This year's winter vacation was the most stressful by far. COVID is surging right now and people all around us are falling ill. The COVID case numbers are the highest they've ever been in the this 2 year pandemic. Many many other viruses are raging through our community. I decided to keep the girls home a week and a half before we left to make sure we all stayed healthy. But wouldn't you know it, Jayli must have picked up a virus the last day I had them in school. She started a nasty cold on the 12th. I thought we were in the clear because no one else was sick besides Jayli but on the 18th Jake and Charli were sick. The next day Kynli started a fever and was just miserable. We had until Sunday at midnight to cancel our flights and get our miles/ money back. We decided to try to change our flights to give us one extra day for Kynli to recover. Luckily, Delta changed them for us at no cost and we left on Tuesday morning instead of Monday when Durfees, Jensens and Weights left. By that point all of us had the virus but just Jake and I were still suffering with congestion. We were so relieved that we got to go and that the girls all felt well! 

Our travel day went smoothly. Jake and I wore N95 masks for the airport and plane. (So very uncomfortable) Kids N95 masks aren't approved yet so I bought the closest thing to it and had the girls double mask. As always I was most diligent wiping down our plane seats/ area with clorox wipes. We even brought garbage bags to cover the bins at security. Currently, we are required to take COVID tests the day before we come home. If any of us test positive we cannot come back into the country until we recover. The thought of being stuck in Mexico sick is terrifying. This year is so stressful. We've considered or thought the trip was too big of a risk so many times! But we ended up going and besides the lingering congestion for Jake and I, we were in good health and had such a great time!

We had a direct flight this year and it was a very easy 3 1/2 hour flight. We stopped at Sams on the way to the resort again and I bought the groceries we needed for the week to go with all the food I packed. The humid warm air felt so nice! The resort is so green and beautiful. Our 6 days at Vidanta all looked about the same. But each just as heavenly. The fountain pool was very warm this year. Last year the only warm pool was over at the Bliss. The fountain pool was right outside our building. We spent about all of our pool time in that pool. Iguanas, slushies, fresh salsa and fresh fruit every day. We went down to the beach once each day and boogie boarded and searched for treasures at low tide. We used a cool shade Chris brought and it was nice to have a place to sit out of the sun on the beach. We usually rode the lazy river during the waves a few times. We went to Beachland every night and got churros. They are absolutely delicious! We got the ones filled with sweetened condensed milk. 

We all tried the water slide, even grandma! The Chlarsons were there a few days with us. So the girls all had so much fun together! A resort employee would pass out mini fruit popcycles every afternoon. We all loved the coconut. Jayli's face was getting sun burnt and not Kynli or Charli's. The third morning her burn was bad enough that the skin under her eyes and the bridge of her nose was swollen. We realized she wipes off the zinc sunscreen when comes up out of the water to clear her eyes and nose. She stopped wiping her eyes and we kept a hat on her better. She was great after that. 

We made sandwiches for lunch and cooked dinner in our room every night like we usually do. I packed so much food including a soft cooler full of frozen lunch meat and cheese. One night we joined my parents and sisters for dinner at La Cantina. It was yummy! One night we went to the turtle nursery and got to release some new born baby turtles into the ocean. We had to do our COVID tests the day before we left. We got it done in the morning and had our results about an hour later. All negative thank heavens. We played the last day and reserved a shower room to clean up before we headed to the airport. I had a crazy painful headache/ migraine the whole flight home. I took tylenol and ibuprofin I had in my purse. It eased up a bit but my head still hurt when I went to bed that night. It was nice to be back in Salt Lake before 8pm. We were all so very tired though. I had the girls take the day off school the following day but they were anxious to go back and see their friends. While we were in Mexico, our school district changed the school hours to adjust for COVID and the increased number of absences. They get out an hour earlier to allow teachers time to post the learning curriculum for the day to those that were absent. Such a crazy time to navigate life right now. My anxiety with sickness and germs is already very stressful, but I try to manage my fears amidst a pandemic. I'm so grateful we made it to our fun vacation and that we made it home without complication. I love my little family and so grateful for each of them. My children have my whole heart. Jake is my rock and really understands how to help me. I'd be completely unfunctional without him. He is so very incredible and wonderful. I'm over the moon lucky for these 4 people in my life everyday!