This year has been so different not having my children near. It seems strange to have only one child living at home, but honestly, we had kind of thought that was how our lives would be at our age. We were so excited to have our children while we were so young and just knew that we would have a handful of grandchildren to spoil and play with while we were still young as well. Unfortunately, that has not happened and our poor children are still all alone and trying to be happy. I know they wish things were different, and hopefully someday SOON they will be. In the meantime, we try to create as many family memories as we can and enjoy all the time we can spend with them.
We recently just went on one of the best vacations ever! Last year we were supposed to have gone to Scotland for our niece's wedding and stayed in a castle! How cool would that have been? Well, things changed and the wedding was moved to here in Utah. We all had travel credits to use, so Rob's family decided to go to Cancun. I would have loved to have gone somewhere else since this is the fourth time in two years we have been there, but this was different. There were 20 of us total that went and it was so awesome. I was lucky enough to have all of my children there.
The flights were long but at least they were on time and did not get canceled. Poor Brittnie had the extra 10 hours of travel from Alaska to here and back but she is a trooper and did well. If I would have had to judge our trip by the first five hours, I would have thought we should have just come home. The check-in was a total nightmare from a 2-hour wait, to being given rooms that were not functional, to the wrong room type (only one bed per room) and the heat. I was ready to get right back on the plane. However, I told myself that we were there and if we had to survive for a week in less than ideal circumstances, we were going to make the most of it and have fun. Fortunately, the manager got it all corrected the next day and it turned out to be one of the best ever.! We played, we laughed, we cried, we stayed up late, we had a bat encounter, we got sick and we still would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Everyone got along great and it brought us closer together as an extended family. Even the brother-in-law who was not sure he wanted to come, made the comment that he was so glad that he did as it far exceeded his expectations.
Britt's birthday was while were there so we decide to surprise her with a monkey excursion. She LOVES monkeys. Everyone decided to go which was great. We got to see rescued animals, pet some of them, hold a Boa Constrictor, and hold a monkey. The smile on her face as she had that money sitting on her arms in her lap was so worth it. It was the best! We had told the resort too about her birthday and they showed up at our door with a cheesecake with her name on it as well as wine (which she turned down). Then at dinner, they all sang to her and gave her another piece of cake again with her name decorated on it. It was great!
We also took an excursion which included snorkeling, an underground Cenote (cave), zip-lining, and riding ATVs. This was Skyler's favorite part. I even tried my best to snorkel and even put my face in the water. I need to learn to do this as I want to not be afraid to go in the water with Rob as that is one of his favorite things to do. In fact, he and Boyd went scuba diving as well which was their highlight. The excursion took most all day but was so much fun. Rob and I were on the first ATV and at one point, we were stopped waiting for everyone to catch up. We looked back at this huge line of ATVs that were all family members (14 total) and the line stretched out. It was the most awesome site. I commented to Rob how neat it was and it brought tears to my eyes.
Most days we slept till about 8:30 so nothing urgent to get up for. We relaxed at the beach, or in the pool. We played card games while it rained. We drank lots of Bahama Mamas and Tango Mangos and we ate. We always went to the buffet with the best intentions of not eating much but everything looked so good. We were lucky enough to go one night to a fancy French restaurant and we laughed as our salad had twigs in it and names we could not pronounce. It is fun sometimes to dress up and pretend we are fancy and laugh so hard.
I needed this trip so badly. Work had me exhausted and I needed to see my kids. I had not seen Cortnie since Christmas and Skyler does not call like the girls do. It was so great to have them all close and to love them and spoil them. I can't wait to go again. To make more memories that cost a fortune but are worth it every penny. My happiness is my family and always will be. I am so glad they are mine for eternity!
