Home Again, Home Again

Happy spring! We just got home from our trip to Isla Mujeres, Mexico. This spring break, I learned that it is not relaxing to go on vacation with a 5 year old and 2 year old. Don't get me wrong, it was gorgeous, the weather was perfect, I had a wonderful time and am so happy that I went. But, it was exhausting. Lathering the kids up with sunscreen, keeping them from throwing sand at one another or in their eyes, and making sure no one drowned was not an easy task, or at least not very relaxing. And the plane flights home? Well, I am not even ready to talk about those yet. Overall, the trip was amazing, but now that we are home, I feel like I need a kid-free vacation in order to recharge!
We were very lucky that Todd's father paid for our plane tickets, our hotel and the majority of our food. There is no way we could have gone on this trip with our own funds and I am so appreciative. In general, the kids were mostly well-behaved. Finn, who has anxiety and sensory issues, was dealing well with all of the changes and lack of routine, and I must say, I was really happy with his behavior.
On our first day there, we found a man who had built an island and a home on the island using mostly trash. We went on a tour, and it was super cool. So cool, in fact, that I will write a separate post on that tomorrow. We also went beach-glass hunting, explored tide pools, saw a turtle sanctuary, toured the island in a golf cart, spent a ton of the time in the pool, and played at the beach and in the ocean. And, Todd and I had many a margarita!
On the last day of our trip, the weather was not-so-nice, and we spent most of the day in town and at the pool. As it was getting close to sunset, we decided to have one last family walk down the beach to take some last photos. Well,.... Finn decided to climb on this huge sand bag on the edge of the beach, which was fine until he wandered too close to the ocean-side edge, which was covered with a mossy growth, and slipped into the ocean fully clothed. Finn can't yet swim. Where he fell in, he could touch the bottom, but each wave that came in crashed over his head and he was in a panic. A second later, I jumped in after him. I was also fully clothed and sadly had my point-and-shoot camera strapped to my wrist (I managed to salvage the pictures, but the camera is kaput). Anyways, he was worked up for quite a while, but looking back, it was pretty funny and makes for a good story.
Here are a few moments from our vacation:

 Photo by Phoebe