mucho surfing

Today was the day for lots of surfing or maybe just surf board action. However, I started my day off with Zumba... loved it! The instructor was so adorable. I was nervous if I'd be able to understand and know the moves. It didn't really matter. She spoke English and Spanish and I found it much easier to follow her in Spanish. Izquierda y derecha ... so much easier than left and right!

Crazy hour today was some crazy surf board action! Lilia joined in today. Alyssa is underneath the mc in a white swim shirt, Jaiden is in the bright yellow shirt on the left and Lilia is at the very end on the left.

 Jaiden was first up and he did pretty well. I can't quite remember his time but it was decent!

 Alyssa last maybe 2 seconds. Super cute! You can actually see Dennis on the left side of the photo in the navy swim shirt. I swear he had a mojito in one hand!

 And then Lilia gave it go. She also did well. I swear she beat Jaiden's time by a second but they both said they tied with their times.

 Then it was out to the beach to try boogie boards. The crazy thing about the beach was how much seaweed was everywhere. Dennis and the kids didn't seem to mind and I enjoyed sitting back taking photos.

 Lilia came out a little bit after they started. Jaiden was happy to show her how to boogy board.

 They rode several waves in which gave me lots of great photo opportunities!

 I never did catch Alyssa riding a wave in. She was mostly content floating on the board near Dennis... and when she came in, she found a nice spot to play in the sand. Such cuteness she is!

Another great day at El Cid!

wet t-shirts and cliff jumping

The resort we stayed at was south of Cancun called Marina El Cid. It is an all inclusive resort which I was a little uncertain about but Dennis did his research. 

Food reviews = excellent... check! 

Accommodations = quaint... check!

Activities for the whole family = hora de loco... check!

Big rock to jump off of into the pool... check!

This rock was what sold the kids. They were so excited about it, it was literally the first thing they did right after breakfast!

 Off goes Jaiden...

 Then Dennis...

 And I was shocked to see Alyssa follow right behind! They spent the majority of their time jumping off that rock.

Until we discovered hora de loco aka crazy hour. Dennis got them jazzed about crazy hour and on the first day it was wet t-shirt relays!

 Look at Alyssa... she can't even contain her excitement!

 Jaiden swimming across...

 Then he had to try to take off the wet t-shirt and throw it across the pool to the next kid in line, who then swam across and did the same.

 Last up was Alyssa and she struggled to get that crazy t-shirt on...

 but then, she dived straight in and swam like a fish!

Their team and high fives! They didn't win but they had fun trying!

swans

These next few post will be loaded with photos. It was really hard to narrow these down. We had the most amazing vacation. Sometime back in March or maybe April, Dennis decided we should have a fun family vacation to celebrate our 20th anniversary. I feel bad to admit I was only half listening... yep, full heartedly taking Papa's advice "selective listening" ... although this probably should have been a time I should have listened more carefully! 

Anyway, I was incredibly busy with work, girl scouts and goodness knows what other volunteer commitments I am wrangled into. He took care of all the details... sigh, an overwhelming grateful and appreciative sigh. 

The best part was that I just had to pack the kids and I. But then it only got better, we told our neighbors and I sent the links to Homa. The next morning I had an email that said "I hope you were serious about us coming. We're booked!" 

We left the Saturday after school got out. We flew the same flight so at the airport, the kids were excited!

 Sophie had just had her birthday party where they made these adorable animal pillows.

 I don't know what Jaiden was playing but the great thing is that Lilia and Jaiden like similar things. They both hang out very well with each other especially when their friends are nearby to tease them. They are just good friends and I love that.

The flight was uneventful, we took separate transportation to the resort and when we checked in, this was waiting in our room!

 Adorable! And so sweet of Dennis to even think of adding this!

The beginning of a fabulous vacation!

visitors...

Wow, I had no idea I haven't posted for this long! Do I dare try to catch up? Or just carry on?

I have been thinking about a conversation we had at dinner a little over a week ago, and with school winding down, I was thinking also about how far we have come this year. I will explain that in a minute but back to that conversation. I decided I needed to document this so that I can remember just how far Jaiden has come this year.

Jaiden was getting ready for his 5th grade camping trip with yes, the entire 5th grade classes - almost 100 kids! He had a packing list that he and I had been going through and getting him ready for. We took a break for dinner. I so badly wish I would have written down exactly what Jaiden was telling Dennis at the dinner table but I didn't. Dennis was going as a chaperon and Jaiden was telling him exactly what to pack.

Dennis started to tease Jaiden because Jaiden was being so exact and Jaiden taking it very seriously said "No, Dad - Mrs. Lange said it needed to be ..." 

This year a lot of conversations include what Mrs. Lange says and the way Jaiden says it always kind of makes me snicker partially because I know Mrs. Lange and partially because Jaiden is very serious and Mrs. Lange is always right in his mind, never mind if there are other ways to think about it or do whatever it is. 

Dennis was snickering a little too and retorted "What are you going to do next year at middle school without Mrs. Lange telling you what to do?"

Without missing a beat, Jaiden replied "Oh that's okay Dad. Mrs. Lange allows visitors, in fact she has some kids that are Seniors in high school that still visit her. She loves visitors."

So apparently in Jaiden's eyes even if he isn't in her class anymore being told what to do, he can still visit her and she can tell him then what to do!

This is all coming from the boy who cried for almost a week after he discovered he was put in Mrs. Lange's class... 

this is the boy that thought the world had come to an end not that long ago on that dreaded day in August... 

this is the boy who declared Mrs. Lange can never send home another paper telling him his writing was atrocious because he was going to write so nice she couldn't do it... 

this is the boy who resisted getting help in spelling until Mrs. Lange gave him the choice of doing the work with her in a quiet dark corner of the classroom or quietly slipping off to Mrs. Joseph unnoticed by the rest of the class... 

this is the boy that declared her the strictest teacher in the entire school...

this is the boy who now will defend Mrs. Lange to all ends of the earth saying what a wonderful teacher she is, that she isn't strict - you just need to follow her rules, and she is always full of fun and silly surprises... 

this is the boy who has improved on not just spelling but taking responsibility and initiative in putting first things first and getting reading, math and homework done and out of the way right after school.

As this year concludes, I could not be more thankful for the gift Mrs. Lange has given Jaiden. The gift of an amazing teacher who knows exactly how to get her students to not just grow and learn but to be excited about learning. The gift of being a teacher who has left such an impression on him that she will always be remembered and loved by him, whether he will admit it or not. 

a delightful brunch

This summer Alyssa is going to a local overnight Girl Scout camp. The camp is called Tomahawk Ranch and it is a good distance from home. She really wanted to try archery so we signed her up for a camp called Bullseye. She has never been away from home to camp without Jaiden and I got to say I was a little concerned so when I saw the event "Tomahawk Ranch Brunch & Open House", I thought maybe we should check it out.

There wasn't a whole lot of information available about the brunch and as usual the person listed as the contact did not do a good job getting back to me so we took the plunge and signed up. The cost for brunch was $15 per adults and $10 per child. A little steep but Dennis said it will give me a peace of mind and it sure did!

The brunch was spectacular! More than worth the $15 adult/ $10 child prices. The food was  beautiful. Lots of fresh fruit, a yummy spring vegetable souffle, smoked lox with cream cheese, capers, onions and bagels, roast beef with a creamy fresh horseradish, green salad with a balsamic vinaigrette and the baked goods? Oh so yum! I can't even begin to list them but two of our families favorites was the baklava and pumpkin chocolate chip yumminess!

Then it was time for a tour of the camp.

 The main lodge as you approach the camp.

 Blue Feather tabins. Typically where Brownies and Juniors stay. Lots of bunk beds and a beautiful deck between the two tabins that face each other.

 An activity shelter a few steps down from the tabins and the deck.

All camp campfire ring. 

 The archery field

 Walking back up the road towards the main lodge. To the left is the craft barn/disco and the trading post.

 Another view of the craft barn/disco! Love the multi-purpose use.

My guess is this is the old and original lodge now turned into the trading post. Simply charming and adorable.

So I have peace of mind knowing where she will spend a week this summer but I also have a tinge bit of envy that this is camp! Lucky girl!