ok, as promised, here is part II of the mexico trip. we were able to get some pictures professionally done by a company that worked with the hotel. this is one of my favorite shots of us as a family. just us hanging out like we do at the beach. it was a pretty good deal too. most hotels offer a service like this these days and considering it was our first family vacation together worth the time and money spent on preserving these memories.
cancun had the most clear, turquoise waters i have ever seen. it was such a sight to see. like, the word aqua was born from this spot. literally. and there’s something so powerful and amazing about the ocean. it just keeps going and going. the waves, they keep crashing. keep submitting. i could stare at the ocean for hours. listening. mesmerized and taken aback by its beauty and relentlessness. and subhanallah it is all by the will of allah.
the buffet at our hotel had some great food. fresh fish, fresh salsa, fresh guacamole. fresh fresh fresh. i love this type of food. and i could have eaten this vallarta style fish ceviche on a tostada every. single. day. seriously, it was so good. niyya ate pretty much the same thing every day too. we wanted to keep things simple with her because she had started solids, but was and is far from table foods. everything was pureed at that point. we stocked up on baby food packets (we like squoosh and ella’s kitchen, among others, and we rationed a generous two/day, just in case) plus planned to bring a container of her staple - blended prunes, however i forgot our lunch bag in the car at the airport! anyway, we figured we would make it work and we did. we knew we would find some food we could mash with our fork for her to eat. her menu on a typical day ended up being papaya for breakfast, guacamole for lunch and some baby food for dinner as we ate much, much later on. i would also pack up some fruit from breakfast to put in our own containers to snack on throughout the day. we didn’t always want to have to go back and forth to the resto every time we wanted to munch. and we all like to munch!
one thing i love about being in a tropical location is the vivid greens. the lush-ness of it and the layers of vegetation. it’s all just so alive! i appreciate it especially now in the heart of the winter here in toronto, when all i’m surrounded with right now is dead trees and snow.
there were some pretty fountains around the resort and i couldn’t resist taking a few snaps! i like to take photos of my surroundings so i can remember the whole story and not “just the faces”. you know? i remember when i was in india and taking photos for the first time with my own camera and my family saying, “what is it with all the bikes and buildings?!” haha. some things never change.
this was not an “adventure” trip by any means. we were on the resort for the majority of the week, venturing out to the market and the shopping centres only a few times. the purpose of this vacation was to relax, unwind and see how well we managed with the girls. we definitely didn’t want to bite off more than we could chew. and so this was by my definition a vacation, not travel. and i like to travel. i know eventually we will get back to that. you know - the discovering and experiencing and moving around and taking it all in. baby steps, right?
isn’t this lion amazing? we bought it and some monkey’s from a guatemalan family at the market. it’s now one of my favourite things! we like going to the market, browsing, sifting through the crap and finding gems. there is always a gem to be found. the simple toys and handmade items from far away places now add so much character to our home and they are such fun reminders of our journey’s.
im a huge instagrammer and always see such fun photos of families from my favourite users (check, check and check.) and not the selfie kind. the let’s-stand-at-a-wall-and-keep-our-phones-far-away, full body shot kind. all it takes is a self timer app and a tripod, and bam! instant family portraits. we didn’t have a mobile phone tripod with us on our trip, so we got creative with propping the phone up on the stroller. i think i want to buy this one for future use. and also, the bali beds at our resort were probably my favourite thing. i would wake up early to save our spot and then we would leisurely stroll to the buffet, eat our breakfast on the patio and then head to veg out. the four of us fit so perfectly, it was divine.
in addition to packing some toys, books, and all of our gear (this stroller came so in handy, i can’t even tell you) i also packed a bunch of snacks for us. you know, for when we were in the room and for afternoons when we just wanted something from the comforts of our own home. i think i went a little overboard though - i made these, but they weren’t really a hit and more effort than i’d like, so i probably won’t do that again. i also made these lara bar-type goodies, these power balls and these cookies which i will make over and over. so yummy! the resort even had a gelateria so we made our own ice cream sandy’s to eat by the pool. that was such a treat.
all in all, we had a great time and think we can handle our two little rascals on vacay. the flight is another story - we definitely have not mastered that aspect yet, but it was all worth it in the end!
