Cancun

When Steve and I got married 14 years ago, we went the "budget" route when it came to our honeymoon. We didn't have a penny to our name! We used free airline tickets I'd won on the radio to fly to LA where my Grandma Andrew and Uncle Joel and Aunt Mary Lou lived. Grandma paid for us to go to Disneyland, and we stayed in Joel and Mary Lou's "honeymoon suite" in their house. (Thanks for helping us out, Joel and Mary Lou!) We promised ourselves that one day, we'd go on a second honeymoon to a romantic location.

So, when our friend, Kirk, proposed that we surprise his wife by going with them to Cancun to celebrate her 40th birthday, we didn't hesitate! It was Steve's birthday that week, too. We surprised Nannette at the airport with birthday hats and buttons that said, "It's My Birthday!" Our friend, Brian, was celebrating his 40th birthday, too.

On the airplane, we realized that other than flying to LA on our honeymoon, we'd never flown without the kids anywhere. I actually enjoyed the flight!Steve's mom and sister, Shari, came out for the week and watched our kids. (Thanks again!) The kids had a wonderful time with Grandma! (In fact when we came back, Sophie came and gave me a quick hug, then ran back to Grandma!)

We met our friends, Eric and Minnette, at the airport in Cancun. We spent our first day with them, after which they had to leave to go home. Eric served his mission in Cancun, so it was great to have him there as our personal tour guide and chauffeur. Plus it was wonderful to spend some time with them. They drove us to some Mayan ruins at Ek-Balam where we got our exercise in climbing up and down all of the ruins. There were some amazing views from the highest points.

We stayed at the Cancun Palace, an all-inclusive resort. The package we bought included tours, snorkeling, food, and drinks. There was so much to do! The first day after Eric and Minnette left, we went snorkeling. Steve liked the water so much that he also went scuba diving. (I stayed behind to get a massage.)The food there was too good--we ate way too much! They even had Nutella at the breakfast bar every morning. (Nutella was one of the main causes of my 30 pound weight gain on my mission! And I'm sure it contributed to my 5 pound weight gain on this trip!)
One of my favorite places we went was Tulum. Tulum is a group of Mayan ruins that's built right against the beach. It was absolutely beautiful!

Here's Steve on a wall leading into Tulum. I told him to pretend he was Samuel the Lamanite. He's not as dramatic as my boys would have been!
One night, we got together with the other couples who also went to Cancun to celebrate Brian and Nannette's 40th birthdays. Steve helped design the shirts we wore with Brian and Nannette's faces on them. As you can see, we didn't need the alcohol everybody kept trying to serve us to have a crazy time.
Another night, we had another birthday dinner--this time for Steve. Happy Birthday, Steve!

On our last full day, we went to Isla Mujeros. It is a little island near Cancun where we went shopping and Steve went scuba diving again while I sat in the sun by the pool, listening to Christmas music. It just didn't feel like Christmas!

The last day before we got on the plane, I went down to the beach to lie in the sun. I don't know when the next time will be that I'll see it again!

Now it feels like Christmas. When we got home, there was snow on the ground. The kids had half-days Monday and Tuesday while we were gone and again on Wednesday. They cancelled school, altogether, on Thursay and Friday. Now there's almost a foot of snow! Now I feel bad for complaining about the 70 degree weather we had in Cancun the first couple of days we were there! I'd take that over 20 degree weather any day. But at least it feels like Christmas!One day we're lying at the beach, the next, we're sledding with the kids! Merry Christmas everyone!