Mexico—Harris family vacation (part 2)

The kids playing just feet from our back door—we were so close to the beach!

Sand crabs and cake making.

Harriet playing with Grandma Fae.

On one of the mornings a big group went deep sea fishing—I stayed home with the girls, but Brian had a great time and caught nine fish and kept seven.

Here he is with one of them.

The whole group: DeWin, Nate, Jace, Char (back row) and Brian, Heather, Jared, and Daren (front row)

Another favorite picture of mine!

Love these two!

Jace, Callie, Elna.

Nate, Jace, Grandma Fae, Elna, Callie

Callie & Elna

These few pictures are from after our family photo shoot—which will be a separate post.

The most beautiful sunsets!

A nighttime shot taken from our villa towards the main city all lit up.

As a reward for good attitudes during the family photo session the kids got ice cream cones.  Elna was actually pretty difficult during the photo session, but who actually follows through with threats on vacation.  Apparently not us.

When Elna wasn’t swimming she was watching T.V. with her cousins or watching them play video games.  This is a rare occurrence in our home, so Elna was in heaven.  Luckily she prefers swimming!

One day we did a small gift exchange.  Char made these calendars for DeWin and Barbara with pictures of their grandchildren.  Thanks Char!

Elna hugging Callie (who gave her an umbrella and backpack that she loved and still uses all of the time!)—Elna gave Callie a toy that she really wanted—I forget the name of it…squinks or squinkie or something like that.

I was very excited (obviously) about what Heather gave me—a spoon rest that I had been eyeing from Anthropologie—love it!  Thanks Heather!!

Towards the end of the week everyone got in the pool together-- it was a party!

Elna and Hattie both loved swimming!

A group shot of all of the swimmers!

Elna wasn’t in this hot tub for long, but loved the pool that nearby that was freezing cold.  She did a lot of running back and forth.  Silly girl.

And we sat out because it was much too hot for Harriet, and I’m not a huge fan of hot tubs that are too hot.

Such a fun week!  (one more post coming soon with the family pictures we took there!)

Mexico—Harris family vacation (Part 1)

I’m way behind on posting about our trip, but it’s better late than never.  We joined the rest of Brian’s immediate family for a vacation in Puerto Penasco, Mexico—on the Sea of Cortez.

At the airport, waiting for our flight to Phoenix.  Elna was quite cute with this too-big backpack on as she walked around the airport.  And Harriet was such a good sport.  Both girls were great on the flight!

When we landed in Phoenix, we rented cars and drove 3 hours to Puerto Penasco.  We stayed in Brian’s uncle’s villa that was right on the beach.  Four years ago the same month we stayed in one of his condos just a few doors down.  Neal was so generous to let us go both times!  We had such a great time. 

Elna in the hot tub at the villa.

We have never seen Elna happier.  She was in heaven!  And she loved playing with her Uncle Jared—he is such a fun uncle!

Elna had absolutely no fear of the ocean.  Her first time down to the water she just ran right in with her clothes on, she lay on her stomach facing the waves and let them crash over her.  We had so much fun with her!  It was one big week of complete bliss for her.

This is my favorite picture of Elna maybe ever.  I need to blow it up and frame it to remind me of her passion and excitement for life.

Harriet so darling in her swim suit.  There are a ton of pools at the resort and she loved swimming in them.

Relaxing (naked) and eating a snack before heading out to play again.

Brian took Elna and Callie out to the sand bar you can see way out there.  They were able to walk the entire way, so it’s not very deep for a long time.

Coming back from the sandbar.

The resort also has a bunch of hot tubs that were usually the perfect temperature for the kids.

These birds were a regular view for us each day.  It was fun to watch them constantly diving into the water beak first for fish.

Brian on the stand-up paddle board.

And Elna—Brian is nearby, but not in this picture.

Brian and his mom in a sea kayak.

Elna making a “cake”.  The kids loved playing in the sand, building cakes, looking for shells, and hunting for sand crabs.

Grandma with 3 of her 4 grandkids—Elna, Jace, and Callie.

Another very favorite of mine!  Elna was born to live on a beach.

Monday night we all went to dinner at a local restaurant.  It was delicious, relaxing, and we had such a great time together:

Chris and Elna looking out at the water while we were waiting for dinner.

A mariachi band behind us, serenating us—very entertaining!

Our girls were more interested in the saltine crackers they had on the table than the food that came later.

Another picture of Hattie to prove she was there.  She did a lot more napping and a lot less swimming and playing than Elna, thus she has a lot less pictures.

This is why Elna loves her dad so much—they have so much fun together!

We love these two so much!

Brian, Harriet, Lucy, Elna, Jace, Nathan, Char, Callie, Daren, Heather, Chris, Jared, Barbara, and DeWin Harris.

I married into such a wonderful family!  It was fun to spend a week with all of them!