Family Trip to Mexico - Part II

After our day trip to the city of Playa del Carmen we really had nothing further on our to do list.  We discussed spending a day at Xcaret, which is a Mexico Eco-Park.  The best way to describe an Eco-Park would be the Mexican equivalent of a State or National Park in the States.  But, since we were only in Mexico for a total of 6 days, 2 of which were travel days, and one day was already used to go to Playa del Carmen, we opted not to spend any other days off of the resort.  Each Friday and Saturday were spent the exact same ways.  We would get up when we felt like it, got the girls ready and then went to breakfast.  Each of the girls loved the many choices for breakfast.  Maya enjoyed pink marshmallows and Jell-O, while Delaney loved the donuts and mandarin oranges.  Both girls each loved having pink (strawberry) yogurt with Fruit Loops mixed in.

After breakfast we took the short walk (about 10-15 minutes) to the beach.  Delaney loved just playing in the sand and digging holes.  Maya on the other hand loved going out deep with me and just riding the waves.  Maya and I spent at least an hour in the ocean just jumping up and down with the waves.  After spending about 2-3 hours at the beach, we would head back to the resort for lunch.  After lunch we would spend about 2-3 more hours at the pool just letting the girls swim in the pool.  It was a dream come true for our two girls, who absolutely LOVE simply being in the water.  Each of the last two full days the girls asked us to leave the pool to take a naps.  This wasn't just because they were dog tired from swimming the entire day, but because they did not want to fall asleep during the night time show that was put on each night at 9:30pm by the entertainment staff.  The girls were entranced by the dancing and music, it was adorable.  

The trip was just what our family needed after a long summer full of my training for the Ironman.  It gave us 6 full days of just being together with no other interruptions or distractions.  There were no other family members just Sarah, Maya, Delaney, and me, that's it, and frankly that's all it needed to be.  Maya and Delaney were the talk of the resort too.  Every where we went, every meal, every time we past a staff member, all we would hear was, "Que linda," or "How pretty."  Everyone was mesmerized by Delany's white-blonde hair and it didn't hurt that she had a few braids with beads in it either!  Literally everyone, anywhere we went on or off the resort would make a comment to Sarah or I about how well behaved our girls were and how precious they were.  We had a couple from England spark up a conversation with me about the girls about how they reminded them of their granddaughters back home.  

Every flight we took each and every one of the flight attendants would tell us how beautiful and well behaved our kids were.  Truthfully, Sarah and I could not have asked for better behaved kids for all the travel we did.  Spending 12+ hours of straight traveling, running all over hell with a 2 and 3 year old is not easy, but doing it with Maya and Delaney, sure made it easier than I ever imagined.  I will never look at a parent traveling with young kids the same again.  I will never get upset when a child cries or is loud on a plane, because, I'll tell you what, it ain't easy at all.  

So, here we are, back to reality.  Sarah goes back to work on Monday, and I on Tuesday night.  The girls passed the preverbal test.  They exceeded our expectations throughout the entire trip.  We asked a lot from them, whether it be running through the Houston Airport, through baggage claim, customs, baggage re-check, security, and across the entire Houston Airport via train to get to our new terminal...all in less than an hour to catch our last flight home to Milwaukee.  With how well behaved our girls were, it already has Sarah and I planning our next tropical family get away.  This trip was mine and Sarah's 4th trip to Mexico in 6 years and we absolutely love Mexico, but are now excited to try somewhere new.  We are looking at either Jamaica or the Dominican Republic, any suggestions?

Below are more photos from our adventure including some from earlier in the trip that were not included in the first post!