Mexico 2013

I took this picture the evening of Dec. 2nd.  Mark and I just left Red Lobster after having dropped all three kids at my parents' house. Oooh, just typing that brought tears to my eyes.  Let's just say Momma didn't handle saying good-bye so good this time.  I was hyperventalating in the car after bawling in front of the kids.  Mark said, "What?  Do you not want to go or what?"  In the midst of the crying hysterically I said, "Of course I want to go, but I think we need to take the baby with."  The man almost hit a parked car;-)  

We left our house at about 4 for our 6:00 flight.

We upgraded to first class and they offered breakfast!

The ocean below the clouds!

Hola Mexico!!!!!

Mark and I talk about going to Mexico nearly every day.

Think I'm being dramatic?

Nope.

There's a reference or a "I wish we in the lounge right now," Just about every day.

As we get closer to the magical time of year (eight weeks until take off) we talk about it A LOT.

Recently we were trying to think of our very very favorite thing about Mexico.

Mark's was dinner at Mosquito Blue and mine was The Lounge at the resort.

He said, "Really?!  The Lounge?!"  

I explained:

It's the most relaxing.  It's where we really talk.  But we also don't have to talk.

It's just perfect.

Here we are: First drinks in The Lounge!

I think we have about 50 pictures of us at The Lounge over the six trips.

I love that this year I actually had alcohol in my glass!

However, they don't serve Dos Equis on tap there any more.

Adios mio!

Our first walk to the beach!

I almost forgot it was "winter."

We went to town the first night to have dinner at Mosquito Blue.

We knew Daniel (the manager) would recognize us, which always feels good.

We both knew what we were going to order.

We walked to the restaurant and found a construction site.

They. Tore. It. Down.

It was quite dramatic to realize it was GONE!

Mark actually said after two hours of processing we were going to have a (shitty) authentic dinner instead of the amazing one we thought we were going to have,

"We would have flown here if I knew that was going to happen."

Mark his words, the man was not kidding.

He was not happy.

But, seriously, we were in paradise.  

See, we can't even look upset in Playa!!

It's hard to believe they celebrate Christmas at the beach.

It's also hard to believe how many locals hear our accents and ask us about snow.

Every single one says they have never seen it and would love to.

I assure them, they aren't missing out on much.

It was so hot and sunny that first day all the lizards were out.

Large and small they were everywhere!

Counting a dozen iguanas on the way to breakfast (ok - brunch - we missed breakfast)

is when you know you're in Paradise!!!

Do you know how much I love this place?!

Day 2

We head to town.

We both LOVE town.

I must admit, town as grown on me over the years.

It used to make me nervous.

Now, I'm completely comfortable and love every aspect.

So we went to town and it was about 2pm.

Senor Frogs had maybe 15 people in it.

Broad daylight.

We went in anyway.

I had one drink.

Knocked my socks off - and I was wearing FLIP FLOPS!

Strongest drink I've ever choked down!

I ordered one to go and sipped it through the streets and shopped.

Good for the Mexicans, not so good for the Humphreys;-)

Beautiful Day!

I may have had one (12) too many!

Hey, fun times!!

For the record this is in the middle of the resort and we were completely alone.

Not that being in the middle of town would have stopped me, apparently. 

"Hanging" Out at one of our faves in town.

Pez something or other.

The name changed since last year.

What is better than sitting on a swing, drinking and talking to the Love of Your Life? 

We also met some really nice people there that night and the bar tender totally treated us like locals after we said a few things and gave away a few secrets of where the locals go to escape the tourists.  

We considered going, but I worried, would the locals notice we are, in fact, not Mexican? 

We took our Long Walk.  We started this our second year.

Many many more people have found our "secret spot" since then.

So I just force Mark to walk further and further.

We will out walk all other humans! 

The walk gets rough.

Super sharp basalt.  About 1.5 hours of walking. Plus, minimal water in hotter and hotter weather.

But look what it has to offer!

The pics don't do it justice!

2013 Humphreys were here!

* I found the most perfect stick to write in the sand with.

I kept it until the last day.

Way better than asking Mark to write everything I wanted in the sand or having sand underneath my nails.

I saved the stick for next year.

(Do you think I really saved it, Mark?)

There's something about the ocean hitting the shore that is one of the most gorgeous things in the world to me.  I have about 100 pictures from this walk.

We have (just about) this picture hanging in our living room for the last few years.  I always like to see how close I can recreate it.

It's just about here I can't even speak.

We both love this place so much we have a gigantic picture of it hanging in our living room.

Then for those short few minutes you stand there you feel like the luckiest person on Earth.

But you have to turn around and it's over, for at least another year.

It's almost heart breaking.

That may sound dramatic, but God, it's so amazing.

You really don't want to turn back.

So you talk about going again in a day or two.

We've never done the Long Walk twice in a trip.

We alway talk about it, but never have.

This was the night of our reservations for dinner at the Japanese restaurant. 

Two and a half hours before our reservation we decided to go into town.

We went about 4 blocks in and someone asked us if we'd like a massage on the beach.

(We had this once before and we knew we were going to do it, so we were both prepared. This time I had regular clothes on, not a bathing suit.)  Mark wanted to.  I said, "Maybe tomorrow."  He actually said, "You always say maybe tomorrow, I'm having mine today."  **When and where do I ever say Maybe tomorrow to anyone?  One, that's super funny he want this massage so bad.  Two, I knew we didn't have a lot of time.  Three, If the man wants a couple massage, who am I to complain?  We've always had interesting massage experiences and this time was nothing less.

I asked the nice dude how we were going to do this since I had regular clothes on and we were kind of in the mix of downtown.  Next thing we know he's leading us down this narrow staircase to a room you look at from outside and think, "Hell, I'd never go down there!"

However, we both took (most) of our clothes off and laid face down and let the strangers and clearly not actually masseuses rub on us for more than an hour.

About half of the time I was thinking, If I'm taken into hostage I will.....

If you know all three of our "Massage" stories I'm certain you're wondering, "Why in the hell does she keep doing it???" Me too!  

When we walked out of there we had 30 minutes until our reservation and had to take a 10 min cab ride back, an 8 min walk to our room, then 8 min back to the restaurant.  And we needed to shower because we were covered in oil.

Not the most relaxing two hours of my life.

Our favorite in resort restaurant: Japanese

It probably has a nice name, but we call it Japanese.

We were with the most boring people ever!

We're used to super fun people so that was a bummer.

We went (back) to town.

They actually have people who dress up in all gold and stand perfectly still for money.

So I kicked this guy before I sat down. 

Mark laughed, but I figured better safe than sorry.

One drunk morning I was perusing the hena tatoo book.

I looked and laid down in the sun next to the pool (my favorite spot) when it hit me!

I need a "tattoo" of my little stars.

Not so little.

But it was fun for a few days.

Mark loves the ocean.

I love the pool.

We spilt our time.

Dinner at Alux 

It's about 30 feet under grove un complete caves.

We haven't been there since our first year.

It was great!

You're welcome to explore all aspects of the cave.

Pretty sure someone was about to get proposed to and I jumped into her chair.

Man, he sure is strong!!!!

What?!  I don't remember that sign while we were there!

I bought something from this little girl the first year we were there.

I told Mark I would adopt her. 

Just a little thing walking down the street selling crap.

All I could think of was the better life we could give her.

I've bought something from her every year.

I was happy that this year I could tell she's being educated and is happy.

See the little animals in front of us?

Yep, lost them.

It's not he first year we've lost a bag of "goods." 

At least this year we found most of it!

But seriously, when you're that happy and deliriously in love, can you blame us for forgetting a bag?

I think, not!

We took a long walk the other way for the first time over.

We walked past six other resorts and then came to private homes.

We were both drooling, I mean dreaming.

Holy shitball, seriously, how much money must you have to have a house on the BEACH in Playa del Carmen.  We noticed the families that actually were home we on their decks but the nannies were playing in the sand with the kids.  

I just typed four lines about that.

But deleted them all. 

Because I don't know everything that's going on in their families and totally judged them while we were there.  As a mom of three, you never know what is happening!

I'm just happy somebody is blessed to 'reside' in paradise!!!!

Yep, that's my heaven.

Coconut rum and pineapple juice was my vice that week!!!!!

Next to the pool!!!

Hola felicidad!

The probelmo with going this late in the year is:

the pool is pretty damn cold if your blood alcohol level isn't over .10.

I didn't have a problem until last year!

This year it was almost always warm.

Last night in the lounge.

Just seeking it makes me sad.

The. Last. Night.

#iwantitlonger

Our view from our first room.

Our view from our second.

Let's just say, I'm a spoiled brat who needed a better ocean view.

Do you blame me??

We saw this book at the Cancun airport and I looked at it and Mark wanted to but it and I said we could actually make a book like that from our own pictures!

It's on my to do list!

After that amazing trip to Paradise we ended up stuck in Chi- Town!

Hey, I'm the first girl to like Chicago.

Mark and I have wanted to take a trip there.

But instead we were stranded inside the airport.

We could see the delays.

Then they were cancelations.

We knew we were screwed.

I started texting the best guest teachers I knew.

I got my sub.

Liv and I stayed around the corner from the bar in Chi-Town.

What memories!

We finally got home 15 hours later than expected.

I missed an extra day of school which really was a bummer.

I don't like to talk about the end of our trip because 

I slept on the floor of an airport with my purse as a pillow.  That's gross!  

I like to focus on the amazing couple time we had.

I like to focus on the fun we had.

I like to focus on the memories we hold just between the two of us.

I like to focus on the man who made me a wife and a mommy and I'm forever grateful!