On Thursday, the 18th, we gave Brynlie and Brevan big kisses when we dropped them off at school, because our plane was leaving during the day while they were at school. We took Lindsey and Logan over to Brenda and Brad's house about 10:30, and I was very nauseated just thinking about having to leave my kids for that long! I was excited for the time with Ryan, but it's such a strange feeling to realize I would not have children attached to me at all times. Sweet Brenda helped alleviate all my fears though, and I gave the kids one last big hug. When I picked up Logan, he said, "Mom, I don't want to hold you. I want to go play."
The first plane ride took us to Dallas/Fort Worth. After getting dinner during our layover, we got on a plane headed for Cancun. We were put on the very last row, right next to the bathrooms and the loud engines. If that wasn't bad enough, the turbulence was the worst I've ever experienced. I'm not a huge fan of flying, so I was pretty stressed out by the time we finally landed.
We arrived at the hotel late in the evening. We stayed at the Sun Palace, a couples-only resort. It was beautiful and perfect and I just want to go back. This is the view from our balcony. We left the screen door open at night so we could listen to the sounds of the ocean waves.
And this is the view from the other side of the balcony. We were on a narrow strip of land, right between the ocean and the lagoon. I took these pictures on the morning of the 19th, which was our only over-cast day.
When we arrived, I was given this pretty flower!
After getting changed, we headed out to investigate the restaurants where we could eat, and eat, and eat, without having to worry about the cost or tipping. I took full advantage of this, and came home literally 10 pounds heavier. I'm a BIG fan of the all-inclusive resorts! Those Mexicans know how to cook some good grub!
On the 19th (the day it was overcast), we hopped on a city bus that stopped right outside our hotel. Our travel advisor had said we "could get a taxi if we don't feel comfortable or safe" on the bus. I couldn't believe she would even say that, because I think half the fun of traveling is being in new places with new cultures. I LOVED being with the locals. We took the bus to the local flea market, where we bought souvenirs for the kids. Ryan found a "boot" store. For those of you who don't live close to us, Ryan has this new fascination with boots. It's hilarious because he's about as far from being a cowboy as anyone I've ever known. But apparently boots are all the rage with his buddies at work, and he's decided to jump on that bandwagon! I have to admit that the boots he got a few months ago have grown on me, and he looks dang good in them.
I paid this lady $30 to put tiny braids in my hair. It was fun to do something so different, and wonderful to not have to do my hair during the trip! I was in and out of the ocean so often, that it was great to not have to worry about getting ready. I couldn't believe how quickly she put the braids in my hair. It took her 40 minutes from start to finish.
Look how cool I look! I did find one drawback however . . .I now have sunburn stripes all over my head, because my scalp was not used to seeing the sun!
We called the kids every day, and on the first day found out that Logan was pretty sick and had kept Brenda up all night. I felt so horrible! Luckily, he got feeling better really quickly and did great the rest of the time.Ryan and I came to a compromise on this trip; I could take a book to read at night, if he could take DVDs to watch on his laptop. He doesn't understand the joy I feel when I read a good book, and he was worried he would get bored when I kept my head in a book!
Saturday, the 20th, was our 13th anniversary! It's so crazy how fast time flies! We woke up early to catch a tour bus to Tulum and Xel-Ha. We loved seeing the ruins at the Mayan city of Tulum, but we didn't have the greatest tour guide. I wanted to hear more details about the structures and the lives of the Mayans, and he mostly had us walk around on our own. The city was fascinating, especially because it helped me picture the daily lives of the people in Book of Mormon times.
I loved all my iguana buddies. This one was trying to camouflage himself, but it is mating season, so he didn't want to completely hide himself from the ladies!
Beautiful. The weather was perfect - low 80's and complete sunshine. I love how the city overlooks the ocean.
It seems that everything in the Mayans world revolved around fertility. This house has a carving of a woman on her knees, giving birth. The baby is upside down, holding on to the umbilical cord.
After seeing the ruins, we saw the beach with the incredible turquoise water.
After Tulum, the tour bus drove us over to Xel-Ha. It is a natural river area, where we drifted on inner tubes and spent a couple hours snorkeling. I wasn't sure I'd enjoy snorkeling, since I hate to have my nose plugged, but I LOVED it! We bought an underwater camera and took about 30 photos, but I exposed the film after getting home (I haven't used film in so long, and forgot to rewind it!) so we don't have any pictures of the cool fish and ocean life we saw.
We met a really fun couple from England this day. One of my favorite things about the trip was meeting people from all over the world, and finding common ground with them. I have never heard so many languages spoken in one place before! On Sunday, the 21st (shhh, don't tell the kids it was a Sunday. But hey, church was cancelled back in Missouri because of a snowstorm, so it wasn't like we would have gone to church anyway, right?) we went on a fun excursion where we got to ride personal submarines under the water. I wasn't quite sure I was ready to scuba dive, so we thought we'd try this alternative. A boat took us a half-hour away out in the ocean, then put the submarines in the water one a time. I was VERY nervous to dive down in the water, trusting that when I came up into the submarine machine I would be able to breath. The bubble part for our head kept the water out with air pressure, so the water came right up to our chins. It was pretty scary for me, because I didn't understand how the water would stay out when I was taken 30 feet down in the water! But it worked, and I have a new passion for exploring the ocean! I can't wait to learn to scuba dive now. We have a DVD of this experience, so since none of the pictures I took turned out, I'm glad we can watch the DVD to show the kids how daring I was! When I got inside the machine and the scuba divers started to lower it down further in the water, the pressure was horribly painful on my ears. Before I scuba dive, I'm going to have to learn how to pop my ears better.
Brenda says I look like my sister, Kara, in this picture. Congratulations on such a compliment, Kara! :)
That evening, we decided to go on a Pirates of the Carribean dinner cruise. We weren't sure about paying so much money for a dinner, when we had free food at our hotel, but we were glad we went because it was really fun. We got to ride on the "Black Pearl" and our pirates fought Captain Hook's pirates. The show was funny and interesting, because they shot cannons at each other and did real sword fighting.
I just had to take a picture of this little doll. I have always had a special love for Latin people. I'm not sure why, but I've decided it must be because Ryan and I are going to serve a mission together in a Latin country someday. Every time I saw a Latin baby or kid while in Cancun, I would wave at them and try to speak some Spanish. I just wanted to hug them and give them big smooches on their chubby cheeks! I was missing the feel of cuddling with my babies back home.
This was the most hilarious part of the whole trip. While on board the Black Pearl, Ryan was one of 4 guys picked out of the audience to perform in a contest. How fun, right? It was at first, because all the guys had to compete by doing their "sexiest dancing" for the crowd of 100 or so people. Ryan won, hands down! He got up and shook his booty like he'd been training for that his whole life! But the next part of the contest went like this: run around your stool 5 times, run to the other end of the ship, drink a huge glass of beer with a straw and make it back to your stool before the other contestants. When the contest was announced, Ryan looked at me with his "are you kidding me?" eyes. I was laughing so hard, the people around must have thought I was drunk. After "Jack Sparrow" explained the contest, he made sure everyone understood the rules. Ryan spoke up and said, "Uh, I don't drink beer." Jack replied, "What? Even a little bit?" to which Ryan replied, "No, never." Everyone looked at him with the most confused look, and the people sitting next to me said, "Does he really not drink beer? Why not?" I could barely stand up because I found the whole thing so funny. Finally, Jack believed him that he really doesn't drink alcohol, and yelled to the crowd, "OK! We need an alcoholic from the USA to take his place!" Ryan walked through the crowd, back to his seat by me. Poor guy, who loves any competition! The mom in me quickly set in, and I thought here is proof that anyone can resist peer pressure, even in front of a large group! The USA lost the competition to a drunk from Canada.
Later on in the night, we were picked to be one of the couples that performed a dance for the audience. It's a good thing we didn't know that ahead of time, or we would have never walked up there! We had to dance all different ways, depending on which word Jack said, such as touch each other's knees whenever we heard the word "margarita." This was one contest we were destined to lose from the start, considering the two of us have no rythym! At one point we even had to grab different partners from the audience, so I had to chose a guy to bring on stage with me. It was SO uncomfortable! I later apologized to the wife of the man I chose! Someone sitting next to us must have taken this picture with our camera.
By the end of the show on the pirate ship, everyone was getting drunk and dancing. Ryan and I sat on the upper deck of the ship and looked out over the ocean. At one point Ryan turned to me and asked if I cared that we weren't down in the party. I told him I knew we were meant for each other, because I thought dancing in the middle of a group of sweaty people sounded awful. I didn't enjoy it back in high school, and I certainly don't enjoy it now. Then he asked if we are boring, and my reply was "Boring my @#*, we rock."
Brenda says I look like my sister, Kara, in this picture. Congratulations on such a compliment, Kara! :)
That evening, we decided to go on a Pirates of the Carribean dinner cruise. We weren't sure about paying so much money for a dinner, when we had free food at our hotel, but we were glad we went because it was really fun. We got to ride on the "Black Pearl" and our pirates fought Captain Hook's pirates. The show was funny and interesting, because they shot cannons at each other and did real sword fighting.
I just had to take a picture of this little doll. I have always had a special love for Latin people. I'm not sure why, but I've decided it must be because Ryan and I are going to serve a mission together in a Latin country someday. Every time I saw a Latin baby or kid while in Cancun, I would wave at them and try to speak some Spanish. I just wanted to hug them and give them big smooches on their chubby cheeks! I was missing the feel of cuddling with my babies back home.
This was the most hilarious part of the whole trip. While on board the Black Pearl, Ryan was one of 4 guys picked out of the audience to perform in a contest. How fun, right? It was at first, because all the guys had to compete by doing their "sexiest dancing" for the crowd of 100 or so people. Ryan won, hands down! He got up and shook his booty like he'd been training for that his whole life! But the next part of the contest went like this: run around your stool 5 times, run to the other end of the ship, drink a huge glass of beer with a straw and make it back to your stool before the other contestants. When the contest was announced, Ryan looked at me with his "are you kidding me?" eyes. I was laughing so hard, the people around must have thought I was drunk. After "Jack Sparrow" explained the contest, he made sure everyone understood the rules. Ryan spoke up and said, "Uh, I don't drink beer." Jack replied, "What? Even a little bit?" to which Ryan replied, "No, never." Everyone looked at him with the most confused look, and the people sitting next to me said, "Does he really not drink beer? Why not?" I could barely stand up because I found the whole thing so funny. Finally, Jack believed him that he really doesn't drink alcohol, and yelled to the crowd, "OK! We need an alcoholic from the USA to take his place!" Ryan walked through the crowd, back to his seat by me. Poor guy, who loves any competition! The mom in me quickly set in, and I thought here is proof that anyone can resist peer pressure, even in front of a large group! The USA lost the competition to a drunk from Canada.
Later on in the night, we were picked to be one of the couples that performed a dance for the audience. It's a good thing we didn't know that ahead of time, or we would have never walked up there! We had to dance all different ways, depending on which word Jack said, such as touch each other's knees whenever we heard the word "margarita." This was one contest we were destined to lose from the start, considering the two of us have no rythym! At one point we even had to grab different partners from the audience, so I had to chose a guy to bring on stage with me. It was SO uncomfortable! I later apologized to the wife of the man I chose! Someone sitting next to us must have taken this picture with our camera.
On Monday, the 22nd, the weather was absolutely perfect. By this point, my stomach had stretched out so much from all the food I'd been consuming, that I was out-eating Ryan by having 4 or 5 plate loads of food at every meal! We decided to spend the beautiful day on a Jungle Tour, where we got to drive a boat out to a coral reef in the middle of the ocean and spend an hour or so snorkeling. It was so much fun and I was sad to have to get back in the boat! Ryan kept taking off his life jacket (we are such rule breakers!) to swim down and get seashells from the ocean floor.
I was meant to live my life just like this: pretty toes, in a boat on the water. Yep, that's the life for me.
Later on that day, we saw the movie "Valentines Day" in a movie theater, then walked around an outdoor mall. Ryan's ankle held up pretty well all week, but it was really aching at this point, so we took it easy for the rest of the time. How awesome did my hair look when I took out my braids that night?
We relaxed all morning on the 23rd, because our shuttle didn't come to take us to the airport until the afternoon. We didn't get back to Kearney until past midnight, but we picked the kids up from the Simmon's because we missed them so badly! After spending so much time training Logan to sleep in his own bed, we put him right in bed with us this night so we could cuddle and smell him. I am SO grateful for my wonderful friend, Brenda, who watched all 4 of our kids the whole time we were gone! It takes a real friend to be willing to do that, and I am so lucky to have a friend who loves my kids so much and helps them feel happy and comfortable in her home!
I took this picture on the way to the airport. There were military and police men all over the city, holding machine guns. They were watching for any trouble because Fidel Castro's brother was in town, conducting business. Our tour guides kept reassuring us that we shouldn't be fearful of the men with guns, which made me laugh because I thought it was cool! All the police officers get to carry a machine gun in Mexico? Sign me up!
And now, we are back in the grind and I keep waiting for my sweet Mexican amigos to cook dinner for my family and make the beds. So far, none have shown up. It was just such an amazing trip and the time with my best friend was priceless. I think we should go on a tropical vacation every winter!
I was meant to live my life just like this: pretty toes, in a boat on the water. Yep, that's the life for me.
Later on that day, we saw the movie "Valentines Day" in a movie theater, then walked around an outdoor mall. Ryan's ankle held up pretty well all week, but it was really aching at this point, so we took it easy for the rest of the time. How awesome did my hair look when I took out my braids that night?
We relaxed all morning on the 23rd, because our shuttle didn't come to take us to the airport until the afternoon. We didn't get back to Kearney until past midnight, but we picked the kids up from the Simmon's because we missed them so badly! After spending so much time training Logan to sleep in his own bed, we put him right in bed with us this night so we could cuddle and smell him. I am SO grateful for my wonderful friend, Brenda, who watched all 4 of our kids the whole time we were gone! It takes a real friend to be willing to do that, and I am so lucky to have a friend who loves my kids so much and helps them feel happy and comfortable in her home!
I took this picture on the way to the airport. There were military and police men all over the city, holding machine guns. They were watching for any trouble because Fidel Castro's brother was in town, conducting business. Our tour guides kept reassuring us that we shouldn't be fearful of the men with guns, which made me laugh because I thought it was cool! All the police officers get to carry a machine gun in Mexico? Sign me up!
And now, we are back in the grind and I keep waiting for my sweet Mexican amigos to cook dinner for my family and make the beds. So far, none have shown up. It was just such an amazing trip and the time with my best friend was priceless. I think we should go on a tropical vacation every winter! The kids did such a great job over at the Simmons for the week. They all slept well, ate well, and got along well (for the most part). Even Logan did really well, although there were a few funny moments. At one point, he was standing on a chair watching Brenda cut pizza. He told her, "My Mommy cuts just like that! Are you my Mommy?" He must have been so confused that his Mommy and Daddy were suddenly gone!
We came home to at least 6 inches of snow, and it was 1 degree when Ryan left to teach seminary this morning. Darn winter. I think I'm moving to Mexico.
6 comments:
Looks like my kind of heaven! I'm glad you guys had a great time!
Seriously....where do I sign up?
Looks so fun- I am totally jealous- maybe in a couple more years we could all take a trip like that together!
Paradise! Soooo glad you had a great time!
Looks AMAZING!!!! So glad you guys had fun.
I am glad you had so much fun! I am so jealous! I just have to say I totally love It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, it is Jordan's and my dirty little secret too :)
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