Southwest Vacations: When Getting There is Half the Fun (Cancun Day 1)

February 8, 2015 By

Shortly before Christmas, I was perusing through my  spam folder when I happened upon an email entitled “Southwest Vacations – Mexico Vacation Opportunity.”

I don’t know about you but I’m regularly “winning” the lottery and dream vacations so I almost automatically deleted it but I’m so glad I didn’t.  The email explained that Southwest Vacations® recently launched service to Mexico and the Caribbean and they were wondering if my entire family would consider taking a trip from Denver (one of their top departure cities) to Cancun.

View from the Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort

Though I was obviously familiar with Southwest Airlines®, I had never heard of Southwest Vacations and a bit of research revealed they are directly affiliated with the affordable airline and offer complete vacation packages to Las Vegas, Disney World, Disneyland, Florida, California, New Orleans, Phoenix and other top US destinations.

Low-cost vacation packages that you do not have to plan yourself? Sign me up!

The process was embarrassingly easy, given the amount of research that usually goes into planning a trip and it was a comfort to know that all the services had already been vetted. At SouthwestVacations.com, I booked our direct flights, transfer information to-and-from the airport, hotel, excursions and paid my international taxes…all with a few simple clicks.

We surprised the kids with the news of our Cancun vacation on Christmas and they were thrilled. I usually spend the final weeks leading up to a major vacation stressing and planning but I literally had nothing to do because everything had already been confirmed. I started stressing over my lack of stress, which made me realize that maybe I have a problem with needing to feel stressed.

And then I got over it really quickly and decided for once, I would find out what it was like to have a stress-free Southwest Vacation.

The Flight

I checked our family into Southwest Airlines 24 hours before our flight to ensure an optimal boarding assignment. We have flown a number of times but have never had an international direct flight and it was a game-changer. Instead of wasting essentially two days to get there with our usual layovers, we gained an entire day to enjoy Cancun during our quick 3-night trip.

Say “yes” to Southwest’s direct flight from Denver to Cancun!

Our 3.5-hour flight went smoothly and upon arriving at the Cancun International Airport, we were greeted with a madhouse (apparently we weren’t the only ones who had opted for a long-weekend getaway during Martin Luther King Jr. Day). We eventually made it through Customs without a hitch…until we were randomly selected to have our bags searched. Seeing the wad of small bills for tips in my purse, the officer queried, “Ma’am, does this exceed $10,000?” I tried to stifle a laugh–it was like he totally knew me.

The instructions on our Southwest Vacations confirmation were to walk directly from Customs and not stop to talk to the multitude who was trying to sell timeshares. We quickly spotted our Lomas Travel representative and were mercifully whisked away in an air-conditioned shuttle.

The Resort

I had only been to Cancun once before on a brief stopover during a cruise and my first impression was not favorable. Though the Caribbean waters were undeniably beautiful, the hotel zone seemed like non-stop revelries and for a non-partier who craves outdoor adventure, I couldn’t figure out the allure.

When my family pulled up to the Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort–a short drive from the airport but seemingly worlds away (40 minutes) from Cancun’s populous hotel zone–I caught a glimpse. A doting staff presented us with flowers, cool washcloths and we gratefully devoured a spread of snacks in the lobby during while singing, “I think I’m gonna like it here.”

Moon Palace is a sprawling all-inclusive resort, boasting 2,446 luxurious marble décor rooms and private balconies with three distinctive sections. We stayed at the more secluded and quiet Grand section, the expansive Sunrise is replete with activities and pools while the Nizuc section has exclusive concierge service with shuttles connecting them all. I love that despite the size (which seemed overwhelming at times), each area had its own personality and the cozy feel of the Grand perfectly suited us. We had one of their most basic rooms and it was anything but basic.

Our room’s private balcony overlooking the jungle

A double jacuzzi for one fully-clothed boy

A helpful concierge helped us narrow down their 13 restaurant choices and made us dinner reservations at the Brazillian steakhouse, Arrecifes. As we were walking the ocean-side path to dinner, we caught our first view of the water. My daughter begged, “The ocean is calling and I must go” (or something like unto it) but her killjoy parents’ stomachs were calling even louder so we forced dinner upon her. As she stuffed her face with delectable Bolinhos de arroz, acaraje, and empadinhas de palmito, we learned two things about the Moon Palace: 1) We were going to eat well and 2) We were going to eat a lot.

Following dinner, we hit the abandoned beach. Still in our dinner clothes, my husband and I initially cautioned them to merely walk in the sand. But of course, the kids needed to at least touch the water! And then you can’t expect them to merely wade! Before long, they were vacillating between being fully submerged and building sandcastles.

Jamie and I settled back on the beach and watched as the full moon burned down and Cancun glistened with silver lights like a galaxy of fallen stars.

Hadley looked at the horizon, that long line that cuts the world in two, and flung some sand toward it.

“Did you see that?” she squealed as she launched another handful. When it hit the dark ocean, the moon’s reflection lit up each grain of sand like a bioluminescent bay, a befitting touch of lunar magic in the hauntingly beautiful Moon Palace.

Just when we thought our trip to Southwest Vacations couldn’t get any better, it did just that.

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Stay tuned for tomorrow for Southwest Vacations: The Flowrider’s Hilarity and Beach Bumming (Cancun Day 2).

 

Filed Under: Bode, Family, Family travel, Favorite Posts, Hadley, Humor, Jamie, travel Tagged With: ,

My mid-life crisis

February 7, 2015 By

Jamie and I were recently talking in bed and he casually mentioned my mid-life crisis.

“My mid-life crisis? What are you talking about? I’m not having a mid-life crisis. I’m perfectly happy and grateful!”

“Really? Because a couple of weeks ago, you wrote about feeling at a crossroads in your life and were frustrated over your lack of direction.”

“So, that’s normal. Everyone feels that way sometimes.”

“And then last week, you were talking about how bummed you are that your body is falling apart and how it’s all downhill from here.”

“I’m having a mid-life crisis!”

“Yup.”

“Well, have you had your mid-life crisis?”

“Yes. I was 28, got cancer and lost my job.”

If you’re going to have a mid-life crisis, I wouldn’t recommend his.

Now, excuse me while I go buy a Ferrari and get a face lift.

 

 

Filed Under: Humor, Jamie

Why Siri is my soulmate and my children are savages

February 5, 2015 By

The Compromisers

Every New Year, our church schedule changes from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. For most people, 11 a.m. is the most optimal time to give you extra time in the mornings. I was particularly looking forward to the change this year because it will still give us time to drive back from the mountains and make it to church on weekends we’re away.

I was recently reminded that all that extra time lends itself to mischief.

It started out innocently, as it always does. Jamie’s and my king-sized bed is a central place in mornings and evenings. Somehow, we all congregate here to snuggle up, read, watch TV and just hang out. On Sunday, we were playing around on my iPhone and we had a blast looking at their technologically outdated websites Jamie made announcing their birth, which I haven’t seen in years (Hadley’s and Bode’s).

That led them to asking about milestones in their lives like the first day of kindergarten, birthdays, etc. and it was so fun to glean the archives in my blog. It made me so grateful I’ve kept a record of all these memories and reminded me I need to bite the $$$ bullet and get my blog printed into a book for our own family history.

Then they started getting bored and who better to entertain you than Siri on the iPhone? We learned some interesting facts about her animal preference:

Ummm, OK.

Here’s the thing about Siri: I’ve trained her well. Not only does she talk to me in an Australian accent but she calls me “Queen Mother.”

The kids have a whole string of funny nicknames and songs they’ve made up–most recently they’ve been calling me “Muzzy, Muz, Muzzy Boo.” That would have been swell if they’d programmed Siri to call me that but it was worse. Much worse. Poor Siri had been compromised and all I could do was sit back and watch. Deeply dismayed, I finally rescued Siri and told her “Don’t let my children play with my phone.”

She responded with a web search for “Raising Savages.”

It’s like she totally gets me.

Filed Under: Humor, LDS

A few (good and bad) happenings

February 4, 2015 By

We’ve been home from Mexico for two weeks and I’ve decided I’d really like to go back and sip virgin Miami Vices all day. I felt crummy and sore all last week and realized I have zero creative juices when I don’t feel well. Happily, I turned the corner on Saturday and was able to crank out really fun articles about our experience that I’ll post next week!

The Bad

  • Mom is the hospital. Again. So much to be said about this but truly, there are no words about the amount of suffering she has endured since she was first diagnosed with MS 25 years ago. I’m really grateful for an opportunity with Travel Alberta to combine a ski trip to Banff in March with visiting her in Calgary. Our annual July visit seemed just too far away.
  • I’ve hinted at frustrations with Hadley’s teacher and school administration since the governing council ousted the previous principal last summer. I had open enrolled her at another school but I’ve been doubting my decision-making lately so have been praying like crazy that whatever the answer, it would be glaringly obvious. I thought all the signs were pointing to switching schools as her friends’ parents have been un-enrolling their kids like crazy. But I just called the new school and she’s #22 on the wait list–it would take a miracle for her to be accepted. So, that leaves us with a lot of stress as we try to work out a resolution with the governing council and the clueless interim principal in a charter school that we had loved before this disastrous year.

The Good

Thankfully, there’s more good than bad but unfortunately, the bad just happens to be really bad. Here are a few of our silver linings:

  • I received a story assignment from The Broadmoor Magazine so we’re going to The Broadmooor a.k.a. one of my favorite places on earth for our 12th wedding anniversary. Glorious brunch buffet: you’re all mostly mine (carb-addict Hadley never makes it past the bread/pastries table).
  • Bode and Jamie worked hard on building a car for Bode’s first Pinewood Derby. He won some heats, came in second and third in others, and won “Best in Show” (whatever that means) but overall, we deemed it a success! I mean, there was pizza–how can you go wrong?

The cheerleaders

  • Denver’s weather has been schizophrenic. It is snowing today and the forecast for the rest of the week is for 65+ degrees. I’m fine so long as there is some snow in the mix.

    Last week’s Junior Ranger hot dog roast and hike at Lookout Mountain

  • We bought the kids archery sets for Christmas and they have LOVED using them. Hadley, in particular has an aptitude for archery and I’ve asked my friend Debbie to give them some professional tips. In the interim, they’re having fun figuring it all out. Mostly.

On her first day using her new bow, Hadley raced inside to find me.

“Slight problem, Mom…but don’t worry, we didn’t kill anything.”

It’s all a matter of perspective.

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley Tagged With:

Old Woman Problems

February 2, 2015 By

West Coast Trail

I’m feeling my age.

Between my ongoing knee problem to walking barefoot on the beach that resurrected my plantar fasciitis to sore hips after prolonged running to boot camp-induced wrist pain, there has been a lot of whimpering going on.

As people around me suffer from debilitating conditions, I fully acknowledge I have been blessed with incredible health and try to take care of myself.  Until recently, I’ve felt pretty physically invincible but now all I see is a steady road of deterioration, which is a huge bummer because there are still some major bucket list items I have on my list.

Y’all can set your goals to run your monotonous marathons and ruin your bodies (running anything more than a 5K is no longer something I aspire to do).

I want to trek from lodge-to-lodge in the Himalayas, hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu,  traverse the ancient paths and paddling routes on the West Coast Trail in B.C. and experience the alpine and fiord scenery of New Zealand’s famous Milford Track.

That is what I call living.

But all I seem to be doing lately is limping.

Last week, our boot camp instructor thought it would be fun to do a running / gymnastics workout, and those cartwheels, handstands, rings and skin the cat moves were fun…until the next day. And the  day after. I couldn’t lift my arms for almost two days.

I’ve decided to take a break from it all in March to give my body the chance to heal.

This morning, we were doing plank rows and our coach handed me two 30-pound weights, calling out to everyone, “Don’t you want to become stronger??

Nope, I just don’t want to get injured.

Here’s for hoping this is not the new normal.

Filed Under: travel

My stint as a Los Angeles Lakers Cheerleader

January 28, 2015 By

I was recently cleaning out our crawl space when I happened upon a blast from my past in one of my storage containers.  Sports Illustrated May 6, 1996, to be exact.

I was at BYU and my good friend Robert (married to my bestie Lori) commented, “I saw an LA Lakers cheerleader in Sports Illustrated who looks just like you.”

I laughed him off.  Thanks, Robert. Very flattering but like that could ever happen.

Until he showed me the picture.

There, I was: My face, my unruly strawberry-blonde hair–all plopped on top of the body of a hot Laker Girls cheerleader.

Let’s zoom in on that a little bit, shall we?

Let’s just excuse the fact that my Sports Illustrated moment of fame is whilst appearing between the legs of L.A. guard Nick Van Exel.

Filed Under: Humor

Ying and Yang Do Homework

January 27, 2015 By

One of my recent Facebook posts:

“Fact: I hate homework and school waaaay more now than I ever did as a kid.”

True story and we’re not even at the really tough school years yet. My personal opinion is it’s ridiculous to force a kid to sit through seven hours of school, only to require them to do several more when they get home. What happened to kids being kids?

I’d be an advocate for unschooling if I wasn’t so darn freaked out they’d end up illiterate and would limit my kids’ options for college and beyond.

Homeschooling is out of the question. I’m barely surviving an hour of homework.

And so here we are enduring the endless, uninspired barrage of worksheets.

Hadley does everything she can to procrastinate them as long as possible and I can hardly blame her for avoiding such drudgery.

But Bode is wired differently and tries to get them out of the way ASAP. He wisely sees them as a means to an end and that end is a glorious world where he has no homework.

Halfway through a recent session, I brought out some popcorn. The three of us took a 10 minute break to stuff our faces. Hadley was hoping I’d forget about the “H” word and took her sweet time.

Bode, on the other hand, pulled me aside and whispered, “You need to take the popcorn away. It is keeping us from staying on task.”

At least someone is here to whip the rest of us into shape.

 

 

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, Humor

When roadblocks are actually stepping stones

January 26, 2015 By

As many of you know, I served an LDS mission in Switzerland and France in my early-20s. My experiences there were completely life-altering and changed the entire trajectory of my life, including who I ended up marrying.

One of the very best parts of my mission was teaching and baptizing Isabelle, a “golden” 16-year-old girl. I could write volumes about the instant connection we formed and how proud I am of this beautiful mother of three today. She lives outside of Lyon, France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Over the years, her family has endured a fair amount of trials but she’s still as stalwart as ever and a tremendous example to me.

They bought a plot of land with gorgeous views mountain views upon which they were going to build their home. Almost from the offset, there have been challenges and roadblocks that have dragged on for ages. I started wondering if it was ever going to happen and last week, I received an email from Isa telling me that it wasn’t. Almost at the very moment they felt inspired to abandon the project, her husband was offered an incredible new position with his same company in Annecy. So, in July, they will be moving to one of the most beautiful places in France at the base of the French Alps and the startlingly turquoise Lake Annecy, a stone’s throw away from Geneva, Switzerland.

Suffice it to say, I’m already planning my family’s visit.

Like Isa, I’ve felt like I am at a crossroads in my life and that I should be changing directions but have no idea where I’m supposed to be. Over the past several months, I’ve been obsessed with doing an international homeswap for a few months and we found a lovely family with whom to do it in England’s Cotswolds–we even had the kids accepted at school in the nearby village! This family has a 19th century converted barn in the middle of a 700-acre private estate and National Trust Land with stunning views of the surrounding woods and fields.

Views from the family’s garden

But the timing of everything just wasn’t meant to be as neither or our husbands could figure out the challenges of working abroad on such short notice, even if they are both self-employed. However, we’re still hoping to visit each other’s homes in the future.

Hearing Isa’s relief and joy after these several agonizing months reminded me that there is a Master Plan.  I have no idea what is in store for me or why I’m requiring this period of patience when I very firmly feel like there is something else I’m supposed to be doing.

Annecy, France

Photo: en.lac-annecy.com/

Lake Annecy, en.lac-annecy.com

Annecy, en.lac-annecy.com

Lake Annecy, en.lac-annecy.com

But let’s hope there is something glorious like Annecy waiting for me at the end of it.

Filed Under: LDS, travel

Humans of New York: Education Edition

January 23, 2015 By

I mentioned a while back that I absolutely love the Humans of New York Facebook/Instagram feed.  I’m always curious to know strangers’ stories and this satiates that curiosity.

I’ve had my share of frustrations with the interim principal at Hadley’s school this year. Long story short, the former principal (whom I loved because she knew how to get the job done) stepped on one too many toes and the Governing Council outed her. Now,we’re left with someone who is completely under-qualified and unresponsive to our teacher frustrations and I truly fear for the quality of education we’re receiving with her at the helm.

A group of parents are meeting with her yet again in a couple of weeks as we try to salvage this school year.  One thing I’ve learned is there is nothing more important than educators who go above-and-beyond to ensure your child receives the best education possible.  I’m grateful to live in an area where quality schools are in abundance because not everyone has the same opportunities.

These are screenshots from Humans of New York. It is so inspiring how a simple picture and a boy’s inspiration has transpired into a movement (with $374,000 donated and counting).

The response to this post was so overwhelming the photographer tracked down the principal.

It didn’t end there.

Here’s to amazing educators who are making a difference in our kids’ lives.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

It ain’t over ’til it’s…wait. It’s never over.

January 22, 2015 By

Lest you think giant pumpkin growing season is over, you would be wrong. Jamie still gazes longingly at the pumpkin patch, obsesses about which seeds to grow and what names he’ll give his pumpkins.

I can guarantee he never put as much thought into naming our children.

Side note: Once upon a time, I had a co-worker with the two most darling kids named Hadley and Geoffry (Geo for short). I decided then and there I would swipe those names and informed Jamie of that fact shortly after we were married. His response:

“I’m fine with Hadley but no son of mine is being named after a crap car.”

OK, then.

(See how Bode got his name here).

Several months ago, I was bombarded with emails and Facebook alerts from friends informing me that Rise of the Giants, a feature documentary following the 2013 race to grow the world’s largest pumpkin, was being released in Utah. I’m sure Jamie had dreams of seeing it but alas, the movie commute was a bit long.

Enter last week: I heard his “whoop!” of delight as he raced in from the mailbox to show me this DVD that had arrived in the mail:

We’ll just call it “How the Pumpkin Man Survives the Off-season.”

Filed Under: Humor, Jamie, pumpkins
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