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The Grand Moon Palace

Vacationing with Teenagers: All-inclusive Moon Palace, Cancun

November 20, 2018 // By: Jeanne
Posted In: Travel & Destinations // Leave a comment... Be the first!

Every summer we do our best to take a family vacation. The last 2 years we have left our little guy (he’s now 2) at home. Life is crazy and has changed, A LOT, since Logan joined the family. As hard as it has been for me, it has been equally as hard, maybe harder on the girls. So we make it a point, for now at least, to make sure we take them away and get them out, without their little brother. Where we can focus and love on just them. For a short period of time, we were able to have the freedom you temporarily loose, when you have small children. Those teenage years are tough! So this is our way to give them our undivided attention. To laugh, goof around, stay up and out late!

My husband does most (all) the research for our vacations or travels. This trip he went through Costco Travels and found the all-inclusive Moon Palace in Cancun. I can’t rave enough about it! I’d like to go back with either just my husband and I, or get a group of friends and go. It was easily one of the best resorts/vacations I have been on. Trip of a lifetime! First of all, forget adults and their average food/beverage consumption on vacation. Kids, whole new level!! They have an insatiable appetite!!  Right!?! I mean, they can order an appetizer or 3, salad, entree, drink, shake, dessert, bonus dessert (do your kids eat like this, regularly?? Mine do!) And we try so hard to reign it in with, “that’s a lot of food” “Are you going to finish that??” Then they give you that look, “duh, Im hungry! I haven’t eaten for like 2 hours!” But all-inclusive, its like their tummies have gone to Disneyland!! Not that I promote wasting food. (there are starving people in Africa) but I. DO. NOT. CARE! And give me a Mai Tai, I care that much less. Go nuts!! But seriously, kids + all-inclusive = way to go!!

Moon Palace pool Cancun

So… Moon Palace, HUGE resort! You get there, check in, get your resort wrist band, then wait. Haha. True story, thats how it went. We chose the red eye flight so we arrived early in the morning to get the most out of our first day there. They “tried” to get us checked in early, but our grand plan, was also everyone else’s grand plan. But wrist band were effective immediately!! So we choose to walk to grounds and see what we could find. Walked out of the lobby, and got punched in the face with heat and humidity!! Ehhh, I HATE humidity. Can’t complain though. We are staying in a beautiful resort and it is the middle of July. Its summer in Mexico. Expect it! So we started walking…. and walked some more, did I mention its HUGE! We then decided lets walk back and put our swim suits on. Lets go hang in the pool and put these wrist bands to work!! It was HOT!! And that is exactly what we did, until it was time to check into our room. It was a great way to spend a day after traveling and being cooped up in a plane. Relaxing, swimming, floating, laughing and ordering whatever we wanted. It was a beautiful thing!

Moon Palace pool Cancun
Our oldest, Alexis, waiting for us to bring her the strawberry daiquiri

Got checked into our room(s) and I thought it would be like a typical adjoining hotel room. King bed in one room, 2 queens in the next with the door that separates the two rooms. Well, it was that, and more! The rooms were big and spacious. Big bathrooms and each room had a spa tub that was separate from the bathtub!! Mama happy! Girls were happy!! In turn, hubby of course was happy. He does love to take care of us and see us happy! He’s a keeper! We all loved the rooms and the space… and the all-inclusive mini bar that goes with it!! Even though I kick myself that I didn’t take full advantage of it! (dum dums) But the girls did! Not shocking! And I am pretty sure they lounged in there spa everyday.

 

Girls in the spa

With staying at the resort, you get resort credit. (Amount is depending on how many rooms and what level of room you get) Sweet!! You can use it towards, the spa, salon, golf and a few other things. On top of the things you can do at the resort, you can use resort credit for out door attractions. Like sightseeing, hiking, boat rides, guided tour through ruins, dolphins…. so many options and choices. Well, where we went wrong, was NOT going directly to the concierge or booking department immediately after checking in, and booking said excursions. Mind you, this was the day after we arrived, so day 2. Who would’ve thought!  Most everything we wanted to do, was full and booked up. I wasn’t happy! They mentioned, upon arriving, to head over to the tour department, but didn’t give the slightest indication that your next stop, most definitely, needs to be that department!! I think most people who were staying there, were staying minimum of 7 days. We were staying for 4 nights. So, there were openings, just a day or two after we were leaving. Again, not happy! Hindsight, we should’ve booked excursions before we even arrived!? Again, who knew!?! Well, like I mentioned, not happy! So, I complained, because I do that sometimes! And what do you know… there were a few openings. Hmm, funny how that works!! Now we already knew that with the heat and humidity, going on a guided tour out to see nature or ruins was NOT going to happen this trip. So that was out. There were a few others that I cant remember, but what we did choose was the Aqua Twister, jet skis and snorkeling, catamaran, and swimming with dolphins!!! Which is on my bucket list!! Actually, it is on all 4 of our bucket lists!  And my husband, being the wonderful man he is, paid an additional expense, so that on top of swimming with dolphins, we played with a sea lion and swam and fed manatees! Mind blown!! This is how this trip turned into a trip of a lifetime! Wonderful memories are always made on family vacations, but when you’re crossing things off your bucket list, and doing it as a family!! It’s pretty memorable and very special!

Swimming with Dolphins

 

Now that our excursions are booked, we can relax, explore our hotel and really put the wrist bands to work. And explore we did! Not only was our resort grand, it has 2 other equally grand resorts that basically make it one ginormous resort. No joke! And guess what?? Our wrist bands give us access to the other 2 resorts, all their restaurants and accommodations they have! Pools, bars, spas, taco trucks… really the list goes on. I think there are around 15-20 places to eat between the 3 resorts. On top of beautiful pools and spas and the beach! Beautiful white sandy beaches!! TAKE ME BACK!! I really can’t say enough wonderful things about this resort!

Girls on the beach in Cancun

Our day swimming with dolphins was amazing! It started off with a catamaran ride and a little swimming. Then some lunch. And THEN Dolphins!! Not only did we get to touch them and swim with them. It was so much more. We learned about them, hand signals, they kissed us, we even go to swim out and have them push our feet with their snout (proper name ‘rostrum’) I felt like trainer at Sea World! It was such an awesome experience. We held on to their dorsal fin and swam with them, I was in love. And am pretty confident that feeling was the same for my family. Mikinzee (13 at the time) was just beside herself with overjoyed emotions.

lex swimming with dolphins

Our day continued onto hanging and playing with the sea lion. Which was very entertaining. Except for the big guy that was not being visited by us. He was in his cage adjacent to where we were, and he had the worst gas! (barf) It really was so gross LOL but animals and nature can be that way. (thats what I tell myself to keep a smile on my face)

Keeks and the sea lion
Happiest girl on the planet, right here! (Mikinzee)

The day ended with the sea elephants! Hahaha. Manatees!! Those guys are something else. They live to eat. The amount of lettuce they consume in a day is staggering.  I believe it was some 150 lbs of lettuce/food a day! And do they even have teeth?!? 1 big square tooth? I don’t know, but they are a strangely cute but gross creature. (Reminds me of our bulldog, Chunk!) Oh and let me share the fact that one sneezed on me. Yup! Right in my face! Chunks of lettuce flew out of his mouth and landed on my face. Most of it, luckily, landed on the wall behind me. But there was plenty that got me. Again, barf!! Dolphin day was a pretty full day. Think we were gone most of the day, like 6 hours. So after, we went back to hotel, showered and had dinner. That wrapped up a full day!

Swimming with mantatees

Our other full day outing was the Aqua Twister and jet ski with snorkeling. Let me just tell you about the Twister (boat). I was a little nervous at first, nothing against Mexico, but we ARE in Mexico. I say that with love, I feel the nervousness when I am anywhere that isn’t home or that I don’t feel I have some control over. But, we did it and it was RAD! We had blaring music, went fast, screamed my face off, spun out and got drenched! Good times had by all!! I would do it again in a heart beat!

Then we hopped on jet skies and we out to a coral reef where we snorkeled. The beauty of the coral reef is something that words can’t describe and my photos don’t do it justice. So you get to see a photo of me and Kiki, The Keeksters, Kikipotamus, Keeks… I’ll stop there 😉

Jet skiing in Cancun

 

Did I mention the Moon Palace has a water park? And we did not go til the last day!?! Stupid move on our part! While Bren and the girls had fun going down the slide, I ventured to the lazy river. I love me some lazy river! But the BEST part, they had a TACO TRUCK!! So good! It was at that moment we realized we had been missing out! Oh and the drinks they were pouring were strong! Where had that been the whole trip!?

Water park at Moon Palace Cancun

Honestly, we ate so good on this trip. Food from all over. It was ALL very delicious. I don’t think we had one thing we didn’t enjoy. And we enjoyed A LOT! We ate well, girls drank a lot of virgin strawberry daiquiris, endless ways to keep the whole family busy. Even carved out some husband and wife time at the adult pool and relaxed a bit. Which, as much as we go to relax, kids need to be busy. And if they aren’t busy, they want to be eating. It’s a cycle that never ends! So I am a big supporter of ALL-INCLUSIVE! I would love to hear your experience if you’ve been to one of these resorts, or anywhere in Cancun. I hope everyone’s experience is as wonderful and memorable as ours!

Adios ~Jeanne

Family photo in cancun

 

 

 

About Jeanne

I’m Jeanne – cook, photographer, momma of 3, and lover of all things homemade, especially tacos! I started Passion & Poppies because I wanted a way to catalog my kitchen and life endeavors.
I love to stay connected to my readers! You can find me on Instagram, Pinterest or Facebook.

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4•8•2025 The day we gave our daughter away and 4•8•2025 The day we gave our daughter away and gained a son-in-law. 

Cheers to the Bride and Groom, I love you both so very much! Welcome to the family Leighton 🤍
Practice makes… progress! Been working on my sha Practice makes… progress! Been working on my shaping skills. 

Like everything, sourdough is a journey, who else is in their sourdough era?? 

#Sourdough #shaping #bread #breadlife #momlife #homemaker #baker
The benefits of honey seem endless! If you know me The benefits of honey seem endless! If you know me you know how hard I’m trying to get back to “as close to natural as possible” it really is a passion, face and skin care included! 

Honey is amazing for your skin, read in the comments for some of the information I have on it as it’s a bit long to have in the caption. 

Share your skin care products and hacks! I think I speak for most women “we all wanna know!!” 

#honeytapping #honey #naturalskincare #skincare #nontoxicbeauty
Inquiring minds want to know!? . . . Would you ea Inquiring minds want to know!? 
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Would you eat can crab? (It tastes good!)
Does the paper block BPA, BPS, BPF… ? 
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Anyone else have this chest congestion, cough, fev Anyone else have this chest congestion, cough, fever, headache, body aches, etc running through their families?! It’s terrible!! 

It ran through mine, and something still keeps getting passed around. I didn’t get as hard hit as some of my other family members (thank goodness) and I believe I have this to thank for that! 

Health benefits: anti-inflammatory, antioxidants, aids in digestion, boosts immunity, antibacterial, antiviral… the list goes on! 

Save post, recipe in comments! 

And for full benefits of honey, it shouldn’t be heated beyond 100 degrees F

#momlife #homemade #naturalmedicine #health #honey #turmeric
Trying to do it all when it isn’t already a part Trying to do it all when it isn’t already a part of your routine? That can be super overwhelming! 

The secret: ✨Start with just one thing✨Commit to making one thing from scratch. It could be an herbal remedy, mayo, dressing, hummus, bread… just start small and simple. 

Here is what will happen:
⚡️you taste the difference 
⚡️you feel the pride of making it yourself 
⚡️it’s finds a way into your routine, and suddenly it feels doable. 

And then it starts, the magic! Once you’ve nailed the one thing, it becomes easy. You can then add another, and then another. 

And before you know it, you’ve built a habit of making things from scratch. 💥 without the stress of being overwhelmed and/or biting off more than you can chew. 

Improving what we eat and what we feed our families isn’t about perfection, it is about progress and falling in love with the process. 

These small habits will give you great rewards, I promise!

What is one thing that that you want to try to make from scratch this year? Let me know in the comments. 

——————————-
#momlife #homemaker #sahm #fromscratch #homemade #cookingfromscratch #microhabits #food
Big THANK YOU and shout out to @chewy for your gre Big THANK YOU and shout out to @chewy for your great customer service and thoughtfulness. It was a sweet gift to come home to after a heartbreaking weekend. 

Not an ad, just appreciation. Let me know if anyone wants to recreate my beautifully crafted bun!! 😂 

#chewy #messyhairdontcare #pets #kitty
I purchased this cleanse months ago, and finally a I purchased this cleanse months ago, and finally able to carve out the time to do. Im looking forward to “most” of what is in store for me. 🫣🤣

I am curious who has done a cleanse? How long was it? Results? Enema? 🙈 I want all the deets!!

My 10 days start tomorrow, LET’S GO!!🤗 🙌🏼 (this is me pumping myself up) 

#cleanse #health #selfcare #momlife #mindfulness
I need a new book to read, any suggestions?? What I need a new book to read, any suggestions?? What are currently reading??

Good Energy @drcaseyskitchen 
The Anxious Generation @jonathanhaidt 
Stolen Focus @johann.hari 
Ultra-Processed People - Chris Van Tulleken
The Real Anthony Fauci @robertfkennedyjr 
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#books #health #info #food #bigpharma #realfood #read
I highly recommend you make this asap! It’s easy I highly recommend you make this asap! It’s easy, delicious and nutritious!! 

It’s always a hit as an appetizer! Serve it with some sliced bread or crackers. And if there is any left over, I put it in a jar, keep in the fridge and use it in my cooking. 

Directions: Heat oven to 275 degrees F. Put a few heads of peeled garlic cloves in a small baking dish. Cover with EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) and sprig of fresh rosemary, and a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Bake, uncovered, for 2 hours or until garlic is golden brown. 
Let cool slightly. Smear on whatever your heart desires!

A few health benefits of garlic: boost immune system, reducing the severity of common cold symptoms, helping manage cholesterol and blood pressure, boosting heart health, and reducing the risk of liver injury. Helps fight bacteria, viruses, fungi, and even parasites

#garlic #appetizer #realfood #healthy #confit #homecooking
Does anyone else LOVE soup?? I am ready for it!! Does anyone else LOVE soup?? I am ready for it!! 

Laughed when I saw this reel going around, clearly it deeply resonated!! Cheers and Happy Friday!! 

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Whelp, it’s official. I drove my mom some 2,200+ Whelp, it’s official. I drove my mom some 2,200+ across the country to her new residence. CA to TN

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It won’t be easy, I can almost guarantee that! Probably the harder task is to get them to actually go through their things. I’ve been doing this for 3 years with my mom. It was only the last few months she took the task seriously and jumped on board. 

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Haha, will do mom! My mom is such a good sport!! Haha, will do mom! 

My mom is such a good sport!! This has been extremely hard on her, and myself. I shake my head, and her sometimes! 🤣 She just smiles at me and says “I love my stuff!” … clearly!! 

But through it all, we laugh at each other, and find the silver lining. It’s either that or we are delusional… at this point no one knows. 

I had to recreate @lauraelizabethgraham original reel. 1) it made me LOL and 2) it was the very thing I thought about when my mom text me to find her exacto knife! Talk about a needle in a haystack!! 🙈
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#reels #throwitaway #stuff #clean #motherdaughter #momlife #momproblems #parenting #humor
By the second week of school, Logan already had a By the second week of school, Logan already had a cold/ear infection, and missed 2 days of school. 

I made a batch of Elderberry syrup to boost all of our immune systems!! We some have syrup in the fridge, use 1-2 tbsp. then top off with fizzy water. Or same amount, add to warm water, and have it like a tea. Don’t get the water too warm, around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, you don’t kill the health benefits of raw honey. 

I also made a batch and froze in ice cube trays to keep on hand as the syrup should be used within a week, I believe. 

As you can tell, Logan love it!! #kidapproved 

Elderberry syrup has many health benefits, including: 
Immune system support, it can help prevent and relieve cold and flu symptoms. Elderberries are high in fiber, which can help with digestion and relieve constipation. They are full of antioxidants, may help reduce inflammation, and so much more!
 
The recipe will be in the comments later today. 

#health #elderberry #syrup #immunesupport #natural
I’ve learned sometime you just have to stop and I’ve learned sometime you just have to stop and sit with it, literally, 😂 and maybe even have some champagne! 
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#declutter #life #purging #hoarding #simplify
I think they are going to LOVE my visits!! 🤣 I I think they are going to LOVE my visits!! 🤣

If it opens, it closes. If it’s empty, or damn near close, finish it or throw it away. If you make a mess, clean it up. So on and so forth! 
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#momlife #kidlife #messy
Praying for the extreme division in our country ♥️

Praying for those that lost their life 🤍

Praying for the attempted assassination of former President Trump 💙

This isn’t political, but about humanity. I pray we all can be, and do better! For all of us. ♥️🤍💙
Finally got around to making candles. It has been Finally got around to making candles. It has been WAY too long!! 

Which one is your favorite?
Steps 1-4 are done on the first day. Each step onl Steps 1-4 are done on the first day. Each step only takes maybe 5 minutes, but the steps are broken down over a few hours. 

I have an active, healthy starter. It took about 4.5 hours for my starter to more than double to then combine her to the dough. And now my dough will rest until tomorrow.
If you’ve been following along, here is the next If you’ve been following along, here is the next step to making sourdough. 

The base of the dough:
420 grams of flour (I use King Arthur’s Bread Flour)
300 grams hot water (my water temp is 118•F)
10 grams salt
20 grams hot water

Let it rest while the starter more than doubles. 

Full recipe on my blog, link in bio, search sourdough or
www.passionandpoppies.com/super-easy-sourdough-bread
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#sourdough #bread #howto #baker #starter #ferment
If you’re curious about making sourdough bread y If you’re curious about making sourdough bread yourself, and you saw my first video, here is the second video. 

This is feeling your starter or “mother”. I feed her and stick her back in the fridge til I’m ready to bake. I bake weekly, so she stays nice and active this way. 

Let me know if you have any questions. 

Full recipe on the blog, link in bio search bread or 
www.passionandpoppies.com/super-easy-sourdough-bread.
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#bread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #baker #bake #easyrecipe #dinner #homemade #create #starter #baking #favorite
I’m bringing you along as I make a loaf of sourd I’m bringing you along as I make a loaf of sourdough bread. 

I am pretty new to the sourdough life. I’ve tried a few different recipes and techniques. This one is my favorite thus far, so I thought I’d share. 

Follow me as I break down my process, and don’t forget to save this post to refer back to. Stay tuned for the next step. 

Full recipe on my blog, link in bio search sourdough or
www.passionandpoppies.com/super-easy-sourdough-bread 
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#sourdoughbread #sourdough #bread #easy #recipe 
#homemade #baker #momlife #healthyfood
Happy Pi Day!! What’s your favorite kind of pie? Happy Pi Day!! What’s your favorite kind of pie??

This chicken pot pie is on the top of my list! Leftover shredded beef or rotisserie chicken is perfect for this. 

Recipe on my blog, link in bio or go to: 
www.passionandpoppies.com/chicken-pot-pie

Are you a sweet or savory pie person?
I hope everyone is as enamored with their spouse a I hope everyone is as enamored with their spouse as I am with mine! 🤍

Happiest of birthdays to the man that changed 3 girls lives for the better. I’m deeply in love with the life we’ve created. 

If my grannie back, and hips (and bladder, 😂 sneeze 🤧) would have let me, I would’ve had all the babies with you. The world needs more of who you are!

I hope you feel as loved as you are! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABES! 🥳
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