Mom and dad were right… our Cancun vacation did eventually come to an end.

Adios, Mexico!

Homeward bound.

But before we headed back to the frozen tundra, we satisfied our appetites and quenched our thirst…

Dinner at JC’s Steakhouse – Reservation only.

For the meat lovers

The Chef’s Cut

“I’ll take your best plate of spaghetti.”

Refreshing salad

Ice cream makes me happy.

Does anyone else get so excited to eat ice cream that it ends up on your face? No? Just me?

Crepes!

Breakfast in bed(room)

Love the fancy desserts here!

Special delivery to our room!

Poolside pizza

Because the drinks are “free”

Mom likes her icecream too.

My “mojito”

G & Mom at our favorite dinner spot

The much-appreciated ice cream cart!

We soaked up the sun and swam our little hearts out…

G dips her toes in

Genesee likes it!

Genesee puts on her suit and joins us boys in the water

She is a champ!

All smiles.

And then shivers.

G snuggles with mom

Here I am with my fancy arm floaties

Watch me swim across the pool all by myself (and my floaties)

Genesee wants in on this action

We had so much fun!

And after playing as hard as our energy levels allowed us, you can bet we subsequently napped even harder.

G chillin’ like a villain

A family snooze fest

My sister smiles in her sleep. So cute!

I loved my poolside naps!

Finally, we explored every corner, enjoyed every view, and embraced every moment that the resort had to offer.

I love this place!

The view from our room

Sunrise

Out our front deck

Love my mom!

And my dad!

Alligators?! Yikes.

Golf cart escapades

G sporting shades

We stayed in the Venado section

Free ride!

Infinity pool at dusk

Moon Palace – Nizuc

It was the trip of many firsts… Genesee’s first time flying in an airplane and my first time dragging my very own suitcase. It was Genesee’s first time being in Mexico and the first time I’ll (probably) remember vacationing there. It was the trip that Genesee first splashed in a pool (she loved it!) and got cleaned up in a shower (she was all smiles and no tears… unlike an anonymous someone else who screamed bloody murder the first several times he was cruelly forced to take a scary water-down-your-face shower in lieu of a safe, warm, familiar bath). It was the first time I experienced the resort by riding behind the stroller instead of inside the stroller (although I did steal the seat a few too many times when “my legs got tired from just standing.”) And it was the trip that Genesee first learned how to roll over!

It was our first big trip as a family of four…. a warm way to beat the winter blues, a much-welcomed way to pause the chaos of everyday life, and a wanderlust way to discover a world beyond our borders. Different countries offer us a different perspective, different culture, different language, different foods, and different ways of knowing/being/living. But travel is a privilege not afforded to everyone, and so we remain grounded knowing that we don’t need plane tickets to broaden our worldview, or to make magical memories, or to live life to its fullest. We only need each other… to see each other, to teach each other, to love each other.

And so, we trust that more adventure awaits!

Just when I thought Mexico couldn’t get any more perfect, we got a day pass for The Grand at Moon Palace and treated ourselves to a sweet Valentines’ Day!

The newly finished 5-diamond addition featured top-notch restaurants, a shopping-mall-like lobby area, a Children’s-Museum-meets-Fun-World-style Playroom, and an elaborate waterpark complete with a wave pool, lazy river, kiddo splash area, thrill seeker water slides (not yet open), and a human-size blow dryer!!

In search of the water park….

Over the boardwalk we go!

Hello, Mr. Iguana!

Bathrooms at The Grand – what!?

Entrance to FUN!

Minnie Mouse with Valentine treats

Whoa.

Miniature Golf

“Let’s explore upstairs!”

A mirror maze

“Help! We can’t get out.”

Genesee is lost too.

We found our way, but it was pretty tricky.

“Thank you for shopping at Jaeger-Mart.”

Water-filled trampoline

Balloon wars

Racing Dad

This thing is cool!

See that ball floating in the air?!

A tornado maker!

An interactive floor game

“Weeeeee!”

As you can see from the expression on my face, I’m not having fun at all.

Glad I didn’t do my hair today!

Catch me if you can!

Lazy rivers are relaxing.

A human blow dryer!?

Just me and my new Mustang (rental)

Zoom!

They have bikes here too?!

…In every color!

And scooters!

We’re back!

“Should I try the ropes course?”

Love this thing!

“Look! No hands.”

Los Tacos Restaurant

Dessert!

The waterpark at dark

Good night!

From the Grand Buffet for breakfast to the Grand Theatre for the Circus Show…

…I definitely fell in love this Valentine’s Day because everything about The Grand was, well, grand! Even the chandeliers were something to be admired, according to Genesee, our ceiling inspector.

It was luxury at its finest and the best of all-inclusive, so if this is what they mean by “Lover’s Paradise,” then just call me “Lover!”

It was indeed a happy Valentine’s Day! Thanks, Moon Palace!

We spent the first couple days of our Mexican vacation getting reacquainted with the Moon Palace. Of course, it didn’t take long to recall some of our favorites: The Playroom, the endless pools, the mystical ocean backdrop, Arrecifes the Brazilian steakhouse, iguana sightings, mom’s Miami Vice frozen drinks, dad’s refreshing Mojitos, the made-to-order crepes, omelettes and wood-fired pizzas, the easy-to-order gelato and chocolate croissants, the 80-degree pool-side days, the 75-degree evening walks along the moonlit, breezy beach, our oceanfront king-size bed…. Mexico has everything, including my heart! And so I may or may not have ugly-cried on Tuesday morning when my trickster parents made me believe it was time to go home already.

“Just kidding,” they said. “But really, we will eventually need to return home.”

“But not today!!” I exclaimed as I jumped out of bed, wiped my snot nose, and lived in the moment like only a toddler can.

Dippin’ my toes and chasin’ my speed boat

Mobile Munchies

Dessert? Yes, please!

G discovered a love for chocolate

Air hockey with Dad

Beating Dad at Connect 4

The carousel

The beginnings of a sand sculpture

Sissy-butt

Loving the pools!

The kiddie complex

Swim lessons have made me brave

G loves the view

My new ride

G modeling her new hat

Mom’s Miami Vice

Sunbathing

And Sunsnoozing

Time for a nap!

Nachos for us, pureed mangos for G

Genesee and Momma

Genesee and Dad

Cruisin down the sidewalks

“Where do you want to go, Genesee?”

Bean toss

Motorcycle rides!

More of G’s Z’s

Love the fancy desserts here!

Mom’s Miami Vice from another angle

Hunting for iguanas

Found an iguana!

Kissed an iguana!

Held an iguana!

Nightly entertainment provided by the Moon Palace

Nightly entertainment provided by me, Jaeger.

“I’ll sleep here tonight.”

Sunkissed faces!

On February 11th, we left on a Sun Country jet plane and headed for Mexico’s warmer winds…

…and I’m happy to report that from passport to passed out, Genesee’s first out-of-country trip was a success!

4 checked bags, 2 carry-ons, and 3.5 hours later, we managed to arrive safely in Cancun, despite suffering assigned seats across the aisle and in different rows from each other. In fact, the flight above the clouds was a breeze… the only rough part was the landing, as the pilot bounced the plane along the tarmac. Other than that, Sis and I displayed zero meltdowns and became friends with fellow frequent flyers since we were “so well behaved.” Of course, Genesee slept 90% of the trip while I only snoozed for the last twenty minutes, and because good behavior requires very little effort when one is unconscious, we all know who should get the credit for the compliments.

We’re coming for you, Piña coladas!

The day after Christmas, Genesee turned 5 months old!

Then, we blinked, and as the calendar struck January 26th, Genesee suddenly became a .5-year-old.

Over the last couple months, a lot has changed…

As a 5-month-old, Genesee began a diet completely free of breast milk, she started eating in a high chair, and she definitely found her voice.

By the 6-month-mark, Genesee could be found dancing in the living room with dad, bouncing in her jumperoo, or attending campus events like ATP.

Although she’s experienced a chronic cough and unrelenting congestion for months, G’s 6-month Well Child visit revealed stats of a healthy, still-a-peanut-but-growing babe.

Cheers to your sweet six-month birthday, sis!

Guess who started swim lessons?! This fish! (Me.)

I shivered a lot. And I was the slowest one to swim across the pool. And just because all my friends jumped off the ledge – per the teacher’s request, doesn’t mean that I would. (Because I’m a leader and not a follower. So I politely declined. That scary opportunity.)

Anyway, I’m not sure if the combination of being a slow, scared, shivering swimmer resulted in extra one-on-one attention from my swim teacher, or if she just thought I was cute. Either way, I appreciated having my own personal swimming assistant, I had lots of fun, and most importantly, I lived to tell this fish tale.

So, I’ll be back next week. Same time. Same place. Same strategy to become the teacher’s pet (fish).

Since we were so sad to watch Chelsee leave our house, we decided to follow her to Mukwonago, where she would make a stop at Papa’s place before continuing on to Florida. There, we had a gingerbread house to decorate, several furry friends to cuddle with, Christmas lights to drive through, delicious tamales to taste-test, and a brand new year to ring in.

As we welcomed 2018, we also said our final goodbye-until-next-time to Cha Cha. (And by next time, I mean, let’s visit Chelsee in sunny Florida soon! Because I love her and because we should see the world! And by world, I mean Disney World. Because I love Mickey Mouse, too.)

Maybe we’ll get there someday. But until then, Happy New Year, everybody! And happy travels to Chels!

Our first Christmas as a family of four

was filled with all sorts of shenanigans…

…mostly because we became a fantastic family of 5 with Auntie Cha Cha home for the holidays; she takes fun to a whole ‘nother level!

G getting her Auntie Cha Cha time

Aunt Cha Cha feeding G

Decorating my dinosaurs with cheese curds and pickles. Just because.

Some highlights of our fun include the adventures we had in our kitchen,

Attempting homemade tortillas (in honor of Nana Florence)

“This is going to be fun!”

Look at that skill!

Not-perfectly-round, but perfectly delicious!

Challenge #2: Make tamales

“Am I doing it right, Cha Cha?”

Spreading the masa onto the corn husk

Steam-ready tamales, made with love.

Misson Tamales = Success!

Cheers!

…gift opening with Cha Cha,

Gift-opening with Cha Cha

I was G’s lovely assistant.

G eyes up her gift.

Uh-oh! This is what a gift-opening hangover looks like.

… cheering for Ashlee at her basketball game,

Watching Ashlee play basketball

“Go Ashlee, go!”

G doesn’t quite understand the game yet.

Dad & G in the bleachers

Silly Cha Cha, sitting on my lap!

…enjoying sub-zero temps via sledding and 4-wheelers,

Getting all bundled up!

Ready for the cold.

Yay for body heat!

Running around on the pond.

It’s a winter wonderland.

Mom & G say in the warm Honda.

Red light, green light with Cha Cha and Dad

Photo finish

I’ll take the driver’s seat

Snow angels

Me and the Chachster

Brrrrr

Mom and G

Chelsee’s driving!

We survived.

Sledding time!

Pick me up at the bottom!

…and trying out my brand new, not-approved-by-mom BB gun! Luckily, dad is a good safety-first teacher and as it turns out, I’m a pretty darn good shot. After all, my name does mean “Hunter.”

Dad getting things set up

I am ready.

Here I go…

…in front of a live audience.

And, bullseye!

But like all good things, the shenanigans had to come to an end. So, just before Cha Cha left Melrose place, we froze time through photography to ensure that our future selves could point to these moments, should we ever wonder where all our smile wrinkles came from.

Thanks for visiting, Auntie Cha-Cha!

“…He came! Santa came while we were sleeping!!,” Mom and Dad proclaimed. So, without a stretch, I jumped out of bed and into the air, screaming “Woo hoooooo!” from the bottom of my stinky-morning-breath lungs.

But it wasn’t just a visit from Santa that made Genesee’s first Christmas so memorable… Guess who else found our house shortly after midnight?! The one and only Auntie Cha Cha!! I mean, this was a Christmas for the books!

After sifting through stocking surprises, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa’s house to enjoy a deliciously cheesy Crock Pot scrambled egg bake and another gift opening session. I’m not sure what I was most grateful for… discovering my new, fancy light-up shoes or snuggling under the Bucky blanket with Ash!

Then, once we were done making Christmas morning memories next door, it was time for me and Genesee to host family at our place.

Decorating my dinosaurs with cheese curds and pickles. Just because.

It was everything! Until everyone went home. Then there was nothing left to do but turn on the fireplace, snuggle under soft blankets, and watch Cars 3 while we let ourselves come down from our Christmas high.

It took ten minutes.

And we slept happily ever after.

As is tradition, we celebrated Christmas Eve at Ellen’s house. But not before showcasing my many smiles in front of our decorated tree for the obligatory Christmas Eve photoshoot!

But gone are the days when the camera focused on just me and my snappy bowtie. This year, there was a new cutie in the picture. (My sister. She’s the one on the right. In case you’re struggling to identify which one of us is the cutie.)

We arrived at Ellen’s after mom was somewhat satisfied with her snapshots, and although I was excited to experience the holiday with Genesee, I immediately ditched her so that I could play in the basement with friends, eat holiday ham and meatballs at the big kid’s table, track Santa’s whereabouts online (He was in New Zealand), and run laps around Garrett and Morgan’s new house! Of course, I reunited with my sister once it was time to unwrap her generous gift from Ellen. Because Genesee doesn’t have gift-opening skills yet. And because I’m thoughtful like that. Just call me “Santa’s little greedy helper.”

All in all, Christmas Eve was a blast! I hated to leave such a fun family party, but we needed to return home to execute my Rudolph pajamas wardrobe change and to leave a note for Santa in case I missed him.

And as the story goes, I did miss him, while I snored away underneath fleecey-warm sheets. But luckily, he didn’t miss us…