Sooo Handsome

Winter Update

A brussel sprout snowman the boys made; we were out of carrots

This is why my boys are feeling under the weather right now; as soon as the snow began to stick they were in it.....for hours and days. I couldn't get them in and when I made them they protested until I threatened and now they're regretting and I'm paying with lack of sleep. I don't know about you guys but we get nasty sore throats when we have been cold for an extended period of time. They were already coming down with something and this made it super yucky.
We visited the Salt Lake temple the other day. The boys enjoyed playing in the streams east of the temple as well as the nativity scene just north of it. We recently had conference and I picked up the Ensign conference edition to read it and after reading wasn't feeling especially inspired. I was just reading to read it. However, I recently picked it up again and couldn't put it down until I was forced to. I was amazed at how much I didn't pick up before and am excited to resume reading and marking again. It feels right and comforting to read the Ensign and words from the scriptures.
This was a quiet corner I found at temple square. Unfortunately some family came in and demanded the spot for family pictures. It was a zoo. We tried to get there early but there was an accident on the freeway and we were delayed and forced to walk with the hordes.
We got our Christmas tree up the day after we got back from our trip. Although it was a little hectic during the time, we enjoy having it up for as long as we can. Of course the decorations have since been rearranged who knows how many times and a string of lights have burned out.

For the second year in a row, we've been reading stories/scriptures and singing Christmas songs from a thick handbook someone compiled and someone in our ward had shared with all of us. For a variety of reasons we don't do it everyday but we do get around to it most days than not and also try to catch up. Chris and I get a good chuckle every once in a while because we hear each other chocking back the tears as we try to get through the stories. Of course during one, I was more than chocking back the tears and I was o.k. with being laughed at. It was funny.

Nothing cuter than a nativity scene with your own kid in it

This was at our ward Christmas dinner/program. He's pretty out going; I would have been mortified as a kid to do anything like this. After the program, he told me he has been wanting to be in the school choir because there are songs he wants to learn. (I think I could do that at home; there are songs I've been itching to learn as well) He was really inspired by the choir that came in. He is a really good singer and enjoys it. I thought many times about getting him up for the 7 a.m. choir practice his school holds to prepare for their Christmas concert. If only it were at a different time......he's not a morning person.
A neighbor recently returned from his mission and a recently baptized friend of his came down for a visit. This neighbor called us up to hang out since he thought we could help out somehow. See she is from Japan and has been studying English in Canada. She has concerns. And I thought we could get together and do some fellow shipping/missionary work. I remember when we had our new converts as missionaries and how we hoped so badly someone would take him/her under their wings. I have a very tender spot in my heart for new converts and especially for our Japanese brothers and sisters. It's all so close to home.

Come to find out she is from a town near Okazaki City where Chris served for a whopping 13 months and happens to be my maiden name. She will be attending that ward upon her return next week. She has a lot of tender feelings and fresh with the excitement of her recent baptism.

I think we were able to help her and I hope she will remember to endure to the end. We chatted a lot but in the end really all we have to give her is living example of the blessings of staying faithful and strong through the hardships that will follow. We had a lot in common in that both our mothers were against our choice and our dads were fine. She had voiced concern about how this choice will affect her relationships with her family. Very valid. I say, move on, live your life and they will see the blessings.......it's exactly what happened in my life......my family has seen much good come out of that choice I made years ago to join the LDS church.

We went to dinner at Los Hermanos and headed to BYU's Harris Fine Arts Center where we attended a string chamber concert and checked out the art displayed around the building. The one above caught our attention. All the art was great but this one stopped us. Since I enjoy photography, I was looking at the details of the portraits and dreamed about the day I can take portraits and edit like that. I liked each picture for different reasons, in all the eyes stood out but I liked the color in one, the glasses in another, the smile of one, etc. Turns out this was the display taken down and put back up because it deals with gay people. You can read more about it here at Deseret news. It even has a link to the artists photography blog; which I really enjoyed. https://secure.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705269360,00.html

Being in the art center and checking out all photography was inspiring and I was regretting my choice of major for a second.
And of course, I will add that I just LOVE my kids and my hubby. They are my light, my heart, my song. I worry and worry and worry. It's just what I do. And everyday there is something in my prayer directly related to them and more often than not strength to do something I feel is important at the time in relation to them.

Legoland

Legoland was a blast. Our boys including ourselves had a really good time there. When you don't hear whining, complaining, or any negative thing come out of these boys for the two days we spent there, it gets two thumbs up.

I repeat with an even closer look

Anyone else think this is hilarious or is it just us? notice the vein?

(disclaimer--this was the boys second time on the Technic Coaster; they voluntarily went and L chose to sit by himself)

It cost a pretty penny to get into the park. We decided to get tickets for two days since it only cost an extra $15 per person. It was definitely worth it because the park is only open from 10a.m to 5p.m. This was hardly enough time to get through the park. Having the second day let us enjoy it more fully even though we didn't get to hit all the rides even then. A lucky and great thing was that our 2 1/2 year old could ride on many of the rides. He was right there on the lower limits, 36'. If he were a bit younger and shorter it would not have been fun for him. Lucky for us it wasn't crowded and the weather was great. As we left the park the second day, it started to rain. Good timing.

For both the days, the boys spent about 2 hours each time at the building centers where they get to build and test their cars. Talk about competitiveness!! whoa whoa. Even us parents were trying to beat the fastest car which happened to be K's. No one, not even us could build one faster than his.Is this is Asian thing or what?

The lego creations are set up all over the park. They are amazing and got my kids imaginations going. The first thing they did when we got home from CA. was head to their legos.

If I may give us another even closer look.....

just couldn't resist that look of revolting, horrifying TERROR

About Our Yucatan, Mexico trip

Alright I'm giving a shot at trying to share some tidbits of our trip to Mexico. What a task! And a little overwhelming. There is so much that won't be in here and so much information about each place that I decided to leave out because of time constraints. Perhaps at a later time I'll try.

In brief, we went with Nate and Collete, stayed in Cancun the first night, four nights in Merida (at my parents vacation house) where we ventured out and visited ruins including Chichen Itza, Uzmal, Ek Balam, and Dz and swam in Ik kil (a cenote), and the last two nights in Tulum visiting the ruins of Coba and Tulum, and snorkeling at Xel Ha.
And that really isn't doing the trip justice. So many of the little, funny, things that happened can't all be included. Like the speed bumps that Chris kept launching us off....next time we'll know what the sign is for topez (speed bumps) or the endless games of Hearts that we played and I lost each time and the look Nate gave me when I gave Collete her first "shooting the moon." Or experiences such as when we discovered Gorditas after a long day and bit into such delicious heavenliness.

Overall the trip was a huge success from gas prices dropping, the dollar going farther, great weather, good company, diversity in activity, doing most everything we wanted, not getting sick or getting in an accident and having fun. By the end we were all missing our kids and both sad and happy to be going home.

Highlights (not in any particular order):

1. climbing the Mayan ruins/pyramids at Ek Balam, Coba and Uxmal. I thought the steep climb was scary and thrilling. I loved seeing the view from up top......green trees that seem to go on forever with no apparent civilization around. The fresh air was nice and felt like home. It was so peaceful and quiet as well.

this is the Coba ruin. Yes we climbed it. There I am below from the top.

2. swimming/jumping into the Cenote, Ik Kil. It was beautiful to see it from the top and then to jump in it was a real treat.

Cenote, Ik Kil close to Chichen Itza. Video footage to come courtesy of Collete

3. sleeping in a hammock on the beach (2 nights). The wind was loud and strong. It was a new adventure for me to sleep like that outdoors. Surprisingly I woke up without any body aches and it wasn't too cold. I was afraid of being slaughtered by the unknown which made it that much more exciting and was happily awoken by the sunrise, something I don't get to experience from the ocean very often or at all! This was the sunrise from Tulum.

This is what I woke up to in Tulum where Chris and I slept on a hammock on the beach.

4. no one got sick....even me. Any trip to Mexico where no one gets sick is a success, for me. This is the first time I've gone there and not gotten sick.

5. seeing/driving through the small, poor towns on our way to our destinations.....clothes being hand washed and hung to dry, huts, dirt floors, humble homes, the different colors on the houses, the people, their clothes, the city gatherings and festivities, people laying in their hammocks, peope hanging out.....it was all interesting and refreshing.

6. discovering new places. It was an adventure trying to find our way around, getting something to eat, seeing something for the first timetaken at Ek Balam
Some of the Indians getting set up to sell their good at Chichen Itza

7. rope walking. It was an activity we tried at Xel Ha. I had never done it before. It was a rope you held onto while you walked on one to try to get across. Harder than it looks. I love to get physical and this was a nice treat.

8. coconut tree climbing. I didn't know I had it in me. Another one of those hands on activities I love.

9. snorkeling/swimming/tubing in Carribean waters. It was relaxing, new, and fun. Seeing the fish and shells was an added bonus.

This was taken at Xel ha. The waters are part of the Carribean ocean but in it's lagoon where the water was much calmer and predictable. Nice for first time snorkelers like myself. I thought it much easier to do without a life jacket but wearing flippers and much more pleasant with goggles that don't fog up.The crew doing some last minute snorkeling before heading out

hammocks at Xel Ha. Not to mention the bike ride and wild animals in the forest adjunct to our bike trail, kayaking in black waters (literally), being able to hold beautiful parrots, tubing down the river, and all the yummy food and drink you could ever need in a day.

Some things I thought were indispensable on this trip:

1. Frommer's guide. Collette checked it out from the library and brought it along. It has info. that helped out alot on this trip; info such as driving tips, info. on the places we visited, maps, places to eat, etc. We used it on a daily even hourly basis.Frommer's guide. Highly recommend it for traveling. Thanks to Collete for it.

2. A rental Car. Having one was so nice. We didn't have to wait around for transportation and were solely self reliant in getting around. We visited tons of places and it was soooo nice to get up and go whenever we needed to, especially on our runs for food or supplies that we needed.

3. Chris' mad driving skills. If you want to drive in Mexico be prepared, it's no easy task and Chris was the mad man, hands down. We made it through without any incident

4. Nate's navigation talent with an outdated map. Anyone who can tell Chris where to go and not get chewed out has skills.

5. being able to speak/understand some Spanish. For the most part it was more convenient to be able to speak the language, but there were a couple of times I was glad to be able to communicate with the people.

6. bottled water

Fun discoveries:

1. Ek Balam was our first ruin we checked out. It was on our way to Merida after our night in Cancun. It is a ruin that we were able to climb and it was a steep one. It was fun to be there with friends

This is from the top of Ek Balam

2. Sorianas was a grocery store we went to often. We bought our Mexican pastries there for breakfast and other needed goods such as dinner supplies, Chris' gotta have pineapple, Nate/Collete's blue slush

3. Gorditas is a yummy fast food place in Soriana. After a long day at Chichen Itza and swimming in the cenote, we were all hungry and discovered Gorditas. They make little fluffy tortillas stuffed with a variety of Mexican favorites such as pollo pibil, beans/cheese, pork and green salsa. They even told me how to make themGorditas in Sorianas. Yummy. I finally succombed to eating Mexican food and not food I brought in my suitcase from the states.

Things I'm thankful/glad for:

1. good weather including lots of cloud cover that kept us cool

2. not the busy season

these lizards are everywhere

3. the humidity wasn't bad

This is on our walk to see the Coba ruin.

4. hardly any mosquitos

An alligator Collette spotted... amongst the many things she spotted with that eye for detail

5. that Nate/Collete like/maybe even Love Mexican food. It made things very easy
For the first two night in Merida I cooked dinner. I didn't eat it but I thought I needed to participate in dinner and this was the way.

6. Sack lunches, bottled drinks, snacks....we did alot of driving and sight seeing

7. lemon drops. these made the long drives a little tastier

8. we had no lines/crowds at the airport to and from. We even had our own aisle on the airplane both ways, not to mention the empty aisles around us. Alaska Airline rocks.

9. gas prices were down which my our driving trip to and from CA. more affordable

10. that the dollar was stronger to the peso just in time for our trip.

11. Nate and Collete were fun to hang out with and were positive/upbeat and excited to be there.

This was taken on our walk at Progresso Beach

12. My parents house in Merida where we stayed for four nights and saved a bundle of money

My parent's house in Merida

13. Going on a kidless vacation with my hubby. Wow, that made for easy traveling.

A kissing us from the top of a pyramid in Uxmal

Some more pictures categorized Ruins:

Some more pictures categorized Beachy stuff:

A brief run through of the last 2 weeks

It's been a very busy couple of weeks on vacation for us. We drove to Vegas on a Friday and spent the night at my brothers before we headed to California the next day. We got the kids settled down with my parents before Chris and I headed for the Yucatan early Monday morning. We were there until the next Monday and reunited with the kids and my parents later that day. The next 2 days we spent at Legoland. We also were able to spend time with family during Thanksgiving break. We helped my parents move last Friday and began our drive back home that night. We crashed at my brothers again in Vegas and finished our drive home on Saturday. BTW, we drove two cars home. Thank goodness gas prices were down!

I'll be posting some pics of the trip really soon...maybe even later today.

TidBits

I took the younger boys out for a stroll near our home. They got some energy out while I tried taking some pictures with our new camera. After our little point and shoot broke it was like there was a hole in my life. I've been taking pictures for so many years almost on a daily basis, I sort of felt lost without one. I played around with the temperature of the picture above, basically made it warmer. I really like how it turned out but am a little disappointed that I still need to use a photo editor as much as I do; it means I have a lot of learning/work cut out for me. Fun though.

We watched Water Horse with the boys. It was a cute kid's movie. The movie that both Chris and I really enjoyed was Ironman. Robert Downey Jr. was great and I liked the storyline. I was pleasantly surprised. I thought I was going to be falling asleep but instead found myself wide awake on the edge of the couch the whole time.

I've been checking out this look a lot lately. Every time I see someone wearing skinny jeans and boots I can't help but stare and then try to figure out when I can go out shopping next. Can I get away with this look is my next thought? I don't have the legs for a skinny jean. The truth is my legs are warped. But, I'm happy to say that I found a pair of lucky brand jeans that aren't as skinny but can still be tucked into a boot. And I'm a very pleased woman right now: so pleased I may even clean the house from top to bottom. Last week L came down with a mild cold that has gone through everyone except for ME. L and A had the sniffles late last week, K and Chris however have been a little more dramatic about their sniffles. They've taken time off from work/school this week. I was hoping I'd have caught it by now so that I'd be good for our trip next week. You would think with all the sneezes I've felt on my skin I'd be sick myself. But no such luck. On my mission I had a companion that got influenza. I was waiting and waiting to catch it and never did. We were inseparable and I was very surprised. A couple years ago K got pink eye that L, A, Chris, and my mom in law got. But I never did. So, I'm crossing my fingers and hoping, just hoping for the same. We got the usual good news from K's teacher at parent/teacher conference. My favorite note is that he gets along well with his classmates.