getting there, little adventures, and friends.

Time for my final vacation recap.

Getting there:
Our flight to Mexico left Texas at 5:45 am.  Add in the two-hours early for international flights and the half-hour drive to the airport, a little bit of time to crawl out of bed and get dressed, and we were waking up at 3 am that morning.

But it isn't hard to wake up that early when you know you are headed for a vacation on the beach!

The Foulks (4 hours of sleep total-combined between the two of them) and us (six and a half hours of sleep between the two of us) on the plane and ready to go! 
The flight was only a few hours long,
but it felt so weird--no one to entertain, no fingers to clean or sippy cups or toys or snacks.  Okay, so maybe we did have a few snacks.  But we weren't dropping them on the floor or throwing them over the seats so it still felt strange.

Look, I got to read a book! And have an empty lap on the plane! 
Flying was actually kind of fun!

When we got to our condo, we got settled in and then walked up to walmart to buy some groceries.
Walmart in Mexico is a scary place, take our word for it.
And walking five blocks to walmart in the 90 degree, a billion percent humidity afternoon, on only a couple hours of sleep...we'll just say it wasn't the best idea. We were tired, sweaty, and worn out. 

 When we got our food back to the condo and looked out the windows to see this, we just had to go play.
Before my waterproof camera proved to be not-so-waterproof, we got a few awesome swimming pictures:

 

 I love how the water is so blue that the sky looks kind of purple.

 

 

Little adventures:

 We tried not to go out to eat or spend money on Sunday;
a nice leisurely walk on the beach sounded like a good idea. 
Tony, our fishing boat crew member, told us that if we walked about twenty minutes down the beach we'd get to the uninhabited area and find some cenotes. 
Almost an hour of walking later and we weren't even close.  So we stopped where we were, ate a picnic lunch (complete with a little sand), and played in the waves for a while before walking all.the.way.back.

 We stayed up late one night at this restaurant/bar on the beach just so we could see the firedance show.  It was pretty awesome, and we were also entertained by all the drunk people there dancing and singing along to the live band.  Our waitress seemed pretty confused about why we were sticking around so long even though we weren't drinking.

One afternoon we ventured down the beach and found a guy who sold us a half-hour rental of wave runners. We paid for two, thinking that each couple would take one.
As we signed papers and got started, though, Mike realized it wasn't a good activity for him (he had neck/spine surgery a few months ago).  The young guy working there told us that they wouldn't give us our money back.  
Long story short, Alli and I rode one wave runner together while Kent rode the other.
It was a blast!  We tipped over in the waves a few times, threw each other off the back of the waverunner once or twice, and got thoroughly drenched in the ocean spray. 
We were soooo sore the next day.

Finding the fruit market was harder than we had anticipated-Kent and I went looking one morning (we woke up at 8:30 thinking we had slept in but the Foulks slept until 11--they win.)
We looked all over the street it was supposed to be on but couldn't find it.
Alli and I went back later and discovered Kent and I had been standing in front of it the whole time. Oops.

Allison and I felt like locals with our cute little baskets,
well except for the excessive picture taking, of course.

The Foulks were the best traveling pals.
We get along so well- even though Kent and Mike hadn't seen each other or talked for a year and a half, within moments they were laughing about obscure movie quotes just like always.

Having them with us was the perfect balance between having time just as couples to go out to dinner or walk hand in hand down the beach
and time with friends all four of us doing something fun
and time with just Alli and me, going out and getting a massage on the beach or strolling the streets in the twilight, drinking chocolate shakes and getting our fill of girl-time
while the tired husbands watched some guy movie back at the condo. 

 We had the most wonderful vacation;
it was everything we had hoped it to be.

And thank you, Mom and Dad for watching the kids.  A big part of the fun we had there was knowing that our kids were both well-taken care of and having the time of their lives at your house.  We didn't once worry about them while we were gone, and that was incredibly relaxing.

Until next time. 
Thailand...right, Foulks? Anyone else want to come with in 2016-ish?

swimming in a cave

At Xel-ha there was a place where you could swim/snorkel into a cave.  We took a few pictures with Alli's camera in her trusty (at that point) waterproof camera bag.  We also caved (ha) and bought the "professional" photos the park staff took of us from above through a hole in the cave's ceiling.  

I just love that picture of the four of us, swimming, in a cave, dorky snorkel masks on our heads, completely happy.

Kent was his awesome silly self that I just adore.
This side of him only comes out when he's really happy, and I sure love it.

Me and Kent with the cave entrance behind us.

surprise adventure #2

Yes, I have a couple of vacation posts left...
I'll try to keep them picture heavy so you don't have to read a lot.

On Monday of our trip it was the Foulk's turn to take us on a surprise adventure.
They rented a car (brave!) and we drove south along the coast to see the ruins of Tulum.

Iguanas everywhere!

They paid for us to get a private guide, and he told us some fascinating things about the place.

They call this the "Temple of the Descending God."  It was so neat to hear what they said about the Mayan people and their gods and to see how it lined up with what we know from the Book of Mormon.

For example, the temple had three squares at the top with their gods in them.  The first square was the "all powerful god," the second was the "descending god" pictured upside down, and the third square was completely empty. Our guide said they don't know why the third box is empty.  He suggested that maybe someone had stolen the god statue out of the box before the ruins were discovered.

I wanted to tell him that we know what that box is for!  (The Godhead)

The beautiful and extremely crowded beach at the ruins.

It was incredibly hot and humid.  Kent does not like to be sweaty,

but he was a good sport

(maybe I forced him just a little),

 and he posed with me for the pictures.

And yes, he just carried that sunscreen around the whole time we were there.
Traveling without a diaper bag does have a few drawbacks.

Note: In this picture Kent is actually just pretending to be walking away. He was actually holding perfectly still.  I kinda really love this picture.

They have a traditional display/dance/ceremony where men climb this tower and then tie themselves to ropes and hang upside down while it spins around until they reach the ground.  It was pretty cool--that guy up at the top is playing a shrill flute and a teeny tiny drum.

As we watched, though, two other men dressed in the traditional costume walked around and asked for tips for the performers.
We literally had no cash with us, and we told them, but they stood in front of us  with their money bowl out and didn't believe us.  I finally motioned to my yoga pants and said "I have no pockets and no purse.
We have no money."

These men were dressed up all crazy and wanted you to pay them to take your picture with them (see the cash in his hands?)
There were also guys with iguanas and monkeys you could hold to take a picture with...but again, no cash.
Not that I would have paid for a picture with a monkey anyway. I was tempted though,
I mean, a monkey!

After the ruins we drove to the beautiful town of Tulum.
Tropical and lush. 

Alli took us to a vegan all-natural all-local restaurant in Tulum.  Complete with moccasin-wearing table waiter and bamboo plank flooring.
We might not have told the men that it was a vegan place until we were already there....but they really liked it!

The drinks menu, and "a secret note" for each of us...which turned out to be just the food menu.

Mango, papaya, pineapple, and mint juice.

After eating, we went to Akumal beach, ate ice cream, and then snorkeled with sea turtles.
Akumal beach was our favorite area from the whole trip.
It was beautiful, tropical, family friendly, and within half an hour of snorkeling we'd seen four or five big sea turtles.  There were people all around the beach trying to sell snorkeling tours to see the sea turtles, but we went out on our own,
and it was a good thing we did, because the people who paid to go on a "tour" were snorkeling right alongside us while we all saw the exact same sea turtles.
We were very glad we didn't pay to go out there.

This is the last real photo we have from our vacation.

Shortly after this picture was taken, Alli's camera was found swimming in her "waterproof" camera bag.
We also spent some time in the water looking for some misplaced (inadvertently lost) snorkeling gear.
At least it was on the last day and our last adventure!

planting flowers and a change of mind

This morning I went out to plant flowers.  
A few days ago we went to the nursery and bought flowers.  Two flats of snapdragons, two of moss roses, a poppy plant and two dahlias.  They'd been sitting on the porch for a few days, and I knew that if I didn't get them into the ground soon they wouldn't make it.

So we went out to plant.
Clothes on, shoes found, socks on, shoes on, diaper changed, gardening gloves located, little boy's sunglasses found (they were in the playroom, of course!), drinks and little cups of chocolate chips to take outside with us.

Chalk, shovels, bike, buckets, hose, pinecone (pinecone??), apples, smarties, sticks, rocks.

Rocks moved, holes dug, children retrieved (again and again---oh how I wish we could afford a fence!), rocks thrown, boo boo's kissed, apples dropped and washed, sunscreen spills wiped up, dirt-covered smarties eaten, bugs smashed, flowers placed in holes, hose turned on, sister wet and crying, clothes changed, shoes changed, apples dropped again.

Inside.
Shoes off, dirty fingers washed, faces washed, lunch made, lunch half-eaten, water dumped into bowl of pretzels, diaper changed, bottom wiped, hands washed again. 
Naptime for little one.
Bigger one wants to play trains.  Playing trains makes me feel like my brains are melting.  
We play.  

Back outside to plant. 

Five and a half hours after I started, and the snapdragons are planted.  
The rest will wait until tomorrow.




I am a woman who wants to get things done.  
My very favorite household chore?  Washing walls and windows.  I love the instant result.  I scrub and rinse and I can see the difference right away.

I want to see a newly organized pantry and think "I did that and it looks beautiful."
I want to see a party hosted and think "I did that and it was fun."
I want to see a room rearranged and decorated and think "I did that and it is creative and cozy."
And honestly, I just want to see a sink empty and sparkling and think "I did those dishes and I am a good housekeeper."  

These things give me satisfaction.  I work hard and I see the results. 
And I feel good and capable and successful.

Right now, in this life I have, I work and I work and I work and at the end of the day, 
it usually looks like I haven't done anything.  
House a mess-despite the endless picking-up I do, dinner late, kids crying (usually with nothing but a diaper/underwear on),
and only a fourth of my flowers planted.

Today I realized something I hadn't before.
Something that is going to be very hard for me to adapt to.

My children are my "to-do list."  My family will be what I have done with my life. I am working. Day by day by day.  This is what I am here for.
Someday, maybe not for a very very long time, 
I will be able to step back and say, 
"I did that, and it is beautiful."

The trick will be accepting that this work is my real work, and the pantry and the parties and the decorating are the things getting in the way of my work, 
not the other way around. 

And learning to be all right with having to wait until that "someday" comes. 

I think she loves him

I think I do too.

I think I love them both.

Their little hands wrapped around each other.  

Nicholas's hands have lost the dimples in the back.  He's a boy now, no longer a baby/toddler, and I'm embracing the changes in him-his ideas, opinions, imagination, affection, enthusiasm.

His finger on the trigger of the water gun, his tongue partly out, his bold big-boy stance. 

His pizza shirt--he doesn't even like pepperoni (although he claims he does.)

Her adoring cheese-face smile.

The rolls on her ankles, wrists, and elbows.

Her wispy red-blonde hair.

How sweet she looks in the linen dress we brought her from Mexico.

Her toes curled under. 

Her squishy hugs and the way she grins at me and shrugs her shoulders.  

We had the best time on our vacation, but my mommy-heart

is glad to be back.

surprise adventure #1

Deep sea fishing/snorkeling tour.

Before our trip, we talked to the Foulks and decided we would each take one day of our vacation to treat the other couple to and adventure.  A surprise adventure.

Saturday morning we woke them up early, told them to wear their swimsuits, bring sunscreen and towels and to leave their shoes at home.
We walked down the beach and boarded the Papa Kees.

  

Our captain was Ivan--shaggy blonde hair, brown leathered skin, wide smile.  His crewmates were Pepe and Tony. They were awesome.

We didn't catch any fish, but it certainly wasn't for their lack of trying!

 This handsome guy? He's all mine.  Being on this trip, just me and him, it was wonderful. I feel like we reconnected, we remembered how much we like being friends.  At home, we spend a lot of time being partners, but sometimes we don't get enough time just being friends.  I love this man.

 Oh, and there's me, just chillin' on the front of the boat.
Chillin' being literal. It was quite cold that morning.  The humidity was extreme, so although it was probably in the upper 60's, we were freezing!

 This is the place they took us to snorkel.

 The reef was beautiful!  The water was crystal clear, and we saw a barracuda, jellyfish, eels, and this giant sting-ray that followed us around, swimming right below us, close enough to reach out and touch!  It was incredible.

After snorkeling, we attempted to take a group shot.  Ali's camera tipped down right before the camera snapped, so we all had to duck.
Our boat trip only took us about four hours, so when we got back we had time to find a little place to eat on the beach, get cleaned up, and Allison and I got seventy-minute massages for $20 each.

Kent was really hoping to catch a fish that we could eat for lunch.  We didn't get that, but to get out on the water, spend an hour snorkeling that beautiful reef, and actually meet a real person named Pepe?  Pretty awesome.