It may not seem like, but I have actually been scrapping. I have had some really fun kits to work with lately.

With Nuts and Bolts by Spinky Dink Scraps and Creations by Rachael:

With Mauvelous by DSD by Athena:

Using Seaside by Ruby Lane and Elise's Pieces:

With Winter's Day by Jen C Designs:
With Christmas in the Parlor by Sherwood Studio:

Friday in Mexico

So Friday night was the show where the kids got to participate. They had rehearsal in the late afternoon, which worked out well since we had dinner reservations at the Brazilian restaurant so they were going to be the kids club during that time anyway. The restaurant was one where they walk around with big skewers of meat and if you want it, they slice off a piece for you. I skipped a couple of them, but the chicken and turkey were good. The last thing was pineapple cooked with cinnamon, so that was tasty. For dessert, Scot and Dawn both ordered the Alaska cake, so we got to see the flaming alcohol being poured on them. We picked up the kids afterwards, and then the younger two had to go to makeup. I didn't realize it was such a production, and I think at that point Owen realized he was going to have to wear a toga for his part in Hercules! Basically they did one song from a bunch of different Disney movies, so when it was time for Hercules, Owen and his friend ran out from backstage and were out in the front lifting foam weights in their togas. I know they were embarassed, but they were really good sports and smiing and giggling the whole time. The Lion King was at the end, so that's when Declan the lion and Sean the zebra got to come up the aisle and then dance on the stage. It was very cute and fun to watch. Unfortunately, we had to get up early on Saturday for our excursion to the Mayan ruins of Tulum and Xel-ha (pronounced shell-ha). Even more unfortunately, the van didn't get there until about an hour after they told us to be there waiting, so we didn't really need to get up so early! We got on the bus and went first to Tulum. I was glad to get that out of the way early since it was starting to get pretty hot. It used to be sea port, so the buildings look out over the ocean, which was a beautiful blue that morning. Our guide explained how they built the main buildings to be used as a sundial to keep track of the seasons. Luckily we didn't have a lot of time there since the kids were getting bored and hot. Once we got to Xel-ha, we had a quick lunch at the buffet and then got the snorkel gear. I couldn't do it because of my glasses, but I swam around in the water anyway. We decided to go get the tubes for going down the river, which turned out to be kind of a mistake since there was no current and if you didn't paddle, you went very slowly. It did takes us past the 15-foot cliff that you can jump off, which Scot did. Then we made it to the rope bridge and the zip lines, and decided to walk back from there. We had fun on the zip lines and it wasn't busy so we got to do them a lot without waiting. On the way back to the main area, we saw some manatees feeding by the dock. By the time we got back, it was time to get on the bus again and head back to the resort. We had our last dinner at the buffet and then hung out in the game room/snack bar area until it was time for the nightly show. It was called Fuego so we thought it would be some kind of fire thing, especially since it was down at the beach instead of the theater, but it just turned out to be a bunch of different dance/song numbers. The outfits were something else, and the kids watched most of it anyway, even though they kept asking when the fire stuff was going to happen. We packed up a lot of our stuff so we would be ready, although we didn't have to check out until noon on Sunday. We had breakfast that morning, and then Declan wanted to go swimming while Scot and Owen went on a little tour to see all the animals at the resort. Check out time came too soon, and Owen started to get upset, as I knew he would. Our friends were staying until Tuesday, so he didn't understand why we had to leave before them. Since he had not wanted to do it, he had to do most of his makeup work at the airport and on the plane, but it got done and it didn't interfere with vacation.

Playa del Carmen

We are back from our little trip down to Mexico! We arrived around dinner time on Tuesday night. We were on the same plane and airport transportation as our friends, so we all checked in at the same time. Our rooms were in two different buildings but kitty-corner, so that was handy. We decided to get the junior suite, so we had a king bed and then around the corner was the pull-out couch for the kids. The room was nice and spacious, and there was room for one of the kids to sleep on the cushions on the floor since they didn't want to share the sofabed. It was for the best anyway, since then they fell asleep easier. We were pretty close to the part of the resort where the buffets/snack bar/game rooms were, so that was nice. We put our stuff in the room and then went to eat some dinner at the buffet. I think we checked out the game room and snack bar, also. The game room had pool, ping pong, foosball, air hockey, and a giant chess board with game pieces and a giant Connect 4 game. The snack bar was a big hit because of the swing chairs and the raccoons hanging out begging for food. I can't remember if we watched a show that night or not. Wednesday we swam at the beach and played beach volleyball and soccer. The main pool wasn't open yet, but the kids tried out the aqua park. There were water slides, but I guess they wanted deeper water and higher slides, so we only went that one time. Wednesday night was the Mexican buffet night, and they had the food and vendors all set up outside around the snack bar. They had games for the kids to play and Declan won a fanny pack and Owen won a baseball hat. Thursday we spent more time at the beach, and half of the main pool reopened, so we tried that out. The water was pretty cold, so the kids didn't stay in very long, but we played poolside Bingo. Dawn got a Bingo but didn't realize we were supposed to have 2 bingoes for that game, so when she went up, they said she had to jump in the pool or do a sexy dance. The resort entertainment crew were very similar to what we had on the cruise. We had our first dinner at one of the restaurants that night, so the kids all went to the kids club for a few hours. We ate at the mediterranean place, which was o.k. It was right by the beach, so that was nice. Friday we were at the beach again, and then Scot and the kids snorkeled in the cenote looking for turtles. I guess they saw one, but more importantly, the kids got to practice with some snorkel gear because we were going to Xel-ha the next day and I really wanted them to snorkel there. Part 2 later!