Office.  It's right on the beach, so you get to have your feet in the sand and the kids can play in the sand while you wait for your food.  They have really yummy breakfasts and great smoothies.  

  Noah loved the smoothies.  

Back at the resort and back to swimming. Noah and my little yellow banana

 Lunch by the pool

 It wasn't as warm there as I had hoped.  It was nice and sunny most of the time, but around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, some clouds would roll in and a cool breeze would pick up.  I always got cold, but the kids kept on swimming.  They'd get out every once in awhile and get warmed up in a towel, but they'd be right back in. 

 How cute is this girl?

 After swimming, we had some time to kill before dinner, so the cousins came over to our rooms to play.  Grandma had dominoes to play with and an Alaska card memory game.  She kept those kiddos entertained!

 Noah and Caleb had a good time playing with Noah's cars.  

 Playing dominoes with Bella, Paige and Hannah

 Noah and Caleb waiting in the lobby before walking to dinner.  

 We walked down to the next resort and ate dinner at their restaurant, out on the beach.  It was dark and pretty chilly.  They provide blankets for each person, so the kids snuggled up. It is so awesome to eat on the beach with the moonlight and to hear the ocean. 

Noah, Maggie, Paige, Hannah, Bella and Lydia.

 Luke, Josh, Jim, Georgia, Garrett and Mindy

 Tanya, Luke and Josh

 Noah and Paige pretending to sleep.  Although, they were pretty tired by this time.