"My job is actually just beach."

We spent the last six days on the beach in Mexico.

We LOVE a beach.

We also love a mountain, city, lake, and a pile of rocks, but this Spring Break, it was beach, and it was beautiful and relaxing and fun and just so, so easy.

On Thursday, James and Landon drove to their Sectionals swim meet, promising to meet us at the airport on time on Saturday straight from their meet. The kids have long packed their own suitcases, but this was the first time I'd be meeting 2/5 of the family at the airport before heading out for a 6 day international vacation. At least I knew they'd have their swim suits and goggles.

We took a direct 2.5 hour flight to Cancun, breezing through customs in about 2 minutes, and meeting our driver for our private transfer to the resort in Playa del Carmen. (Highly recommend Gabriel and his company! All the drivers were so professional and kind, using their limited English and our limited Spanish to communicate favorite sites and recommendations and patiently participating in both our attempts at the others' languages.)

(Travel ensemble for those who care about these things like I do: these Paige pants I bought with Bonnie 2 years ago and almost didn't because they were pricey for such a boring staple and yet still wear constantly and always remind me of why I have a Bonnie, new breezy Loft blouse, my beloved perfect jean jacket I can layer on anything, including a bikini top, and the Target version of this trendy sandal style I think is both so ugly it's almost cute and also super comfortable.)

We were last in Playa in 2016 when we came here with a toddler Cora and two baby-faced bigger kids. That was also the last time we stayed at a big resort, and while we normally much prefer more private and personal vacations, after some very logistics-heavy trips (like Italy last summer) and with some big adventure trips coming up (like our WY/MT/ID National Parks trip this summer and Egypt(!) this Christmas), a relatively inexpensive, all-inclusive, plan nothing, show up and do nothing getaway sounded just right.

With Landon about to wrap up his sophomore year, and our family so busy and scattered what feels like much of the time (and the fact that we all just really like to travel), I'm not willing to let a school break go by without a plan to go somewhere and do something. I've always loved traveling with the kids, but as they get older, that pure, uninterrupted family time becomes even more precious.

I found a link through tripadvisor to a person who rents out vacation club stays at resorts, so we could get something like our master 1 bedroom suite at Sandos Playacar and the "royal elite" benefits without the membership or buy-in.

The room was bare bones and didn't have a view, but the layout was perfect (2 full bathrooms, 1 room with a king bed and twin sized couch bed, and a living room with two twin sized couch beds) and the internet was strong enough for all your lawyerly telework needs. The resort was large and lush, the food was meh (the kids loved it), the pools were many, and the beach was absolutely spectacular.

It was big enough and long enough that we didn't have to get up early to reserve chairs or anything, we just meandered over and back whenever we felt like it. And we felt like it a lot. There were activities and a kids' club, teens club, parties and shows and we did none of that. We are not joiners on vacation. We just want each other.

And access to water.

We tried a couple restaurants before realizing they weren't any better than the always-available buffet that was much quicker and had more options.

Plus we often saw monkeys in the trees outside the windows.

Landon of the 16-year-old bottomless pit stomach was particularly taken with the buffet. Actual quote: "Mom, I realized that if I hold the hamburger with my left hand, I can alternate scooping up corn and jello with my right."

Also:

"Mom, I've had 23 donuts so far. Wait, no, 27."

"Low key I could live here."

"Look, I'm a humpback whale!"

On Day 3, we took a taxi over to the Sandos Caracol sister resort. It was beautiful and the water park was bigger. It also had cenotes on site and a river, but unfortunately we happened to show up on the one day a week the cenote is closed for cleaning and restoration. We still jumped in the river.

We did see a lot of animals and were glad we explored a new space.

But once we got back "home," we were back on our beach, splashing and laughing, and I was sitting in the shade soaking up the sounds of the waves and my children, playing together without any distraction and it was everything I love about taking them places so much.

From driving to a state park in Arkansas when Landon was 5, Claire was 2, and Cora wasn't even imagined yet, to our bigger trips as our travelers and our budget grew, I am so thankful for every adventure.

On our drive from the airport to the resort on Day 1 we asked our driver for his favorite things in the area. He mentioned the Casa de Tortugas cenotes, so I emailed Gabriel to see if he did tours as well as airport transfers and he set up a day for us to go see the Mayan ruins in Tulum and stop at the cenotes. It was so great!

For an extra $20 at the entrance to the ruins we got an English-speaking guide which gave us such a greater appreciation for the ruins and history of the area. I'm sure the kids were having flashbacks to Italy ("Oh my god dad can touch old things and tell us to think about them again." - Landon groaned as we entered the ruins), but they asked a lot of questions and you can't touch any of the ruins anyway.

We were getting hungry so we asked our driver if he had a favorite local lunch place and he took us La Chiapaneca in Tulum and it was SO GOOD. We started out with a round of tacos and empanadas and I added a sope and next thing we knew we were ordering twelve more sopes. The pork ones in particular were incredible. It's four days later at 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning and I'm still thinking about them.

Full and happy we continued on to the kids most highly anticipated part of the day - cenotes!

Fresh water, spring-fed pools, there are four at Casa Tortuga and we got to swim through two caverns, jump off cliffs and ledges, and enjoy gorgeous fresh water.

Landon, Claire, and James did lots of jumping and the boys even did a few flips.

I jumped off one just to remind them I could. My jump style is "pencil" and it is the only one I have.

Cora took a little while to warm up to the idea but made a big leap towards the end and then followed it up with several more.

It was a perfect last day, capped off with some time back at our beach.

Cora remains our beach baby. Every afternoon, she was out at least an hour longer than her siblings, happily playing in sand and waves. Completely alone, completely at peace. This girl and the ocean are one for me.

One one night after dinner, we went back out to the beach and the kids found a ball and next thing I knew they were playing soccer as the sun set, and again, it's just one of those memories that makes me smile when I think of it. Their voices, playing, laughing, and getting sandy and sweaty in their clothes... I know I keep saying it, but the sand falling in the hourglass is never far from my mind. Landon is getting college letters. Their worlds are broadening and while I have zero doubts that all our next chapters will be wonderful, this chapter where they are only ours is so precious.

Our travel home began at 4:30 a.m. Thursday morning. I used up my American Airlines miles on the flight there, which got us a direct to Cancun, but had to move to my Southwest miles for the flight home, so we had a stop in Houston on the way back. It worked out great though, customs was really fast (it was Houston Hobby and we were the only international flight landing at the time), we grabbed lunch, and then hopped on the short flight to Dallas.

We walked in the front door at 3 p.m., and by 4:30 p.m. we had clothes unpacked, groceries bought, wash washing, and cuddled cats purring. We were all in bed by 9 p.m. and 12 hours later, I'd been working at my computer for a couple hours (the post-vacation email inbox reentry is REAL) and all the human children were still sleeping. James went up to check on them and said no one even flinched when lights were turned on, so he confirmed their breathing and left them in the care of the cats. They beach HARD.

And that was our trip. Fun, easy, and full of mojitos, pan dulce, sopes, and swimming.

Now we have a weekend at home to get ready for the last few months of school (how), the fast approach of summer (so hot I'm already mad at it), and a lot of work. Thankful for the getaway, and laughing because Landon just yelled down from upstairs that he still has sand in his hair. Happy mid-March to all! I'm using my time watching the Taylor Swift concert on Disney+ this morning to draft a few more non-vacation posts, so there are more coming!

41 Fun

Hello from the month of March!

My last post was written in Austin waiting for Landon to swim at the high school state meet. My parents drove over to watch with us and we were an enthusiastic cheer squad for our school's sole male qualifier.

And he did great! No new best times (he really blew it out at Regionals) but he did well in both his events (100 fly and 100 back), made finals in the 100 back, finishing 10th overall, and gave a strong showing as a sophomore. We're so proud of him.

Since my parents were with us, we celebrated my birthday a day early at Hula Hut, one of my fave classic Austin restaurants. I have many MANY memories here from undergrad and when we lived there again while James was in business school. Veggie tubular taco with queso blanco sauce forever.

James was excited about his gift for me and brought it to Austin so I could open it at the dinner. As soon as I saw the Valentino box, I could see why he couldn't wait, but I couldn't think of what he'd pick out from there.

And then I saw it held the rockstar stud sandals I'd been stalking online for 2+ years, and THEN I realized he must have texted Bonnie. He did pick out the color himself and I absolutely love them.

I did have to go exchange them for a pair two sizes bigger. I have gigantic (size 11 or 12!) feet. But they look so pretty wrapped in the metallic studded sandals I've admired for years!

We said goodbye to Austin and the pool we love (also the pool where we fell in love) and where I have so many of my own beloved memories of high school state and drove home Saturday afternoon after finals. Landon was full of plans of how much faster he'll go next year and the girls expressed their strong support, mostly so they can miss a day of school to go to Austin again.

On Sunday morning I woke up a year older!

I'm 41 and I'm here for it.

James and Landon had a swim meet (which is why we did my family dinner in Austin on Friday), so I woke up lazily, did a workout, and joined some new friends for a birthday brunch that was such a treat.

That afternoon I did some errands (like exchanging my beautiful sandals for probably the biggest size they have) and then had dinner with one of my best friends whose birthday is the day before mine.

When I got home, the boys were back from their meet, Cora was back from a friend's birthday party, and Claire was home too and I had my traditional decorated table, cards, and cake at the non-traditional time of 8:30 p.m.

As always, the kids and James made cards. Cora's was quite ornate. She'd learned an abstract art technique in her school art class and spent many nights laboring over scraps of paper she found in our art cabinet to make my birthday poster. I love how much each kid brings themself into the cards they give.

Landon isn't hand-making cards now that he has a car and a debit card and a successful basketball and football card re-sale business, but he added a note that touched my heart as much as anything a 16 year old can give. (Note: "tiny burbeeeee" is Landon's bizarre but hilarious name for Milo. There is no greater compliment than to say he loves me almost as much.)

And Claire. My sweet 13-year-old who is often both the wielder and victim of her own swirling emotions, but her self-awareness is 10/10. She also bought me a Rare Beauty lip pencil that she told me was my perfect shade and you guys, having teenagers is so fun.

It was a perfect day, marred only by the fact that it had to end and we all had to go back to school and reality the next morning (and I had to get on a plane).

I went back into my archives and found that the first birthday I celebrated on this blog was my 24th. I was pregnant with Landon, had been married for 1.5 years, lived in Chicago, and was surviving my 2nd year at the University of Chicago Law School. I

I still feel every bit of the woman I was all those seventeen(!) years ago when I wrote that- I remember her and she's still here, but man has she grown. It's crazy to think I was typing in this very same blogger box, probably from my couch in West Loop Chicago or the law library (where 85% of my law school era posts were typed; one of many reasons there are so many more of them than there are now), on that day I turned 24 in 2007 and now I'm at my kitchen table in Dallas, 41, definitely not pregnant, just finished with an in-room HIIT workout and about to go on a walk with a coworker and friend while my three children and husband run errands. (Actually, James and the girls went to run errands then he decided to drop off his car to be detailed, so Landon had to go pick him and the girls up and take them to the grocery store to continue the erranding and man is it a wonderful life change to not have to be the only one with a car and license to drive it.)

Last night all five of us were home and that doesn't happen often on a Saturday. We went on a walk with Maggie and then the kids played soccer in the back yard while James and I had the windows open in the kitchen listening to them laugh while we cooked.

"I love hearing them together," I remember saying. And yeah, we knew someone would probably burst into the house any moment to complain about something another one did, but still, I do love listening to them. They're our pack, my crew, and we both love when we're all living the small kid life of backyard play and everyone together that used to be so routine 10 years ago.

We ate delicious veggie tacos (roasted yam, black beans, avocado, and cotija cheese is the BEST combination) and then got in the pool.

Or the very heated hottub if you're me and don't do cold water anymore.

It was just a lovely night that still makes me smile today.

This is 41 and it's pretty great. Happy Sunday to you all!