MEXICO!

We LOVE Mexico!  It's simply magical and such a perfect place for our family.  I scored super cheap direct flights to Cancun, taking advantage of the low cost and the fact that none of our kids are in high school so missing a week of school in March was totally doable.  Ethan does full time Running Start which means he takes his class through Bellevue Community College.  Landon starts high school next year so it's going to be a long time, if ever, before the circumstances work out for a family trip like this.  So happy senior trip to Ethan!

We flew to Mexico four years ago and it took all day and late into the night after waiting for three flights and lots of confusion at the rental car company.  This time was smooth sailing!  We left rainy Seattle and arrived in sunny, tropical paradise in four hours.  Got the rental car quick as can be, thanks to Randy's amazing Spanish skills, and were sitting by the pool that night.

It took us almost two hours to get through customs and then we expected to camp out at the rental place forever but luckily it was quick this time.

Ethan lucked out and got to be the one Henry cuddled up to as we drove to our condo.

Dinner by the pool that night...shrimp tacos!

I wasted no time reading in a hammock

Wal-Mart is always an adventure.  We love the cool escalator/ramp for the grocery carts that takes you to the parking garage.

We had our own private "pool" outside our condo.  It was perfect for Parker and Henry to have fun in while they waited for the rest of us to get out of bed each morning.

Henry grew gills from all the swimming/launching he did.

The only time we went to our beach.  The water is just as warm as the pool but salt and sand just can't win compared to the giant pool.

Lunch at the cafe that sits beside the pool and overlooks the ocean.

Henry ate his first burger!

Swimming at the first cenote.  It was crowded and we weren't allowed to wear sunblock so we didn't stay long.

Walking past the cool statues on our way to the pool

Henry played on the playground briefly.  Who wants to play here when you can swim in the giant pool?

We spent the day at Xel-Ha, a huge resort with all kinds of water activities from giant water slides to a private bay for snorkeling.  I paid extra for photos and still haven't seen them so you'll have to trust me that is was beautiful and fun for the whole family.  My favorite part was floating down a river through mangrove trees.  The kids liked the all-you-can-eat buffet.

A denote with a rope swing that wasn't nearly as cool as the rope swing in our backyard but dropping into the cool, fresh water was so refreshing!