Shauna, Paul and Joaquin Mayer: February 2017

It has been a little while since I have have posted here. We have been busy with all things family this year. We have been doing well. We recently started with allowance for our kids. I had checked out several ideas and thoughts on allowance and it seemed there were ideas about how allowance should not be connected to chores or behavior because you want you kids to learn to manage money and they should just have some no matter what. Others are the opposite, so we decided to combine all in one. What we did was give the kids a maximum number they could get, then broke this number into thirds. First, the get one third of the number not matter what. Second, the get one third if chores are done each week. Third, they get one third if their behavior is up to standard.

Shauna and I were our of town last week so the grandparents had to vouch for the kids chores and behavior, but I am optimistic that this will help our kids learn various lessons about money, work and behavior.

My Dad turned 80 in December and is in remarkably good shape as is my Mom. I hope am as healthy when I turn 80. To celebrate, earlier this year, we all decided to take a trip to Mexico without kids. After some indecision, my sister Jenny took the bull by the horns and rented a house in Playa del Carmen on the Yucatan peninsula. My brother and I decided to extend our vacations and booked some rooms at the Hyatt Ziva in Cancun after we left the Playa house.

Shauna and I used miles to book flights to Cancun and left on Friday. We stopped in LA and changed planes. When we boarded the plane for Cancun, there were only about 30 people on the flight so we could stretch out. We slept, read, and watch a movie (Bridge of Spies-good movie). We arrived late and I had gotten a car to take us to Playa when we arrived. (I was pretty excited because the guy was standing out side the gate with a plaque that said my name on it and I have always wanted that) We got there and some guy grabbed our bags and took them twenty yards to the van and asked for a tip. I gave him a five. Pretty good money if you can get it.

We got to the house late, but almost everyone was still awake. We talked for a bit and then hit the sack. While we were there we hit the beach which had people of various stages of undress. I am not too shocked by this stuff having traveled a bit in my life time.

On Sunday we went to church and it was fun to really get the Spanish going and practice a lot. That afternoon we took a trip to Tulum and saw the complex civilizations that once lived there on the beautiful coast. On Monday we went to Chichen-Itza and had a blast looking and bargaining. Shauna wanted to by plates and stuff for the kids, but I was being stubborn and thinking everything was too expensive. Shauna did end up buying several things, but I was excited to leave the vendors behind. We also, saw the missionaries there. It was really cool to see them and talk to them. Three were from Mexico and one was from Layton, Utah. It was a fascinating place and you wonder what life was really like there. It gets romanticized a bit and it was probably just a lot of the daily grind with the occasional human sacrifice.

Playa is also a pretty mellow place compared to Cancun and all of its massive hotels. I felt bad for all of the Mexican people that will likely never be able to enjoy their beaches and hotels because they do not make enough money to stay in them. Our hotel--the Hyatt Ziva--was wonderful and the best location you can imagine. The food in most places was subpar--I understand this is what you get with an all-inclusive and cruises--so I am not really that hot to go on a cruise now. There were good food options, but I wish I could have known that going in, so I did not eat crappy meals.

The rooms and beach at the Hyatt were the best and we snorkeled right off of the beach and saw tons of fish: sting rays, spotted rays, barracuda and other colorful fish. It was an awesome trip and I hope to go back sooner rather than later.