Cue the violins, trumpets, and guitars. Picture it -- a trio of mariachi men adorned in sombreros and embroidered suits, walking up to serenade you to the tune of La Cucaracha. Typically you'll have a drink in hand, maybe a margarita, Corona, Dos Equis, or even a chelada (unless you're preggo). And well, all of that, it puts me in my glory! Happy, happy times I tell ya.
Shortly before our wedding and Mexican honeymoon, "The Heartbreak Kid" played on repeat on TV. And we watched, and watched and watched. Every time it was on. I wouldn't even say it's a favorite movie of ours, but at that time we were loving it. Probably because it took place in Mexico on their honeymoon and probably because it featured a mariachi band. We loved that mariachi band! Ha, something about it really pumped us up for our honeymoon. For some reason, we seriously hoped to encounter a mariachi band in an effort to make our honeymoon complete. Boom, they walked right up on us during a meal on the beach in Playa Del Carmen. Honeymoon made complete!
Said honeymoon (at Secrets Maroma Beach) was absolutely amazing. We couldn't wait to head back to that resort in the very near future! Fast forward to a family full of tots and well, Secrets Maroma Beach (an adults-only resort) was out the window!
Enter the gorgeous, kid-friendly, yet still-beautifully-tranquil Azul Beach Resort.
It was time. Following months of J working 26+ hour shifts and feeling all sorts of chaos in life, we saw a quote similar to this and we were SOLD.
"Let's do it. Book it, baby!" Something like that, J texted while on a long and crazy shift.
And you don't have to tell me twice! I'm on it.
Traveling and making memories is definitely one of our favorite parts of life. We kinda live for this stuff! And being able to travel with our kiddies and keep those memories tucked in our souls makes it all worth it.
Some thought we were crazy to bring our little ones. But this particular trip definitely wouldn't have been the same without them! One big trip as a family of four before we become a family of five meant a lot. Azul Beach Resort was the perfect backdrop to our family vacation (and it didn't hurt how incredibly easy they made traveling with babies!)
We left any and all negativity behind. We didn't discuss work or craziness or money. We disconnected. Our phones stayed tucked away in the safe.
Our goal was truly to have fun, relax and make memories for all of us. Done and done.
Seeing how happy our girls were was a freakin' dream come true! Their faces lit up with each event we'd do. Baby A became even more in love with her daddy thanks to having him around day and night. E would just look at me and smile and tell me she loves me. She expressed how much fun this was on multiple occasions. And the shows? The way she'd cuddle up to me with a huge smile on her face under a beautiful Mexican evening's sky while watching the nightly entertainment seriously made me feel so complete. I'd look over at J and just smile. There was that silent 'yup, this is freakin' amazing!' communication going on between us in those moments where we knew the girls were just happy.
The pool off our balcony is probably what made our trip the most relaxing. Of course traveling with babies isn't always the easiest most relaxing time, but this. This made traveling with babies easy! They'd nap and go to bed early, and we would swim right out back with a monitor provided by the resort. We'd order 24 hour room service directly to our pool out back and J would swim up to the bar to order us a few round a frozen concoctions (one virgin, of course.) Ah, yes, the life indeed!
Our babies stayed up past bedtimes some nights (to night-swim, of course), took naps in the pool and took less baths than they probably should have (pools count, right?) They ate an insane amount of gourmet food (and ice cream cones, of course, from Spongebob's ice cream bar), went through bottles of sunscreen while digging in the sand, and played in the Azulito's kid's club, complete with Nickelodeon characters and MyGym equipment. I'm not sure we could have asked for a better place to make memories with these girls.
I'm pretty sure the trip was just as magical for them as it was for me.
So we relaxed on the beach, took a walk, and went to dinner just the two of us. An amazing, calm and peaceful sushi river dinner. Yes, please!
Daddy let E get a few braids in her hair and she was a girl in heaven, I tell ya!
Our magical days turned into even more magical evenings.
While feeling that evening breeze each night alongside a happy baby, a happy tot, and a happy husband, I didn't think the trip could be any more complete. But as the girls played on the swingset with toes in the sand under a pink evening sky on our last night, a full on 10-15 piece mariachi band began to play on the beach as if the heavens opened up, topping off my trip with sprinkles and a cherry and all that other goodness. Those La Cucaracha tunes made me melt with happiness. Amen, Mejico, Amen!
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A completely 'worth-every-dime-to-make-those-insanely-unforgettable-memories' trip has gone down in the books for sure.
'Twas a Mexican Fiesta to remember! 'Til next time...
