The Details

We made it back.

Did you know that I would totally pay an extra $200 to an airline that created a kid-zone that you could dump your kids off when you got on the plane?  Yup.  Traveling with a 2.5 year old, stuck in a narrow tube, for 5 hours is not my idea of fun.  The iPad, sans internet, is only good for so long.  And it most definitely isn't five hours long.

We had a great trip.  We did next to nothing and it was perfect.

We did go on a few quick walks around town.  Allie constantly needed her shoes adjusted.

Much to Maddie's chagrin Allie has started to copy everything she does.  Most of Maddie's daredevil stunts require some assistance for Allie.

The parasails were still a huge hit with the girls.  Nothing screams entertainment more than some big old white tourists flying around in questionable parachutes.

Sand? Yeah...Allie and I will pass.  Allie wanted to go back up to the pool about 2 minutes after hitting the beach.  Maddie wanted to move in.

Once whatever evil was living inside of Allie found a new home (maybe 2 days into the trip?) she became quite the charmer.

Maddie insisted on getting herself into a mexican hospital at some point during our stay.  I nervously stood back and took pictures so we could document that we let our child out onto rocks with waves crashing nearby.

Ahh... such a happy family.  RIGHT MADDIE?

 And the pool...I think I took 2000 pictures that look exactly like this

And this

And you catch my drift.  I'll spare you.

Most nights after dinner part of the group would go out on the boardwalk for ice cream.  Allie most nights, was not part of said group.  Eating dinner can be really quite tricky to do.

And the horseback riding adventure.  It was a dream come true.  Literally.  She wished the night before that for her birthday she'd get to ride a horse.  I was pretty nervous with the build up that she'd totally choke.  She did not.  At all.  She hopped on and looked like such a natural.  I was so happy for her.

I on the other hand, was not quite as skilled of a rider.  Apparently in no facet of my life am I an alpha.  My horse would stop to eat about every three steps and then when we crossed a river he took a drink, and then LAID DOWN IN THE RIVER WITH ME ON IT.  Oh yes...

But we made it to the predator set and then quickly turned back.  Maddie's ride back, if you ask her, took about 3 minutes.  My ride back was interminably long...3 hours?  Allie had had enough at that point and would alternate between excitedly pointing out garbage on the side of the trail, to crying, to laughing.  Every time she cried I'd hear this conversation:

Kip: Allie, what does the horse do when you cry?
Allie:  He runs.
Kip:  Do you want him to run?
Allie:  NO.
Kip:  So what do you need to do?
Allie:  Stop crying.

Our guide didn't speak much english, but I'm pretty sure that after our 3 min/3hour ride home he learned what that conversation meant.  It was repeated a few times.

She also loved the super ghetto public bus.  Not joking.

Allie was exhausted for the ride home.  But I kept her awake.  I wanted my hour of afternoon peace.

But instead of an hour of afternoon peace because of naps Nonna stepped in and made cupcakes with the girls.  After they popped out of the oven Maddie asked if she could have one.  I told her she could.  After pulling my head out of whatever nothing I was doing at the time I finally stopped her at cupcake 5.  Yes, between the two of them they ate almost the whole batch.

And that my friends is our trip in a nutshell.
Pool
horses
nothing