new year, new passport stamp.

2016 has gotten off to a great start! On the third day of the year, we woke up bright and early and headed for the airport.  I'd never packed so much stuff for a one week trip in my life, but with 2 children packing light isn't the easiest of tasks.  (We only had 3 bags to check in, but the former flight attendant in me would be ashamed.)  After some breakfast and play time at the airport, we boarded our flight to Cancun for a week of sunshine and fun!

Before you continue reading, let me just state that there is no big announcement to come from this trip.  No engagement, marriage, or pregnancy.  We broke the trend this time around, and went to Mexico for the sole purpose of a family holiday.  However, It was Briley's first flight and first time leaving Canada, and that's a pretty big deal to us!

The flight to Cancun went better than I'd anticipated. Aaralee had her very own seat for the first time, so she happily sat and snacked, watched movies, and even slept!  I was pretty nervous about how Briley would do. She'd successfully learnt to crawl the week prior and has since wanted absolutely nothing to do with sitting still.  She surprised me, and with the help of my baby wrap and a great deal of rocking back and forth in the aisle, I managed to get her to sleep for a bit!

As the sun set, we landed in Mexico and proceeded to our resort.  We'd picked it based on the fact that it targeted families with small children, and I'm sure glad that we did! It had baby bath tubs, high chairs, an awesome play area, baby food,  and a pool shallow enough for Aaralee to walk in... with tiny little lounger chairs and umbrellas!  We never felt as though our kids were too loud or annoying, as most of the other guests also had young children.  

I'm not going to lie and say that our trip was pure relaxation and that traveling with 2 young kids is a piece of cake. Kids don't care if they are at an all inclusive resort.  They still cry, they still throw tantrums, and they still make a mess everywhere that they go. Regardless, we had a great trip and I'm happy that we had the opportunity to travel with both of them.

 Each day Aaralee would sit in her stroller and watch as the rest of us played in the pool. She wanted nothing to do with swimming.  I felt guilty, but she seemed content to sit and watch.  

I finally forced her out of the stroller, held her down kicking and screaming as I applied sunscreen, and strapped her life jacket on.  This was partially due to my own selfish reasoning.  All of the other parents were having a great time playing with their toddlers in the pool and I was jealous. With a bit of patience and gentle coaxing, she slowly made her way into the pool.  And guess what!? She loved it.  Each day she'd insist that she didn't want to go in, and then we'd practically have to drag her out so that we could go for lunch.  Meanwhile, our water loving Briley had daily naps in her pool floatie.  

Our days were filled with sunshine and cocktails. Every afternoon Ryan was kind enough to stay in the room as the girls had a nap. Who are we kidding... he napped with them.  During those amazing 30-40 minutes of simultaneous napping, I'd venture to the beach or the pool for some solo sunshine time.  I'd try my best to relax and enjoy the alone time, but I felt a bit lost without my babies.  

One glorious evening, a rare occurrence happened. Both of my daughters fell asleep beside me. On a hammock.  In Mexico. With no house to clean, no dinner to make.  Just me, my babies, and a whole lot of cuddles while Ryan gently pushed the hammock.  It was pure bliss. Never in my life as a mother of two have both of my babies fell asleep on me at the same time.  

Dinners were hit and miss.  The food was amazing, the restaurants were beautiful, but our children have unpredictable patience levels. There were some perfect evenings in which both kids slept through dinner or happily ate and played, and other evenings in which Aaralee cried (because the crayon pack didn't contain a yellow one) and I was forced to eat standing up while holding Briley.  Regardless of how our kids behaved, the food was always delicious and the staff always went out of their way to make sure that we had a great experience.  Most importantly (to us) there were always other families with young children who most certainly understood the chaos.  

After dinner we'd tuck the kids into bed and then sit on the patio sipping cocktails until they fell asleep.  It was nice to spend some time with my husband without the distraction of TV to be watched or dishes to be done.

Before we knew it, it was time to go home. I was sad to return to reality, but thankful for such a great getaway with my little family.  It was probably the most time we'd all spent together with just us since becoming a family of 4.  

Mexico had been great.  We played, we ate, we soaked up the sun, and Briley put her toes in the ocean for the very first time.

  We saw the sun set on each day, and thanks to my earlybirds, we watched the it rise up over the ocean as well.  

Our vacation was busy, chaotic, and loud... just like our family. It was perfect, and just what we needed... and just like the past few years, it went by way, way too fast. We were sad to leave, but  we'll be back! Mexico will always have a special place in our hearts, and yet again, it did not disappoint.