Trip (Part Two)--now with video

On Tuesday, we found ourselves in port at Cozumel. We had heard great things about this port, so we were excited to tour the island in our beach buggy excursion. This was our first view of the island:We were a little nervous because the skies looked like they were ready to unload some serious rain. Sure enough, as soon as we reached the island, huge raindrops started falling. Luckily, we were close to a little bar, so we ducked inside. We hung out here for about 45 minutes and let the rain pass. Then, it was round time to head out! Chris drove us around the island in our beach buggy.Our first stop was a local resort where we got to go snorkeling. I wasn't sure how this would go since I don't really like animals touching me. I have to admit that when I first put my head into the water and saw a fish right in front of me, I screamed and frantically waved the fish away. Chris laughed at me and helped me get acclimated. I really did enjoy it after that. :) Unfortunately, it didn't last long enough. Here we are right after. We dried off and headed on to our next stop.
We drove to the other side of the island where we got to get an amazing view of the beach from this lighthouse. The waves were beautiful.
On our drive away from the lighthouse, we stopped at a miniature Mayan ruin. It was only 5 feet tall, so it was a little anti-climactic after seeing the ruins the previous day.Across the road was also a crocodile marsh. We saw a few swimming around. Our excursion continued by driving the buggy to yet another part of the island for an authentic Mexican buffet.
After eating, we snagged a few minutes on the beach before heading back to the ship. That night, the winds picked up to 47 miles per hour, so needless to say, our stomachs were a bit on edge. Luckily, we found the "adults only" section of the ship and made ourselves comfy for some of the time. We ended up skipping supper and heading to bed early to try to avoid any further sea sickness!The next day was our last day on the ship, so we headed to the workout room to run before grabbing breakfast and laying claim to some comfy lounge chairs in the "adults only" section again. (There were 800 kids on the ship, so we were merely trying to find a quiet place to relax!)
This was our view for the rest of the day--fabulous! It was just fun to be at the back of the boat and see this for lots of hours.
This is one of Chris's 7 ice cream cones that day. That evening, we tried to take better advantage of the evening activities. It definitely helped that the wind had died down. We played cards. . .Chris played fun21 with the other guys at our dinner table. . .
. . . & we watched the evening show. It was a fun night.
Overall, we had a great time celebrating our anniversary with some quality time during this vacation, but we were definitely ready to get back to our kiddos!

15 Year Trip! (Part One)--now with video

Tomorrow marks Chris's and my 15th anniversary. Yay! We have decided to try to get away at least every 5 years to celebrate, so we headed south to New Orleans and caught a ship to Mexico!

Our first sight of New Orleans was Canal Street. I felt like I was in California--except it was cool.

We ventured into the French Quarter. We saw beautiful sights. . .
(Jackson Square)

. . .and not so beautiful sights!
(Bourbon Street--only a block or two!)

We did end our morning by stumbling into this little cafe. One of my friends had tipped us off to the deliciousness of beignets, so I was excited to try them for myself!After touring around during the morning, we headed to the ship. We got on fairly quickly and easily, so we had much of the afternoon to explore and experience the cool, breezy, drizzly afternoon! When the sun finally came out, we took full advantage!We learned that New Orleans is actually quite a ways up the Mississippi, so it was fun to see our trek down the river. (Yes, that is hot chocolate that we are drinking!)We ended our first day on the ship by relaxing in our luxurious cabin.
(Hee, hee! Yes, that is a fake window.)The first full day on the ship, we explored all the food options and just relaxed. I tried to be adventurous, and I tried lots of new foods including a duck appetizer.

The next day was our first port stop at Progresso. We hadn't bought an excursion package, so we ventured into town on the free shuttle and bought a cheap tour that took us to some salt flats and a Mayan ruin. This was so incredible. This is only a portion of the ruin. Supposedly, 200,000 people used to live here. It was surreal to climb these structures where human sacrifices took place several thousand years ago.

After the ruins, we ended the afternoon at a little private beach where we were able to relax a bit and collect some shells. We loved the sun!That night, we added to teh list of "New Foods to Try" and had some sushi. I'm sorry, all of you sushi-lovers. I just can't handle sea food. But, I tried!One of the fun things about our evenings was our waiter. John was from India, and he served us as well as entertained us. Here, he is dancing!To be continued. . .

Christmas is Near!

I love Christmas. I love the presents, the decorations, the extra treats, the candles, the parties, the songs. I just really love it. I think the reason I love it is because it is a special celebration of my Savior's birth. And, it isn't just "one day" and then passes. It really lasts about a month! I love that because I can celebrate each day. And, if I miss a day, I can do better the next day. Here are just a few of the things we have been doing to celebrate.
We put up our tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. We love our hot chocolate!Christmas crafts!
Christmas Cookies--YUMMY! We actually spent an afternoon making seven different kinds. :)I love advent calendars. I am starting to own a "collection". Here is my latest splurge--it will be Isaiah's some day. I love how it is a picture of where he was born. Even more, I love that it was made in Africa and all the profits went directly back to those women. LOVE!Here is another advent calendar. We get to open up an envelope each day/night and pray for the word that is inside. It includes everything from widows to orphans to fair trade to peace to Jesus--the answer for it all! I love how it gets us to pray for the world in some specific ways. Happy Birthday, Jesus! Our dear friends, the Pates, throw a birthday party every year for Jesus. We were blessed to get to attend this year. Norma loves Christmas more than I do, and I loved being around her infectious spirit. And what party is complete without dancing?! As I mentioned in our earlier post, we got to go to Breakfast with Santa last weekend. The older kids were good sports as Raegan counted down to the day. I have to say that I am pretty up front about Santa not being "real". We talk about how he was a man who loved Jesus so much that he wanted to give to many people. Raegan "knows" that Santa is not real; however, she truly loves the spirit of Santa and was so excited to go sit on his lap. I think she relates so well to him because she is a giver--the most generous girl I've ever known.

So, this is a glimpse into our December. We hope all of your holiday events are bringing your heart closer to the true reason for our celebration!

Sweet Friendships

We got to spend some fun time with some sweet friends this week. First, we got to meet our friends at breakfast with Santa! Isaiah loves his friend Tyler Jae, and we are so thankful for him and his family. This picture was not posed! True friendship! Later, we got to spend time with our friend, Elias. There is a special connection between these boys! Isaiah asks continually to "see Elias". I hope these two Ethiopians are friends for life. :) Raegan is thankful for her friend, Kyndall. Both of the girls' big brothers play basketball together, so they get to see each other more often. We love that!