Michael Jackson has died

I won't comment on MJ dying, but since the FCC has declared that all broadcasts must contain a mention of his death I don't want to risk the fine.

I only have 90 minutes left in the month and this is only the 2nd post of June. Oh how I slack. We went on vacation though, so I'm allowed. June 7-14 we were at the Barcelo Tropical in Riviera Maya. Good times and good relaxation. (Pics are on Steph's phone and haven't been retrieved yet.) On Friday night just before we left Steph's driver's side rear window was smashed in a robbery attempt in Cherry Creek, so we started off the vacation somewhat poorly. (They took her loose change and that's it.) Fortunately our luck changed when we left for Mexico.

We got to the airport early enough for breakfast, so we sat and ordered food off the kids' menu so they'd be full and Steph and I picked off theirs. 10 min after the food had come out the manager walked out with another identical order...oops. He was shocked to see empty plates already at the table, but kindly left us the extra food for free. The flight to Mexico was uneventful, as was the transfer to the hotel*, and then we checked in. Steph asked nicely if we could have a room close-ish to the pool and they obliged, putting us in a suite for no extra charge instead of a regular room like we'd booked. Sweet. This came with a bottle of champagne and a fruit plate. Alrighty!

So we headed to the beach. On the way down the stairs we passed an older couple who told us they were leaving in the morning and had left an inner tube and an air mattress by a tree if we wanted to snag them. More free stuff! So we grabbed the air mattress, then went for a walk on the beach. As we were walking and enjoying the sand a little girl and her mom walked up with a bag full of sand toys. They were leaving in the morning as well, and would we like a bunch of sand toys for the week? Sure, thanks!

That was all day 1. The rest of the trip was great, with less overtly free stuff. It was all-inclusive, so everything felt free. The kids had a blast and The Bean took huge leaps with her swimming. She didn't like to let go of mom either, which put the kibosh on the plan that the kids go to the Kids Club a couple hours a day so Steph and I could relax a bit. Oh well. I have to remember that even though I got into this for Steph the kids are #1 for her, which is as it should be.

We're getting our alone time now though. The kids are with their dad in Illinois for 12 days and we're celebrating by re-doing the kitchen countertops. More on that later, when pics are available...


*We're never taking an Apple Vacations transfer again. We waited an hour for "2 more people!" who had been on our flight and must have gotten distracted by the line of time share salesmen offering "Free Rides" to the hotels in exchange for 4 hours of your vacation time later in the week. There's nothing more frustrating than getting off a plane and sitting on a bus for an hour waiting to get to the beach because the driver won't just LEAVE. This has happened every time we've booked the transfers through Apple Vacations.