LET'S GO DOWN TO MEXICO!
We flew to Phoenix where we had a short layover. Then we were off to paradise. Our room was nice and was literally 15 feet from the pool. Grant and Gracie were very excited to have a jacuzzi right in our room. 
After we checked into our room, the kids changed into their swimsuits and headed straight to the pool. They played there for just a short time because we were all hungry from traveling all day. We explored the resort for a short time while we waited for dinner.
After dinner we explored a little more before calling it a night. The kids were exhausted! We soon found that the sleeping accommodations were not the greatest (our only complaint). But as you can tell from the picture, the kids were too tired to even notice! We did rearrange them a little and everyone seemed to sleep well.
DAY 2 We woke up the next morning and went to breakfast. It was yummy with made to order omelets, fresh fruit, waffles, pastries, and a nice buffet, plus a chocolate fountain. The food was not quite as good as Puerta Vallarta, but it was still tasty. After breakfast we went to the beach to play around. There was a ton of coral which made it almost impossible to play in the ocean. Gracie played in the sand, Grant looked for ocean treasures, and Garrett and Russ went in search of fish. I relaxed in a beach chair and soaked in the rays. Ahhhh- so fabulous.
After playing on the beach for a little while we headed back to the pool. On the way the kids discovered the shuffle board area and ping pong tables. They loved shuffle board. We really don't know the rules of how to play the game, but we made up our own and the kids had a blast.
We ALL played in the pool for most of the afternoon thanks to Russ, who made sure we were all thrown in. The pool had big basketball hoops, a lazy river, and a swim up bar where the boys could order virgin Miami Vices and Pina Coladas. That night, we had Russ' awards banquet and company dinner. We explored a little more that evening and found the "Teen Breeze". It was a room that catered to the teen population. It had pool tables, a ping pong table, Foosball, air hockey, a huge screen TV with music videos blaring, Play Station, Wii, a basketball shooting game, popcorn and drinks. This is where we hung out every night after dinner. I think it was one of the highlights for the kids.
DAY 3 This was a really fun day. We ate breakfast and headed down to the beach for snorkeling. Russ had found a really nice beach area that was perfect for snorkeling. We saw some really cool ocean life- star fish, ray, barracudas, flounder, hermit crabs, conch, etc. Gracie was hesitant at first, but she caught sight of a small barracuda and began chasing after it. She did really well where she could touch, but when she got out deeper, she was very nervous and would cling to Russ for dear life. 
After snorkeling we went to the pool where they had set up the "Wibit". A huge blow up gymnasium for the pool. The boys, including Russ, played on this for hours! 
Gracie was not a huge fan of the Wibit and wanted to go to the kid pool. I took her to the other side our room where there was another fun pool, with a slide, a climbing wall, and splash pad. Eventually, the boys came over to the smaller pool. They played on the slide with little Lou and had a slam dunk contest. Russ slept, and I took a ton of pictures.
That night we went to dinner and then went for a walk on the beach. It was beautiful. The sun was setting and temperatures were perfect. It was very breezy, so the pictures are not that great, but it was still very fun.
DAY 4 We rented a car just for the day and drove down to Boca Paila, Russ' most favorite fishing spot in the world. He was so excited to show the kids "the flats" where he spends his time when he travels to Mexico. Russ was not feeling well when we left the resort. About 20 minutes into the drive he pulled over to try and puke. Then he had me drive!!! The last time I drove in Mexico, I got pulled over and the "policia" took my driver's license and said they would give it back to me when I gave them cash. I ended up not having to pay anything because all I had was a 10 dollar bill with a small tear in it. They do not accept torn money in Mexico so they gave my license back and told me to leave. Needless to say, I was nervous about driving there again. However, it was very uneventful and I have no story to tell. We finally made it to the Boca. We got our rods ready and hiked out on the flat. 
Believe it or not, after 30 minutes Russ said he was too sick to continue. WHAT?!! Are you kidding me? His favorite fishing hole in the world, and he was too sick to fish? It was true. We went back to the Boca, and the kids fished from the bridge with all of the locals for a little while. 
Then we were off to Tulum. I again drove while Russ kicked back his seat trying not to puke. He winced and squirmed and moaned every time I hit a pot hole, which is literally every foot for 10 miles. It takes almost an hour to drive 17 miles. Anyway, I finally made it to the main highway and drove to Tulum. The kids and I toured the ruins while Russ slept in the car. I think the kids were pretty impressed by them. We recently finished reading the Book of Mormon as a family and I think the kids could see some of the Nephite/Lamanite characteristics of the ruins. 
Next we went to Playa Del Carmen for a little shopping. Gracie bought a little sun dress. Grant bought sunglasses. Garrett bought a new necklace. I got my supply of Mexican vanilla. We didn't stay long because Russ was so sick. I didn't feel comfortable wandering the streets there with three kids by myself, so Russ came along. We had promised the kids we would take them to buy something fun, so we wanted to follow through with our promise. I could tell Russ was miserable so we made the shopping trip really quick. The kids were happy with what they got. That night when we got back, we put Russ to bed and the kids and I went to dinner, the teen breeze room, then to a different restaurant for dessert. It was all in all a very fun day for the kids and I.
DAY 5 We left the afternoon of the following day. We ate breakfast and the kids went to paint a little project while Russ and I packed. 
I wish I could say the adventure ended there, but our flight home was quite eventful. Garrett was seated next to two 18 year old boys from Canada. He had traded seats with a lady so she could sit next to her husband. He received quite an education from these boys. "Garrett, do you know why our country is better than your country? Because our legal drinking age is 18." They proceeded to take their shirts off during the take-off and have Garrett film them while they talked about their drunken adventures in Cancun. They showed him their new belly button rings, pictures of their friend's new butt tattoo that read Brian and PJ's B****, and other good quality information that included the F word in every sentence. 
It was only supposed to be a 2 1/2 hour flight to Charlotte, North Carolina. We were right on schedule and in the process of landing when the pilot came on the speaker and announced that the airport would not allow us to land due to thunderstorms. He said we were going into a holding pattern until the storms passed. After an hour, the pilot came back on and announced that we were out of fuel and that we were going to land in South Carolina and refuel, however, they did not have customes at that airport so we all had to stay on the plane. After refueling for an hour, it was time to take off. We began taxiing out to the runway when the pilot came on and said the thunderrstorms had reached South Carolina and the control tower wouldn't let us take off. We sat for another hour and a half. We got to know Brian and PJ really well during this time. They were actually really funny!
After 2 1/2 hours of sitting in the plane at the airport in South Carolina, the pilot announced that the flight attendants were going to serve a little snack and some water. We were all so excited since we hadn't eaten in 8 hours. However, two minutes later the pilot announced that we had clearance for take off. We had this really, really crabby flight attendant and Brian and PJ had not impressed her when they took off their shirts. Anyway, at one point she was walking by and Brian asked what snack they were going to give us back in SC. She said, "Oh, it was just some little cookies". Brian asked, "Can we still get some?" She just turned and in her nasty smoker's voice said, "Nope" and she was never to be seen again. It was pretty funny.
After going back into a holding pattern in NC, we finally landed. We had missed our connecting flight to Las Vegas by 3 hours. We couldn't get another flight out until 8 am. We had to get a hotel room there in Charlotte. We got to the hotel at midnight, ordered pizza, finally went to bed sometime after 1 am, and had to get up just after 5 am to catch the shuttle back to the airport. The kids were exhausted. The all just laid down on the floor of the airport while we awaited boarding.
We finally made it back to St. George late Tuesday afternoon. We did a few loads of laundry, packed up the car, and the kids and I were off to Arizona for a baseball tournament within 15 hours! (post to follow soon)
The pictures are of his bags as he packed. Notice the small green Able bag (the picture makes it look way bigger than it really is), this was his clothes bag for 16 days. He only packed 3 days worth of clothes so he could take ALL of his fishing gear! What in the NASTY?! He claimed there would be laundry accomodations. We will see. 
Garrett, Russ, and the other scouts- had the grand opportunity of attending the Boy Scout Klondike Derby. They left on Friday afternoon and drove up to Cedar Mountain. They then hurried and created their snow caves where they would sleep for the night, cooked their foil dinners, and had a campfire talk. Russ slept in the "big red cave"... a.k.a. his car. Garrett said he slept really well in his snow cave and stayed very warm. The next day was filled with caterpillar walks, sled races, pancakes, hot chocolate, and merit badge activities. Glad they survived another Boy Scout campout... I worry everytime they leave on one of these. 
