vacation adventure: part 4

We were finally off.  

We got to the airport plenty early.  We had a layover in Dallas where the kids all watched as Grandma got pulled out of the line boarding the plane to be frisked--she looks like the most non-threatening person at the airport.  So Christian sees it and asks why Grandma is getting a massage.  Even the TSA agent smiled.

My seat buddy was Christian.  He loved watching the world below.

We arrived in Cancun and finally made it to our hotel.  The kids were so excited to see the beach, so Grandma took them while Mike got some things done at the hotel and I got us unpacked.

The next day was a day at the resort and beach.  The kids had fun at the water slides and kiddie zone.

The kids would have stayed at the beach all day, every day.  

Jessi loved the sand more than the water.  

Jessi in her sand suit.

We brought snorkeling gear, and Bev and Christian spent the first half of the day hunting for seashells.

Bev snorkeling.

Checking out her treasures.

Christian rinsing the sand off of his finds.

The first pile of shells they collected.

Bev knew she wanted to have braids done, so she sat for an hour watching the waves and getting her hair done.

I don't know how good they were for her hair, but it was sure convenient for the rest of the trip.

Jessi had half of her hair braided.  So cute.

Grandma spent the whole day at the beach with us, and got out in the water to play with the kids.  Grandpa went out with her on the last day.

Dad got the kids a boogie board, and they took turns surfing the waves.

I got us all rash guard shirts before we came.  We were definitely the most covered people at the beach. The kids got their first exposure to the practice of topless sunbathing.  We just told them to look away.

At one point, I lost track of Christian for about 2 minutes.  He had his head in the water, snorkeling, and had drifted down shore. I was panicked.  Mike walked the beach and found him.

Jessi made all kinds of sand creations.

Then experienced the agony of defeat when they were washed away.

I taught the girls the art of getting sand out of the crotches of their swimsuits.

The resort had a family bar where the kids could order virgin drinks.  Every time we passed, they stopped for a daiquiri.

vacation adventure: part 3

We had an appointment at the passport agency at 9:30 am on Monday morning.  It opened at 8, and we got there right as it opened.  We got through the first line and then the second.  We were approved for same day passports and were told to return at 3 pm.  

We had thought that if we couldn't get the passports until Tuesday, we would take the kids to Sea World, but we were only going to have 5 or 6 hours so we headed to the beach.

We went to Crystal Pier and of course Bev was the first one in the water.  We told her to just get her feet wet.  Then Andrew joined her and they had a hard time getting just their feet wet.

Finally, the other two joined in.

They got cleaned up and I got them some dry pants.  We thought about going to a movie, but then decided to see some things we couldn't do at home.

We walked around the San Diego Temple and saw their nativities.

We then went to the Mormon Battalion Visitor's Center.  It was actually really neat.  They do a multimedia presentation and the kids got to dress up and pan for gold.

We returned to the passport agency and Mike went in to pick up the passports.  3:00 came and went.  I finally texted him asking where he was.  He responded that he was still waiting.

At 3:15, the eagle landed and we headed for home.

This is what Mike requires for long-distance driving.  We got home at 4 am.

vacation adventure: part 2

I went with Mike on a work trip to San Diego in November, and I loved the zoo.  I was so excited to bring the kids--someday.  I texted Mike several times telling him that we had to bring the kids back.  One month later, we did.

Oh, the animals.

The apes and gorillas put on quite a show.  Mike is always anxious to get out of the ape area--they freak him out.

Bev was most excited to see the pandas.

I could watch the lions all day long.

The zoo is so large that there is a bus system to help you get around.

Bev finally got the chair with the panda.

The giraffes were amazing.  The male giraffe was being a bit "inappropriate" (Bev's words) but they were so beautiful.

My favorite part was toward the end of the day as we were looking at the cheetahs.  The keepers were moving them to another area for the night.  Each cheetah and wolf has a dog companion.  The keepers led the dog out, and the cheetah followed, on a leash. We got to watch them walk down the sidewalk with the keepers.  It was incredible.

I only wish we lived closer because, this is seriously one of my favorite places.

vacation adventure: part 1

We were all packed and ready get on a plane to Cancun.  We were to leave Saturday morning, so Friday night Mike got online to do our preboarding.  As he entered the passport numbers, he got a very scary message stating that the kid's passport numbers were not valid.  We got the kids' passport cards when we went on the cruise three years ago, and didn't really think about it again.  When I booked our trip to Cancun, the travel agent asked for the passport numbers and I didn't really think about it again.  A few weeks ago, my mom asked me if the kids had passports.  I told her that they did, and didn't think another thing about it.  About 4 weeks ago, Mike got them out just to check expiration dates, and we thought we were set to go.  Well, what we didn't realize, although I did know when I got the passport cards, was that the passport cards are good for travel to Mexico by LAND and SEA, but NOT by AIR.  Yikes.

Mike and I had a little moment, and then went into problem-solving mode.  It became evident that we would not be leaving the next day and that we had to get passports for the kids.  We made an appointment for expedited passports at the passport agency in San Diego for Monday morning.

The hardest part was telling my parents and telling the kids.  My parents checked their schedules, and were such good sports to reschedule the trip for Wednesday.  The kids were a little disappointed.  They were planning on being at the beach the next day, but we took a few minutes to find the possible silver linings and count our blessings.  We all got some perspective and repacked our bags for San Diego weather.

                   

On Saturday morning, we went to Christian's first basketball game (which was so much fun) and then headed to Walgreens for passport photos.  

While I got the photos taken and stocked up on some snacks, Mike headed to the gas station for gas and Diet Pepsi, and then to Subway to get lunch for the family on the go.  We hit the road around 3 p.m.  We were so lucky that we didn't have snow.

We stopped in Las Vegas for dinner at Cafe Rio, and ironically had "Cancun Shrimp Tacos."  We arrived in San Diego at around 2 am, checked in at the hotel and crashed.