Well, today was my birthday. It was a hard birthday for me - 28! For some reason, this one really hit me hard, and I was not excited to turn 28 in the least. How very OLD! I was, however, very excited about this day because we were taking our first excursion with the boys today. We were going to Tulum and Xpu-ha. So we were at our bus stop by 8:00 AM ready and raring to go. They did great on the bus ride there. We did decide, however, that as much as we complain about car seats in the US, they're really wonderful things...legal restraints for your kids! Grant and Mason both were wallering all over us the entire trip, making it rather uncomfortable and frustrating.
Waiting for our bus to Tulum
The boys playing together on the bus. Isn't Grandpa's face priceless??
We had to stop at a little flea market for a while for people to shop. I was outside taking some pictures of Grant and this little dog came up to him. I wouldn't let him touch it, but he adored the doggy and enjoyed being right down on her level. 
Tulum was fun...but VERY hot. I always enjoy historical sites. Chris and I had come here on our honeymoon and I enjoyed it immensely then, and did again, despite everyone being cranky. I wore Mason in the Baby Bjorn which turned out to be quite easy. My shoulders were tired by the end, but Mason was a happy boy the whole time, and it made it much easier not to have to hold him in my arms. We couldn't take the stroller here, so Grant had to walk. It was hot, and he's only 2, and he didn't want to walk. The problem was, everyone else was hot, too, so they didn't want to carry him. So there was much whining, resulting in daddy getting very frustrated, resulting in mommy getting very frustrated...and you see the pattern. :-) It really didn't go very well. But I enjoyed the sites anyway.
See the iguana in front??
After Tulum, we went to Xpu-ha, another one of the palace resorts. It's very cool. It's like an ecological park. Sometime when we go back, I would love to stay here. You stay in little huts on stilts, and it's like a little zoo - monkeys, crocodiles, flamingoes, deer, etc. We went for lunch (where Grant wouldn't eat a thing and he and Chris fought about it the whole time) and after about 45 minutes, we went out to the kiddie pool and at last everyone had fun! The two boys were having a ball, and we actually were, too. It was nice. Neither boy had napped all day, so once we finally got back on the bus, they both konked out for the rest of the trip. 
When we got back to the hotel, we walked into the room, and the maids had turned our beds back, turned on soft music and had a birthday cake waiting for me. It was so nice of them. 
After cleaning everyone up, Chris and I had our complimentary massages at 7:00. We grabbed a little something to eat afterwards while his parents put the kids to bed, and then we went to The Fire Show. Wow, was it something! A group from Brazil had come and they danced around the stage while doing various stunts with fire. It was very cool. 
After that, we went and sat down by the ocean for a while and talked. We decided that we were not going to take the kids on any more excursions...they just weren't kid friendly. At least not little kids. I was disappointed, but it really wasn't worth the frustration. So that, in a nutshell, was my birthday. It turned out to be a good day, but it certainly had a rocky start!
On the catamaran coming back from snorkeling. 
That night, the boys were so tired. We went to Chris' favorite restaurant and found the service to be EXTREMELY slow. We had some guys come around with guitars and sing a couple of songs. Grant got to add percussion to one of them which was the 
There was much whining and crying from both of the boys, however, so to spare us all frustration, instead of eating, I took them back to the room and they were both sound asleep within minutes of getting there. Poor kids. They were tuckered out! I didn't realize until later that it was actually like 8:30 their time when we sat down to eat. No wonder they were tired. Chris brought my meal back to me and I enjoyed every bite! Traditional Mexican tacos with grilled chicken and green pepper. Yum!