Mexico!

Matt and I went to Puerto Morelos, Mexico for our friend's, Shane and Erin's wedding at the beginning of May.  We left for Minneapolis Wednesday evening after supper because we had an early flight Thursday morning!  Our good friends Shea and Kim let us shack up with them for the night.  Kim had a glass of wine waiting for me when I walked through the door.  What a great friend! :)  We stayed up way too late drinking wine and chatting.  Let's just say 4:00 came WAYYYY too early! 



This was the longest amount of time we were away from McKenna.  Leaving Wednesday surprisingly wasn't bad.  The call during our quick layover in Dallas caused the flood gates to open!  So bad that I had to pass the phone off to Matt because I couldn't talk! :)  McKenna was crying on the other end (she was crying even before I called) and then kept saying, "Mommy, Mommy!"  By the end of the conversation with daddy she had calmed down!  I told Matt I would not be calling her again because it was too painful!!



We arrived to the Cancun Airport right on time at 12:45, extremely anxious to get to our resort!  Puerto Morelos is just 10-15 minutes south of the Cancun airport.  For our honeymoon we were a good hour away from the airport so we were excited this time to be much closer!  We thought we'd be on the beach by 1:30 but it seems we had forgotten how long it takes to get through customs... wow!  I think we were still standing in line at 1:30!  After we finally made it through (with no problems.. phew!) we had to wait for our ride... a good half hour to forty five minutes later we were on the way to our resort! 



We quickly checked in, changed into our suits and headed down to the beach!  It was an absolutely beautiful sunny day in Mexico.  We grabbed a quick bite to eat and then headed to the pool.  Everyone was so excited to see each other!  Lots of hugs, hand shakes, and "how were your flights?" accompanied with an ice cold beverage in the pool!  We spent the rest of the afternoon poolside enjoying life with our friends as well as some new friends.

Thursday happened to be Cinco de Mayo!  That evening at our resort there was a Mexican themed fiesta!  The sidewalks were full with buffet style tables of food, vendors selling stuff, a live band, and even a bucking bull (for people to ride).  The Mozitis' and King's reserved a section outside for all of us to dine together.  I felt pretty special getting to sit in the roped off area with beautifully set round tables and our own wait staff!  

After supper we headed to the Beach Bar.  I was completely exhausted from little sleep all week, getting up early, and from the flight.  I really wanted to go back to our room (so did my friend Mary) but Matt was all about partying in Mexico!  After an hour or so we finally convinced our husbands to walk us back to our rooms.  (We were nervous to go by ourselves!)  Matt hit the pillow within seconds while I unpacked our bags.  It was hard to believe day 1 was already over!

Friday morning we woke up to the sun shining in on our faces.  I am NOT a morning person whatsoever.  There is something about the sun beating down at your face that makes you happily get out of bed!!  We headed down for a huge breakfast and then were off to the beach. 

The boys played catch in the ocean while the girls laid out in the chairs.

Water volleyball consumed the rest of the day, seriously!  The boys had us order them lunch at the little outdoor restaurant near the pool.  They ran over quick to eat it during a break and then before we were even finished eating they had left to go back to their game!  

Being in the sun all day came to bite us all in the rear end.  After showering up for the wedding we quickly realized how much sun we actually got.... and let's just say Matt got WAY too much sun.  I was very surprised on how red I got.  Matt's plan is always to get as much sun as possible (dumb I know).  He did have sunscreen on, but he clearly didn't put it on often enough.  :(

 Before the wedding we snapped a few pictures and got a drink in the lobby of our resort.  It was really weird having a drink before the ceremony!


Shane, Ben, Matt, and Jason




Shane and Erin's ceremony was PERFECT!  Erin  looked amazing and Shane looked pretty handsome! :)  This was our first beach wedding and it was so much fun!  We felt like movie stars, as everyone in the area stopped to watch and take pictures.

 

Shane and Erin did not see each other before the ceremony.  We all had hors d'oeuvres and drinks at the Beach Bar while we waited for them to finish taking pictures.  

Shane and Erin's first dance was super cute.  They had taken classes for their special dance and they did great!  Erin and her dad started their dance out slow and then the music changed and out came their dancing moves- too fun!

Throughout the night the workers brought out balloons, glow sticks, and masks.  Everyone had fun being creative with them!

The famous "invisible ball" dance made its appearance in Mexico!  I'm pretty sure this dance started with our good friend Tom.  He's the brother-in-law of the best man!  I've yet to take my turn with the ball and I'm pretty happy about that!

The night ended a bit earlier than we had planned, as the effects of the sun were catching up with us- especially Matt.  Some of our friends left long before us, as he was feeling terrible from his sunburn.  By the sounds of things the party had barely gotten started when we left at midnight!  The good ol' saying applies- "What happens in Mexico stays in Mexico", sorry guys! :)

Matt woke up to a completely puss covered pillow- I know, sick!  He wasn't feeling the best either.  A combination of not enough water, lots of beers, food, little rest, and too much sun can be thanked for for putting a slight damper on our trip!  I'm happy to announce Matt learned his "lesson" and plans to put on sunscreen more often, drink more water, and take breaks from the sun next time!

Saturday was spent in the pool (with the boys wearing shirts and hats), walking on the beach, eating good food, and watching the Heat in the playoffs at the Sports Bar.  During our walk I took a picture of our footprints in the sand with my 9 toe prints.  I like to call my one pinky toe special.  It is special because it just kind of sticks out there!  When I have wet feet on the cement you can only see 9 toes.  Well the same thing happens in the sand!  (To give yourself a good laugh click on the collage below to see it closer!)

Sunday was Mother's Day!  A wonderful place to celebrate, except for one missing part- my daughter!!!  I didn't realize when we booked the trip that Mother's Day was going to fall while we were gone.  Sunday on our way to breakfast I saw a few women carrying roses.  I thought, "Wow, what sweet husbands they have!"  When we walked into the dining hall the hosts greeted us, asked if I was a mom, and then handed me a red rose!  I seriously almost teared up when she gave it to me!  

After breakfast we headed to the pool for awhile before we left for our excursion.  A handful of people had decided the day before to go zip lining.  I hadn't paid much attention as they were making their plans because I thought there would be NO WAY we would be joining them!  Matt HATES heights and he doesn't like to spend money! :)  He came to me later in the day and said he thought we should go!  I was shocked!  After hearing 3 year olds could do it, I knew I was going to be able to handle it!

We hopped on a little white van and about 20 minutes later we arrived at Selvatica- The Adventure Kingdom!  As we were locking our belongings in the locker I was a bit sad wishing I could bring my camera to capture our adventures!  I should have known that they would be videoing and taking pictures of us the entire time!

The first couple runs were a bit nerve racking for me!  Matt didn't say much the entire time, so I'm sure he was feeling the same!  I think the worse part was walking up the ladders to get to the next line and then swaying in the wind while waiting our turn!

I decided to get brave and let the guide turn me upside down for one of the lines...  I wasn't aware that he was going to spin me also!  We tired talking Matt into it, but he didn't want to!  I was good with just doing it for one line, as it kind of hurt my hips since all my weight was hanging on my hip harness. 

After zip lining we took a VERY bumpy ride in army truck to the Cenote.  A Cenote is a freshwater sink hole. They had a zip line that you could hang onto to get into the water!  The boys, along with Erin and Patty enjoyed doing tricks, while the rest of us just let go when the guy yelled "let go"!  The water was refreshing after a sweaty hour in the sun!


On the way back to the army trucks one of the guides hid in the bushes while we walked back up the path.  (I didn't know this at the time.)  He snored like a warthog and jumped out of the weeds causing me to scream bloody murder!  Everyone else was back in the truck already and witnessed his little trick.  He sure got me!

When we got home we showered up and got ready for supper.  Matt and I went down to the beach first for a picture.  It was super windy!  We had plans to eat as a large group (not as many people were left now) but we couldn't get a spot big enough to seat all of us.  We ended up just heading to the buffet while other groups waited for tables at different restaurants.


After supper we headed back to the Sports Bar for the Newlywed game!  The hockey playoffs were on so the Newlywed game was delayed until the game was over.  The game brought in a large crowd of people and they were not willing to turn the game off!!

Shane and Erin were two of the contestants in the game.  Erin's high school friend Courtney and her husband also played!  The game was made up of different categories.  They had to answer questions, "find" their husband by feeling the guys' legs while being blindfolded, and they had a balloon popping race.  The balloon popping was absolutely hilarious.  We were all laughing sooo hard.  Both Shane and Erin's parents were in the audience, so it got a bit embarrassing at times for them! :)

Erin and Shane technically tied for first place, but they gave the prize of couple massages to the other couple, as they already had massages scheduled in their package deal!


Monday morning I woke up early so I could head down to the beach one last time before we had to leave!  Matt still wasn't feeling 100%, so he stayed back and slept in a bit.  There is something so incredibly peaceful about laying out listening to the ocean waves smacking against each other.  I loved hearing the birds chirp while the sun beat down on my face.  I remember smiling thinking about how everyone else was at work while I sat on the beaches of Mexico!  (Sorry!)  I wasn't ready to leave the beautiful paradise, but I was ready to get home to my girl!

I went back to the room after an hour or so to get Matt so we could go eat breakfast together.  I then decided I would lay by the pool for a bit while Matt headed back to the room to get our bags packed.

At 10:30 our escort arrived at the resort to pick us up and take us to the airport.  As soon as we got to the airport we were notified that our flight was delayed an hour... ugh.  We found out later there had been storms in Minneapolis early in the morning which delayed the first flight out of the cities.

It was really boring waiting to board our flight.  By this point I just really wanted to be home.  I was already starting to dread going to work Tuesday because I knew we wouldn't be getting home until after midnight.

Luckily we had a great flights as well as a safe drive back to Cedar Falls.  I couldn't wait to get into Iowa so my phone would stop roaming (so old school, right?) so I could call and see how McKenna had been. From the sounds of things, she did great.  I kept saying, "No, really, how was she?"  I was happy to hear she had done so well while we were gone.

The second we got home I went up into her room and held her!  I had warned Matt that I was going to do that and reassured him that if she woke up I would deal with her in the night!  I secretly was hoping she would wake up but she didn't! :)

We quickly unpacked the car and headed straight to bed, thankful that we were home safe and sound!

McKenna posing in her souvenir from mommy and daddy!

We missed you Kenna!


A HUGE thank you to our wonderful parents who helped out with McKenna.  We would not have been able to take the trip without their help.  Knowing she was in good hands made leaving so much easier.  Grandma Jeanie had her Wednesday night and dropped her off at daycare on Thursday.  After school Thursday my mom picked her up and they headed to Harlan for my cousin Chelsy's graduation party.  Matt, Danielle, Ella, and Lily also joined them.  My dad had to stay back since the puppies were too little to be left.  They stayed in Harlan until Sunday afternoon.  Grandma Jeanie came back over and stayed with her Sunday night and got her from daycare Monday after school.  Uncle Robby relieved Grandma Jeanie so she could get home and to bed since we were getting home so late.  Thank goodness the NBA playoffs were on, because then Robby didn't mind staying up late to help us out!

Looking back at our trip I'm so happy we finally "pulled the trigger" and decided to go.  We had gone back and forth 100 times if we should go or not go.  I still remember when Matt called me on my cell phone at school one day telling me to book the tickets!

Thanks also to Shane and Erin for all their planning to make our vacation one we will never forget!  We wish you two the best!:)

**I'm not sure why I can't click on some of the collages to view them larger.  Anyone know?

**Thanks to my friend Jamie I started putting collages together so my posts aren't so long!  It's hard when you have so many pictures!