Belize Day 2

Day 2 didn't begin very well. Having had only 4 hours of sleep the night before we left and getting a whopping 4 hours our first night in Belize (I'm not usually a great sleeper) I woke up with a skull scrapping headache. I wanted to die. I curled into a ball and just cried. Luckily Jim woke up at about 6 and ran to get me a soda (caffeinated) so I could take some Advil AND Tylenol (the secret is using them together with the caffeine). I was able to snooze a bit until 10 or so and take more drugs. I then sat by the pool and held very still until it was time to go snorkeling.  I really didn't want to miss out on that!

The morning was so beautiful. I enjoyed just taking a minute to enjoy the sunshine and warm breeze. This really is a beautiful place.

Jim and the Walker's played in the pool. I became the group photographer. I enjoyed my duties and the minute it gave me to feel like I was engaged in the activity without  having to bounce my head around!

Then the boys wanted me to come closer and take their pictures coming out of the water slide.

Of course I was happy to do it. They were having such fun. It was a beautiful day!!

Jim's vacation pose. He's a fan of  blue skies and warm air!!

The afternoon of the second day we went to the barrier reef and Hol Chan Marine Reserve to try some snorkeling. I didn't do very well the last time I tried so I was determined to do better this time around.

Spiny Sea Urchin....whoa!! Cool!! Our guides Candyman and Ariel were fun and knew a lot about the coral and the life around it. They kept us on task and all together. There was a Moray Eel that they had to steer away from the swimming tourists. It looked like it could do some damage.

A Sea Turtle!! She was right there!! Munching grass. This was the last picture on my camera. It broke. The buttons on the tops stopped working. I was so sad. Right after this she went up for air...RIGHT NEXT TO JIM!! He had to hold very still as not to scare her away but he could have reached out and touched her!!

After that we went to the shark and ray feed site. We swam with the Nurse Sharks and the Rays while they were being fed. Creepy AND cool!! Then we boated past San Pedro and back to the resort. It was an amazing afternoon!!

When we got back we swam for a bit. This is the view from the bar into the other pool  area and hot tub. It was one of our favorite spots!!

During the hours we were there it wasn't loud or crowded. Just a nice place to hang out and get some lunch. We sat in the hot tub before dinner to warm up and it rained. Not just a little rain...it poured from the sky like you would expect on a tropical island. Some thunder and lightening and huge buckets of warm rain. It was one of our favorite things about the trip. Weird, I know...sitting in the hot tub in the rain. Tourists...sheesh!!

After we dressed for dinner we decided it was a good idea  to walk toward town...in the dark....in a foreign country...in. the. dark. Not sure if you picked up on my hesitation. Let me set the scene for you...We walked out the back of the resort, away from the ocean. There was a nicely paved road. No lights. There was a light at our resort and then about 100 yards away there was another light...and then no light. Like at all! The newly paved road was nice, apart from the 3" gaps in the concrete along the way. Pretty sure they were for drainage.  Creepy night sounds all around, (me afraid of the dark in my own house) not really sure where we are going. We had a map...never trust a map. Never go in the dark. Just saying. We had gone about a mile and a half (felt like 10) and suddenly the road stopped. Technically the road was still there...just not the paved part. So we decided to turn around and rent a golf cart from the resort to continue our adventure. By this time it was about 7:00 and we were getting hangry (OK...maybe just me). We got the golf cart and headed back. When we reached the point where the road ended we were so pleased (note the sarcasm) to notice that the rain had created these HUGE puddles of undetermined depth (remind me sometime to tell you about my recurring nightmare about driving into water). There was no way around them...we had to go through them. Golly. Not fun. But we made it (both ways) without being swept out into the ocean. We continued on until the road ended...again. Couldn't really tell where it headed as it was so dark so we decided to turn around and find a less than repulsive looking resort and try our culinary luck there.  The one we settled on was called Rain. Appropriate since the lounge (the only available seating) was open to the sky. Risky. But we were all hungry by then and so we stayed. There was a lovely live band (and by band I mean a bass player and a guy on a keyboard) pumping out some smooth jazzed up hits from the 80's. Oh yeah!! I ordered a chicken dish. It was OK. Jim had the snapper. It too was OK. My mashed potatoes were YUMMY and the chocolate lave cake with coconut ice cream I ordered for dessert was the bomb!! 

We made it back to the resort safely and said good night. The next day we'd be catching the taxi to town at 6:00 a.m. for our Mayan Ruin/Cave Tubing adventure. I wanted to try to get enough sleep so the headache stayed away!!

Lots of fun and laughter for the day. I loved being there with Jim and of course the Walker's. What a day!!!

Belize Day 1

Jim and I (with the fabulous Walker's) went to Belize last week. You may (or not) remember the Walker's from our cruise in 2012. We had such a good time. We chose Belize for the snorkeling and Mayan ruins. I'll apologize in advance for the pictures. They are completely put of order. Some are from my phone and others from my camera (until it died....more on that later). We stayed at the Coco Beach Resort on Ambergris Caye just off the mainland of Belize. It was stunning. 

This is from the pier outside the resort. It was such a quiet, beautiful spot. I can't say enough good things about this place.

It was so quiet. Even though they were at 85% capacity (we asked) it felt secluded. We rarely had to share the pool. The beach was all but empty most of the time too.

This is Coco Beach Resort. Beautiful beach, gracious staff, great food, near the second largest barrier reef in the world, tons of things to do and did I mention the warm weather??

This is the view from the from door of our room. This view never gets old.

This is the pool we spent the most time in. Our room is in the building on the left of the picture on the top floor last room on the right. It was perfect.

We had Pina Coladas (virgin, of course) every day. Such a treat!!

This photo should be first. It was all of us on the first plane (of 6) of the trip. We are such a wild and crazy crew!! What a time we had!!

Blue sky, blue water, white puffy clouds....relaxing already!!

The first thing we see coming into The Belize City, Belize airport...A CHRISTMAS TREE!! Perfection!!

Then onto this little island hopper. Must say....I was not a huge fan. But if that is how we get to the island...then so be it!! There was a 2 hour boat ride for an alternative. No thank you!! I'll take the 20 minute plane ride and hope for the best!!

Ilise rode shotgun!! She is a stunning co-pilot. Buckle your seat belts!!

Oh boy!! The ride was like a very unpredictable roller coaster. Luckily it was a short ride.

It's a tropical paradise. Lush greenery met us at every view. I couldn't get enough of the warm beautiful scenery!!

Of course the boys enjoyed the flight. I don't think they could have been less concerned.

Waiting for the water taxi to take us the 10 minute boat ride to the resort. We were so excited to finally be here. We have been planning this for a very long time!! (Yes, those are my fancy "going to town" sweats. They were comfy traveling pants!)

Ilise and I got massages on the beach (no pics of that!!) shortly after we arrived. We felt so relaxed after that there wasn't much we wanted to do. When we left NE it was -22* with the wind chill. The schools were closed for the day. When we got to Ambergris Caye it was 78*. We wanted to stay outside and enjoy every minute of the beautiful weather.We ate at the restaurant at the resort that night and turned in early (like 9:00). That's early for the Walker's but late for us!! We had all been up ridiculously early for our 5:45 a.m. flight so we were all beat.

Trying to Remember

Trying etch every second into my memory so I don't forget. He was so small...once he could barley see above the TV stand. 

The cutest baby I've ever seen. And he is the best baby too. Barely makes a fuss. He couldn't be more loved.

He has his Auntie tied tight around his little finger. He really is something special.

Christmas 2014

This is a little late...but you know what they say about late and ever and all that. We had Christmas early last month. Kevin and Abby were flying out on the 22nd for Utah so we wanted all our festivities while they were here.

We ate our traditional Christmas Eve dinner of ham and cheesy potatoes. It was yummy. Then we exchanged gifts. Michael still didn't get it and was happy with the first thing he opened. I love this age!! Abby had to put together a puzzle and go find hers. The size and shape of the box (and the fact that there was only one for her) would have ruined the surprise.

Kevy loved his Coke glasses. He's a fan!!

Jo got a gift card (and half a plane ticket to Idaho for her cousin's wedding).

Abby did the happy dance to see her very own KITCHENAID MIXER!! She has wanted one for a very long time. 

Michael got a phone for his house. He loves the one here so much that we thought he needed one for home too!!

Abby hugged that thing for the longest time. I think she thanked us 104 times that night.

Both of the kids gave us homemade gifts this year (which is what we asked for). Kevin wrote us poems of appreciation and Jo wrote beautiful letters to each of us. We loved them and a few tears were shed reading them. Our kids are the best!!

This smiley baby is the reason I smile!!

He loves hanging out with Auntie Jo!!

We also bought Kevin tickets to a ballroom dance show in town. They have some of the pro's from Dancing With the Stars in their company. Should be a FUN night!!

We also got Michael a crocheted dinosaur. His favorite show on PBS Kids is Dinosaur Train. He loved it and packed it around the rest of the night.

I am loving having them all so close. Jo is less than 10 minutes away from us now and Kevin and his family are less than 5. I just don't think it gets much better than that!!

Catching Up

Clear back at Thanksgiving we got to have Jane and Doug (AKA Great Grandpa and Grandma) come to visit. Kevin was so excited to show off his little man. Can't say I blame him. He is pretty much the best thing in the history of ever.

Jim gets to see his parents a couple times a year. It's always nice when they brave to cold to come see us. We had pretty good weather and our Thanksgiving food was amazing!!

Jo and I got to go to Tyler's wedding in December. We had such a good time. You wouldn't know it because I don't take many pictures. I was having such a good time that I forget. We did celebrate our December birthdays while we were there. These babies (who aren't babies any more) turned 11!! I just can't believe it!!

Ugh...out of order...Oh well. Back to turkey day. Michael did love the extra attention. More people to read him a story is good news indeed!!

We are just so blessed to have this baby around. We have such a lovely time. Even his tantrums are cute. So half hearted....I hope they stay that way!!

Our days are relaxed. We snuggle and play and watch Tangled and Frozen. We read books and sing and dance and color. I can't imagine being happier.