I am happy to say all the birthday parties are done for the year. Owen finally decided he wanted try laser tag for his birthday. We've never done it before, but I saw that they had it at Boondocks, so I decided to have his party there. We had 8 kids, which is a nice, manageable number. I ended up changing the time at the last minute since it turned out to be the same day/time as the soccer club Christmas party, which he also wanted to attend. Luckily there was space later in the afternoon and everyone was able to switch. We got out there and the first part of the party is at the table with the pizza and cake. Luckily it didn't happen until after we got our pizza, but there was a sudden power outtage. It flickered once and came back on, but then it went out again. We had no idea how long it would be out. The party hostess let the kids go outside and play miniature golf even though that wasn't part of our original plan. They came back in afterwards to have the cake and open presents. The power was still out so Owen started getting upset and crying because he had only wanted to do laser tag and of course, all the indoor stuff wasn't working. The go-karts were still running, so we got in line for that, and just as we were about to get on, the street lights came back and power was restored. The kids were all freezing from being out doing the go-karts, so they were happy to come in and finally get to play 2 games of laser tag since we got extra ride tickets due to the power failure. So the party went on a little longer than planned, but they all got to use their arcade tokens and everything, so it turned out o.k. in the end. After Declan being sick for his party and the snow storm, I thought I was going to be 0-2 on birthday parties this year!
Scot is taking the day off tomorrow, which is very rare, but he got some extra vacation days in November and has to use them or lose them. Of course by the time he got them, the vacation calendar was pretty full, so he had to pick some random days. He has two days off in a row next week, also, so that is nice, but tomorrow is even nicer since the kids will be in school and we can do something just the two of us.
I'm not sure we are going to get any outside lights up this year, which is kind of sad. We still have a lot of snow from last week since it hasn't really been warm enough to melt off like it usually does. I guess it's only the 12th, but for some reason, it feels like Christmas is just around the corner! I did design our Christmas photo, so I just need to get those printed and I can start sending out some cards.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
Cancun
Well, we are back from Mexico and being thrown into the chaos of December. I am trying not to get too stressed, but honestly, it's not my favorite time of the year, apart from the fact that my parents are coming to visit!
We left for Cancun on a Tuesday. My friend Dawn and her family had flown out the day before and unfortunately had a 3+ hour delay for their flight, but luckily ours was on schedule. We parked at a park-n-ride and took the bus to the airport so we wouldn't have to deal with airport parking and it was also cheaper. I had a little issue at security, but otherwise we got through pretty quickly. I refused to go through the big scanner so I had the pat-down. Luckily they didn't try to put the kids through that since I don't know what I would have done in that case. Our flight was direct to Cancun, so once we were on the plane it was smooth sailing. We got in a little early, even. We went through passport control and then made our way outside to the shuttle. We made two stops before our resort, but we got in around dinner time. The kids were disappointed that there were no green drinks waiting for us like last time. We saw Dawn in the lobby so she walked with us back to our room, but they had dinner reservations for that night so we ate in the buffet. We caught up with them after dinner in the game room.
Our room had a king bed and a pull-out couch, so like last year, we used the cushions from the couch to make one bed and the kids took turns sleeping on the floor or the sofa bed. Wednesday was a warm, sunny day so we headed out to the beach/pool. I prefer to swim in the ocean, but the kids ended up spending a lot of time in the pool since they were doing games there and water polo. The pool water was definitely warmer than last year, since they had just opened the main pool as we were leaving. Since the ocean water was clear, we checked out some snorkel equipment and snorkeled around the beach area. The resort did a Mayan show at noon since it was Mexican day. That night they had the outdoor Mexican buffet, which had some yummy food. It was disappointing that they didn't have the games for the kids like last year, or the pinata.
Thursday was another warm day so we again hung out at the beach/pool. In the afternoon we had a chance to take out the sea kayaks. They had some double ones, so Scot took Declan and Owen rode with me. That night we had dinner reservations at La Riviera, so the kids all went to the kids club for a couple hours. We fed them first in the buffet. Their friends were there, too, so I think it was not so bad for them to be there.
Friday we had all booked an all-day excursion to Xel-ha. We were only there for the afternoon last year and felt pretty rushed. We had to leave early since there were some stops at hotels in Playa del Carmen, but there was a breakfast buffet opening when we got there. We ate and then went out snorkeling. We ended up at a trail that led us to a rope swing, so the kids had fun swinging off into the water. We walked more and made it to the big cliff jump. I was very impressed that both the kids jumped off, twice. I decided to try it, and I have to say, it was kind of scary from the top, but I did it. We made our way down to the zip lines and then took a lunch break. We did more snorkeling after lunch and then just relaxed in the kids area and hammock area until it was time to get on the bus. Even though the driver told us to wait by this sign, no one was there so Scot finally found the bus and everyone was already on it, even though it was before the meeting time. Luckily they didn't leave without us!
On Saturday the weather was getting kind of windy, but it was fun to have some waves in the ocean to play in. The guys also started in with the beach volleyball. We ate at the steak house that night, although I actually had some salmon. It was better than the mediterranean restaurant, but it was closed last year so this was our first chance to try it. Sunday the weather was pretty breezy but we still played in the pool.
Monday we booked an excursion to Selvatica to do some zip lines. We were up above the tree tops and it was kind of windy, so that made it more exciting. Declan was very worried and didn't want to go, but the guy chatted with him and put him more at ease, and after the first zip line he was fine. Scot went upside down for one of the ziplines, but I didn't try that. I was afraid my glasses would fall off into the jungle! After the ziplines, we went on a bungee swing thing, and then took an army truck to a cenote for a couple more zip lines into the water. It was too cold for me, but Scot and kids took the plunge. We got back to the resort in the afternoon, so we had a late lunch and then hung out with our friends for the evening.
We had to check out at noon on Tuesday but the shuttle wasn't coming until 1, so we packed up and did some last minute swimming. Scot and Owen went snorkeling in the resort cenote since we hadn't had a chance for that yet. After checking out, we hung out at the snack bar until the shuttle arrived. Everything was fine at the airport and on the flight home, and we ended up back at the house around 9:30 p.m.
We left for Cancun on a Tuesday. My friend Dawn and her family had flown out the day before and unfortunately had a 3+ hour delay for their flight, but luckily ours was on schedule. We parked at a park-n-ride and took the bus to the airport so we wouldn't have to deal with airport parking and it was also cheaper. I had a little issue at security, but otherwise we got through pretty quickly. I refused to go through the big scanner so I had the pat-down. Luckily they didn't try to put the kids through that since I don't know what I would have done in that case. Our flight was direct to Cancun, so once we were on the plane it was smooth sailing. We got in a little early, even. We went through passport control and then made our way outside to the shuttle. We made two stops before our resort, but we got in around dinner time. The kids were disappointed that there were no green drinks waiting for us like last time. We saw Dawn in the lobby so she walked with us back to our room, but they had dinner reservations for that night so we ate in the buffet. We caught up with them after dinner in the game room.
Our room had a king bed and a pull-out couch, so like last year, we used the cushions from the couch to make one bed and the kids took turns sleeping on the floor or the sofa bed. Wednesday was a warm, sunny day so we headed out to the beach/pool. I prefer to swim in the ocean, but the kids ended up spending a lot of time in the pool since they were doing games there and water polo. The pool water was definitely warmer than last year, since they had just opened the main pool as we were leaving. Since the ocean water was clear, we checked out some snorkel equipment and snorkeled around the beach area. The resort did a Mayan show at noon since it was Mexican day. That night they had the outdoor Mexican buffet, which had some yummy food. It was disappointing that they didn't have the games for the kids like last year, or the pinata.
Thursday was another warm day so we again hung out at the beach/pool. In the afternoon we had a chance to take out the sea kayaks. They had some double ones, so Scot took Declan and Owen rode with me. That night we had dinner reservations at La Riviera, so the kids all went to the kids club for a couple hours. We fed them first in the buffet. Their friends were there, too, so I think it was not so bad for them to be there.
Friday we had all booked an all-day excursion to Xel-ha. We were only there for the afternoon last year and felt pretty rushed. We had to leave early since there were some stops at hotels in Playa del Carmen, but there was a breakfast buffet opening when we got there. We ate and then went out snorkeling. We ended up at a trail that led us to a rope swing, so the kids had fun swinging off into the water. We walked more and made it to the big cliff jump. I was very impressed that both the kids jumped off, twice. I decided to try it, and I have to say, it was kind of scary from the top, but I did it. We made our way down to the zip lines and then took a lunch break. We did more snorkeling after lunch and then just relaxed in the kids area and hammock area until it was time to get on the bus. Even though the driver told us to wait by this sign, no one was there so Scot finally found the bus and everyone was already on it, even though it was before the meeting time. Luckily they didn't leave without us!
On Saturday the weather was getting kind of windy, but it was fun to have some waves in the ocean to play in. The guys also started in with the beach volleyball. We ate at the steak house that night, although I actually had some salmon. It was better than the mediterranean restaurant, but it was closed last year so this was our first chance to try it. Sunday the weather was pretty breezy but we still played in the pool.
Monday we booked an excursion to Selvatica to do some zip lines. We were up above the tree tops and it was kind of windy, so that made it more exciting. Declan was very worried and didn't want to go, but the guy chatted with him and put him more at ease, and after the first zip line he was fine. Scot went upside down for one of the ziplines, but I didn't try that. I was afraid my glasses would fall off into the jungle! After the ziplines, we went on a bungee swing thing, and then took an army truck to a cenote for a couple more zip lines into the water. It was too cold for me, but Scot and kids took the plunge. We got back to the resort in the afternoon, so we had a late lunch and then hung out with our friends for the evening.
We had to check out at noon on Tuesday but the shuttle wasn't coming until 1, so we packed up and did some last minute swimming. Scot and Owen went snorkeling in the resort cenote since we hadn't had a chance for that yet. After checking out, we hung out at the snack bar until the shuttle arrived. Everything was fine at the airport and on the flight home, and we ended up back at the house around 9:30 p.m.
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