Table for 30

Sorry, for the delay in blogging.. been away and came home with a pretty bad cold.

We just got back from a wonderful week in Playa Del Carmen with 7 other families. Yes, that's right, we were a total of 8 families, 16 adults and 13 kids. It has been a work in progress. Every year we go away with one other family and have always had a good time. We always share our awesome experiences with our friends, so we decided to invite them all to join us on our yearly vacation and almost all our friends agreed to come.

Finally a group pose

The planning started in December with trying to nail down a date that we can all go. Once we figured out a date, we started looking for a location that we would all enjoy and a resort that can accommodate all our needs. The children ranged in age from 6 months to 7 years old. It was also going to be the first time for a few families to go on an all inclusive resort vacation.

So here are some tips if you're looking for a family holiday

- all-inclusive... need I say more
- look for a resort targeted to families if not you'll have grumpy seniors giving you dirty looks
- look for resorts that have a good kids club that can accommodate the ages of the children
- mini disco is a bonus for the kids
- good shows in the evening
- beachfront is always good
- elevator if you have kids in strollers if not you'll be carrying it up the stairs
- a variety of food at the restaurants are good (read reviews if possible)
- activities to keep everyone busy/happy
- flights at good times for the little ones

With all these items in mind, I worked with a super travel agent and was able to make it work.  Our friends had a fantastic time. The beach was AMAZING, white sand for miles.  The kids had plenty of activities to keep them busy and the drinks and food were plenty to keep everyone happy. We were all able to get into one restaurant for a nice a la carte dinner. You should have seen the guys face when I asked for a reservation for 29 people :)

Our resort was super and even had a well equipped gym for the guests. This was important to me as I am training for my half and was not sure if I would be able to run outside. I lucked out as our resort was in a beautiful gated community, I was able to get out for a few runs. My only issue was that it was SO HOT!!!  It was almost 40 degrees Celsius with the humidity. But seriously, I couldn't complain.  The community was gorgeous and the runs were fun, even though they were short. It was great to be able to jump into the ocean or the pool after these hot sweat runs. I was able to get in 3 runs, 2 outside and 1 on the treadmill. Not a lot of mileage was covered, but just happy I was able to run.

One of our runs and me trying out the trapeze