Mexico 2011

I promised this post over a month ago, and am just now getting around to it...but I hope you all enjoy it despite the delay!

On January 2nd, we stepped onto a plane and exchanged snowy Ohio for sunny and warm Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico!!!! My whole family went, and my dad's parents joined us as well. We had a wonderful time together! I opted not to take my SLR with me on vacation (part of me regrets that, but it was probably for the best), so unfortunately these pictures are taken with my point and shoot instead...

Our resort was HUGE! We all agreed it was actually a little bit too big, because it was very easy to get lost. It had 2 wave pools, a waterslide, a lazy river ride that turned into a rapid river every afternoon, and at least a dozen other pools. We enjoyed lounging by the pools and hanging out on the beach every day.

view from the balcony

pictures from the pools and beach :D

 On thing that we loved about this vacation is that we didn't stay at an all inclusive resort like we normally do. This gave us a chance to catch a taxi to some really cool, authentic restaurants every evening.

I think I had my camera out at dinner more than any other time.

A week of Mexican food? YES PLEASE!

The only meal not enjoyed so much is the 2nd down on the left...

Grandma lost her appetite when it came out =P

One of our favorite things that we did during our week long stay was ziplining. We got on a bus that took us up into the mountains. From there we were all given the different gear that we needed, and we started on a hike to the first zipline. We had a blast! The longest zipline was 1/4 of a mile, and the highest was over 100 feet up! It was pretty incredible to be able to look down while riding one across and see the rivers and trees below us. The guides were really fun and had us hanging upside down while zooming from one platform to the next. 

After our ziplines brought us down the mountains, we put on bathing suits and went swimming in a mountain river. The rocky sides of the river had super slick, short slides carved into them that shot us out about 10 feet above the water. The plunge into the icy river took our breath away, but was SO fun! Grace and Ian even enjoyed it, although Mom and Dad didn't even give it a try =P The little guys also really enjoyed the vast array of animals that they could pet. They had everything from bunnies to huge lizards *shudders* to monkeys. All in all, it was a really awesome day.

<3 my family <3

We greatly enjoyed our week, but were happy to come home and sleep in our own beds :D Our flight got delayed on the way home, making Jacob and I not such happy campers on having to get up for our first day of school, but it was very uneventful compared to last time we flew home from Mexico (I single handedly held up the plane for an hour and a half that time...but that's a story for another day =P), so no complaints here :D Despite our wishes, the snow was still here when we got home...but the memories from our week of warmth and sun are getting us through the remaining months of winter!