san francisco

6 days in San Francisco

celebrated our 17 wedding anniversary - yeah for marrying someone that would stick with me so long

celebrated with family at the wedding of Kelly and Justin

used public transit and loved every minute of it

bought clothes at an amazing vintage store

ate the best spanish tapas (twice)

enjoyed a lazy afternoon at the park talking with Derek while gazing at the Golden Gate bridge thru the fog

was brave and ventured out on my own to explore the city while Derek watched Ghana beat the US

drank the best OJ i've ever had at Squat and Gobble

bought goodies galore for family and friends in Chinatown

slept in an oversized king sized bed and have been dreaming about it ever since (also dreaming about blackout curtains) anything to make me sleep better

bought an expensive dish towel with whales on it - to frame, not use.  three cheers for the husband that was ok with me buying the expensive dish towel and didn't once say "you're kidding, right?"  (Sam, if you are reading this there is an Orca on the towel so please let us know in advance if you plan to visit so we can remove the framed towel from the wall)

took hardly any pictures

had a great time!!

trip report - cenote

My kids will be leaving for college by the time I get our Mexico trip all posted.

After sweating all day at Coba and Tulum we decided to do some swimming at a local cenote.  It was refreshing to say the least - the water was chilly!  It was also a beautiful area.  I mean really beautiful.

When we all finally got brave enough to get in the cold water we swam out to the rocks in the center of the cenote.  This picture is bad but it will give you an idea of the set up.  Cenotes are water systems that run underground.  The rocks we are sitting on in the picture below are actually the collapsed roof of the cave.  This whole water area was underground until the roof collapsed.  There are tunnels and caverns off of this cenote that is why there are a couple of scuba divers in the water.  They were practicing their cave diving.
The kids happy to be out of the sweltering heat of the ruins
Not sure what it is about this picture of Luke but I love it.  How cool is the water?


Remember one of my first trip posts about cliff jumping?  This is the same area where we jumped. Derek was the lucky water chauffeur that got to drag a kid filled life preserver from the entry point of the jump to the stairs out of the cenote.  This reminds me of a camping trip we took and Derek spent a ton of time getting kids fishing poles untangled.  The dads always get the hard, dirty work while the mom giggles behind the camera documenting all the "fun"
Finishing off our cenote swim with big smiles on everyones faces.  This was a great conclusion to an already great day.  
Note to Derek...remove wallet from swim trunks BEFORE diving into a cenote.  When we got into the taxi after our swim Derek passed out wet, soggy bills to all of us so that we could hold them up to the sunny windows to get dry while he spread out the rest on the dashboard.

trip report - tulum

After spending a few hours in Coba we hooked up with with our taxi driver for the day - Victor. He ended up being our driver for most of the trip giving us his cell number so that we could call whenever we needed him.  It proved to be very convenient in that we didn't have to wait for taxis since Victor was always waiting for us.

We sped off from Coba and headed to Tulum stopping for lunch on the way and inviting Victor to join us.

After lunch we did a quick reapply of suntan lotion.  Maybe I should rephrase that - the kids and I did a quick reapply and then waited for Derek to apply his sunscreen.  I'm not sure if it takes so long cause he's whiter then the rest of us or because he's whiter and taller - I guess it takes a while to get those long legs covered.  We love him anyway :)
To get to Tulum you can take a shuttle (I'm sure it's over priced) or do what we did and just take a walk.  It seems like a bit of a walk because of the heat but still doable.  Besides we were able to stop and see some cool things that we wouldn't have seen from the shuttle.  Can you see what Luke is running towards?
It was this little guy.  They were everywhere and they creeped me out a bit.  I kept thinking about the movie Holes and the scene with all the creepy crawlies climbing on the two kids in the hole.
As beautiful as the beaches and water are in this part of Mexico I think the jungles are equally as beautiful.  This part of the walk was amazing - I loved traipsing through the foliage - it brought out my inner Indiana Jones.
After you walk through a bit of jungle you get to the wall of the city.  
Tulum is a must see site - it is beautiful.  we like to refer to it as the Newport Beach of the Mayans.  Can't you see yourself living in the structure behind us?  Just tell me when I can move in.

I loved being at all these archaeological sites with my kids and seeing their interest. I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that Nate couldn't stop talking about being an archaeologist one day.

My one disappointment with Tulum is that it has changed a bit since Derek and I were there last.  All of the structures are roped off now where they weren't before.  I understand the reasoning - so many people visiting these sites can quickly deteriorate them but it is such a cool experience to walk on and feel the structures.  
Look at that water!  The pictures don't even do it justice.  I know I have already said it in previous posts but this area of Mexico (Yucatan) is on of my favorite places - it is beautiful!

At this point in the day we have now spent literally hours climbing pyramids and exploring in the heat of the sun at Coba and Tulum. Luke's face sums it up best - he was done!  Our kids never complained and they went along with everything we did this day so this picture cracks me up because it shows his true feelings.  We were all feeling a bit like this - we were ready to be out of the sun!

trip report - coba

Better late then never...an update on our summer trip.

We spent one of our days exploring the history of the area.  We started the day with a trip to the archaeological ruins at Coba

Coba is where we took the picture I posted about.
The Mayans must have been some tiny folks because although the kids could walk uprightly through must of the tunnels and walkways

Derek and I could not.  Derek especially would have been a giant amongst these people.  

Let me throw in a disclaimer here...it was beasty hot and humid where we were.  Yes we are dripping sweat in all these pictures making us shiny and repulsive to look at it.  I apologize for subjecting you to such horror and disgust.  However these posts will soon be part of our family blog journal and so the hideous pictures must stay for posterity - avert your eyes if you must. This one of Derek and I is especially bad because not only are we a sweaty mess but we look possessed of the devil.
After climbing a few smaller ruins we headed off for a walk in the jungle.  At this point we sang praises because of the shade (although we still sweated like pigs - nice visual, huh?)  The walk was beautiful.  It was neat to see un-excavated areas amongst the trees.  A majority of Coba has yet to be unearthed.  We would see big hills and mounds all around us that were evidence of more ruins since the area is naturally all flat.
We also saw lots of cool little wonders - this spider being a highlight.  His yellow color was amazing. 
After the walk we arrived at more ruins.  This skull was in the ground in the middle of a Mayan ball field used to play an ancient game.  Stories differ but from what we've heard either the winner or the loser of the game would get a part of his body pierced with a sword or knife (yes, that part of the body) and then be put to death.  eeekkkk!

Note:  I decided to see if I could find anything about this ancient game.  If you are interested you can read more here.
We finally arrived at our destination - Nohoch Mul.  Derek and I have climbed this pyramid before but we were anxious for the kids to have the experience.  This is us before we headed up to the top.
I love the texture of this sign that is on the top of the pyramid off to the side of the temple entrance. Not sure what it says - probably something about plummeting to your death.
At the top - after a steep, hot climb up crumbly stairs that are not remotely safe.  See the little dot off to the side of Emily's shoulder?  That's another pyramid off in the distance.
The whole family -proof that I sucked up my fears long enough to get to the top.  Unfortunately going up isn't the worst part.  On the way up I just didn't look anywhere but up - coming down is a whole different story.
This is us towards the end of our descent.  The pained look on my face is fear that at any moment one of us is going to slip and fall and sacrifice ourselves to the mayan gods.  While my whole family walked down the pyramid I slid down it on my bottom.  The only time I stood coming down was to take pictures.  Looks like I'm not alone though.  See the guy behind me? He came down behind me and spent a good deal of time on his bum as well.  So there, now I feel better about myself.
After the climb our sorry selves were not up to the long jungle walk so for $6 we hitched a ride down the long jungle path.
Our mode of transportation?  These sweet little bikes powered by some tougher than me folks. Biking tourist back and forth in the heat and humidity doesn't seem much fun but we are grateful that there were nice men there willing to do it.  It made for a much more enjoyable trip back to our cab.
For anyone thinking about going to this area of Mexico add Coba to your list of must sees.  It's one of my favorite places even though I must risk death to fully appreciate it.

the trip started bright and early

So here I go with some trip posts (broken down so as not to bore the few blog readers we have) 

The morning we left started early - we had to leave our house at 4:15 am (not a great time when you don't go to bed until about 2:30 am) We had decided to have a driver pick us up since there was no way we would subject friends or family to an LAX drive at that time of the morning - aren't we nice people?  Derek looked into a shuttle but found that for $4 more he could get a limo to pick us up so he went with that knowing that the kids would be thrilled when they walked out to meet the driver in the morning.  Luke's face was classic - I so wish I had a shot of it.  The ride was nice since most of us promptly fell asleep.

We got to LAX and sat, sat and sat some more.  The joy of airport security and international travel.  Nothing like sitting in the airport for 2 hours.  The kids did really well.  First of all they were still pretty tired from the early wake up and none of them have ever flown before so the airport was kind of a big deal.  
Everyone loved the plane ride with the exception if me.  I thought I was doing ok so I didn't take any anxiety medication (which I usually take every time I fly)  I ended up having a bit of a cry fest but only during take off and occasionally I freaked when we hit turbulence.  
Unfortunately we were not on a non stop flight so we had to land in Mexico City where we did some more sitting before boarding our flight for Cancun and I did some more "I'm scared to fly" freaking out.
We eventually ended up at our resort after a long day of travel.  We ended the night watching a movie, ordering room service and getting some sleep so that we would be ready to enjoy the rest of our vacation.

makes me smile

Derek suggested that I use my free time today blogging about our trip.  Great idea but instead I took a nap. Although I feel a little bit guilty about my 2 hour nap I use the excuse that I really did need it. Since coming home from the trip I haven't been in bed before 1 am most nights.  I deserve the nap right?!?!  Besides that now I am awake and kinda blogging about the trip.

There are still a ton of pictures to look thru before I start posting but I did want to hare this one...

Every time I open up my pictures I go back to this one - it makes me smile, I love it!  It's not the best photograph ever.  The kids aren't looking their best and some aren't even looking at the camera.  Luke is blurry.  But for me this picture captures the perfectness of the day we went to see the ruins.

In photography you are often told not to shoot into the sun but I happen to like it.  I love the sun in this photo.  You get a better feel for how the sun was beating down on  us.  It was hot this day thanks to the sun and so I am glad I captured "mister sun, sun, mister golden sun" (any Barney fans?  Is Barney even still on?) because he was a big part of the day.

I love that the kids aren't looking their best.  We were dressed scuzzy, we were sweating pigs, we were hot and tired but man, we were having fun exploring.  The fact that some of the kids aren't even looking helps me to remember that there was so much to look at it and learn - every ones attention would be focused on a different pyramid, hieroglyph, historical marker, bug, etc. and we would all want to tell the others about what we found.

Luke's blurriness is jut proof that the kid is in motion a lot.  He would run up and down the ruins exploring tunnels and little hiding places. He just went and went. He nearly flew up the big pyramid we climbed (pictures coming) The only thing that slowed him down there was his mother (who was completely freaked out watching her 6 year old climb stairs built in 800 AD that were now crumbling ) telling him to slow down.

So this picture for me is everything I loved about this particular day that we spent exploring Coba and Tulum.  I am so grateful that we were able to take this family trip!

for susie doom

My mom hates anything that is even remotely dangerous - she is sure something bad will happen, hence the nickname Susie Doom.  So this first post from our trip to Mexico is dedicated to her.  I thought she would love seeing pictures of Derek and the kids cliff jumping.

Derek

Megan

Emily

Nathan

The pictures are blurry but these are the only shots I got of the jumps.I was surprised at the kids bravery (granted a monetary bribe was used) but still they were brave to jump.  Nate was the most nervous which surprised me but he eventually made up his mind to jump and just did it.

reality

It is so hard to come home from a trip for the inevitable slap in the face that we call reality.  We pulled in this morning around 1 am and got a few hours of sleep before the alarm went off signaling it was time for Megan to get up for freshman orientation.  Then it was on to laundry - piles of it!  The boys had a Meet and Greet to go and meet their new teachers.  Now I am sitting here at the computer contemplating dinner knowing full well that we have nothing remotely edible to eat in our fridge or pantry.  

Oh Mexico, how I miss you!

hola amigos

We are in paradise and loving every minute of it. Here is a quick snippet of some of the highlights so far...

Being upgraded to high-end rooms in the resort without asking for them. They include...
ocean view rooms
jacuzzis in the bathroom as well as on the balcony
3 free half hour massages at their beautiful spa
unlimited soft serve ice cream
free room service
free dvd rentals
personal consierege service
private pools for "Platinum" guests only
and more

Hanging out on the beautiful beaches of the Caribbean - the water here is unbelievable and makes our California beaches look like sewer water

Snorkeling with the kids and seeing lots of fish and stingrays

Visiting the orphange in Cozumel and letting the kids see how other kids live - we are hoping they will feel a bit more gratitude when they return home

Drinking unlimited strawberry margaritas (virgin of course)

Arriving for church 2 hours early and killing time until Sacrament meeting started.

Derek seeing someone at church that he knows from groing up in Los Alamitos

Hanging out together as a family

We are having a blast and I love that we still have a few days left to see the ruins, snorkel, swim, explore, relax, etc.

we're off

A driver is picking us up in 2 1/2 hours to take us to LAX - warm tropical beaches here we come! 

2 more sleeps

in 2 weeks

We'll be on our way to the Yucatan Peninsula.  

We are all way excited for this trip.  The kids are gearing up for their first plane ride (I'm not thrilled about that part of the trip but I'll manage)

We will be visiting the areas that are South of the little island (Cozumel) that is in the map above in the Caribbean Ocean near Tulum.  

Some of our plans...

*visit the Mayan ruins in Tulum and Coba.

*visit an orphanage in Cozumel to work and play with the kids (if anyone is interested in donating needed items for the orphanage please check out the wish list page on their site to see what they need. We would prefer to take clothes items so that we can travel as lightly as possible. We can pick stuff up (assuming you are fairly close) or you can send it to us.  If you want to donate email us or leave a comment)

*zip line (assuming we convince Luke that he wants to do it)

*explore some cenotes

*enjoy the beautiful beaches and the even more beautiful water

*avoid any bouts of montazumas revenge

*and more

I'm looking forward to this last little hurrah before we head back to school on September 2nd.