The resort we stayed at had a sister resort that was just a golf cart ride away (which our girls LOVED!). The sister resort had a beach club, kids pools and slides and a swim up bar.

We headed back to resort for lunch which we had most days pool side.

We enjoyed dinner at the rooftop restaurant.

chocolate covered cheesecake pops….the girls were not shy!

My older sister, Stacy and her husband, Carl organized a family vacation for all of us to Mexico! They pulled all the details together for us and we spent a fabulous 7 days in Puerto Vallarta. Both of my sisters and their family and my mom were there. All seven of granddaughters together for a week! We had a few mishaps along the way but nothing to slow us down for an unbelievable adventure.

 

Our girls didn’t even wait for us to check in to our room before changing in to the swim suits. They grabbed them out of the suitcase and hung out with Auntie Stacy at the pool while we got settled in our room. Something tells me they really like their cousins….

 

All 7 of them in the kids pool….oh wait, there are 8 kids in this pic. We picked up an extra along the way.

The roof top bar. I’m insanely afraid of heights, but I went with the flow. Corona Light helps with that.

View from our room before dinner.

We all met in the lobby for dinner. Not a sad face in the house….well, Gwyneth was a bit hungry, but not sad. Let me tell you, that girl can get her money’s worth out of an all inclusive hotel. Look out breakfast bar – Gwyneth’s not afraid!

Gwyneth and Eliana are two peas in the pod. They get along fabulously. They played so sweetly together all week long.

The boss of the cousins

The view from our room

I had a lot of work to do and needed some time to get caught up. I’ve said it before, 4 kids is far easier than 2 kids for me. When they each have a friend over it is much more harmonious. I cleaned out all the closets, cleaned out the basement and made room for new birthday toys, cleaned the entire house, and got lots of work done. I felt really fulfilled and the girls were so happy to be able to play with their friends. Win, win for all of us.

 

Annabelle and Jaylen filled tons of water balloons and had a grand water balloon fight. Jaylen stayed through dinner and joined for an outing in the evening to Monkey Business.

 

Gwyneth’s friend Annie joined her for a day of playing with Build A Bears and American Girl dolls. They showed their sassy side and asked me to take some pictures for them. Silly, sily girls.

We received an antique desk from our neighbor and the girls absolutely love it. We have just one and they are already fighting over it so, we’re on the look out for desk #2. We’ve been searching antique stores and Craigs List and are hopeful we’ll find another before school starts so they each have their own special seat to do homework.

 

The girls each had a friend over for playdates today and then we went ice skating. It was such a fun summer activity and a great way to cool down from the heat.

 

The girls were all a bit nervous. Annabelle and Gwyneth have been a few times, Olivia has been once and this was Paige’s first time. They did great!! They clung to the wall the first time around and then found their nerve. They let go of the wall and cruised around the rink. There were certainly a few tumbles but they were brave – always so fearless! I was quite impressed with them.

Gwyneth attended Pop Star camp this week. She learned new dance routines and did lots of crafts. My ladies have spent a lot of time at the dance studio this summer. We are taking a few weeks off and then back to the grind of dancing school. They are taking a lot of classes in the fall so we’ll see who gets burned out first. I’m going to put my bet on ME.

We had a big day planned and have gotten a bit behind on our bucket list. Today we were able to cross off quite a few things. Annabelle’s friend Sofia joined us for a day at the Children’s Museum. They danced, shopped, blew bubbles, and they especially love the wood working room. We headed over to the aquarium for tattoos, dinner with the mermaids, and finding the sting rays. It was a long, full, busy day and the girls were not ready for it to end.

 

Such sweet girls! Sofia is such a kind girl and also includes Gwyneth in the fun.

 

Gwyneth loves to paint pottery and really wanted to have her birthday party at the pottery studio. She wore her fabulous fairy outfit and we met lots of  her friends for an afternoon of painting. She chose the Princess and Pirate package and wanted a Tinkerbell cake. It was a really easy birthday and exactly what Gwyneth wanted. She is really quite easy to please and I love her grateful little heart.

 

 

Gwyneth celebrated her sweet little friend Ruby’s birthday at Urban Adventures (the girls share a birthday!). It was a pretty cool place – we’ve never been and it’s a kind of hidden gem. It was an American Ninja type course. They jumped off pseudo buildings, ran up walls, and did all kinds of other crazy stuff. They wore themselves out!

 

The Efrati’s joined us for dinner this evening. They have such sweet kiddos – four under the age of seven! Wow! We love this family and their kiddos and had a great evening.

Annabelle used her birthday money to buy an Elsa costume. Oh my, how long she has waited for this gem. Gwyneth was pretty excited too because now they can “properly” play Frozen together. They can spend hours making up shoes and putting on performances for us.

They even have matching outfits for their American Girl dolls.

Acting out the scenes from Frozen. Goofballs!

Gwyneth is also going through a serious fairy phase right now. She received a new Tinkerbell doll from my dad and Melissa and a new Tinkerbell costume. She is smitten.