Last fall Steve and I went to the beach together for the very first time in our 13 years of marriage. After that trip, Steve was convinced the beach was the very best vacation and he was dying to take our kids – who had never been to the beach. When the opportunity came along to go to Mexico with two families that we’re good friends with – Steve didn’t even need to know any details, he was all in.

Mexico is a relatively short drive for us, and yet, it seemed like a world away. It was dark when we initially crossed the border which made me a tad uneasy – I like to see what I’m going into. I wanted the kids to see the difference between the two sides of the border, instead they got a taste the next day when they went into the market.

We stayed at a beach house in a quiet, secluded area. The whole time we were there, we only saw a handful of people on the beach. We had the place to ourselves and we made sure to capitalize on it. The high/low tides were drastic while we were there which gave the kids a large sandy playground to search for shells and treasures and it was really shallow for yards and yards. They were busy for hours out there. The water was chilly, but most of them braved it in the heat of the day.

The setup was ideal because while Briggs or any of the other babies were sleeping, we could sit on the balcony and watch the kids on the beach. They were running up the stairs to jump in the hot tub and rushing back down to dig holes in the sand. Everything was so close. As the tide rolled back in, the kids dug tunnels and trenches and mountains and slowly watch them wash away.  And then we’d clean up the beach for the night walk up the stairs and prepare and eat dinner as the sunset. Day after day, it didn’t get old.

All that fun and that was just day one. More pictures to come. And favorite lists from all the kids…