Mexico 2013: Part One

There is so much to write about our trip to Mexico that I'm sure I will forget many things.  I wish I'd been writing all along, while we were there, so I wouldn't forget.  

Anyway, Thursday night, July 18th, we packed up Lexi, her food, meds, bed, water/food dishes, and the boys and headed to my mom's house.  That same afternoon the dog had peed twice on our sisal carpets.  We thought it was because we were so busy we didn't take her out on time (although, thinking about it now, we hadn't made her wait an exceptionally long time to do her business).  As we rode off down our street to my mom's, the boys squealed with delight that the dog was in the back of the van and they could see her.  She just lay down on her bed, but it was funny to hear the boys' reaction to having Lexi in the van with us.  Jim, Jen, and James were at my mom's so we had a quick visit and then came home.  

We put the boys to bed, loaded up the car, and prepared to get up super early...we had to be leave at 4:45AM.  We left the boys in their PJs...here they are at Logan waiting to check in.  

Thanks to Larry, one of the owners of Meditech, our tickets were upgraded to first class!  That was an amazing life saver.  At first I was worried and even MORE stressed about the flights because no one sits in first class to be next to twin toddlers...but the extra space and attention was amazing.  The boys had a good flight.  The take off and landing held their attention--they liked looking out the window.  Both boys slept for a while and then were up to eat some crackers and "play" with us on the plane.  Except for a brief moment when I had Sebastian and he dumped crackers all over the floor and started to have a tantrum, they were both good.  I ended the tantrum by giving Sebastian back to Carlos, picked up the crackers, and the boys were fine the rest of the flight.  Phew!

Once in Dallas, we had a long 3 hour layover.  It was good to let them stretch and run around.  We got them Auntie Ann's pretzels which they loved.  Then we managed to find this empty area where we turned the boys loose.  They ran wild for about 20 minutes before we boarded. 

Waiting to board in Dallas

The Dallas airport was full of family restrooms so changing the boys wasn't hard.  The terminal was big and had lots of areas to walk around.  But the layover was a bit long, I guess.  By the end we were just dying to get back on the plane and get the rest of the trip over with!  Unfortunately, this was the only leg of the journey where we weren't in first class.  But it was ok--the flight is only about 1.5 hours.  The boys looked out the window and dozed.

The bad part of this leg of the journey was that our stroller, which we gate checked in Dallas, did not arrive to Monterrey.  We had to go through immigration and customs and pick up our luggage AND file a claim for the stroller all with tired boys and no way to confine them.  It was actually pretty awful.  Adrian was having a meltdown with me in immigration, screaming...And he's usually so mellow!  I thought I was going to lose it!  But one of the immigration workers let me go through the line with Carlos to save time (instead of the foreigners line) and we got out of there relatively fast.  All the rest of our baggage arrived and they lent us a double stroller until ours arrived.

What an unwieldy piece of crap this stroller was!  Couldn't wait to get my Maclaren Twin Triumph back!

Then we were met at the airport by Carla and Luis and their 3 girls, and Carlos's mom and dad.  We installed our car seats in his mom's SUV (relatively easily, thankfully), and were off. 

The boys (and we) were tired, so we went to the house and put them to bed relatively early.  They actually fell asleep quickly in Carla's old room and I ended up sleeping in there too just to keep an eye on them.

The next day (Saturday) was the boys' "debutante ball"/early birthday party, organized by my mother-in-law and two sisters-in-law.  They went all out, as you'll see from the photos.  It was a breakfast/brunch party at Hacienda Los Cristales; it's actually the same place where Carla got married.  

 The theme for the party was monkeys and bunnies since both boys love monkeys and bunnies.  Here's the piñata--there was a big one to break and a small one as a table decoration.

The party favor table and the "cake," which was made of cupcakes!  Carla designed all the labels for the bags and the triangle banner on the table.

Adrian eagerly awaiting the guests...

There was even a bouncy house inside for the kids!

After everyone ate, there were tons of pictures taken of the boys with family.  I still haven't taken most of them off Facebook.  I'll add more later once I copy them.  Here's a sample!

Then we went outside and broke the piñata.

My mother-in-law's good friend played the accordion!  I wish I had a photo of her actually playing, but I don't.

Then we had cake!!

After the party was over, we opened presents.  The boys got lovely clothing and toys!

Sunday was Isabella's birthday party.  It was at a party place like Imagination Island in Plymouth.  Only this was 1,000 time better (and bigger).  It was a Rapunzel party--very cute!

The boys couldn't stop eating these snacks!

Isabella, the birthday girl!

Waiting for the Rapunzel show to start

The next day we went to Carla's house and hung out.  The boys played with their 3 cousins and had a great time!  They particularly loved the playhouse outside!

Adrian loved playing peek-a-boo through the window.  This shot reminds me of one of his Tio Jim doing something similar in the shed at Nana's...

All while we were at Carla's I was thinking about Lexi (and crying!).  We had heard from my mom that she was not doing well at all.  She had seemed off since the night we dropped her off, but was ok on Saturday.  Sunday she pooped and peed and vomited all over my mom's rugs.  She couldn't stand on her legs.  She just wasn't right anymore, and it all happened very quickly.  I knew before we left that the end was near...I could sense it...but I honestly had no idea it would be while we were gone.  It was just so damn fast.

So my mom took her to the vet at 4:15 on Monday, July 22, just 5 days short of her 10th birthday, and had her put down.  The vet agreed it was time--her back right knee was bone on bone with extreme pain, and the vet also thought she probably had lymphoma.  :(  Poor Lexi.  The nicest thing is that my brother and Jen left baby James with LiMei so that they could be with Lexi and help my mom.  They were all with her when the vet examined her and my brother cranked Lexi's ears as they sedated and euthanized her.  I am upset that I wasn't with her when she went, but knowing my mother and brother were there is the next best thing.  Thank God she wasn't at a kennel alone to die.  I would never have forgiven myself.  They saved me her leash, harness, and collar, and had a paw print taken for us as a keepsake.  Poor Lexi.

This picture was taken of Lexi with her boys the night before we dropped Lexi off with my mom.  She was so happy to be with her boys as we read together.  This was a typical night for her--she was always underfoot as we bathed, diapered, read, and put the boys to bed.  She was always where they were.  A loyal big sister and companion.

And this one was taken just a week or so ago of Lexi sleeping in our room.  To the very end, she was a funny sleeper!

I already miss her so much.  I'll have another post about her soon, but couldn't NOT mention her in this post since it affected our trip.  Now, I'll end this before I get myself all worked up again.  Part Two about the trip to Mexico to follow, hopefully tomorrow.