Summer Vacation Part IV

Grandma turned 62 while we were in Mexico! To celebrate her birthday, we decorated the hotel room with streamers and balloons. Everyone was given a party blower at Grandma's special breakfast. Jess made one of his Mexican specialties - huevos con salchicha (English translation- scrambled eggs with sliced hot dogs). In honor of Grandma's birthday, Grandpa took the entire family to a Mexican fiesta on the beach. A huge buffet of traditional Mexican fare was served including: tamales, mole, carnitas, tacos, quesadillas, fresh fruit, and every imaginable salsa. The desserts were just as yummy: rice pudding, flan, churros and rosettes with chocolate dipping sauce, crispy candy apples, and Mexican hot chocolate. While we feasted, a 10 year old Mexican boy created hats, swords, and animals out of balloons for the kids. At dusk, we enjoyed watching the performances of Mayan dancers, Mariachis, and folkloric acrobats who swung upside down from a tall pole all the while playing traditional flutes and drums.

Grandma's "Happy Birthday" streamers.

Nicholas loved playing with the balloons.

Ava wearing her balloon hat at the fiesta.

Brahm and Ava at the fiesta.

Dangling and playing instruments at the same time.

There was a lot of "Ay ay ay ay!" from the audience while the Mariachis performed.

Simon and Brahm eating their crispy candy apples a day or two after the fiesta.

I loved the Grand Mayan resort, because there was absolutely no need to travel outside of it. A lazy river, a wave pool, a Mayan pyramid water slide, water spewing fountains, and several swimming pools kept the kids occupied for the entire week. The resort offered complimentary activities such as yoga, volleyball, water aerobics, Latin dance classes, and craft making. The afternoon poolside games and dancing kept us (onlookers) very entertained.

Grandma with Simon and Ava in the lazy river.

Grandma, Simon, and Ava nearing a waterfall.

Jess and the kids in the lazy river.




Climbing up the pyramid steps to the water slide.

 

The water slide.

Here comes Ava....

.....and Simon!

Simon and Ava in the wave pool.

We were witnesses to a beautiful beach wedding reception one evening. The night prior to the reception, we watched two men sculpt the Virgin Mary out of sand for the event.

The wedding reception.

The Virgin Mary.

The bride greeting her guests.

More to come.....

Summer Vacation Part III

The next morning, Jess came back from his run and happily reported that he had sighted huge iguanas.  He took the kids to see these docile reptiles lounging in the trees.  We later were surprised to see a huge grouping of iguanas foraging on flowers next to the pool where we were swimming.  Most of the morning, afternoon, and evening was spent in the pool.  When the two youngest boys had to lay down for naps, Ava and Simon swam in the private pool on our balcony.  Grandpa brought his ukulele along with him and serenaded us every day.  He sometimes sat on the balcony for hours practicing chords and songs.  We were very thankful to have Grandma and Grandpa Hanks with us.  With a nursing baby, there was no way for me to keep up with the older kids.  I usually was late coming to the pool or early leaving because of a nursing or napping child.  Grandma and Grandpa always stepped in to help us out.  Jess especially loved golfing with Grandpa 5 out of the 7 days that we were there.  Some of our favorites were: virgin pina coladas and nachos by the pool, ice cream bars at the Sun Market, rides on the golf cart shuttles, the larger than life statues that greeted guests as they entered the Grand Mayan hotel, walks on the beach in the evening, Jumex juice, chocolates placed on our pillows at night by the maids, the giant sunflower shower head, Grandpa's rendition of Your Cheatin' Heart on his ukulele, and the Disney channel dubbed in Spanish. 

Sunrise;  The view from our balcony.

An iguana by the pool.

Simon

Grandma and Nicholas

Brahm and Daddy

Ava and Simon in the golf cart shuttle.

Nicholas and Mommy

Nicholas playing in the water of our balcony pool.

Grandpa playing his ukulele.

Mommy and Nichlas at the beach.

At the beach at sunset.

More to come......

Summer Vacation Part II

From Las Vegas, we hitched up with Grandma and Grandpa Hanks and drove an additional 4 hours to L.A.  We spent the night in a hotel near LAX.  The next morning we leisurely ate breakfast, packed up our gear, and headed for the airport 2 1/2 hours before our scheduled flight.  We found it odd that the agent who checked our bags and passports personally escorted us to security, but we soon learned that our plane was boarding at that very moment.  Somehow, the time of our flight was changed without us knowing it!  Can you imagine a family of eight (four of them children) frantically taking off their shoes, belts, and watches, and shoving all of their belongings onto the conveyor belt to be X-Rayed?  Of course, Ava's cast had to be specially inspected along with Nicholas' sippy cup full of juice.  This kind of stress would put anyone in a frenzy....especially my Dad!  And, to make matters worse, Simon had to go the bathroom.  Despite all of this, we made it on the plane just in time!

Brahm playing Angry Birds.

Grandpa slept while Simon watched a movie on Jess' phone.

The city of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico greeted us with a wave of heat and humidity.  This definitely wasn't the 60 degree, rainy weather that I was used to in Boise.  My hair suddenly became big and curly, and beads of sweat began to drip down my back.  A taxi shuttled us to our hotel where we were met by the friendly staff members of the Grand Luxxe.  We spent most of the first day familiarizing ourselves with our beautiful residence and the hotel property.

Grand Luxxe lobby

Lobby/waiting area

One of the bedrooms in our hotel suite.

 One of the bathrooms in our hotel suite.

The dining and living room.

Simon and Brahm snacking in the kitchen.

Ava relaxing on the 2nd balcony.

Jess and Nicholas on the balcony.

Ava posing near a hotel restaurant.

The walkway to one of the many pools.

It's not hard to relax near the pool on a canopy bed.



Sunset on the beach.

Everything about this resort was absolutely amazing!  We had a personal concierge at our beck and call, twice daily maid service, a man at the pool with the sole responsibility of cleaning our sunglasses, and a host of other services and amenities.  The outdoor public restrooms were the nicest of any that we have ever seen (indoor or outdoor). The kids especially loved our very own pool on our private balcony.  More to come....

Summer Vacation Part I

On June 3rd, our family traveled on a dinky two lane highway in the middle of the night to Las Vegas.  After 10 hours of driving and the tragic death of a poor rabbit, we made our destination.  The kids were well rested, happy to eat breakfast at Gramee Rosenthal's house, and enjoyed playing with their cousins for a few hours before we left for L.A.

Gramee Rosenthal and Brahm

Grandpa Rosenthal and Nicholas

Jess' cousin, Rami, and his sister, Laci.

Cousin Maddie who was camera shy.

Cousin Ella

Cousin Bo

Big Baby Bo