Playa Del Carmen: Day 5

Day 5 was Mark's birthday!  We seem to always be on vacation on his birthday.  Lucky Mark.  We started our day with room service for breakfast and then headed to the beach all morning!

Addison was ready to get her sand castle built....

Lauren was ready to head into the water.  

It takes work for me to be in the pictures.  I am always behind the camera capturing the moments I don't want to ever forget...and I can recall Mark grumbling because I asked him to snap a few photos of me and the girls...

I was there. At the beach.  Loving the sound of the water and the waves and soaking up the sun.  

I love this picture of Addison.  Her adorable swimsuit, her petite little body, sand castle in progress, boat in the background...just a perfect picture of paradise. 

After playing in the sand and water for a while we all decided to go Kayaking.  It was so much fun!  

Although a little bit of work at times as both girls really were not the best paddlers...

Lauren went out with me the first time and Addison with Mark.  Lauren decided to go again with Mark...because she was scared with me and daddy could protect her if she fell out of the kayak.  There were minimal waves and you could see the bottom of the ocean....but she was still afraid at times.  

While there two were relaxing in the water...

this one was relaxing in the shade...

We enjoyed lunch on the beach.  We had burgers, hot dogs, chips and fruit.  I am sure we all had a mango tango and a mud slide as well.  

After a while we headed back to the room.  But first we stopped at the nacho bar and the snow cone bar.  We filled up our plates and cups and headed up to the room.  Mark headed out for a massage and the girls and I rested in the room.   We headed back down to the pool for an afternoon swim after a while.  

When we got back to the room it was full of balloons for Mark's birthday. 

And a special dessert was waiting just for him.  We showered up and headed out for the night...

Lauren snapped a few good pictures of us!  

The girls tolerated me snapping away each night...Addison in her element.  

A gorgeous picture of both girls. 

I love this picture.  I asked someone to snap a quick picture of us and I love how this turned out.  

Dinner Thursday night was at Mole, a contemporary Mexican restaurant.  

We sat at the bar and had a few drinks (all of us!) before dinner.  

The bartender found out it was Mark's birthday and took some tequila off the top shelf so he could have a shot to celebrate!  It was fun. 

Authentic Mexican cuisine is never as good to me as Americanized Mexican food, but dessert was amazing!  

Mark and I were the only ones to order dessert, and then Addison liked mine so much we ordered another one for her.  She ate most of it and loved the dry ice demonstration for a second time!

After dinner, Addison and Mark headed back to the room since Addison was sleepy.  Lauren and I explored for a while and waited for the night show to start.  Shortly after it started, Lauren decided it was not for her!  So, we headed back to the room to call it a night! 

Playa Del Carmen: Day 4

Wednesday morning we decided to take a break from the pool and from the sun and headed down to 5th Avenue shopping in Playa Del Carmen.  At first I was hesitant to take the girls off the resort, hope in a taxi cab in Mexico, and go shopping on the streets of Mexico.  But, after talking to a few friends, they assured me it was a safe area and that this part of Mexico thrives and lives off of tourism.  They were right.  The taxi cab ride was fine, dropped us off exactly where I wanted, and we arrived back at the resort safe and sound after a few hours.  

Although I will say, the drive there was eye opening and a true picture of what life in Mexico is like outside the beauty of the resorts.  It was a good lessons for the girls to see poverty in Mexico and a good way to show Addison why we can't live in Mexico.  

The taxi dropped us off on the corner and we were off to explore.  

Several of the shops looks like this, just lined with trinkets and souvenirs for the girls. 

This shop was ran by some Mexican gentleman that wanted to haggle with you.  They wanted you to buy from them, and would offer you some pretty good prices.  

This store had everything you could possibly want for a souvenir from Playa Del Carmen. 

We all (except Mark) ended up buying several things from this store.  Dolls, fans, bracelets, key chains, and sea shells.  

Addison really wanted a backpack.  She had her eye on one that ended up being $100....a little too much.  So she looked around for a different one and after haggling with this guy she got one for more than half off!  And she has carried it every day since she got it.  

After a morning of shopping, we headed back to the resort for a nice cool drink and lunch at Naos.  

When we got back to our room the hot tub was full of bubbles and these octopus.  How fun!!

After hanging out in the hot tub for a while we hit the pool for the afternoon to swim.  After a while, the girls were tired and wanted to rest....

So they rested and I went here.  It was wonderful.  I could listen to the sound of the ocean all day long.  I read a book, relaxed, and listened to the waves.  

For dinner we ate at Bana Fusion.  I can't seem to remember anything from that dinner, so it must not have been too exciting.  I am sure I had some kind of chicken dish and Mark probably had fish.

Then we headed to the night show.  Each night at 9:30 at the North Bar they had show.  Wednesday night was the King of Pop show.  It was all Michael Jackson songs and lots of dancing and acrobatics.  

We all enjoyed the show!  Mark and I loved the songs and the girls loved the dancing.  The show was packed, but we got there early and had front row seats.  We enjoyed some cold beverages and had a great time.  Vacation was half way over and going way to fast.  We all ready to go back!  

Playa Del Carmen: Day 3

Our 3rd day in Playa Del Carmen was pretty low key.  We started out at the family pool after having breakfast delivered to the room.  The girls loved the idea of room service and the fact that you could order whatever you wanted whenever you wanted...any time of the day.

The beach, just a short walk from our room! 

The family pool was heated, which you wouldn't think would be necessary in balmy Mexico, but it felt good.  It also had a swim up bar for all of our enjoyment.  

We took some time Tuesday afternoon to explore the resort a little more and get a break from the sun.  It was a very contemporary and modern resort.  The girls were amazed at how big it was.  They will be so disappointed the next time we stay at a hotel and it's not like this!  

Every afternoon we took showers and got cleaned up for dinner and evening activities.  I told Lauren she had to wear a dress or skirt to dinner each night.  She wasn't thrilled, but she did it anyway and looked gorgeous each night.  

Addison, of course, will always put a dress on, complete with a matching headband and shoes as well.  And, she will stop and pose for pictures along the way.  

Lauren is becoming quite the photographer and captured several good picture of Mark and I as well.  

These girls, although a little reluctant at times to pose for the camera, always make it fun!  

We finally made it to the restaurant which was a Mediterranean themed restaurant.  It was delicious.  One of our favorites all week.  

The kids could order from a kids menu, but Lauren was brave and tried the octopus as an appetizer and loved it!  Way to go Lauren.  I was not willing to even take a bite and try it.  No thank you.  

Dinner was  amazing here and dessert was even better.  

Addison was forcing herself to smile.  I think at this point in the night was a little bored and ready to leave!  This girl always has something new up her sleeve.  

One of many family pictures we were able to capture this week.  This night was a lot of fun with a great dinner and great atmosphere.  Definitely a night to remember.