San Jose del Cabo {Mexico}

Sand, sun and surf. That was our 10 days in Mexico. We have returned home and have settled back into the Christmas season and the chill in the air.

Enjoy a recap of our trip (note: not vacation).

Mema and Papa have been frequenting Mexico for a few years now. This was their first go around in a private condo. They so kindly invited us to take part in their month long visit. I bet they regretted that decision around day 6 of our time there.

The place we stayed at was El Zalate. It had beautiful grounds and great swimming pools. Not to mention the ocean view and great wildlife we saw. 

We spent a lot of time frolicking on the beach. As you can see there were hardly any people there. The weather hung out in the 80's most of the time, with one random little rain storm and a few clouds in and out, but pretty much just perfect.

We saw lots of wildlife. These are pelicans gliding along the waves. The sting rays moved into the coast line the last few days we were there. We could see them when the waves would come crashing in. Fun to watch, but it made playing in the waves impossible. Kenny came upon one on the beach while running one day and rescued him gently back to the water. Shane is super jealous he didn't get to touch the sting ray.

Shane loves, loves, loves the ocean. He'd pick it to play in any day over a swimming pool. Adalyn took some time to get comfortable with it and would still need to take a break if a wave got her wrong. But eventually she would hope back in with her brother.

More then anything, this little one likes the sand. She was just as happy to play in the sand then the water.

One afternoon Kenny, Shane and I took the public bus into downtown San Jose Del Cabo. Ah, yay...fun times in Mexico. A buck per person one way. The bus' had broken windows and messed up chairs. Shane rode both ways with wide eyes and a closed mouth.

The town was super quiet and we had a nice time strolling around looking at the shops. They were in the midst of decorating the town center for Christmas. I love this picture with the palm tree, Christmas tree and Mexican flag all together.

This was Thanksgiving Day. Not to bad to start it off with some water, beach and sun fun. Followed by a "traditional" turkey dinner. Mema and Papa worked hard to pull that meal off. Spending much time in the "Mega" grocery store finding the right ingredients and such. It didn't taste quite the same as it does at home, but the thought was there for sure.

Thanksgiving Day dinner on the awesome balcony that we spent most of our down time on.

Picture taken by Shane.

As we were there the landscapers started to get the place ready for Christmas. It was fun to see them add holiday touches around the grounds.

Hanging out on the balcony.

Water logged. 

The kid pool there was perfect for my kiddos. Plenty of room in the shallow area and even a bit deeper part for Shane to practice swimming in. We spent lots of time splashing around in the pool.

 I love this picture!

The kids slept on these during the night and we played with them during the day. 

One of my favorite parts of the whole trip was my one hour I got to myself one afternoon,

just floating around the adult pool reading a book on the raft in the sunshine.

Heaven!

Another HUGE highlight of the trip was stumbling across baby turtles being released. My Mom had seen it happen before we arrived and I was dying to see if too. We just happened to wonder down to the beach one evening and heard someone say they were releasing baby turtles. I shot off to the beach and had my Mom run up to grab Kenny and the kids. Thank goodness Kenny grabbed the camera!!! He earned big brownie points for that!

There were 3 tubs like this that they released. During this time each every year, locals gather the hatched eggs on the beach before sunrise. They take them and incubate them until they hatch and then return the babies to the same location they found the eggs at. The babies that survive will year and hatch their eggs at the same place they were born. So cool!

 Look at this little guy!

Baby turtles scrambling to the waves, which then would crash them and toss them. Many got turned over from sand bumps or waves or running into other baby turtles. You aren't suppose to touch them with your hands since the scent will mess them up and they have bacteria that is bad to get on your hands.

One of the locals had gloves he was using the flip the little guys over with. He walked past Shane and handed him one. Which gave Shane the ability to then flip over the turtles that needed help. He was so so excited to help out. He then handed it to me when he was done and I got to flip baby turtles. Adalyn wasn't interested. I handed the glove off to another lady to spread the flipping joy. Mema got in the act a bit, too. What a fun thing to do! Shane talks about the baby turtles all the time. It will be something he'll remember for ever.

 

We found this fun green guy hanging out in a palm tree.

I just kinda love taking pictures of her.

The family.

There were two resident lizards/iguanas that hung lived in a couple rocks by the pool. This is the smaller one of the two. Fun to watch them bask in the sun all day long. 

Our hosts...Mema and Papa. Thanks for a memorable trip!! 

Maybe we'll join you again in February?!? 

Not much needed to say here.

Our last sunrise of our trip. It was bittersweet to come home. 

You can't beat hanging out in paradise for awhile. 

Even with two energy filled and exhausting kiddos.