Meet The Early's: Hola!

This past week Andy and I went to Mexico to celebrate our 5 year anniversary two years late:) When we got married we made a promise that we would go somewhere for our 5th and then babies, Disney World, and a house came up and the trip kept getting pushed back. This past December, I came home late from an event at school and Andy said Happy Birthday...pick a trip. We decided on the Valentin Imperial Maya resort in Mexico and we could not be happier with our choice. I cannot even describe to you how great this place is. It is only four years old and about twenty minutes outside of Cancun.

Our trip began with a 6:00 a.m. flight (got at the airport around 4:30 a.m.) to Dallas and then on to Cancun. We dealt with long lines through customs; Andy and I do a really good job of picking the wrong lines. We then push a button and the light turns red which means our luggage gets checked and then we finally make it out of the airport to wait for our bus to pick us up. We had two stops before ours and finally we made it to our resort. We get out and are handed a glass of champagne and a cool washcloth. When you enter you are hit with the most amazing smell of tropical flowers. It was funny because when we were getting ready to leave we watched people arrive and they all said the same thing. "This place smells so good."

We checked in and Andy had done all kinds of schmoozing to get us the best service. He told them we were celebrating our anniversary and we got champagne, cake, and flowers in our room. Our room was gorgeous with a great view. There is a lot of vegetation so it is hard to see the ocean, but we had a great view of the lazy river. We spent most of our days down at the beach. Our pool was recently ranked number 4 in the world and Andy and I never went to it. It seemed it was so much louder and crowded. We figured you could go to the pool back home so why spend your days there? The beach was gorgeous with a great swimming area. The water was so clear and we really enjoyed the people watching. Those French Canadians are interesting to watch and make things a little awkward at times.

Each night we went to a different restaurant. There were seven in all I think and for the most part it was pretty good. Andy and I are ready to eat at home though. Everything was so fancy and rich that you just kind of got tired of it after awhile, but we were adventurous and tried things that we typically would not have. Andy ate mussels at the French restaurant, I had sushi, and we ate at the thai restaurant one night which was good. After eating, we would always go get some drinks at one of the bars we really enjoyed going to, and then we would watch the entertainment which was sometimes really funny. There was the Mexican Michael Jackson, Grease, a fire show on the beach, Mayan dancers, and bands.

One of the best parts about this resort is that it was at capacity and never felt crowded. At night, you could walk along the paths to your room and never see another person. It was strange to feel like you were the only ones there. The staff was sooo nice and would do anything for you. There was one guy on the first day who asked us where we were from and Andy said Kansas City. He said where at in Kansas City; Overland Park, Shawnee Mission, and started naming all the areas. It turns out his brother goes to school at Shawnee Mission North. He said he hopes to make it here someday. I just wanted to bring him back with us.

It's hard to believe how fast the week went. We missed the kids, but we really hated leaving such a beautiful place. The trip was just what we needed and I am so thankful we got the opportunity to go. We are going to have to make an effort to getaway a little more often. Thank you Lissy for watching the kids, Caroline and Jared for driving them back, and everyone else who took care of them while we were gone.

The Beach Bar