We rang in the New Year with a 7 day trip to Riviera Maya Barcelo in Mexico. We also celebrated Bob's 56th birthday. Our group consisted of 14 friends and family. This included Bob & I, Brooks, Brady and bf ~ Preston. Joining us from Iowa was my cousin Ann, her husband Eric, daughters, Olivia, Elizabeth, Olivia's friend Madison and Elizabeth's bf ~Tom . Along with them was their neighbor Diane and her girls Kate and Kristen. (Another family of 4 missed out due to weather delays.)
The weather was overcast for the first part of the week. We still had a great time. On one day that was a little cool and overcast, the kids spent the morning making sandcastles. What a hoot! Who knew that sand could turn 20 year olds into little kids again. We ended up having a competition and got "Pauly D" & his new wife (they are a whole other story) to judge. We proved that sunshine is not always needed.
We adopted the pool bartender, Oscar, for the week. Our favorite drinks were Tequila sunrises, mimosas, pina coladas, Popper shots and of course cervezas. We had a choice of restaurants each night. We drew for spots so that everyone really got to know each other. The food was but Mexican sushi and steak were not very successful.
The week was full of family, friends, warm weather, a little sunshine, lots of fruity drinks and awesome bonding of 14 people!! It was nice to get away but it is always nice to come home. (Brooks survived 7 days without his phone!)
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| The Whole Gang |
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| Sisters |
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| "Happy Birthday" |
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| Preston & Brady |
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| Baby Girl |
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| Cousins |
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| The Howe Girls |
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| Madison & Olivia |
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| Elizabeth & Tom |
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| The Dads and the boyfriends |
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| My beautiful family |
