Holiday Getaway

I've always been one to place more value on memories and experiences than things. Actually Eric and I were just discussing yesterday, the questionable appeal of a Rolex or "red bottom" Louboutin shoes. To each their own...mine just isn't that. Don't get me wrong, I have wasted plenty of money on things I don't need, but I have never regretted spending money on an experience.....at least not one that I can recall at the moment. For many years, Eric and I spoiled our children lavishly at Christmas time buying so many THINGS. I'm sure this has some underlying attachment to my childhood and feeling like I wasn't as well off as many of my peers. Either way, we decided this Christmas to spoil the kids (and ourselves) with a Mexican beach holiday!

We woke on Christmas morning to presents under the tree (and balloons, a family tradition) which mainly included travel items, including new suitcases packed with all our gear! There was a note from Santa detailing the trip and our need to be at the airport in less than 2 hours! It was different than any other Christmas morning we have experienced. We simply traded mimosas at home with airport mimosas (which always seem to taste better), and pjs at home to pjs on an airplane!

Here are the highlights from the trip in photos...

We flew direct from Phoenix to Cancun roundtrip on Southwest Airlines with no difficulties. This was the week there was the hot mess breakdown of Southwest and because we were traveling during this time, we were gifted reward miles from Southwest as a gesture of goodwill!

Once we landed in Cancun (with all our new luggage!) we rode to our resort with a private driver I had booked through Welcome Pickups. This service, offered in over 100 destinations worldwide, allowed for our large family to ride together in one car, without other tourists or additional stops at other resorts. It's similar to a global Uber that doubles as a tour guide. It was about an hour drive to our destination at the Barceló Maya Grand Resort. There are basically 5 resorts in one location allowing guests of each resort to share many of the additional amenities. We stayed at the Barceló Maya Tropical which was a more affordable option with smaller room sizes. We were booking 2 rooms for the seven of us, so we didn't mind opting for a smaller room size. All you do is sleep in the room, right??

The beaches were gorgeous with clear water despite the week of storms there preceding our trip. Getting to the beach early was necessary if you wanted to reserve chairs. Typically we could sneak 1 or 2 for our family, who mostly prefer swimming at the pool. Noah, Jonah and Frankie are our ocean kids. Caleb and James could go without. They all love the sand, but swimming in the ocean is a pass for those 2. I'm pretty sure Caleb is traumatized from some man-o-war stings in Lanikai when we lived in Hawaii.

The pools were equally gorgeous and ENORMOUS! There were countless play pools for kids with slides galore, large pools for swimming, water basketball, volleyball and more.

One of the attractions was a large mall that included a night club, shopping, bars, restaurants, an ice skating rink, merry-go-round, an escape room, and a sports bar with a bowling alley, arcade and mini golf. The escape room was an additional cost that the older kids an I did. It was my very first escape room and taking analytical gifted children in there with me, made for a quick escape!!

Eric and I visited the spa one morning while the kids played mini golf. Otherwise, we missed out on a lot of the amenities the mall had to offer.

In the picture above, Frankie is looking on at a Mayan ceremony we attended to welcome in the new year.

Throughout the resort, visitors are likely to encounter wildlife in the form of reptiles, monkeys and hawks, all of which we encountered on several occasions.

There was also ample seating throughout the many common spaces where you are likely to find families gathering to play a card game or share a drink. Here we are getting ready to play Boggle one evening waiting for our dinner reservation.

We also visited the mall bar one evening for a pre dinner cocktail as a family. The white table all glowed in different colors as the sun began to set...except our table!

There was the classic beach vacation photo opportunities which we took advantage of utilizing our countdown timer and my left shoe as a phone stand. :)

The children all ate their weight in ice cream. At this all-inclusive resort, every buffet included an ice cream machine. No matter the time of day or location, if we walked past a buffet that was open, at least one child entered to make an ice cream cone!

And the little ones enjoyed all the fancy meals with REAL GLASSES! I may be mistaken but I don't think we ever spilled a glass at dinner. For dinner we typically utilized reservations at the on site restaurants rather than eating at the buffet. The steakhouse was a crowd fave, along with our Teppanyaki night at the Japanese restaurant.

This picture is just a personal faves of my older boys. I can't wait until this pops up in memories 5 years from now when Jonah is 16, and he will likely no longer be the short one.

Probably my most favorite part of each day, was gathering here each morning for breakfast. The wait staff get to know your family and your drink preferences. We were spoiled with never-ending mimosas, Noah included and hot cocoa for the littles. It's always a good reminder that a little bit of hospitality can go a long way!

My little ocean lovers could have jumped off of this dock all day! Frankie and I discovered this (no)swimming spot when we walked the boys out to their parasailing adventure the previous day...of which I have no pictures. :(

This photo was taken on our last night, NYE. We watched and participated in a parade through the lobby and dined on a pre fixe menu at the Steakhouse. We passed on attending the theater show that night, as we had many previous nights, as our room balconies overlooked the stage and we simply enjoyed the show from our own rooms.

The trip created memories that will last a lifetime. The littles may not remember, but the rest of us will. Three Selters received their very first passport stamps. What an experience...mission accomplished! Let us know in the comments if you have any specific questions about our adventure or traveling with kids!