Hola, Mexico!

The kids and I escaped to Mexico after the 4th of July.

The pools were a hit, especially the one with the swim up bar. The kids quickly learned to love all inclusive packages. No need to ask mom for money? Score.

The resort, Dreams, had a great program for kids and an epic trampoline.

Kacy approved.

Daniel was ready for his turn.

 The beaches of Cancun are being inundated with large amounts of sea grass. Therefore, there wasn't  much beach swimming this go around.

Iguana hunting was another fun activity.

Alas, we had to leave the shade of the palapa on the beach and head home. It was a great trip.

Water slides and Fireworks: One Pretty Decent July 4th

We took a ride up to the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania to check out a new resort, Kalahari.

It's biggest attraction is its super large water park. Plenty to do for kids of all ages.

A photo opp with the hotel mascot.

Enjoying some yummy dessert before bed.

We headed back home for a fun 4th of July celebration at the club. It was overcast and chilly. Very un-July like for Maryland. But the fireworks went off and it was a great day.

Our friends the Manners joined us for the festivities.

Fun with sparklers pre-show.

Good Times in the Outer Banks: Horne Family Reunion 2015

It was a fun week at the beach last week, for the Horne clan. The entire Horne clan. Some 40+ Hornes on one strip of land in North Carolina.

During our drive down to the Outer Banks, we made a pit stop at the home of Grave Digger. Daniel is just a bit of a monster truck fan. So he was pretty excited.

We made it safe and sound (and in decent time) to Kitty Hawk. It was quickly apparent that the house we were sharing with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Mary, Uncle Matt, Aunt Alyssa, Caleb, Katrina, Henry and their nana Elaine, was going to be just fine. And the pool in the backyard would be ground zero.

We closed out night one with a visit to the beach.

Morning two involved swimming in the Atlantic, with no sharks to be seen. The water was icy cold so the kids were the only brave souls to dive in.

Sunday night we gathered (in sultry heat) for a family photo.

We even got our "segment" to cooperate for a photo.

Monday we hit Jockey's Ridge for some kite flying and sand dune running.

Good times on the sunset deck at our house.

The boys took a fishing trip one day so Grandma and Nana braved putt putt and the aquarium with all five grandkids.

The boys earned their keep, with nearly 260 lbs of tuna caught. Dinner for days. Weeks actually.

The week was fun but exhausting. Great times and great memories with great people!