Feliz Navidad

Sunrise

For Christmas this year my parents rented a house in the small town of El Cardinal, Mexico, about 90 miles outside of Cabo. All of my siblings and their families came except for Lanee and Christian, who are in China. They were sorely missed.

Our house was INCREDIBLE! It was right on a private beach (no one selling trinkets or smokes), had an infinity pool, and there were enough beds and bathrooms to accommodate our entire group of 17.

View from our patio

We all had such a great time just being together, especially MJ and Layla, who became immediately inseparable. They slept in a room together (with Weston), woke up together, and played until they were ready to collapse at night. The only other people they were interested in the entire trip were Grandma and whoever was serving the food.

Beach Bums

This about sums up the week's activities for these two.

There were plenty of activities: kayaking, snorkeling, horseback riding, ATVs, deep sea fishing, bocce ball and of course swimming, reading and relaxing. The kids spent most of their time in the pool or the ocean, exploring the beaches, or watching How To Train Your Dragon or Lady and the Tramp (the only two kids movies we had). Grandma was their constant companion, and definitely the only adult anyone fought over.

Grandma and the kiddos

Weston snorkeling

Weston cried when he had to get off the horse.

The most memorable activities were the ones that were free. We had a moonlight dance party on the roof (thanks to ipod speakers) and a bonfire on the beach (complete with marshmallows roasted on a rake), and at least a dozen games of bocce ball every day. I love the fact that my family can have so much fun together with minimal effort, preparation or cost.

But the best part may have been the food (probably because I didn't have to cook any of it). We had dinner cooked and brought in by local Mexican women every night, and it was HEAVEN! Made from scratch chile rellenos, empanadas, tamales, salsas, guacamole, fish tacos... you get the picture. Every meal seemed to taste better than the last, and there were always enough leftovers for lunch the next day (although in reality they were usually gone by "second breakfast").

The best toys were the ones they found along the beach.

My beautiful girl

He was pondering the nature of the universe.

Me and my baby.

We have dozens of pictures just like this one.

Beautiful

I am so grateful to my parents for providing us with this opportunity and grateful to my family for making the long trek to enjoy this vacation together. Hopefully this is the first of many...

LOVE these guys!

Moonrise over the Sea of Cortez