Playa Del Carmen Day 1 and 2

We arrived in Playa Del Carmen around 4:00pm. Our travels were good, except for a little turbulence as we were descending into Cancun. I have to admit I was a little bit sad when the Captain came on the intercom and told us the current weather conditions were cloudy with a chance of Thunderstorms. I wanted to cry, I was landing in what was supposed to be sunny paradise and it was raining. Once we went through customs we found our transfer service and headed out to our resort. We were the last couple to be dropped off, so we got to see some different parts of Cancun and Playa. I was surprised at how swampy the area was. We finally arrived at the "Grand Sunset Princess". I was amazed at how beautiful it was.

This is looking back at the lobby area. We hurried and checked in and headed to our room. The first night we were staying in a Jr Deluxe suite because we came in a day early and they were sold out of Platinum rooms for that night.

The Jr Deluxe suite was nice.We were so excited as soon as our bags arrived we took off to explore the resort.

We wandered down to the beach and around the resort. The resort is huge and it takes about 10 minutes to walk from end to end. The grounds were gorgeous and very well keep. While we were walking around we met up with Joe and Jess. We waited for them to get settled then we went to the buffet to get something to eat. After dinner we walked around and enjoyed paradise.

Outside the buffet in the courtyard. After a long day of traveling we all were tired and ready for bed.

 The next day we woke up to RAIN. I was so grumpy. We sat on our balcony and watched it rain. Normally I love a summer thunderstorm, but not while I am in Mexico. This Thunderstorm was so different from home, the rain came down so hard and the the thunder was so loud. It was neat to see a Tropical Thunderstorm, I was just hoping it was not something I would get to experience everyday while we were there.

 In this photo you can see how humid and rainy it was. My camera lens keep fogging up. After getting ready for the day we headed down to breakfast. Since we had to stay in the Jr Suite we had to  check out at 12 and we couldn't check into our Platinum room until 3 so we had some time to kill. We had been planning to go to the beach but that was not going to be happening.

So we decided to wait out the rain and  go and sit in one of these cute little huts and just relax.

Me just sitting in the hut pouting about the rain. The staff at the resort keep telling me that it is the rainy season but it always clears up in the afternoon. And sure enough a couple hours later the sun came out.

 Around 3 we went and checked into our Platinum suite. We were greeted with a cool towel and a glass of champagne.

I loved the lobby at the Princess, it is all open air,

This is the view from the lobby. You can see the main trail that takes you through the resort and to the beach. It is lined with palm trees and statues. It is a beautiful walk and you don't mind the distance between the beach and the restaurants.

We wanted to take a photo of our room number so when we come back we can get the same room.I am not sure why Jason is smiling so odd.

Jason outside our door. We were so excited to see what we would find inside.

We ended up on the top floor. This is the awesome sight outside our front door.

This is actually Jeremy and Ashley's room, but our room was exactly the same expect we some how ended up with 2 queen beds. But the view from our room made up for the queen beds.

Jason seeing if the beds are comfy.

I loved the bathroom sinks. The rooms were so clean and the marble through out was beautiful.

The jetted tub was huge. I loved all the little details like bath salts, fruit baskets fully stocked fridge and it was all included in the price. I think I could live at the Princess.

More photos of the bathroom. You could  fit about 5 people in the shower if you wanted to.

The amazing view from our balcony. We overlooked the Platinum pool.

This is the view from the other direction. You could see the beach and hear the ocean. We spent a lot of our time out on the balcony. I got up early one morning and watched the sunrise over the caribbean blue ocean. It was breath taking and one of the highlights of the trip.

These were our neighbors. Joe and Jessica happened to get the room right next door to us.

I was so giddy with our room and our view. It was so surreal to be in such a beautiful place. It was hard to believe that there is actually a place like this that is so absolutely beautiful.

After all the excitement of checking out the rooms we decided to go to the beach.Jason taking in this view. It looks like something you would see as your computer's screen saver.

There was no one on the beach by us. As we were sitting on the beach Ash and Jer showed up to join us.

We spent the rest of the afternoon catching some rays on the beach.

We had a ton of tropical drinks and a blast hanging out on the white sandy beach. After the beach we decided to try out the pool. It was so much fun, but I don't have photos of us in the pool. Lets just say it was a wild and crazy day.

After such a long exciting day everyonewent to thier rooms and passed out.

4th of July Celebrations

 The boys getting ready to go to the Payson Pool.

Lincoln playing in the water.

Talan going down the water slide.

Lincoln loves to pretend he is driving a car. If there is a steering wheel Lincoln will spend his time playing with it.

Just relaxing and having a drink while they are cleaning the pool.

The boys giving the thumbs up.

I love when the jets fly over the Stadium of Fire. So we sat out front of our house waiting for them to fly over. The f-16 fly over is one of my favorite things about the 4th of July.

We waited and waited.

and waited. Finally we decided to leave because we were meeting everyone in Provo to watch the fireworks. As we were driving over the jets flew over. I love seeing the jets and hearing the roar of their engines.

Our big group watching the fireworks. We had tons and food and enjoyed chatting with each other.

Jason and Lincoln having a glow stick sword fight.

Waiting for the fireworks.

What a nice big brother to help Lincoln put on his glow necklaces.

Lincoln loved the fireworks. He keep pointing at them and saying "Look"

Talan had been so excited to watch the fireworks all day. But at some point during the fireworks Talan was just too tired and he feel asleep.

Sunday we decided to take a drive up Payson Canyon and stop and visit Grandma and Grandpa Jones who were up camping at Ponderosa.

On our way up we stopped to hike up the Grotto Waterfall.

Talan got to cross allot of logs that were going over the river. At first he was a little nervous, but by the end of the hike we was a pro log crosser.

Lincoln was lucky enough to get a lift up the trail.

Talan at the Grotto. Talan liked the waterfall so much that he asked if we could come back tomorrow.

The boys having a good time throwing rocks into the water.

The waterfall was so pretty. I didn't find out until last year that there was even a waterfall up Payson Canyon.

Talan and I showing off our river crossing skills.

Such a cute Totem Pole.

 After visiting Grandma and Grandpa we came home and had our own campfire in the backyard.

 We roasted a few marshmallows and made a few smores.

Lincoln had a great time playing with the firewood and Dakota's water bowl.

 I found a recipe I wanted to try out. You take a banana and cut them in half and fill them with things like chocolate, marshmallow, peanut butter then you wrap them up and throw them in the fire. Talan and I wanted to try them out, but all of our bananas were bad when we cut into them. So we had to stick to Smores. Next time we are trying the bananas.

Lincoln didn't care if the bananas were bad. He was too busy dancing on the table.

We lit a few Sparklers.

 Chased the dog around the yard.

 We stuffed ourselves with goodies and over all just had a good time hanging out with each other.

The weather was so nice that Jason and I put the kids to bed and stayed out on the deck until midnight just talking.

 Our backyard campfire was a success. Next time Talan wants to get the tent out and spend the night in the backyard.

 I love that the boy scouts in our neighborhood put out flags in front of everyones houses for the hoildays. I love driving down the street and having it lined with flags.

 On the 4th we went to Grandma and Grandpa Christensen's to have a BBQ. We also did a few snaps on the drive way.

 Lincoln wishing he was old enough to go down and throw a few snaps.

Overall we had a great 4th of July weekend. We were always on the go, but we all loved every minute of it.