San Diego was a quick break from the deep winter in Park City.  The school district gives us a week off in February to ski; we opted to get out of town for some sunshine.  San Diego provided plenty to do with much warmer temperatures.  Legoland was at the top of our list and as it turns out, theme parks are not our thing.  Long lines and crowds make us all a little tense.  We ended up at the beach by evening where we were “free and in the wild” as Wild Kratts would say.  Our next stop was the San Diego Zoo Safari Park where we had an up-close encounter with tigers – a dream come true for Johnny.  We were all amazed by their exotic presence.  Finally, the seals were calling for us in La Jolla Cove – just seals and sea lions being stinky and barking at the sun.  Our kids loved every minute.  San Diego is checked off the list… for now.   I’m sure we will be back to discover more.

Things to remember:  Charlotte and Johnny sleeping in the same bed and Johnny’s cough, the best truffle fries ever, long Uber rides, watching the Olympics at dinner, Four Seasons Aviara, watching Coco together, and ice cream scooper sand toys.

Playa del Carmen is a place we hold dear; it’s where we were engaged and where we spent several of our first holiday seasons.  It took some time to go back, but we found a family-friendly place that was just right … Rosewood Mayakoba.  The perfect combination of Mexico, kids, family, Christmas, beach, ocean, kindness, and the list continues.

To keep with our tradition, Christmas and Santa were a mere accent to seven days spent together in Mexico.  Santa did find us and brought a few small gifts which were quickly forgotten.  Going against the grain with our tradition certainly isn’t perfect, but ultimately we hope the memories of time spent together as a family make up for not unwrapping Christmas presents.  Our fingers are crossed.

The days were simple; walk to breakfast, then beach, pool and repeat.  We attempted to snorkel and after some coaxing were successful at an open water cenote.  It ended up positive, but we only have one picture due to the emotional, hands-on experience.

We also took the kids on their first catamaran experience.  The boat just happened to be named Moana and one of Charlotte’s dreams came true as we “sailed to an island on a Moana Boat”.   We anchored at Isla Mujeres and had a lovely lunch made by the captain/chef.  We were also able to jump into the open water and pretend to be mermaids (or Moana) which made mama’s dream come true as well.

Christmas in Playa del Carman was a total hit in every way!  Our little family continues to grow closer together and these days added a little more to this bond, especially between Charlotte and Johnny.  We’re grateful we can do this in such a beautiful setting.  I guess we must have been good this year… Thanks, Santa 😉

Things to remember:  Rosewood Mayakoba, Charlotte and Johnny’s sleepovers, seeing a coati the first night, outside showers, Johnny saying “oh yeah”, building sand creatures, Charlotte’s talent show, golf cart rides, green juice at breakfast, water taxi to dinner, Santa’s visit, feeding fish, ecotour on the boat, spotting a baby crocodile, the lagoon, massages, spicy margaritas, uno mas, Johnny’s doctor visit on Christmas day, the catamaran, paddle boarding, hot dogs, french fries and nachos on the beach, the hawk, my roundoff back handspring, endless days together without distractions…

Can we please go back?