Viva La Mexico

In January, Paul and I had the opportunity of a lifetime to travel to Mexico with fourteen of our closest friends, all in the vicinity of our tenth anniversaries. Fourteen of our closest friends, you ask? I know, it's hard to believe that we have been blessed with so many great friends. For years now we have shared all of the joys and the difficulties of marriage and family life, and we decided it was about time to celebrate! The idea of a trip together had long been tossed around as a fun possibility, but I never dreamed it would actually come together, much less that all of us would be able to make it! Childcare, time off from work, all the crazy logistics... everything seemed to fall together to make the trip possible. It already seems like a dream, that week on the beach in the sun with my friends. But it was no dream, and I have the photos to prove it! So without further ado, our Pre-Tenth Anniversary Trip to Mexico!

Our flight left before sunrise on a Wednesday in January, and as we packed our gear and our shivering bodies into the car to head to the airport, it was hard to imagine that in mere hours we would be trading our winter jackets for flip-flops. After a quiet and uneventful flight, during which I almost finished an entire book (in one sitting! That hasn't happened since before children!), we disembarked into the Cancun airport. A bus drove us the hour to Playa del Carmen, when we finally got our first glimpse of the resort and the ocean. The ocean! Oh my goodness, I could have stared at the ocean for the whole week straight, it was so beautiful. 

The forecast had been predicting a lot of rain for the week, but thankfully we only got poured on a couple of times early on. Then the temperatures started to rise and we spent the majority of the time basking in perfect beach weather. Most of our days had a similar pattern: wake up, eat breakfast, go to the beach all day, take a quick break to grab lunch, stay at the beach until dinner, change for dinner, hang out at the bar in the evening. Paul played a lot of beach volleyball and beach soccer; I preferred to float in the waves and relax with a book. It was almost overwhelming to have so much free time and no little people to entertain... I almost didn't know what to do with myself! There were two pregnant ladies on the trip (would it be a group of Catholic couples without a couple pregnancies?), and we constantly had to be explaining to the bartenders why on Earth we were ordering virgin mojitos at an all-inclusive resort?! When they found out that the combined total of children between the eight couples was twenty-eight, with two on the way, they (and everyone else who overheard) were completely floored. 

On Saturday, we changed things up with a Mayan Adventure Tour. I was not at all excited about the prospect of riding an ATV, especially with a long van ride to and from the location. My morning sickness hit me pretty hard mid-week, and I was worried. Thankfully, the adrenaline must have kicked in because I felt great the whole day! The ATV was, to be honest, completely terrifying. Paul will laugh at me for saying that, but I'm not ashamed of my wimpiness. But the rest of the tour was amazing! Ziplining into an above-ground cenote, snorkeling in an underground cave, flying above the jungle on a zipline... so many things I never dreamed I would do. 

Before we knew it, we were packing our things and flying home to frigid Minnesota and our waiting children. The trip was incredible, but I was definitely ready to see all of my munchkins. We had sent the boys to Rapid City to stay with Grandma, Grandpa, and Liam. The girls stayed with my parents in Burnsville. But they were all waiting for us when we arrived home! Thanks to our amazing parents for making this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity a reality! We couldn't have done it without you! (Who else would take in our crazy children for a week?!) 

Cheers to our first ten years, honey! May there be many decades more!

Ready for takeoff!

Yoga on the beach

Jump in the ocean at night fully clothed? Why not?

Beach volleyball

Beach Bums

On the balcony of our room

Snorkeling in the underground cenote 

Ready for the ATVs!

Paul was in his element. I hung on for dear life. 

Zipline success

I'm flying!

Sunrise on our last morning

On The Run

Out of the blue, my husband became a runner. I swear, it happened overnight. He started running to help get his leg back in shape after an injury and he just kept going! Then his friend Ryan invited him to run the Fargo Half-Marathon with him, and the rest is history. I knew it was for real when he used his birthday money at REI for running gear rather than camping equipment... who is this guy?!

Last weekend was the big day, and the whole family decided to go with and cheer him on. I was a little nervous about being in charge of all four kids by myself, but Ryan's wife Maggie assured me there would be plenty of help, so away we went! We were invited to stay with the Norrells at Maggie's sister's house, which we were so grateful to be able to do, especially since the nearest hotel with any openings was 45 minutes away from the race site.

All in all, there were 19 people sleeping in the house Friday night, but Patty and Steve and all their kids graciously shared every available floor and couch to make room for everyone. They grilled a delicious dinner for the whole crew Friday night, and besides the meal I barely saw my children... they were busy playing with all of their friends!

Saturday morning, Race Day, Paul and Ryan left early to head to the Fargo Dome and get ready. That left Maggie and myself to get a pile of kids up, fed, and in the car by 8:00 AM to make it in time to hopefully see our husbands run by. I had no idea what to expect, and frankly I was pretty worried about the whole scenario, but it worked out beautifully! For starters, Maggie's two youngest kids stayed home, and three of Patty's older kids came with, so there were ample hands to hold children and push strollers, leaving me free to snap some photos!

We parked a block from the race course (alleluia!) and walked to a spot around Mile 5 to wait for the runners. The kids started high-fiving any racer that came near, and the smiles we got were priceless! I was so busy watching the kids that I almost missed Paul coming by! He was right in front of us, smiling and giving high fives before I had time to grab my camera... and then off he went again. At least I was ready then when Ryan came by just moments later.

 

 

After Ryan passed, we hightailed it one block over to catch the guys on their way back toward the Dome. We set up near Mile 8 to watch and wait again... and pretty soon there cam that bright orange shirt! This time I was ready.

Paul and Ryan flew by, looking great! It was really exciting to see them run, and they both said that they loved having us there to cheer them on. I have a sneaking suspicion that this won't be our last time cheering them on. In fact, it's probably just the beginning...

We left the race with a bunch of chilly kids shortly after that and went back to the house to wait for the runners. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in Fargo, then we set off for home before dinner. It was a short trip, but we packed in a lot of action!

I know my husband isn't big on sappy stuff, but I have to say how incredibly proud of him I am. If you had asked either of us a year ago if we thought he'd be running a half-marathon this spring, we would have just chuckled. He has always been active, but distance running was never his thing... until suddenly it was! He tends to be pretty successful at whatever he sets his mind to.

Congratulations, honey, I am so proud of you!