Much needed Vacation

This year I was fortunate enough to have three weeks off for Christmas Break. Sean took one week of vacation and we decided to take the family on a vacation. I tried to convince him to take a week cruise somewhere close, but he was determined to try something new. Sean had recieved a fax at work of one of those "killer" deals on a vacation. The flier stated... "5 night/ 6 days all inclusive vacation for $149 per person, Kids under 6 free". Sean convinced me to call and get more details. We thought $300 and airfare, we can handle that! After calling and having the salesmen talk to me for an hour and promising me that it would only be $300 for all four of us we booked the trip to Cancun, Mexico.

Two days after they charged my credit card for the $398 (they didn't tell me about the booking fee) I recieved an e-mail with the number that I needed to call to book the dates at the hotel. Upon calling them they told me that January is considered peak season and that it was another $300. We also wanted to make sure that we were staying at a family resort so it would be another $300 to upgrade to the resort we wanted (Sandos Playacar). After getting upset at the agent and speaking to two managers I was able to get one of the $300 fees waived, but had to pay the other. We were now up to $698 for the vacation and we hadn't even booked flights!

I ended up pricelining the flights and got a pretty good deal on them. The only weird thing was we had to have a stop and layover on the flight. We left from Ontario airport, flew to Salt Lake City, UT then to Cancun. On the way home we had to fly from Cancun to Altlanta, Georgia then home to Ontario. We really learned how hard it was to fly now. It was not the 5 hour flights that was hard, but getting through security with two small kids and six carry on luggage pieces. We also had many weird looks and comments because we put those animal backpacks that have tails that we hold has handles on them. They really made sure that the girls never left us and that we didn't have to worry about them. I would recommend them to anyone who is flying with small kids, but be prepared for the comments and looks from other people.

When we finally got there and took a long van ride to the resort we were pleasantly surprised. The resort was beautiful, the weather was perfect, and the food was great. Our room was very large. We had two queen beds, a pull out coutch and a great balcony to sit in and relax. The resort had plenty to do. It sat right on the beach with hammicks, beach chairs and a waiter to bring you drinks all day long. There were five different all you can eat buffet resurants, six sit down resturants, a great kids club where we could check the girls in for the day for activities and have them watched, and a great spa to relax in.

The girls loved seeing the Iganas that ran around all over the resort. They played with kids in the pools, played at the beach, and ate anything they wanted. They really got used to having the "fruity drinks" (virgin strawberry daquri's and pina coladas) all day long. Kyla was in an amazing theatre production that they put on there called "Disney Spectacular" where she was Simba and a fish in Little Mermaid. She said it was the best part of the whole trip.

I was able to go Scuba Diving for the first time ever! It was amazing. I chased a sea turtle, played with flamingo fish, and saw lobsters and crabs. Sean was also great and had me swim with the dolphins which has been a life long dream. We really had a great vacation filled with fun, food, and adventure. Here are a few photos and videos from the trip!