Feliz Cumpleanos to Dad!

Happy Birthday Joe!

Anna was happy to enjoy a long holiday weekend (no school Friday or Monday) in Mexico to celebrate Dad's birthday.  Dad was also happy to celebrate in Mexico, where the sun was shining and temperatures were in the upper 70s.

We enjoyed a lovely stay at one of the Cancun resorts on the beach with delicious food and a lovely pool.  Apparently Mexico was not immune to the polar vortex and temperatures were a bit colder than normal.  We needed jackets in the morning and the evening and the pool was too cold for even Anna.  She jumped in twice and did not stay in more than 10 minutes before she started to turn blue.  Fortunately the ocean was warm, so we spent the majority of our time on the beach where Anna jumped the waves and we expanded our sand castle building abilities to include sand animals.

Dad's birthday was on Saturday, so Theresa suggested a snorkeling trip.  What better way to spend an afternoon than enjoying the calm, warm waters of the Caribbean sea looking at beautiful fish?  How often do you get to do that for a January birthday?  Unfortunately, the vision did not quite meet the reality.

Building a sand lizard

It was a windy day, but the staff at the dive shop assured us that the water was warm, the boat ride was less than 10 minutes, and the snorkeling location was in calm waters.  We borrowed some snorkeling equipment to try-out since Joe was the only veteran snorkeler.  Joe and Anna practiced briefly in the pool, but Theresa decided to forgo the practice run since the swimming pool was so cold.  When it was time to leave for the trip, the winds were still strong.  Anna decided she did NOT want to go and was crying.  After everyone finally got on the boat, we were treated to a thrill ride to the snorkeling location complete with lots of wave jumping.  The waters at the reef were warm, but not exactly calm with some significant waves that made it difficult to float and look at fish.  Anna chose to stay on the boat (a wise choice on her part).  Joe and Theresa took turns snorkeling around the reef.  Theresa recalls seeing two fish, but spent the rest of the time battling her snorkeling gear in the waves, which kept filling her snorkeling tube with water.  After another thrilling ride back to the hotel (this time, Anna decided she really liked fast boats), everyone was very happy to see land.....and for things to quit rocking.  It was a memorable birthday present for Joe.

The rest of Joe's birthday was much less eventful.  We enjoyed a nice seafood dinner that night complete with a mariachi band signing "happy birthday" to Joe.

Speaking of food, it was pretty clear that Anna's favorite meal of the day was breakfast.  Actually, Anna is always a big fan of breakfast when she can go out to eat.  A breakfast buffet is a big treat for her.  Anna's typical breakfast during the trip was as follows:

• Juice (usually 2 glasses)
• Milk
• Scrambled eggs with cheese
• Bacon
• Hashbrowns
• Cereal/or yogurt
• Pancake/or waffle

Note this is not a tasting menu.  She ate everything on her plate.  Perhaps this is another growth spurt or she was just fueling up for a day at the beach.

As we sadly arrived at the airport for the trip home, we were surprised to hear that a snowstorm was headed for DC.  It looks like we will be trading our swimsuits for snow pants and shoveling snow instead of sand.  It was good while it lasted!

Snorkeling practice at the pool