Last week we had the pleasure of taking a vacation with the kids to Playa Mujeres, Mexico. Before we ever book a trip, my husband and I set some intentions. We decide if we want to do a trip or a vacation. A trip is where we know it will be a lot of work on our end, and that we will plan on sight seeing, adventuring, and WORKING. We go somewhere we’ve never been, eat the local food and push ourselves and our children to embrace a new landscape. OR, we decide that we want to freeze time for a second, relax, and just enjoy being together. That means we stay mostly in the resort, say yes to late bedtimes, lots of ice creams, and night swimming. We lose all sense of day and time and just BE with the kids and with each other. This trip was most certainly a vacation. Sloane just turned six and still has trouble keeping up with Nate and Ruby. It would not be fun (for anyone) to drag her around a new city or time zone. We wanted something simple, relaxing and fun for everyone.

WHERE WE STAYED:

We chose Playa Mujeres because the flight was not long, it has good proximity to the airport and the weather is amazing. We used a local travel agent, Vacations by Heather, and she helped us a find a resort that was in our budget. We stayed at Dreams, Playa Mujeres. The room was clean and spacious, the view was beautiful and food was good-enough. I like staying at an all-inclusive with the kids because they can eat as little or as much as they like, whenever they want. Takes the pressure off. It also helps us to budget and stay on track, which means less stress for us.

BE PREPARED:

I did a ton of front-end loading before we left. I packed our favorite travel art supplies, snacks and toys in easily accessible pouches for the airplane, restaurants, and pool side. When were in the airport and the kids got antsy? Boom. Out came Magnetic blocks. When my girls needed some quiet time and I didn’t want to leave the pool? Out came my pouch filled with watercolor paper and Ooly travel watercolor kit. Masterpieces were made and I didn’t need to turn away from my book and my cocktail.

Also? We brought devices. The children were allowed to use them on the airplane, and for a little while each day while my oldest babysat in the room and my husband and I snuck downstairs for a quick kid free cocktail.

WHAT WE PACKED FOR THE AIRPLANE (click the image for the link):