Xel-Ha and Tulum

Yesterday Bruce and I started out the day in a place called Xel-Ha. It is a lagoon where you can snorkel, ride bikes, lounge in hammocks, and eat and drink all you want. It's a business plan that would never fly in the United States: "...and there will be an open bar with all they can drink, and then I'm going to hand them a snorkel and direct them to open water."

I haven't snorkeled since junior high, mainly due to my fear of open water and my hatred of mouth breathing. I was up for it though.

Me: "It feels a little cold..."

Bruce: Shoves me in. He's sensitive like that.

Here's some photographic evidence that Barratt's CAN swim. Ignore the life vest- it's a useless prop and I still have skills.

Bruce took the leap off of a little cliff.

After a few hours at Xel-Ha, we were off to some ruins called Tulum. The ruins are right on the ocean and were very beautiful and amazing.

We had a tour guide. He was very knowledgeable up until I asked, "Um, I'm just trying to get it straight. Did the Nephites or Lamanites build this?"

What I've Learned in Cancun

We arrived in Cancun late Saturday night. We had only a 45 minute layover between our two flights in Houston, and our first flight was 20 minutes late, which meant all my running really paid off as we sprinted from terminal B to terminal E. Then, of course, although our boarding happened right on time, our take-off was delayed by almost 40 minutes. Stupid Continental Airlines.

The view from our room.

I've never been to Mexico before, so I'm learning a bunch.

Lesson 1: Mexico has wall art that matches my new guest bathroom decor. (Look back a few posts if you don't know WTH I'm talking about.)
Other than the horrifying sight I fall asleep looking at each night, our hotel is quite nice.
Lesson 2: Our hotel LIED when they said there was a gym here. Technically, there IS a gym. However, neither the treadmill, stair climber, 2 bikes, or weight machine work. And that's EVERY piece of equipment in there. I'm missing the benefits of my feel-good exercise endorphins. Bruce was kind enough (or sick enough of my complaining) to go on a little run with me last night. Which leads me to:

Lesson 3: Inexplicably, the last thing Bruce does before heading out on a run is to put a little loose change in his pocket.

Lesson 4: Here's why Bruce always feels bloated on vacation:

His breakfast:
My breakfast:
Wait- he went back for seconds:

We could have eaten breakfast here, but the pool isn't heated.

Lesson 5: If you are in a wheelchair, do not come to Cancun. There is no ADA regulation here. No ramps, stairs all over the place, uneven surfaces. Are you a veteran? Overcoming an illness? Born differently abled? Cancun doesn't give a rip.

Lesson 6: You can buy Oreos with banana flavored filling here.

Lesson 7: Senor Frog's does not live up to the hype. It's a cool place for sure, but the food was below average. They had decent chips and salsa, but the beans were the consistency of paste.

Also, when I asked the server how "large" exactly was a large drink, she was a little vague. I don't think it would have been out of the question to say, "Well, a large drink comes in a glass that is a foot and a half tall." But, we are bringing home new change banks for the girls.

Lesson 8: The Spanish Homer Simpson has the voice totally wrong.

Lesson 9: Cancun would be better if I was drunk. Then I wouldn't care so much about all the people bugging me to buy a time share, or how overpriced everything is, or how to calculate a 13 to 1 exchange rate in my head.

All in all, we are having a good time so far. Bruce has spent a lot of time on the beach, so I have spent a lot of time with my new obsession, Wallace Stegner. (He's not my boyfriend, mainly because he is dead. He is an incredible author- I'm really branching out by reading a fiction AND a non-fiction. Crazy stuff, man.) Tomorrow we are taking a bus tour to some ruins, which is excitement supplemented by the additional excitement of the authentic Mexican snacks I bought at the OXXO tonight. Who knows what the day will bring? Could be a cookie, could be a chile flavored pork rind.

So This Is Christmas...

My favorite thing about Christmas this year has been how absolutely magical it has appeared to my children. They totally believe in Santa. They left out cookies, they sprinkled oatmeal on the porch for the reindeer, they were so excited when they woke up to see that "he" had been there.

It was the kind of happiness that, as a parent, is incredibly fun to see in your kids.

I worried- we have a 3 present rule for Christmas- one gift from Santa, one gift from Mom and Dad, one gift from each other. I don't want to set a precedent for insane Christmases, and I don't like Santa getting all of the credit, either. I hoped it would seem like enough to them, and it was. We have family and friends who are exceedingly generous and that too, was part of our Christmas morning fun.

Kate got the girl equivalent of the "Red Rider BB Gun"- the Barbie Glamour Camper. She also got a Sea World Barbie and new Polly Pockets.

Kiki got a scooter. She's working out the kinks. She also got little (fake!) hamsters, and a huge set of Playdough.

I like to pride myself on the fun stocking stuffers I get the girls- lip glosses, bead kits, tattoo pens- but apparently I went a little TOO light on candy since I found Kiki eating her new soap.

Jack's children booted him into the 21st century with a digital camera. He won't be using it until his film is all gone, but he is making the leap.

He feels his hands are too large for such a small camera.

George, Merrilee, Doug, Trea, and Grandma Lela all came to a fat breakfast.

Kate and Kiki gave Bruce TWO sleds for Christmas.

Mysterious.

It seemed to work out in their favor though- we had a great time sledding in the yard.

Who can find the dog in this picture?

She's there?

Really?

I was hoping she wasn't.

Snow Diaper.

Christmas Dinner was at Kaye's house.

This pretty much sums it all up.

What would Christmas be without a giant toddler meltdown?

Christmas Eve

We started Christmas Eve at Grandma Ellie's.

Know what's awesome?

Getting a present as big as you are.

It was a Fisher Price Animal Farm, and all Kiki had to say was, "I love it! I really love it! I'm so excited!"

John and his boys, Theo and Preston

Dave and Jill
Kate received Littlest Pet Shops- it's a new obsession but one that has been indulged completely between her birthday and Christmas.
George, Bruce, Kate, Jill, Dave, and Merrilee.

Me, my mom, and Kiki. It's nice having her hair out of her face since it makes finding her nose so much easier.

Then we headed over to the Wynn's for an emotional and moving reading of Luke/Nativity.

Of course, that went totally as planned. "...and the time came that she should be delivered..."

Pull a stunt like that and you're not Mary anymore.

(I was actually not mocking Mary, it's just one of those pictures that you look at later and wonder what in the world you were doing.)

The Wynn kids played their roles to a T. The Hatch girls refused to participate, leaving Bruce to play Joseph. Kiki finally agreed to be Mary after I told her that if she didn't do it she was going to "burn." "I don't want to burn," she said.

Then we watched Polar Express and ate Red Vines, then we went home and opened our new pajamas, then Kate triumphantly ripped the last link off of her Christmas chain, then she ran around screaming, "I'm so excited!", then Bruce and I were like, "Get your behinds in bed or I'm calling Santa!", and then they fell asleep.

And Santa came.

Yes, She Loves Fry Sauce

Christmas make me feel e-MO-tional...

We are getting into the Christmas spirit around here!
There has been some fun goings-on over the last few days.

First, I took Kate (with my friend Janet and her little girl Alexis) to see the Nutcracker. Our requirements were quite stringent, and not the way you are thinking either. It had to be a children's version (shortened). The tickets had to be cheap. It had to be close to home. It had to be one where you could sneak out if your kid was having a comeapart and no one would judge you. We found it. I was slightly nervous because the girls hadn't been to a ballet before, but they loved it. And they especially loved the asphalt pie at Wingers after. (Kate keeps calling it "Weiners." We are working on that.)

Kate's Aunt Lirio gave her a special Christmas Scarf. I joked a couple of posts ago about Kate's favorite aunts, but really truly, all of her aunts are pretty incredible.

Yesterday was a very full day. We started at the aquarium. Their favorite part was the frogs:

...the alive ones, but this picture will do.

They also went crazy for the touch pools but I was too busy trying to keep everyone dry to take many pictures.

We picked Bruce up from work and headed downtown for dinner and temple lights.
We decided that Kiki has an abnormally large tongue.

Bundling up was tricky- Kiki is not good with gloves- she kept coming up with an empty slot in the glove. She said, "Wait a second! I need another finger!"

Kate was to wear red and green to school today. I laid out the green shirt pictured with a pair of jeans, but she felt that red should also be represented. As a result, here's how my kid went to school today:

Lastly, I've felt my guest bath has been a little boring. So I did some redecorating.

Isn't my "blood bath" mat cozy and welcoming?
Come and be my guest....blah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaaaaaaaa!