Like They Say in Baseball...

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes it rains. Today it rained. All day. After such a beautiful warm Mexican day yesterday it is a little disappointing. Today was start to finish dreary, wet, and cold.  We got all of our souvenir shopping done, though, and took a long nap in our room. I still had the obligatory pina colada- I just had to drink it inside instead of at the pool or beach. I'm trying not to let the weather bug me too much and just appreciate the fact that we are here. 

The picture is me with the Senor Frog's frog here at the resort. Coco Bongo is a nightclub here that is really, really popular. It is advertised everywhere you go. Our resort arranges nightly trips there that leave at 10PM. Ha Ha. We are so old- neither of us can even imagine going out to a nightclub and starting our night at 10 O'Clock. Not at all like the "olden days" of single trips to Club Med! Wow how things change. 

Here's hoping for some sunshine tomorrow. Kiddos- since I know you are going to read this tonight, please do a little "sun dance" for us, OK? You can make it up as you go along... interpretative dance, a nice little chant... that should do the trick. 

Faith- I promised you I'd send you the picture of the towel elephant so here it is. Enjoy!

We miss you guys and love you more than you know. 

Meircoles (Wednesday)

So I have applied all of the quantum physics that I have learned from watching "The Big Bang Theory" and was able to explain to Marisa this afternoon, why the days seem so long here (even though it gets dark at 6:00 PM). We have all day, the same 24 hours that we have at home, but we have them all to ourselves. No, "Tanner is being mean to me!", "I'm hungry", making lunches, doing homework etc. Not that we don't love doing those things for the kids, you just don't know how much of your time they take up until you don't have to do them for awhile.

We woke up, and have been, at 6:00 am or so, which is just fine with me because I'm waking up when my body wants me to, not to an alarm, or to noise from upstairs, or to the dog. Just me saying, "I've had enough sleep, I'm well rested, I'm good, let's go!" It was gorgeous weather today, not as windy as it has been, no rain and warm. We started our day down at the "party pool" as they have chairs that face the Gulf and the beach. The Gulf was warm enough to swim in today and we dove in before 7:00 am and had a great morning swim before breakfast. After breakfast, it was back to the pool and our books for a bit.

At 10:00 we went down to the spa for our massages. We got massages in the couples room so we were both in the same room which was nice. The massage was awesome (full disclosure it was purchased on Living Social) and about put me 1/2 to sleep while I laid there. After massages it was back to the room for a shower and then we decided to go our separate ways for a bit. Marisa has a bit of "I am woman hear me roar!" in her that shows up every once in a while, today she needed to show Mexico that she could wander around on her own, undaunted. Not being able to keep up with that, and knowing that discretion states that I shouldn't be around when that particular part of her personality is in charge (just cause it does things that don't make sense to me, and I'm not allowed to ask why...", I went for a run on the beach. 

We met up on the beach about a mile from the resort and walked back together, hand in hand in the waves. The water was so great that as soon as we got back we changed and went back down to the beach to swim in the Gulf again. We had some drinks (Marisa more than me, she's still lit as I type), got some pizza, swam and cooled off. 

So now it was all of 1:00. We got some lunch (the pizza was technically a snack) and headed back up to the room for siesta time. We napped for a couple of hours, I don't think anyone needs details on how AWESOME that is. After nap, back down to the other pool for swimming and more boat drinks for someone....then back to the room to shower, write this blog post and get ready for dinner. I'd like to say we're going to go out and hit the disco or whatever, but we'll likely be in bed by nine. Again, just me saying, "enough for today, more tomorrow, let's hit the sheets." Again, our time, our rules, our needs. Awesome.


Tanner asked where exactly we were as he would like to come to Mexico so he can eat bean and cheese burritos for every meal. So the map is for him and the kids. The other pictures don't really need any explanation.

Tuesday

Great day. I can't say we did much- I am pretty sure we took 3 naps. We woke up early- around 6- so the day was relaxed and felt long in the best possible way.  We didn't leave the resort. We sat by both pools, walked on the beach a little, read, ate, worked out, drank tropical drinks.....did I mention that we napped?

Quote that best sums up the day: (Marisa- after getting up out of a hammock and starting to walk into the buffet for lunch):  "Honey, did I wear shoes?".  If that doesn't say "resort living" I'm not sure what does. 

One of the reasons for our multiple naps was the weather. It was beautiful all morning but after lunch- right around 1:00- it started pouring. It rained cats and dogs for about 15 minutes, then rained on and off for the next 2 hours. A perfect afternoon to read in bed overlooking the turquoise blue ocean, nodding off now and then, and finally turning to Brian to say, "Oh my god, is it REALLY 3:45??". 

There are TONS of shells here. Huge ones. They are gorgeous and Brian and I keep wanting to pick them up and bring them home to you guys but we know we probably couldn't get them through customs and neither of us is willing to risk Mexican jail. Sorry, guys. I'll try to get a picture of some of them tomorrow.

Faith- the picture of the kitty cat is for you. When we returned from lunch we found this little towel creation waiting for us on our bed. I instantly thought of you and knew if you'd been here you would have loved it.

Jake- the picture I took for you is of parasailing. There were lots of people out on the water today riding jet skis and parasailing.  Someday we will do that together. 

Tanner- you got the picture of the pelican  yesterday. I'll be on the lookout for a good picture for you tomorrow. On a side note, another indication that I am losing brain cells while I am here in Mexico is that I had to ask Brian what the name of that bird is that dives into the water and has a big beak). 

Si, excepto ella no es facil

Okay so this is a shot of our room in Cancun. Pretty great, right? You sir, would be wrong about that. Because of the above statement. Love her as I do, my wife is not easy, especially about bargains and getting what she paid for.

The room in question, while having an ocean view, had two double beds as opposed to the king bed that she wanted. I was told this was NOT romantic and would tarnish the memories of the vacation…We were told to come back to the front desk the morning to see about possibly switching rooms to get a king bed. We were there bright and early, unfortunately, the front desk operates on resort time (which we kind of expected). So we went and had a great breakfast, wandered around the resort for awhile and went back at 10:00 am.

They showed us a room with a king bed in our same building, with no view. Again, not acceptable. This is when I explained to the bellhop that my wife, while lovely and kind, wants what she wants and not much will dissuade her (using the above Spanish). So, back to the front desk we went. We were told this was the last available room. We then said the magic word, “upgrade” all of the sudden, the red sea parted and there were more rooms available, just not right then.  We had to come back at two when the rooms were clean. So we walked down to the shops and wandered around the hotel zone a little bit.

Back at 2:00 on the dot, we met with our new best friend at the front desk. She had a bellhop take us to a REALLY nice room with a king bed, ocean view, Jacuzzi tub, shower spa, free wi-fi and unlimited access to the gym (hey, you vacation your way, I vacation mine). The free gym swung if for me and we upgraded. We are both much happier.

If you are thinking the whole thing sounds a little orchestrated and planned, yeah you’re probably right. I’m fine going thru the rest of the vacation with “sucker” tattooed across my forehead. My wife is happy. As I also told the bellhop (we were buds by now), there is a saying in the US, “Happy wife, happy life”. Mine is, on both counts.

PS. Hey Tanner - Look at this cool pelican!

Kid Update

Faith started gymnastics class a month ago and is really enjoying it. She was very timid at first and I could tell how nervous she was to be on the bars or beam (or as she calls it, "the bean").  The first few lessons she was happy to do the class in her shorts and tshirt but last week she decided she really, really wanted a leotard and matching hair scrunchie. She came home and tried them on immediately and modeled them for her brothers and daddy. Today  I knew there was going to be trouble at class as her regular teacher wasn't there and the sub was a "boy teacher". Yep... the waterworks began. She has always been afraid of male teachers, from the time she was a two year old in her first swimming class. The other teacher was a woman so she got put in that group and luckily avoided the dreaded man teacher! Not sure where that phobia came from as she is surrounded by boys at home!

Faith is doing amazingly well in Kindergarten. She reads, reads, reads. She loves it and she is good at it. It keeps her entertained for long stretches, along with her art work and craft stuff. She will head up to the bonus room and come down an hour later with some creation. Last week it was a barn built of popsicle sticks filled with puff balls to which she had glued eyes and a beak. It was her "chicken coop". She named all of the chickens and kept it beside her bed for several days. She brought it in for "V" day at school and when I asked her what about it started with "V" she replied, "It's my VERY special chickens".  Smart cookie, that one.  She loves school and has her group of best friends there that she plays with and constantly wants to invite over to play. She has started complaining that she is tired of playing with "the boys" at home and recently started angling for a sister. Ummm... hate to tell her but there is no way on god's green earth that is happening! Luckily she still plays really well with Tanner and Jake.

Tanner recently lost a bottom tooth and two days later had one of his top teeth knocked loose during rough play on the trampoline. He was so upset because he really thought it was his permanent tooth that got knocked loose and he was just sobbing. It wasn't ready to be loose so there was lots of blood and drama and it really hurt so he got lots of TLC from Nana and me, and also from Jake and Faith who brought him his Giants blanket, his teddy bear, and a little packet of candy they put together. Those three really do look out for each other and take care of each other. It's so sweet to watch. The tooth in question hung in there for about 24 hours at which point I couldn't stand to look at it any more, hanging in his mouth at an awkward angle, so I convinced him to let me pull it out. Brian is really squeamish about teeth and wouldn't even look Tanner in the eye so the duty fell to me. Ick. Really gross. But it came out pretty easily. He left it for the Tooth Fairy and decided two days later when the Tooth Fairy STILL hadn't shown up (BAD MOMMY!) that she must be really busy or maybe she didn't believe that he really lost another tooth so quickly after the other one fell out. I told him that usually the Tooth Fairy pays an extra dollar for each day she is delayed, so he ended up getting three bucks from her in the end.

Tanner also loves school and is a great reader. He goes to bed half an hour before Jake and often uses that time to read his books in bed. He is getting so independent. He has his best friends still and they all hang out together both at school and at each others houses. He was invited to his first sleepover birthday party next weekend and even though he is dying to go and says he won't be nervous to sleep there, it makes me a little sad to know that he is that independent already. I know, I know. He is seven years old. But still..

Talk about growing up... then there's Jake. He turns ten next month. Double digits. Over half of his years at home are already gone. Scary. He loves fourth grade and his teacher, Mr. Borjian. He has finally expanded his reading horizons past sports books and just finished the City of Ember series. He is responsible about school work and homework, but I wouldn't say he likes it. He's got a good group of buddies, too, and despite more "friendship drama" than I'd like, he is happy. I thought only girls had friendship drama... apparently I was wrong. He still really likes choir and now says that when he grows up he wants to be a musician instead of a pro athlete. Hmmmm. Maybe a backup plan would be good on either front.

He's had a lull in his sports schedule lately and it has been really nice and relaxing not having practices during the week. It's been two months, actually, with only a baseball camp here and there and Faith's gymnastics. That will all change in less than a month when Little League starts. Brian is coaching Tanner's machine pitch team and Jake will do AAA again, hoping to get more experience before doing Majors next year. Brian is coaching Summer League this year and since he is now on the board for the North Boise Little League, he is going to allow Tanner to play on the same team as Jake, even though he is a few months shy of the cutoff age. All the boys are excited about that one! I have to admit I am also looking forward to getting back into sports- especially baseball.

Brian and I head to Mexico tomorrow morning at 5AM- I'm not sure how we will manage it in the budget but a trip away each year definitely needs to be a priority. We've been counting the days and are now down to hours. We woke up to snow this morning and a low of 6 degrees is expected Tuesday so we are so excited to be heading to a warm climate.  Break out the bikinis and shorts. We are staying at an all inclusive resort in Cancun so I'm hoping the biggest decision I have to make each day is whether or not I should have that second drink and if I should read or sleep by the ocean. Mary is staying with the kids and Mom is helping with entertainment, transportation, food, etc... I can't thank them enough. I told Brian that the thing I am looking forward to most is not having to do any sort of food prep for an entire week. That, to me, is HEAVEN. Brian, on the other hand, is most excited about not having to tell anyone to stop touching anyone else.

Winter's Not Done With Us Yet

Woke up to this.