Vacation Fun...Part 1!

[When I started typing this list, I didn't realize it was so {gloriously!} long!  So...breaking into a couple of sections.  Pictures to follow!]

On the plane home from vacation, I sat between the girls on both flights.  We decided to make a list of all the fun things we did.  I have a full page of [my] hand-written scribbles!  It was such a fun time, and I am so thankful to have shared it with my sweet little family!

Family shadows in the sand!

I’m recording this as dictated by the girls, [mostly] in no particular order…

·         Finding seashells, rocks, and coral.  (This easily made the top of the list!)  There weren’t many to be found, but the girls had a BLAST discovering tiny little treasures.  They could have done that for hours!!!

·         Swimming.  The girls LOVED swimming to their hearts’ desires!  There were some great pools at the resort, almost all of which they were tall enough to stand in.  They splashed and played and swam and dove.  It was so much fun!

·         Eating at our favorite restaurants.  We ate the most meals at Oceana, where our favorite waiter worked.  We ate dinner twice at the Mexican restaurant, where another kind waiter took care of us, and the girls got a kick out of the hibachi grill show at the Japanese restaurant.  The food was excellent!

·         The mariachi band.  (Baby A has slipped up a couple of times and called this a “hibachi” band.  HA!)  We had a great time listening to the band play traditional Mexican music at the restaurant.  They even played “De Colores”, a song the girls have been listening to since they were tiny.

·         THE BEACH.  This was the girls’ first time on the beach.  They had a constant SMILE on their faces…they couldn’t decide if they wanted to run…or squat and play in the sand…or wade in the water…they were in heaven!

·         Tulum.  We took a day trip to Tulum.  The girls were mesmerized by the pyramids AND the wild iguanas.

·         The balcony in our hotel room.  The girls LOVED going out on the balcony and looking at the beach.  We witnessed a gorgeous sunrise each day!

·         Juice at the beach bar.  Our girls RARELY drink anything but water and milk…but on vacation they enjoyed lots of fresh-squeezed fruit juice!  One of their favorites was a mid-morning treat from the beach bar…sitting on swings and drinking a combination of pineapple, orange, and strawberry juice while they cooled off from their morning beach frolic. 

·         Swinging on the beach.  There was a small playground at the beach, and they got in some good swinging!

·         Sand castles.  We didn’t build any huge masterpieces, but we still had some fun with buckets.  It was on the girls’ bucket list, for sure!

·         Rowing kayaks.  Twice we took kayaks out for a sail.  The first time, Baby A was with Daddy, and B was with me.  And then Baby B and I went back once by ourselves.  It was hard work here and there, but it was so fun!  After the initial pass, the girls each wanted oars themselves.  I was amazed at their hard work!

·         Sunrise.  Over the beach.  Every morning.  Bliss!

·         Ice cream.  The girls (and hubby) enjoyed their share of ice cream each day.  That was a big treat!

·         Pools.  There were so many great pools at the resort!  The girls loved playing catch in the “step pool” (as they called it).  There was a wonderful shallow pool that we all enjoyed.  And the infinity edge “float pool” (as we named it) was probably the overall best.

·         Jumping waves with Baby A.  I had some one-on-one time with each of the girls.  Baby A wanted to play in the ocean.  Although we didn’t have huge waves (which probably would have made me nervous!), she giggled the entire time we were in the water.

·         THE ROCK WALL!  The girls spied the rock wall – fashioned like a Mayan pyramid – online right away.  They could not wait to climb it!  They both did a great job!

·         Cold washcloths.  When we got to the resort, having traveled for a LONG time, we were greeted with cold washcloths.  They were so refreshing!

·         Walking on the beach.  I could go on and on about this, but it was fantastic!

·         New fruit.  The girls got to experiment with several new fruits…papaya, star fruit, and prickly pears (which Baby A called the “pokey pear”).  They weren’t a huge fan of the pears, but they enjoyed the papaya and star fruit!

...and this is only half of our list!  So thankful we wrote down our favorite memories!