This
year, we spent Christmas in the Riviera Maya, a.k.a. Cancun, on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Eric’s dad treated our
family, Eric’s two sisters and their families to Cancun for Christmas and his
upcoming 70th birthday. There were 12 of us all together: seven
adults and five grandkids ages 8 to 18. We were there from December 20-27 and
made lots of fun memories together.
We
swam in the ocean, swam in the pool, swam with dolphins, (it was so cool), saw
Chichén Itzá, ate Hawaiian pizza, picked a coconut, lounged under a grass hut, made
lots of crafts, played soccer on the beach, gathered tons of sea shells, (all
within our reach), ate Mexican and sea food three times a day, did water
aerobics and other water play, got second place in a ping pong tournament,
first place on the stage, read books and magazines (page after page), bought a
hat and sunglasses, took sushi-making and towel-folding classes, did the bungee
trampoline, played bingo by the pool, saw a real live burro, (or was it a
mule?), made lots of new friends, saw Santa and his elves, and took hundreds of
pictures for the scrapbooks on my shelves.
The girls and I also re-wrote "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" and sang it on Christmas day.
I’m
Dreaming of a Cancun Christmas
By
the Hodge Lodge Family
I’m
dreaming of a Cancun Christmas
Just
like the one I never had
Where
the palm trees blow
And
the coconuts grow
And
all the Canadians are glad.
I’m
dreaming of a Cancun Christmas
With
every fish taco I eat
Making
friends with the strangers I meet
And
walking around in my bare feet.
I’m
dreaming of a Cancun Christmas
Just
like the one on the website
Where
the pool is open
And
everyone’s hopin’
That
the sand is the only thing that’s white.
I’m
dreaming of a Cancun Christmas
With
every bus tour that I take
Where
the dolphins take you on a ride
And
you see where the Mayans used to hide.
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Coconuts galore! |
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The resort we stayed at. |
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Swimming in one of the many pools. |
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A family walk on the beach. |
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Swimming in the warm ocean. |
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Family dinner at the Mexican restaurant on the resort property. |
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One of the resident iguanas. |
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The entire Hodge family in front of Chichén Itzá, one of the Mayan ruins. |
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Chichén Itzá is one of the Modern Wonders of the World! |
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Autumn on the bungee trampoline at the resort. |
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Amber doing a flip on the bungee trampoline. |
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Eric won a "who can act most like a Mexican" contest. |
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Eric, his sisters and dad (and the bottle of Mexican tequila that Eric won). |
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Christine and the girls ready to swim with the dolphins. |
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Pictures with Santa and an elf. |
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The girls with their cousins, Rachel and Sarah. |
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The girls with cousin Pieter. |
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Eric and his sisters, Amy and Sonja. |