So I ended the last edition with the arrival of my parents. I picked them up at the airport and had beers for the boys and mini wines for the ladies. They were tickled pink to have a drink waiting for them on the drive to the beach. When we got to our house, after a rather long detour due to road closures for the Carnival parade, I had prepared a charcuterie board for everyone to snack on and also more wine and beer. They all appreciated that I went out of my way to have this ready for them on arrival. We sat and kibitzed for a few hours then I took Greg and Michele to their condo down the road while my parents settled into their room.
Over the weekend, we spent our time in town or by the pool, nothing to strenuous as Pops was up and down with his health. The first night he did take a stumble on one of the many steps up/down around this house. He was ok just a little unsteady on his feet so we put him to bed again. He was looking for mom and figured she was upstairs but was actually outside.
My brother and his family all arrived on the 10th and boy oh boy was the house full now with 8 of us. The kids were quiet at first then they became more comfortable especially the first morning when they were thumping up and down the stairs and knocking on Dana's door way to early. I think Ryan was looking for me but picked the wrong door. They got read the riot act and tried to be quieter the rest of the visit. The 4 of them went out exploring everyday while we stayed closer to home. The folks Dana and I went to look at a couple of houses. One could have been more reno then wanting to do and the other was amazing, just have to try and work out some financing and he was not ready to sell until next season anyways, so we said we would keep in touch. Kahlua wasn't to keen on the kids, but I think it was because they were moving so fast around the house and were loud, both of which she is not comfortable around. Eventually after many treats, Kahlua did warm up to Lauren a bit and even caught her in bed with them. Every Saturday night we went as a group with Greg and Michele to a local pub for dinner and music.
On the 15th, everyone except Dana, packed up to head to Playa del Carmen and an All Inclusive resort. My brother and family had decided to split their holiday between the 2 locations and wanted us to come along for a few days. They decided to go wandering on their way there and we just went straight through. Pops was pretty good not complaining about my driving although he did notice the speedometer at 140 but kept quiet. He did say I was a good driver but didn't know why I needed to go so fast. Unlike him, I don't drive into ditches! We got to the resort and they had screwed up the reservation and put us in a room with 1 bed and a couch. Guess who wasn't moving so good the next morning! I did a tour of the resort as a travel agent (part of getting a reduced rate) while the old folks went to the waterpark to find the kids. When I was done my tour, I went to the spa for a massage and was also able to get our room swapped. I went back to the room and packed everything up for the folks so we were ready to change rooms and I was so happy to have a bed. Never mind the size of the upgraded room we got. Pops had a bit of a hard time with the distances, so we got him a wheelchair to roll him around in, even though he complained he didn't need it. We met the others for dinner at an Italian restaurant and the steakhouse the next 2 nights.
The next day we all went to the waterpark and eventually Ryan coaxed me into chasing him around the park in the water. Big mistake, I sure felt it for the next couple days. We said goodbye to them the last night as we knew we wouldn't see them in the morning and told them to keep in touch. The 3 of us drove back to a very excited puppy and happy Dana.
The next day I shipped the folks off to their friends for a few days and some much needed peace and quiet for Dana and myself. After having an extra 6 people all talking at once, quiet was indeed required. We still met up with them for our Saturday night out in town but they spent the weekend away to return home and get organized to fly home on the Tuesday.
It was nice seeing them again, have had lots of visits in the past couple years and finally having a chance to get to know my niece and nephew. When we were leaving the resort, my nephew, Ryan asked me to please come back to Toronto to see him this summer. No promises Ryan, but I will try.
After they left it was back into our regular routine of laundry, tanning, shopping and drinking with a few outings here and there. I had my eyebrows done and they look pretty damn good.
I took Kahlua in the pool one afternoon with her life jacket on. She didn't like it much but boy did she paddle to the edge to get out. A few days later, it was hot as Hades again and Dana was in the pool swimming. I pretended to look at something in the grass and called Kahlua over. When she got beside me at the edge of the pool, I pushed her in. She managed to doggy paddle her little body to the edge and got out on her own, then raced me to the patio. I forgot I left the doors open and she was headed straight inside to shake off. Needless to say, she was none to happy with me until bedtime and stayed on Dana's side of the table.
So it was a pretty busy month with the family but good overall. Now we will have a few weeks to ourselves before Dana's girls arrive and she is making the days jam backed for them. I know I'm late in make this post but its been busy. As of writing, I'm a little over a month from returning home, so I have to get all my shenanigans in now.
Until the next edition,
Bromistas y Deseos,
from Kahlua and I
