Mexico

We got to go on a really fun trip to the Mexican Riviera with our close friends, the Foxes and the Fletchers, a few weeks ago. We left our kids with our families and missed them so much but it was a nice break for us to get away. We had such a great time! It was so nice to just relax on the beach, swim in the pool and not be on any sort of schedule. We all stuffed ourselves on chicken quesadillas, the best nachos, and delicious pinadas. The joke was that Don was always hungry and he sat in the same chair from 10am to 5pm one day.

We took a couple of days and went to see some of the amazing Mayan ruins that are in the area and snorkeled in a fun little beach village in Akumal. We went scuba diving with Fletchers and saw a lot of cool fish, which was great because we haven't been since our Honeymoon. We went into Playa Del Carmen a few times to check out 5th Avenue and do a little shopping and had the some of the best Mexican food ever! The best part though was just being together and with our friends! Now it all seems like a dream...

Pier at our hotel

"El Don, Senor Fletcher y Bill"
(otherwise known as Don, Alan and Bill)

Hanging out in the tide pool

Beach Volleyball

All of us girls went on a bike tour of the hotel property. The guys didn't want to leave their lounge chairs.

CHICHEN ITZA

This Chichen Itza pyramid is now one of the 7 wonders of the world. Chichen Itza is an amazing city!

The ball court is where all the Mayans would gather to watch a match between two teams. They had to get the ball through the stone basket but could only hit it with their ankles, knees, torso, elbow or head. They couldn't use their feet or their hands. The acoustics were amazing. If you clap while at one end of the court, you can hear it very clearly bouncing off the opposite wall. The walls all lean in at a 17 degree angle so that everyone can hear. Amazing!

This is a depiction of what happens after the match. It was an honor to die so the losing team captain beheads the winning team captain. There are seven snakes or spurts of blood coming from the winning team captain's body where the head was chopped off, symbolic of the 7 members of the team.

Our group in front of the jaguar temple

We got to swim in this cenote after Chichen Itza. It was so cool!


PLAYA DEL CARMEN

Catching a bus to go into Playa Del Carmen to check out the beach and 5th avenue.

5th Avenue

The Jaguar warrior

TULUM

Main temple of Tulum

We got to have an LDS tour guide in Tulum. It was so neat to see how it all related to the Book of Mormon.


Don in front of the Healing Temple, with blessing hands on the wall

The ruins of Tulum overlook the most amazing beach I have ever seen, with white sand and the clearest blue water. We had so much fun swimming after seeing the ruins.

AKUMAL

Akumal Beach where we snorkeled

We had dinner at this fun restaurant in Akumal, on the beach, "La Buena Vida" and thought these swing chairs were fun

Akumal

We had fun but we were SO excited to get back to our kids! They were so cute sitting on the steps when we pulled up and we got the biggest hugs! Elle loved the shell and little box we brought back for her and Easton keeps telling everyone that his jaguar statue used to be hot lava but it cooled so now it is black. We missed our kids so much but I am so glad they had fun with their cousins at Aunt Tami's and with Grandpa and both Grandmas.

I think baby Jayne was a little upset with us for leaving her though. She wouldn't smile at me until the next day. I felt so bad. She stayed with Tami the whole time and I know she got a lot of love and attention from her cousins though. It was good to be home!