We celebrated Bryan's 39th birthday in Cancun, Mexico. This is our first time going out of the country since Covid19. The logistics of traveling are not much fun anymore. Lots of delayed planes and tests to schedule. I can't wait for life to return to what it was before the pandemic.
We met my older brother and his family, and my youngest sister and her family at an all inclusive resort. We got to eat anything and everything. Highly recommend if you plan on staying at the hotel the entire time. Another bonus was the kids club. {Panama Jacks} My girls were so busy making crafts or playing games, Bryan and I had a lot of free time to ourselves. It was almost like we paid for a babysitter.
Bryan chose the Sushi restaurant for dinner. The staff also brought him a cake from the bakery at the hotel.
Singing to the birthday boy.
Daphne celebrated her 10th birthday the next day. She chose the Italian restaurant for dinner that night.
Beach time
The kids got to decorate cookies with the kids club. FYI Mexico doesn't have the greatest desserts. We all tried every dessert and only found 1 that was good. It was some type of fruit pudding pie. But the rest tasted very bland and weren't worth the calories.
Eating at the organic restaurant. I think this might have been our favorite one.
My girls love the slow motion videos.
Brandon rented a van and we traveled to a cenote. It was quite the adventure getting there, as it always is when Brandon is the leader. We had trouble finding the exact location, took a wrong turn somewhere, but eventually made it through the rainforest to the right place.
There were all sorts of activities around and inside the cenote. Most of the boys jumped into the water from above. Others chose to take the stairs. Kate and I swung on the rope swing. Jane was not happy about the temperature of the water- cold!
Jane was happy about her coconut drink design, not the flavor!
The hotel has a sea turtle preservation on site. They let us hold the baby sea turtles and release into the wild. Pretty sure this is illegal in America?
It was really nice to have a relaxing vacation with my family. This might be the first time we (or I) had traveled with certain siblings. It was kind of nice to go with a smaller group so we could spend more quality time.
Kate's friend Averi had a birthday sleepover. She was really excited to spend the night with friends, without her little sister tagging along. I think it is good to have the separation, even though Jane was super sad. We made sure Jane got extra attention to help distract her from the loneliness she was feeling.
We attempted a new Fall Festival this year- Sweet Eats Fruit Farm in Taylor, Texas. Honestly, I prefer the one in Marble Falls. There were lots of lines and not enough food trucks. We didn't bring any food and were not willing to wait 45 minutes in line to order and then wait another 45 minutes to receive our food. We went on a hay ride, pet chickens and goats, watched the pig race, got our faces painted, and shot apples in a canon.
Northside Baptist Academy doesn't believe in Halloween. However, the week leading up to the holiday, the kids get to dress. There is a green/blue day, elderly day, military day, and favorite holiday (except it can't be Halloween). My kids don't seem to mind the spirit week, but I do. I think it is so misleading to the kids to have them dress up, but only the way the school wants them to dress up. I don't know.
And the we hosted our 2nd Halloween party. Our family dressed up to the movie Grease. The girls were the cheerleaders, and Bryan and I were Danny and Sandy. Bryan built a tunnel to get into the front door with lasers and fog. It was pretty cool.
We had quite the turn out. Lots of friends from my work and from Bryan's work and from the neighborhood. The weather was perfect. We rented a bouncy house like before. Cooked hot dogs and chili. Everyone had a lot of fun.
The next day we carved pumpkins and got ready for the great candy collection.
Kate and Jane wanted to be students from Hogwarts. I think Kate was supposed to be Hermione Granger and Jane was Ginny Weasley. Our neighborhood was really awesome this year. So many people out. So many amazing costumes. So many awesome house decorations. And such great weather. Our family LOVES Halloween!
