Cancun was a fantastic family break from the madness that was this fall (and especially December). It was the thing we�ve been promising ourselves that we just have to make it to. And finally, make it we did. Jen finished her law finals with a couple days to spare (she front-loaded her self-scheduled exams.) Derek worked all the way until 5:30 the day before the pre-dawn departure. Meredith prepared for her preschool�s holiday �show� in which her class sang �Christmas Tree� and �Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel.� It was a spectacular performance and Meredith had good vocal projection.

At about 3:15 AM on December 20, we awoke, packed our stuff into the CR-V, and drove to the airport. Shortly after 6:00 AM our plane took off and we were on our way to Cancun. The Yucatan was much more humid and warm than we were accustomed to; it was wonderful. We stayed at the Grand Coco Bay Resort, about an hour south of Cancun. We had great food and drinks at our disposal, a beautiful beach, and a swimming pool. The pool was the highlight for Meredith. If she had her way, we would have never left the pool. She begrudgingly consented to leave to eat, take a nap, and go to the beach, where sand castles were constructed. On the final day, Meredith asked Derek to take her swimming in the ocean, which they did. Once Meredith felt comfortable, she didn�t want to leave the water. She loved the waves pushing her up and down; though at one point she told Uncle Jesse that �the waves are allergic to people��whatever that means.

Other adventures were had. The troop drove south to Tulum, sea-side Mayan ruins. Meredith was obsessed with what happened to the people who lived there. She kept on telling us that �the people all died.� On a less cryptic side, Meredith decided not to stomp on ants, telling her parents they are friendly. (Previously, Meredith has treated ants brutally with stomps and recriminations such as, "Now you can't go home.") Meredith ate lots of interesting things, including octopus. The tentacles were clearly what one would think of being from an octopus. Meredith tried it and wanted more, describing it as �chewy.�

Jen took the opportunity to read non-law texts voraciously, speeding through two and a half mystery or spy novels. She only got a little burned by the hot sun. She thinks of it as evidence that the trip actually happened � since it seems like a happy dream now, after the fact.

The resort had lots of provided entertainment; but the best entertainment was several evening shows put on by Meredith. She made the room�s patio her �stage� and proceeded to invite audience members to participate in song and dance routines. Mostly, she spent her stage time doing enthusiastic introductions of other performers: �And now, the magic show of the year, it�s� grandma!� Some of us were better than others at coming up with �tricks� that Mer found satisfying. She really likes the song and dance routines! She is also fond of card games, particularly a Dora version of Old Maid which she calls �Matchy Match.� Grandma Cathy, Grandpa Dave, and Jesse were very good sports about playing Matchy Match much of the time Mer was not swimming, eating, or sleeping.