Cancun Family Vacation

Hola, Mexico!

Well, for Christmas 2015, my little family of three tried something new!  We spent seven days at a gorgeous all-inclusive resort just south of Cancun. 

View of the beach

Bonus daughter snapping a photo from
the plane as we land in Cancun.  This
was her first trip out of the U.S.

That’s right; we (mostly) skipped the gifts this year and instead invested in an experience - six nights in paradise at Dreams Riviera Cancun, near Puerto Morelos, Mexico.  This trip was absolutely more than we’d normally spend on gifts (I’ll get to the budgeting later), but was a wonderful family experience that we’d love to do again someday.  If I’m going to be completely honest, knowing I’d soon be in warmer weather with a cold drink in hand was the light at the end of the tunnel after a busy fourth quarter.

If you’re looking for advice on how we selected the resort, the best advice I can give you is to contact our travel agent!  Julie is amazingly wonderful and helped us choose the resort when my parents, sister, and I first went to Mexico in 2010.  My family fell in love with the resort and returned in 2011 as well.  This isn’t a “Spring Break, WOOOO!” resort.  This is more of a laid back, adults and families enjoying vacation.  Similar to a cruise, there were dress codes for the restaurants, and has an overall high-end feel.  After such a great experience, I knew it would be something the husband and the bonus-daughter would love. 

View from our suite

We traveled as a group of six; me and my husband upgraded to a honeymoon suite, my bonus-daughter and sister shared a garden view room, and my parents upgraded to a suite as well.  Yes, my husband is a saint for spending his vacation with his in-laws; but the truth is we had an absolutely wonderful time together!

Lounging poolside

Most days we’d get together for breakfast then meet up near the pool where we’d enjoy cold drinks and the sun.  We’d spend time in the pools, napping in the shade, reading, or trying out the resort’s activities.  By late afternoon, we’d head back to our rooms to nap and get ready for dinner.  As I mentioned, the restaurants have dress codes so it was a lot of fun to get dressed up each night.  We made it a point to dine at each of the restaurants.   They have a French, Italian, Japanese/Hibachi, Mexican, and seafood restaurants.  Some nights we all ate together, other nights we split off and did our own things.  We also took advantage of their 24 hour room service when there was a little rain or when the bonus-daughter wanted an evening to hang without the grownups.

Hanging out at the Preferred Club before dinner

Depending on the evening, we met up at the Preferred Club, an additional bar/lounge available to guests who upgraded.  It was a great place to wait for a table before dinner or relax after dinner.  We brought card games to play, but found the game Heads Up on our phones to be the go-to for group entertainment.  Speaking of entertainment, the resort had fire dancers, a market night, karaoke, movies, live bands and more to offer each evening.  The vibe at this resort is they offer things to keep you busy and entertained from sunrise until midnight, but you have no obligation to participate. 

Family-friendly resorts, like Dreams, often have activities and kids clubs to keep kids busy and having fun while mom and dad enjoy the resort.  At almost sixteen, the bonus daughter was way too old for that scene, but kept busy with books she had packed, and resort activities like yoga, volleyball, and swimming.

Paying for the trip:

Dinner by the pool with fire dancers

Now this type of trip may be common for the rich and famous, but our household is neither!  We live below our means with aggressive savings goals, and began planning this trip in January of 2015.  Our rule with finances is to only finance needs (house, cars (sometimes)), and otherwise, we don’t buy things unless we can pay in full for them, and this trip was no different.   Our trip did go on an interest-free credit card and was paid off well before we left town.  Not going into debt on this trip made it even more enjoyable as we sat by the pool knowing we wouldn’t come home to a mountain of debt. 

We also made strategic purchases throughout the year with this trip in mind.  When swimsuits and beachwear went on sale at Target.com and Kohl’s, we bought new swimsuits and clothes to tuck away until our trip.

It was hard to leave the warm weather behind, but we were happy to arrive back in Des Moines on December 23rd, just in time for a snowy Christmas at home.  Overall, we had such a great time on this trip.  It was so worth saving up for a trip of this caliber and we really hope we get the chance to go again someday!

A Week of Valentine's Activities

This year I opted not to do a daycare Valentine's Party for a couple of reasons: there's no longer a single day that I have all of the kids and I have quite a few younger kids who wouldn't be able to enjoy a party if we did one. Instead we did a Valentine's Week that was filled with Valentine's Day activities, crafts, treats, and book readings. 

Here's a look at our daycare Valentine Week:

Our sensory activities for the week were a highlight for the kids. Our first was a rice sensory bin filled with (fake) rose petals, hearts of all shapes, sizes, and materials, and small red and pink rubber ducks. This sensory bin was far less messy than the one later in the week.

We did two rounds of chocolate covered strawberries (the kids got to take them home to share with their families). The kids actually didn't like dipping the strawberries in the chocolate, but they LOVED the sprinkles (surprise, surprise).

A heart shaped strawberry. This is actually still sitting in the refrigerator because the kids didn't want to eat it. They're trying to come up with a way to "save it forever."

The Valentine flour "sand" was the highlight of the week and by far one of our messiest sensory activities we've ever done indoors. Not only did the kids get into the little pool and attempt to "swim in it," but when they were done with doing that, they took the "sand" out of the pool and put it on the floor. Then they rolled in it. 

It was matted in hair, stuck in eyebrows, and a few baths were needed. BUT it kept them busy for THREE HOURS (and another couple of hours the next day too)! Even the 9 month old babies I have loved this sensory activity. I love that it was safe enough for them to eat and enthralling enough for all age groups to play with it. I looking forward to spring more than ever so that these activities can be moved to the backyard!

We had a series of Valentine themed lunches and snacks: heart shaped quesadillas, grilled cheese sandwiches, pancakes, strawberries and raspberries, and more. 

One of my favorite projects from the past two weeks was finished up: our Wall of Love. Each child decorated three hearts and then put what they loved on the heart. A few of my favorites included lions, HyVee, and coloring. All of the babies and one younger toddler made hand prints or foot prints in the hearts.

My three minis got their Valentine's ready for their school parties and the daycare kids. This year we did homemade slime. It was incredibly messy and we will not be doing it again! 

We attempted to play our Cupid's Arrow game, but the kids didn't really have an interest in it. Instead they danced around and then went back to the flour "sand." I win some, I lose some. This group of kids doesn't love games as much as other kids I've had. They definitely love the sensory activities and singing songs. 

We ended our week decorating cupcakes. No pictures were taken since the kids mostly just sat down, frosted a cupcake, ate it, and told me they were done.

Next we'll be starting in on Easter and St. Patrick's Day activities!