Last Days in Mexico

For our last full day at the villa, we decided to do what we'd been doing - eat, swim, read and relax. We didn't have to leave for the airport on Thursday until 1pm, so we had most of the next day too, but his was our last full day.

After breakfast, we all swam and enjoyed the pool with the kids jumping back and forth between the hot tub and the pool. While Olivia and Antonio napped, I read my book while CK and Sofia continued to swim. Before long, I looked down and saw both of them asleep on the lounge chairs in the shade.

For dinner, we had four chicken breasts left over as well as random other goodies. Marco devised a dish that included a lot of the left overs and it turned out to be delicious! After, we were all a little hungry for something sweet (the Oreos and cookies were long gone), so we ordered room service and had slices of cheesecake, chocolate cake, and carrot cake brought up as well as a pot of decaf coffee. It was really fun! We had planned to watch a movie that night, but were all too tired. Over the week, we'd watched two movies: Star Trek and Silver Lining Playbook. Both were very good and a lot of fun to watch. Instead, we all went off to bed after a fun week together at the villa.

Our sweet girl

CK and Sofia (under the towel) napping

Under the towel....

The view from the balcony with everyone hanging out in the water

CK and Sofia - one of my favorite photos

Marco's delicious "experimental" dinner

Our last morning...drawing with ice

Sofia tracing Antonio's hand

Olivia preferred to color in the squares

The Beach

Since arriving, Sofia asked every day when we planned to go to the beach. We decided to go on Tuesday morning so we could spend most of the day enjoying the ocean. We got the kids ready and Sofia was so excited to get going. We took a cab to Pueblo Bonito Blanco, a sister hotel that is near the marina and right on the water. We were able to use all of their facilities, so we gathered beach towels and headed to the beach where we were able to sit under a cabana on lounge chairs. It felt a lot hotter down in town than it did at the villa, but we were soon all in the Sea of Cortez. Sofia was in immediately and she and CK swam out together as far as they could. Olivia would go in, but only when I held her which was fine except there was a pretty steep drop off so that I could stand fine and then couldn't and I can't really swim and hold her out of the water for long. So, although she kept pointing to go deeper, we stayed in the shallow area just past the wave break.

Sofia soon discovered that if she floated and let the waves take her, she would get pushed up onto the sand and then pulled back in for the next wave. I actually tried it with her and it was really fun. Sofia did this for a long time while Olivia sat up on the lounge chairs with Antonio and had a snack. Soon, Sofia was playing in the sand and making up stories. Meanwhile, there were the constant hawkers of goods walking around trying to grab our attention to buy blankets, jewelry, bags, cover-ups, hair braids, henna tattoos, bracelets, carved statues of fish, etc. I think I must have said "no, gracias" ever minute. While sitting on the lounge chairs, I did see a blanket that I really liked, so ended up "negotiating" from $30 to $20, which I'm sure is still over-priced but it makes a great reminder of our trip. While looking at all of the vendor's blankets, about six other vendors came over with their goods and CK kept calling me "a mark" from then on.

We ate lunch in the outdoor cafe by the pool and then got onto the glass-bottom boat for a tour of the bay. Marco needed to wait for a call, so he stayed back while the rest of us walked down the beach to get onto the boat. It was not very organized and we weren't sure exactly what we were doing, but we finally loaded onto a boat and headed to the arch. It was marginally cooler on the ocean and there were a ton of boats, jet skis and other water-traffic around while we went. He took us to a spot where tons of people were swimming and jumping into the water from a rock and we saw tons of fish (thanks to the food he threw out), then to "lover's beach" and on to the arch. It was pretty rough by the arch, but I got a few cute pictures. We also saw sea lions, which really were stinky, but Sofia loved them and Olivia kept saying "I see. I see." We started heading back and he asked if anyone wanted to get off on that first beach to snorkel for an hour. CK and Sofia decided to get off and try it and I was going to get off too, but there was absolutely no shade and I knew Olivia and I would not only be very hot and uncomfortable but would get sunburned. We headed back to the hotel with Stacy and Antonio.

Once at the hotel, Stacy, Marco and Antonio headed to the villa. Stacy had gotten her fill of sun. Olivia went straight for the pool and used the stairs to walk in the water, jump and swim to me, then go back, get all the way out and try it again. She did this over and over and several people came over to ask how old is was and how she learned to swim so well. After Sofia and CK made it back, the four of us swam in the pool and cooled off for a bit before we took a cab back to the villa. It was a fun day and it was interesting to do something different.

Three excited kids ready for the beach

CK and Sofia hit the water

The view down the beach

There they go

Olivia in the sand

Olivia and I in the water with Sofia heading back out

Marco, Stacy, Antonio, me and the girls on the sand

Snack time.

Olivia and me hanging out on the lounge chairs

The hawkers trying to sell their goods

Lunch

Heading out on the glass-bottom boat tour

Sofia

Looking at one of the beaches

The arch

CK and Sofia by the arch

CK and Sofia on the beach with their snorkel gear

Heading back to the hotel with a tired girl

The view of Cabo from the ocean

Marco making his delicious "fried spaghetti" with our leftovers

CK and the girls in an after-dinner swim

A group shot....my camera would not flash with the timer, so CK got out and took the picture.

Mexico!

On Thursday August 8th, we flew with our friends and neighbors, Marco, Stacy and their 2-year old son Antonio to Cabo San Lucas for a week of relaxing at their villa time share. Marco and Stacy asked us a few months ago to join them since his brother and family couldn't make it and they wanted to have company. Lucky they picked us!

We arrived in Cabo and took a cab to the Pueblo Bonito Monte Cristo Estates which is situated on a hillside on the Pacific side of Cabo. Sofia and Antonio loved sitting in the back of the van without having to sit in a car seat. CK has never been to Cabo before and I've been several times when I was younger, with my last visit 10 years ago with my Mom. Marco bought into this time share nearly 10 years ago and has visited for a week every August. Before arriving at the villa, our cab took us to Walmart where each of us had a list of essentials that we'd worked out in the weeks before the trip and then split up in the airport in Dallas. We planned to eat most of our meals in the villa with two or three meals out. Olivia had fallen asleep so I put her into my Ergo carrier, Sofia went off with CK and away we went. I mainly had milk, yogurt, cheese, and vegetables so I felt like my search was over pretty quickly. I hoped CK could make us a peach cobbler, but there were no peaches to be found. I bought a few mangos and oranges that weren't on the list and although they looked a bit rough, we later found that they were delicious! After reconnecting and paying, we headed to the Estates. We had a bit of a delay checking in, so we relaxed and ate a little something until we could get into Marco and Stacy's villa.

It was breathtaking! The villa is perched halfway up the hill with a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean below. Along with three comfortable rooms, there is a separate bedroom and bathroom off by the pool. The villa has it's own infinity pool, hot tub and kiddy pool as well as a fire pit and grill with lounge chairs, tables and chairs, etc. It was not only beautiful but cozy and comfortable! Marco and Stacy took the main bedroom and CK and I headed downstairs where we would stay and the girls would be in the room across from us - Sofia in the twin bed and Olivia in her pack-n-play. After getting settled, we all changed into our swimsuits and jumped into the pool! It was great to finally arrive and we were all excited for a fun, relaxing week ahead!

On Friday, we woke up, ate breakfast and swam. Antonio and Olivia took naps - 3 hours, a record for our girl and then we were all back in the pool. I think Sofia may have grown gills she swam so much. That night, we went to the main resort, which is a short trip away and had dinner which was good and a nice break. Unfortunately, CK ended up getting sick and was miserable all day Saturday and mostly all Sunday. He decided to move into the separate bedroom/bathroom off the pool so he could sleep and have some quiet, which he really needed since he was pretty miserable.

Sofia can literally swim, play and make up stories in the water for hours! She loved jumping over the side of the infinity pool and swimming in the narrow channel that captures the overflowing water. Of course there were dead bugs and other things floating in the water, but she didn't care. She loved it! Olivia is also a fish and is fantastic at holding her breath and kicking around. She doesn't make great distance but knows her limits well and will turn around and head toward me when she needs to get air. She really loves when I put my hand on her belly so she can kick and put her face in the water, but can also pull her head up and get air when she wants. They loved it and were so happy to have the three areas to swim in and jump between.

On Sunday we planned to go to the brunch at the resort and CK was feeling like he could make it. The brunch was good with a lot of desserts and mainly American food, but was fun. Unfortunately, CK ate a few bites of french toast and decided he needed to get back to bed. After our meal, we changed into our swimsuits which we brought with us and headed to the pool. Sofia loved it and I would see her in passing as she swam all over the huge pool. Olivia and I stuck with Marco, Stacy and Antonio and the kids had fun jumping in from the side and swimming. After a bit, we walked down to the ocean on the HOT sand! I thought my feet were going to burn off! In Cabo the Pacific has a very strong undercurrent and just standing on the sand and watching the waves you could see the violence of the water. Sofia ran along the water and kept going closer and closer, so we decided to head back to the villa to check on CK and swim in the pool (and to take advantage of those lovely 3 hour naps from Antonio and Olivia)!

Monday it rained, which it apparently does five times a year in Cabo! Luckily, we planned to attend the time-share breakfast so we could earn credits toward our bill and so Marco and Stacy could hear about the latest construction. We attended the breakfast and then were taken to see the new construction which was amazing! It made the villa look like a dog house! Marco and Stacy stayed after to negotiate while we took Antonio back to the house. The three kids and I walked around on the deck to get our feet wet, then made patterns with our footprints on the deck. It was a good distraction and they had fun.

Checking in at the airport

Look Mom, no car seats!

First dip in the pool

Our little mermaid, Sofia

The awesome villa!

Olivia, our little fish

The girls and I ready for another day of fun

Sofia and I relax in the shade while Olivia naps

Me and my girls

Popsicles!

The kiddos

In the pool

Sunday brunch...CK looking a little green

Pueblo Bonito Resort

Sofia running along the Pacific Ocean

Shells

More Presents

Yesterday we asked Sofia what she'd like for dinner and without hesitating she announced "Papa John's Pizza!" Sofia loves their cheese pizza and Olivia, CK and I really like it too, so it's a very easy dinner. After eating our pizza on our back patio, we went into the living room where Sofia opened her gifts. She actually received quite a few gifts from family and friends and she was very excited to see what she was sent.


While she played downstairs, I snuck upstairs with a ladder and her gift from her Aunt Becky, which was glow-in-the-dark stars and planets. I figured it would be a lot more fun for her to see them on the ceiling at bedtime rather than opening them up as a regular gift. I considered putting them into the correct constellations (it came with a chart), but after I was balanced on the ladder I decided that wasn't going to happen and instead placed them in a random pattern.

Once downstairs, we got all the gifts together for her to open. The first gift she opened was from her Grandma and Grandpa and included an adorable insulated lunch bag, a camera and case (!!), a Magic Tree House book ("Night on the Titanic" which she's always wanted), dinosaur flash cards, a coloring book and Altoids! She was so excited and wanted batteries in the camera right away as she opened her flash cards and flipped through her Magic Tree House book. Next she opened her gift from Uncle Rob and Aunt Margie, who just returned from a cruise in Alaska. They got her a Denali Park Ranger vest which is adorable on her! Then she went for the biggest gift she had which was from Aunt and Uncle. It came in a big blue Amazon bag and she soon found that it had a container of dinosaurs! Of course she loved it and started playing with them. Next she decided to open the gift from Olivia and Buddy. It was a Pet Hospital that she played with at her cousins' house in Atlanta and figured it would be a good gift for both her and Olivia to play. She opened her gift from Grandpa Joe which included "The Boy Who Cried Wolf", "Tortoise and Hare", and "The Lion and Mouse." We actually don't have any of those books, so she started reading them. Next she wanted to open the gift from Sian and her girls. It included "Stegy" the toy stegosaurs that she left at their house, so she was super excited. They also gave her a toy killer whale, Black Beauty movie and the fossils we made when we were together. She also opened her gift from her Aunt Cynthia and Uncle Jay and her cousins which included a great dinosaur carrying case that opens up to a play mat (great for travel) and a moveable Apatosaurus. Finally, all the gifts were open and CK went into the attic to get our gift to Sofia - a new bike that has pedals and training wheels. She received a balance bike for her birthday last year and has become comfortable on it and balances well, except that it doesn't roll for long stretches, so she ends up using her feet to kick a lot more than she should. So, we figured she should upgrade to a "real" bike that we can remove the training wheels from. I'm hoping she gets comfortable on it enough to ride it to school while I ride next to her pulling Olivia in the trailer. CK snuck it in behind her and then we had her turn around. She wasn't super excited, but we convinced her to take a quick spin on it outside. Unfortunately, I never thought to remind her where the brakes are and once she got going she ended up panicking and ran into the curb which made her fall forward and she got hurt and scared. She immediately named it "Scary Bike" and is very reluctant to get back on it.....Otherwise, it was a fun and very happy birthday for our six year old! I still can't believe she's six!

Sofia and her gifts

Her brand new camera from Grandpa and Grandma!

Her cool Denali Park Ranger vest from Uncle Rob and Aunt Margie

Opening her gift from Aunt Shirl and Uncle Steve

Dinosaurs!

Opening her gift from Olivia and Buddy

While Olivia tests out Sofia's new dinosaurs

Sofia's Pet Hospital from Olivia and Buddy

Sofia's new bike! Quickly named "Scary Bike" thanks to the 'crash'