Cancun Christmas!

Early the morning of December 21st, we flew out of Salt Lake, bound for Cancun Mexico! Our flight group consisted of our family, Scott, and Tim/Tam/William.  There were only two flights, and although there were some stressful moments--they are inevitable with four kids I think--the flights weren't that bad overall.  Nothing compared to the transatlantic flights to (and from) Doha two years ago. 

Will and Shae were being so cute sitting together on the flight to Cancun

We all arrived at the resort at different times, with Mike and Lacey arriving first, and Mom and Dad and the Doha group arriving last.  They had the worst flight experience, having trouble with booking, connections, and lost luggage, not to mention once their luggage did finally arrive, there was something stolen from each bag.  No fun.  But they were happy to be together with everyone, and it was so great to be together!

The first evening, the resort put on a Mayan ceremony because December 21st was the end of the Mayan calendar.  It was all in Spanish and Mayan, so we couldn't understand it, but the costumes were awesome.  And we're really glad the world didn't come to an end because we had just arrived!
We learned while there that although it was the end of the Mayan calendar, the Mayans did not actually believe it was the end of the world, it was more like the end of a dispensation or an era and the beginning of a new one.

~ DECEMBER 22nd ~

The first time everyone was together was the next morning at breakfast. 

Little Kallie, the youngest of our crew!

Is this not the cutest thing ever?

Jake's not too sure about Kallie joining the party.

Uncle Matt was highly popular with the nieces and nephews.

William adding to Tim's "bedhead chic" look.

Look at those eyes! Pretty Shaelyn.

Because the Catholic church is extremely prevalent in Mexican culture, there were nativities everywhere in Mexico.  Here is the one on our resort.

Lacey and Kallie, who is about 3 months old.  It was so great to see everyone and have us all at the same place at the same time!

Rachel and Brooklyn, ten months old.

Me and Shae, eight months old.

Walking around the resort and checking it all out.  It was so beautiful!

Beautiful fountain in the main square

Jess, the camera lady.  She was rarely seen separated from the camera during this trip.  She is taking a photography class at school.  She also spent lots of time playing with the babies, and became the favorite aunt by the end of the trip!

All the babies, their mommies, and their Grammy (plus Jake, the photobomber).  These girls were all born within a year of each other!

The lobby area of our building.  We all had rooms in the same building, so we were fairly close to one another. 

The Now Jade symbol.

 POOL TIME! There was a series of five or six pools, almost all interconnected, which ran right down to the beach.  It was very beautiful, and we loved swimming in them! Hallie and Claire got much better at swimming throughout the week. 

Jess borrowed my swimsuit the first day because hers was in her lost luggage.  It was super lame, too because once the luggage did finally arrive, each bag had something stolen.  :(

Cute Evie!

Nothing like the pure joy on my kids' faces when they get to swim!

A Mango Tango.  One of our favorite drinks for the week.  Since all the drinks were included, we got good at knowing the best drinks to order.  Our family became known as the "virgin family" because we always ordered all our drinks virgin.  Some of our other favorites included pina coladas, shirley temples, strawberry daquiris, and mojitos.  Yum!

Sleeping by the poolside.

The eternity pool

Our resort is gorgeous!

It's beach time!! One of my favorite things about the resort was that it was right on the beach with beautiful white sandy beaches and stunningly blue Caribbean water.  It was really fun to sit under these shady cabanas and have a nice resort worker bring you all kinds of yummy drinks (all virgin, of course ;) ), and watch the pelicans dive into the ocean for fish.  Our resort must have been near some pretty good fishing grounds because we saw the pelicans just about every day we went to the beach. 

Grammy and Shae-Shae

Grandfather and Grammy are still in their traveling clothes from last night because their luggage still hasn't arrived yet :-S

Scott and Shae

Evie taking a break.  She actually wrapped up in this towel and fell asleep there.

Playing peekaboo with Grandfather!

Cute little frown

Sandy baby toes!

Chris and Scott

Watching the pelican search for its lunch...

And dive!

Hallie loves the beach!

Collecting seashells

Shaelyn's first time in the ocean

She liked it!

That evening, we had dinner at the Mexican restaurant on our resort, Tamarindo's.  This was Rob's favorite restaurant.  There was also an Italian restaurant called Capers (my favorite), an Asian restaurant called Spice, a Mediterranean place which we never tried because it didn't allow kids, and a French place that we never tried because it was only for elite members or some such nonsense.  There was also the Carnival buffet, the poolside restaurant, and a little cafe that always had desserts and coffee.  All the food on our resort was EXCELLENT!

Almost every night we got together to play games too! Ten thousand, pinochle, and mormon bridge.  Love it!

Sleeping arrangements in our room began as follows: Mom and Dad on the first queen, Shae in the crib, and the other three on the second queen bed.  Well, Evie kept kicking and bugging her sisters, so she got relegated to the couch, which usually worked out quite well.  On the first night she fell asleep like this! Silly girl!

~ DECEMBER 23rd ~

Grandfather with his two youngest grandchildren

More swimming! The pool was a little chilly, so after a little while we headed back down to the beach.

Uncle Chris made a mermaid tail for Claire

Me and my sister-in-law and friend Lacey!

Please ignore the random woman in the front.  Behind her you can see Uncle Mike and Grandfather lifting Hallie over the waves as they crashed.  She loved this activity and would do it for hours if they'd let her!

Sand and sun!

Me and Shae--after Rob and I went diving waves.  I love the beach! Especially when you don't have to bring your own chairs, towels, or food! Does it get any better?

Lunch at the poolside cafe.  The food there was so good!

Claire and Evie by this cool lamp thingy in the lobby

That evening we bought a special dinner cruise excursion for Mom and Dad to say thank you for such an awesome trip!!

We love you Mom and Dad!

Also this same evening, the Explorer's Club had a party in the plaza with pinatas and fun stuff.  They were always having activities like that.  On Christmas Eve they had a children's choir come and sing Christmas carols, and on several days they had a bungee trampoline set up, which my kids loved!  The Explorer's Club was so great, it was a place you could send your kids if they were bored of the beach or swimming.  It wasn't babysitting, because they only allowed kids 3 and older who could actually participate in the activities.  They did all kinds of things from crafts to talent shows to games to movies.  It was a great break for my older girls.  They didn't go there every day, but it was a nice diversion. 

To be continued...