Happy New Year from Cancun!!!

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all had as good of an ending to 09 and beginning of 2010 as we did! Starting the new year off in SUNSHINE was fabulous! :) Our Christmas gift this year from Mom & Dad Dooyema was a trip to Cancun with Kathy's whole side of the family. 21 of us! We had SUCH a great time and couldn't ask for a better gift! It was SUCH a treat to be in 80 degree weather, relax, eat a ton, and just have fun with family that we don't get to see very often! Thanks SOOOO much for the unforgettable trip!!!!

Sorry for the BUCKETS of pictures...but I took 300....so I couldn't help myself. :)

As soon as we got there, the girls ran to the window and wanted to head outside....

but as soon as they got outside, (here is the view from our room), Emily picked up the sand and put a huge handful in her mouth. Hailey looked at me and said "Snowman Mom?" Guess they forgot that you can't eat the sand like they can eat the snow. Only girls from Wisconsin would do that. :)

Ryan and I got to lay out every day during naptime AND play volleyball which was RIGHT outside our door. It was GREAT! The girls took great naps down there...but there were a little mixed up in the mornings. Sleeping in the same room with all 5 of us didn't help. They woke up every day between 4:30 a.m. and 6 a.m. Oh well, you still feel relaxed when you're on vacation. We told Shane and Jody to enjoy every minute of sleeping in time! Those days are long gone for us! :) We also found out down there that "Mexican" cribs are quite different than our cribs back home. :) They were very small cribs, and when the girls would stand up in them, the top of the railing would be below their waists...so...they could just bend over and baam...fall right out. Yup, this happened to Addison, and Emily...and then we thought we'd be okay with Hailey but one morning, we found her mattress lying sideways in her crib, and she had crawled out the bottom of the crib and wedged herself in between the door and the crib. Crazy thing was is that she wasn't even crying and was talking up a storm that morning. We didn't even notice she wasn't IN the crib til we turned the lights on! Oh man...

The Pirate Ship! We spent a lot of time here w/ the girls.... the "circle" slide as they call it...was actually pretty fast!

Here's me going down the Castle slide...super fast one too! :)

Ahhh....the pool!

Here the girls are with their second cousins Annie, Addy, Jack, Emily, and Hailey - buried in the sand!

Hailey buried...and loving it.

We had "red flag" days every day in the ocean but that didn't stop us from going in. The water was warmer than the pool water - go figure! And the waves were incredible! We had a couple injuries from the strength of the waves but overall, it was SOOO fun and a definite highlight playing in the ocean! A beautiful beach!

But one of the best parts about the trip was "Papa Hank." Keep in mind he is EIGHTY FOUR years old. Okay, so I hope that I am like him someday when I am 84. :) First of all, the first day there, he lost his glasses. For most 84 year old men, this would be a disaster...but he took it like a champ...and could actually still SEE at that age. I was stunned at how well he did all week w/ no glasses! And then...

he proceeds to go PARASAILING!!!! Amazing! Not even scared....and Dad Dooyema did it too! Which is also a big deal!

Jody and I went parasailing together for our Christmas gifts to each other. So fun! I've never done it before but it was great....just not near as cool as doing it if I were in my eighties. :)

And THEN.....yes, that's right, Papa Hank went ZIP-LINING! Still can't believe he did it but he went! Ryan and I didn't go because we stayed back with the girls but I guess it was "emotional" to even watch him do it. He was the oldest male to ever zipline there! So cool! Way to go Gramps!

Jody, Mom D and I shoppin in style. :)

Shane and Hailey, Emily, and Addison enjoying some kiddie cocktails. :) A definite high light for the girls. :)
Em babe :)
Jody and I at a Mexican Starbucks! Love it!
Ryan even got some golf in! For him, it wouldn't be a vacation WITHOUT golf! :)

Here we are on New Years Eve....we celebrated with everyone outside of our rooms on the beach...played Catch Phrase, shoe -lookey, and had some great laughs.
Playing hide and go seek on the beach with Daddy. :)
Me and my princesses (EAH)
Mom Dooyema and her GIRLSSS!!!
Hailey and Emily relaxin on some Cabanas.

Addy and Ry in the pool blowing bubbles.

Hailey and Auntie Jody laying out.....
Me and Addison jumping the waves. She loved it....until she got a mouth full of saltwater....then we were done. :)
Trying to get a family photo .....and we're beginning to realize these just don't happen very well. (EHA)
Trying again...(HEA)

THE BEACHHHHH

And you thought it was hard telling Emily and Hailey apart....well we confused everyone even MORE because we met this girl.....who happened to look a lot like them! Looks like she isn't so thrilled w/ the idea of looking like them though. :)
The Gran Caribe Real Resort! SO FUN!
Hailey and the amazing ocean...

Emily and Hailey having a ball in the splash park.

The last day Mom D and I randomly got a massage! We were in the same room which was pretty funny! Here we are afterwards....all smiles! :)

And the last night we ventured out across the street to the Bubba Gump restaurant. It was Aunt Lorraine's birthday and oh my goodness, if you ever have a birthday, GO THERE. :) They go all out! They bring you a huge cake, then stuck this Christmas hat on her head that actually lights up and moves around, then made her "shake her booty" in front of everyone...THEN sat her down in this little chair like car thing and wheeled her around in a conga line through the whole restaurant and even through the KITCHEN where the chefs were banging on pans and everything. It was so funny and a huge highlight to the trip too.

Overall, the trip was fabulous and the girls loved it and traveled very well. . I think they did miss their beds though because of course this morning, I had to WAKE them up at 7:30. :)

Okay well this just took me a long while to do...and I have 6 loads of laundry and a messy house staring at me. :) So time to get back to real life. :) Hope you enjoyed the pics...and hopefully they made you feel like you were in warmth for just an eensy bit of time. :) Happy 2010 everyone!!