Mexico

 We went to Mexico with all of my family the last week in July. We were really unsure if we were going to be able to make it, right up until the week we were supposed to leave. It had been 7 years since we had been there with my family- Kamryn was a newborn. We were so, so happy that we were able to go. We all had so much fun, and I'm so glad we made it happen. And a big, huge thank you to my mom for coordinating the whole trip  and putting in countless hours prepping and feeding us all!

 

 We left on a Friday, and drove to San Diego, only stopping for lunch in Mesa. We spent the night in San Diego (little did we know Comicon was going on and it was difficult to find a hotel). Adventures from that night: we ate a nice restaurant because it was within walking distance and we didn't want to get in the car after a 10+ hour car ride...a nice couple complimented us on our well behaved kids and left a gift card with our waitress-so nice! And we went on a walk to the beach, never made it and came across a real live skunk on the sidewalk.

The next day we all met up at Costco and drove to Ensenada. We were so excited to see the beach! We shared a house with Luke and Shawnie, their kids, and Shawnie's niece, Amber, who was there as a mothers helper. It was so much fun to room with all of them, our kids were in heaven! And it was so, so nice to have Amber there as an extra set of hands.

  

Wes took Hallie and Jaxson fishing one afternoon, and they caught a few fish/sharks. That night we ate a local restaurant that fried up the fish-whole, with eyeballs and all.

Kimber wasn't too happy about being stuck in the sand, but Kamryn loved it.

I took Addi on this little airplane for a ride up and down the beach. I hesitated for a second, because it looks pretty sketchy, but threw caution to the wind. She was so excited and loved it! It was super cool.

I love this picture that Shawnie got of us. It looks sweet and romantic, yet he was really trying to dunk me in the water. :)

We went to church with my parents while we were there. We only stayed for Sacrament meeting since we didn't understand much. I spent most of the time in the halls with Morgan, since I figured Wes would get more out of it than I would.

Our house had a little jacuzzi that wasn't heated. Originally I was worried about it having water in it, since there wasn't a cover for it. But the kids loved playing in it. It was shallow enough that even Kimber could stand up in it. It gave the kids a  fun place to play when we weren't ready to go down to the beach. They had fun trying to create whirlpools.

We convinced Ike to get braids in his long hair. At "LaBufadora". The kids all brought their hard earned money for souvenirs.  Hallie got a keychain, Jaxson a slingshot, Kamryn and Addi got guitars, and Kimber got a purse.

Only in Mexico...do you see a donkey painted as a zebra!

 

The best part of the week was our kids getting to spend so much time with cousins they don't see often enough:

Teaching the kids the magic of "Spoons"

We tried to take some family pictures on the beach...a little difficult with the whole family (18 kids 10 and under)

    (it was sunny)

                                                                 

 

Wes took Kamryn and Jaxson fishing later in the week, but they didn't catch anything that time

  

Sunbathing

 

I don't think this view would every get old

 

Since Morgan takes a morning and afternoon nap, she spent most of her time indoors. She did enjoy the baby pool

Hallie and Jaxson spent a lot of time on the boogie boards

One of the highlights of the trip was the kids getting to meet all of their new cousins (the ones I met during our girls trip in May). Hallie had especially been looking forward to meeting Milo, and he did not disappoint! He holds a special piece of all of our hearts.

Addi got real tan while we were there. They both had a blast with Vera.

Shawnie told her to strike a pose

Making a train out of the chairs one afternoon

Family tug-o-war after dinner one night

Soccer after dinner one night...the best time of day to play!

The moms and the babies (where was Meagan?). These babies are only a matter of a few month apart; it will be so fun to watch them grow up together.

This night seemed magical, kids frolicking in the shallow water, while the bigger kids played soccer on the beach. It was heaven.

 

One night we made s'mores in our outdoor fireplace.

Kamryn loved searching for seashells and came home with a big bag of them.

The ones who tirelessly planned the whole trip and took such good care of us while we were there. Thanks Mom and Dad, we had the best time!