So far, so good...

I have been looking forward to this summer since about mid-March. For months, I have been collecting ideas for ways to keep the kids active and entertained after the school year ended. I feel I owe it to the girls, especially Avery, to show them a good time this summer. Last summer, Ethan was born right at the start and with a newborn to care for, we just had too many restrictions and too little energy to get out much. Consequently, we spent a lot of our time at home, watching TV, in our pajamas. Not exactly ideal...

This year, we are fed, dressed, beds made and ready for our day by 9 am. We have an outing almost every day, usually in the morning. We swim, we go to the park, we go to the library, we go out to lunch, we play at the mall playground, etc. I realize that I only have one month under my belt, and still have two more to go before school starts again, but I still have some more ideas rolling around in my head.

I am enjoying my time with the kids this summer and I like to think they are having a pretty good time too. Next week...swimming lessons!

Living La Vida Loca!

So last Thursday, armed with snacks and various forms of kid entertainment, Jeff and I boarded a plane with our kids and headed down to Cancun, Mexcio. The idea was to spend 4 days playing on the beach with our kids, away from the distractions of everday life. We had no delusions about how difficult a family trip would be with 3 kids under 6 but we were determined to show them the beach, the ocean and generally have a good time. Our plan worked!

We stayed at the Crown Paradise Club all-inclusive resort. It was a very family-friendly place (in other words, don't go there if you don't have kids). We booked a "Family Suite" which had 2 bathrooms and 2 levels, one with a king-size bed for Jeff and I and the other with a set of bunk beds (the girls were thrilled) and a double bed. We ordered up a crib for Ethan and and the room was perfect for us. Jeff and I were even able to watch some movies after the kids went to bed, something you can't do when the kids are 3 feet away from you in a regular room.

Avery, in particular, enjoyed the all-inclusive portion of our hotel stay. She loved having a variety of fruits for breakfast and the awesome selection of desserts after dinner, not to mention getting to eat ice cream in the heat of the day. The food was surprisingly good, for a resort in Mexico. The cocktails were nothing short of delicious and a most welcome treat for Mom and Dad after a busy day of swimming and playing in the sand :-)

The resort even had a special kids club with a huge pirate ship and slides going down into a shallow pool. Very fun! One day they even did face painting for the kids, some of the most elaborate I have ever seen.

The beach was beautiful and so was the ocean. Avery absolutely loved the beach and playing in the waves. Hannah, on the other hand, was not such a fan. It was a bit hard for her to walk on the sand and she lost her balance and fell into the water a couple of times. A mouthful of sand and salt water is enough to make anyone want to leave and head back to the pool.

At what seemed like just the right time, our 4 days were up and we packed our bags and headed to the airport to return back home. When we tried to check-in, we learned that all flights back to Dallas had been cancelled due to bad weather in Dallas and that there was no way for us to get home for another 2 days. What a fluke! It is just so rare for there to be bad weather in Dallas in mid-June! Nonetheless, we checked back into our hotel and made up our minds to make the most of our 2 extra days in paradise. After all, there are worse places to be stuck than Cancun!

Of course no family vacation is complete without at least one hang-up. I supposed the cancelled flight was the first. But in the cab on the way back to the hotel from the airport on the day we were supposed to have gone home, I realized that Ethan was running a fever. Nice. Fortunately, I had packed some Motrin for just such an occasion. We figured, from his gunky nose earlier in the week, that he probably had an ear infection. As soon as we got home on Saturday, I took him in to the doctor and not only did he have a double ear infection but he is also cutting his 1 year molars! Poor baby!

Last night as I was tucking Avery into bed, I asked her what her favorite part of the trip was and she said "Everything!" Music to my ears and made it all worth while.

Now, I'm thinking Disney in 2 years....

Birthday Boy

Well it actually happened, we celebrated Ethan's 1st birthday. Hard to believe, but its true. We had a great time at his "cowboy" themed party. The weather was gorgeous and many of our friends were able to come and help us celebrate. Ethan loved his cake and wasted no time in taking a bite right out of it! He got lots of fun, "boy" presents and everyone had a good time. Now I just have to wrap my head around the fact that my baby boy is a year old...

Hannah and the ballet recital

So today was the last day of Hannah's ballet class and the teacher invited the parents in to watch the girls perform some of the things that they had learned in the class. Knowing that this would happen, I invited Gramma Judy over to watch our little budding ballerina perform. What I did not know, was that the very same little budding ballerina would come down with a case of stage fright and refuse to dance. It was very unlike Hannah to bury her head in my lap and refuse to participate. Fortunately, about half way through the class I managed to bribe her with the promise of a "special treat" if she would show us her dancing. She then proceeded to get up and dance along with the rest of the girls. They were all so ridiculously cute and fun to watch!

It's almost here...

Now that Memorial Day weekend has come and come (it was fabulous by the way) there are so many things that are "almost here," it really kind of makes my head spin. This morning I sent Avery off to school with the reminder that after today, only 7 1/2 more days of school left before summer! Whoa, when did that happen??? And, Hannah's last day of Mother's Day Out is this week. We are celebrating Ethan's birthday this coming Saturday, just a tad early. Then, we are leaving for our first-ever-family-of-five-beach-vacation to Cancun in only 10 days!!! So, as you can see, we have lots to look forward to and lots of prep work to be done because it's all almost here...