Christmas Break 2021!!!

For Christmas break this year, we got the opportunity to go to Cancun, Mexico with some friends, the Robisons. About two weeks prior to Christmas, our friends mentioned that they had some family that cancelled on a planned paid for non-refundable trip. They asked us if we wanted to go in their place. Of course, we jumped at the chance. However, none of our kids had their passports, so getting them would take a miracle, we thought. After some research, we found out that if we have proof of international travel and can get an appointment at an agency, then our kids could get their passports in 1 day. We took the chance, booked plane tickets out of Denver, and got an appointment at the Denver agency on Monday, 12/21. Our plane tickets were booked for 12/22. We left Sunday, 12/20 from Idaho Falls, drove 10 hours to Denver, checked into a hotel, and showed up at our appointment at 10am. It was a breeze getting the kids' their passports. We had our needed paperwork, they gave the kids their oath, and we walked out of the agency at 2pm with passports in hand.

Then at 3am on 12/22, we left our hotel to the Denver International airport to board a plane to Minneapolis, then onto Cancun. This was the first time the boys have flown in a commercial airplane. They'll tell you that they've only flown privately by their dad. We arrived in Cancun around 4pm, had a couple Pina Coladas to celebrate getting there while we waited for the Robisons to arrive. 

When they got there, we took a 45 minute shuttle ride to our hotel, The Generations Riviera Maya. It was an all inclusive resort with 4 restaurants. We had a 3 bedroom suite with one main entrance. The weather was beautiful and we all ate way more than we needed too. The first day, 12/22, we hung out and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and had dinner. The second day, 12/23, we spent the day hanging out in cabanas on the beach having our butler bring us drinks and food all day. The third day, 12/24, we went out on the ocean in a small yacht and went deep sea fishing. This is the day we found out that me, Matt, and Scotlyn need Dramamine for sea sickness. The waters were a little rough and unless I was sleeping, I was nauseous. Scotlyn threw up about 6 times, and Matt just felt a little queasy. The boys did great! They caught 3 barracudas and a lot of little fish. After being on the water for 6 hours, we came in and went swimming in beautiful blue water. The fourth day, 12/25, we spent hanging out on the beach again. On the fifth day, 12/26, we went shopping in Playa where all the vendors started calling Matt "Pappy" or "Big Pappa". On the sixth day, 12/27, we went to a snorkeling place call Xelcha. They had dolphins, a water slide, zip line, and a lot of other activities. It was a little windy and cold, but everyone still had a great time. On the seventh day, 12/28, we spent the day back on the beach in our cabana. Then on the last day, 12/28, we hung out until lunch time, the rode the shuttle 45 minutes back to the airport to board our plane home. The trip was so fun and wonderful. One of the most memorable parts was Christmas Eve. We had a 6 course meal set up in a beautiful room of the nicest restaurant. Our 1st course was a beet salad with pistachios and goat cheese. Our 2nd course was an ahi tuna salad. Our 3rd course was a warm mushroom soup poured over a ravioli. Our 4th course was a large piece of salmon over a bed of risotto. Our 5th course was 1/2 lobster (the whole lobster) and steak over mashed potatoes, and vegetables. And our last course was a white chocolate green Christmas tree filled with sweet mousse. I won't say the kids loved every course nor did they eat it all, but it was an experience that they'll never forget.