Mexico Vive

Mexico Lives - that is their advertisement campaign currently.  Mexico has been hit hard - they are in an economic crisis, their tourism is down due to narco traficantes, the pig virus, and crime.  

I've got news for you folks!  Mexico is the place to be!  It is a beautiful country, filled with gorgeous beaches, friendly folks (not just my family), delicious food, economical, and best of all, a hop skip and a jump from Texas.  Seriously - a 2 hour flight later and you could be on a paradise beach!  

We went for two weeks this summer.  My sister, Isa, Diego and I went down June 29th, Bret and my dad joined us July 3rd and July 4th we celebrated US Independence Day by driving to Acapulco from Mexico City.  

Coming from a good Mexican family, my dad is one of eight children, thus providing several cousins for us.  We went to many outings at various homes of different families and had a great time seeing such a great city.  I didn't get to play tourist too much in Mexico City because of all the family visits, but next time I want to take the kids to Xochimilco, the pyramids, Bazar Sabado, the Children's Museum (it's HUGE), and several other fun things of the sort.

While we were there, we enrolled Isabella in a little school where she attended for a week.  She went with one of my cousin's sons.  She LOVED it.  She thought we were moving there and asked for specific things for her birthday party.

TANGENT: She is obsessed with her birthday and talks about it all the time.  She tells you that she will be turning 4 on the 2nd of August and that she will be eating cheetos, chicken nuggets and cheese for her birthday.  She's going to have strawberry cake and she is going to have a princess pinata.  We (her parents) will sing to her and that will make her birthday complete.  Her biggest illusion though is not to be 4, it is to be 5 - she thinks that 5 is very big and then she will move out of the house because the house will be too small for her.  At 5 she will get to climb the climbing wall at the gym (something she asks about every single time we go).  

Back to Mexico...our gracious hosts were my cousin, Karla with her husband and three children, and then in Acapulco, my aunt has an awesome condominium (if you want to rent it, let me know!).  

Diego loved the beach, but it was scary how much he liked the waves and getting pummeled by them.  I looked like a delinquent mom out there because he would let go of  my hand and run straight into the water and giggle the whole time until a wave came and knocked him down.  

Isabella also loved the waves, but she was more careful and always was held by an adult (mostly her Tia Fia) and went a bit deeper into the waves and liked the feeling of them with the sure grasp of an adult to keep her safe.  

We went to see these crazy divers dive off of a huge cliff.  It's very famous and called La Quebrada where 7 divers took either regular dives, back dives, or flip dives off the cliff into an active part of the ocean.  

All in all it was a great vacation where Isabella was exposed to the culture I grew up with, and it gave her a wonderful opportunity to hang out with all Spanish speakers and cousins relatively her own age.  It was one of the best vacations Isa has ever had.  She's still talking about it.