You never know when you will learn something. Amid all the fun & relaxing in Mexico we learned some valuable lessons:
1. When taking a red eye flight, take extra care to ensure that you are not sitting in the row just in front of the exit row.
Have you ever seen six people trying to sleep seats that won't recline? It can be rather entertaining.
2. There in no better place to sit and chat than in the ocean or the swimming pool.
Just remember your sunscreen or you will be sad the next day.
3. If you want to relax, leave Josh home.
That boy of mine was always on the go. Notice in the picture below that his seat is empty. Every time I woke up from a nap or took a break from my book he was out looking for a new adventure and I would have to go find him.
4. Always have a snorkel handy.
We had so much fun snorkeling. My Aunt and Uncle were kind enough to lend us snorkel gear before we left and we put it to good use. Not a beach or a cenote went unexplored. We Woodfords are not much for soaking in the sun, but if there is an adventure to be had...we're there!
5. Never send a Woodford to barter on your behalf.
I always tease Joshua because he paid full price for a wallet in the flea market in Florence. No one pays full price for anything in the flea markets of Italy. Well, we continued the tradition this trip by paying as much as we possibly could for two little embroidered dresses for our girls. We just have to remember that we love the dresses and not worry about the fact that we found very similar dresses for almost half price two stores down the street. The guy told us his mother made them and he was giving us the best price he could. I'll let you be the judge of that.
6. Watch your head.
Snorkeling has one fatal flaw: it gives you serious tunnel vision. You look straight down and see all the beautiful fish and coral, but you can't see anything peripherally or above you. We were exploring a cenote that had huge stalactites hanging into the water. You could dive under them and explore. We were having a great time until the combination of snorkel tunnel vision and low cave lighting resulted in both of us bonking our heads. I think Josh has become such a Harry Potter fan that he is doing all he can to get scars on his forehead. We had the laser tag incident last December that left a nice vertical scar down the middle of his forehead. Now he has a cenote scar perpendicular to that to remember our trip to mexico. Then the day after the cenote he hit his head again on a cabana. It's a treacherous world out there!
7. We love our children way more than they love us.
Have you ever noticed that if you get a break from your children for a date night or a vacation you spend a great portion of your time away from them thinking about them and talking about them? Kate and Jane were as happy as could be with their Grandma Shelly and Bapa Larry. I don't think they spent even a second missing us. In fact, when I called home and asked to talk to Kate our conversation went like this:
Sunny: "Hi, Little Kate!"
Kate: "Hi, Toad." (That's my nickname for my sister)
Sunny: "No, Sweetie, this is your mommy."
Kate: "Oh."
Other than the fact that my pride was a little wounded, I must say it was a relief to know that the girls were happy and having so much fun that they didn't miss us at all.
8. Eat with the locals.
We ate a lot of really tasty things in Mexico, but our favorite by far was the food at a little taco stand in Playa del Carmen. We saw a few other gringos there, but the vast majority of the patrons were locals. The tacos and fajitas and salsas were incredible. You should have seen the ecstasy on Joshua's face. You could see him traveling back to his mission days and loving every minute of it.
9. Travel out of season.
October is hurricane season on the Yucatan Penninsula. Most tourists are smart enough not to plan a trip during that time, but we loved it. We had the beaches and restaurants practically to ourselves, the airport lines were short, and everyone was happy to have our business.
10. There is no such thing as enough sleep.
I thought a full week of vacation would bring me back to my life bright eyed and bushy tailed and with more energy than I knew what to do with. I'm still tired. I guess I just have to accept the fact that tired is the natural state of mamas.
Fortunately, one of my fifty unfinished projects was a quilt I started two years ago to match the bumper pads I made for Kate's crib before she was born. The quilt was pieced, but I had never gotten around to finishing it. It just happened to be the perfect size for the new bed. My Mom and I had a day of sewing together and ended up with a quilt and two pillows. Kate was thrilled with the finished product.
The transition was easier than I expected, except for the fact that Kate will no longer take an afternoon nap. She just has an hour of quite time when she thoroughly delights in the fact that she can get to her books and toys as she pleases. She is so tired by bed time that it isn't very hard to get her to stay in bed. We have only found her on the floor twice and I love it in the morning when she comes walking into my room with her "soft green blankie" and her stuffed dog to wake me up.
The girls' room is pretty cute now. Jane has a real crib. I don't know that she cares, but it makes her mom and dad feel better to see her in there. We resurrected the bumper pads and moved the red shelf around to the only available wall. Now it is a cute room for two instead of one.
There are a couple great stories in this room. One is the book shelf. It is a shelf my Dad made just after my parents were married for their little apartment. It has been all over and served many purposes including a junk shelf in the garage but with a fresh coat of paint it was perfect for the girls' room.
The other story is that my parents actually found the big girl bed for us...at a garage sale. I can't think of anyone less likely to shop a garage sale than my parents, but they were out for a walk, saw the bed, knew it was perfect, and bought it on the spot. 
