Friday, June 20, 2008

Way too long...

I apologize in advance for the post you are about to embark upon! It is way too long, but if I don't do it now, it will be even longer later. We leave tonight on Vacation #2 - Branson, MO with the O's, quickly followed by Vacation #3 - Destin, FL with the Tinkers. For all those reading this who are NOT teachers - SUCKS TO BE YOU!!!
Memorial Day...Marble Falls
Over Memorial Day we headed to Marble Falls to spend time with some old friends from ACU. We always have lots of fun with this group; this year was no different, with one exception - our uninvited quest - Mr. Stomach Bug. We took turns playing host to this mean little bug (for most, it lasted about a day and a half...for me, three days. Nice.) Jay and Chase were the only two who did not get sick.
Chase, Cooper and Camden sitting on the porch in their pjs cheering on all the golfers! We made a lot of friends and a few enemies with our little cheer section.
Baby Colt and his squeezable little cheeks.
A HUGE moth. I thought it was dead and I was really excited becuase I wanted to keep it and take it to school. It turned out it was a momma moth laying her eggs. Gross.
My sick baby girl.

Cam's first night back home!!

This was Camden's first night back home after her last week in Denver City. Jay and I couldn't get enough of her. We miss that little bugger when she is gone!

Hiding her face in the Bible.
Camden reading her Bible.
Reading and "discussing" dogs
Momma and Camden reading Mickie Mouse Club. She's flapping away just like Donald Duck.

Camden reading one of her many Touch and Feel books!
She is going to be a book worm like her Momma!!
Reading up on horses!
A sweet picture.
Rocking her babies to sleep. She is already a good little momma.


Camden found her shadow and she is a LITTLE scared of it.
High School Girls Weekend

A couple of weekends ago, Camden and I headed to Houston to spend the weekend with some of my very best friends from high school. We stayed at Hotel Schultz (Andrea and Marcus' brand new home)...it is BEAUTIFUL. We had fun relaxing, talking, laughing, eating and just catching up. I love these girls with all my heart and I am already counting down to next year's reunion.

Camden and I waited for Thompson and Baby Caden to drive in from Abilene. We decided the trip would be a lot easier if we could make it together!! Camden instantly fell in love with Caden and wanted to help with everything! First, she wanted to feed him (he doesn't look so sure, but both did very well).


Camden is showing Caden how her play mat works. She is going to be such a good big sister!

Meeting Laura's little Laney girl for the first time! What a sweety!

My girls: Camden and I, Leigh Ann, Thompson, Molly with Caden
Laura and Laney, Andrea with baby #2 in her cute little belly!

This year we all decided to take the kiddos and properly introduce them. It was so fun seeing everyone interact. Andrea also has Camden's buddy Mason, but she needed a weekend to catch up on sleep and take care of her little belly and baby #2. We decided next year it would be newborns only.

Camden LOVING the little splash park outside the restaurant! Sweet Cheeks Laney!!
It is a big secret why Molly is making this face, but know we were having FUN!!!
The girls minus Laura and Laney who had to leave early. We just finished stuffing our faces.

Camden going for a ride.
Out on the dock at Hotel Schultz.

These next three pictures are some of my favorites of Camden. I took these in Andrea's living room where there are wall to wall windows and the light was perfect behind Cam.


*Check Leigh Ann and Laura's blog for more pictures and fun stories from the weekend. Thomp and Molly are further behind than me!


Our Little Fish!

Miss Camden's new favorite thing is swimming. She asks me about a hundred times a day, "go to pool?" She is very good in the water and has no fear (which is not so good sometimes). Some of our favorite pool pictures and a quick video showing off her skills:Playing in the baby pool and patiently waiting for daddy to come and take her to the BIG pool!
Swimming with her favorite person!
Walking around the pool, trying to decide on the perfect spot to jump in.
Working on her swimming! Kick, kick, kick!



Mexico~ Cancun & Isla Mujeres


Luke & Sara Hejl, Jay and I headed to Mexico last Friday. I was a little stressed out (okay, a lot stressed out) to be flying on Friday 13th. I was even more stressed when we walked on the tarmac to get to our plane! A lady after the flight even suggested that I tried Prozac the next time I flew. After I flipped her off in my mind, I smiled and said thanks for the advice!


Just checked in at Grand Sunset Princess and heading to drop our luggage off at the room. Check out the link for for pictures of the BRAND NEW Beach Front 1,400 room resort. I'd go into more detail about this place, but the easiest way to sum it up is "WOW!"

Being silly!

The famous foot picture...looking out at the beach. Check out my cute manicure (thanks to Melissa for the idea and encouragement...it was my "out of the box" Playa del Carmen look.

Jay and I in the main courtyard after our first dinner. They had a live band and some very talented martial arts/gymnasts people.


Jay and I before dinner on our last night. Funny story; the buffets had no dress code, but the "specialty" restaurants required men to wear long pants - needless to say, we were unaware of this stipulation. Jay didn't pack any pants. (even though I advised him too:~) So, luckily Sara had a pair of her baggy jeans that Jay was able to SQUEEZE (Jay asked me to stress the word squeeze) into. He wasn't thrilled to be wearing womens' pants and scowled each time we started to giggle about his newfound 'fashion sense', but he took one for the team so we could eat at the Japanese Restaurant - the BEST place at the resort. Even Jay said the food made the two uncomfortable hours he spent in womens' pants WELL worth it. I had a really good picture of Jay in the jeans, but it magically disappeared (hmmm.) This is the best one I have. If you look closely, you can see the 'girly' button front pockets.

Luke jamming to the music after dinner!
Jay and I on the last night in Playa del Carmen.
Luke and Jay striking a pose in front of the ferrie. This ferrie took us from Cancun to our next destination... Isla Mujeres. These two places were polar opposites. Playa del Carmen was very crowded and a hopping party place... Isla Mujeres was on the other side of the spectrum. Very quiet and authentic.
Waiting to board the SUPER FAST ferrie!
A view of the pool that sits right on the ocean.


Jay and Luke sitting on the edge of the infinity pool looking out at the ocean. Again...it was BEAUTIFUL!
A view of our quaint, little resort, Hotel Playa la Media Luna. (check out the link) There were only 22 rooms... a far cry from the resort in Playa del Carmen where there were 1,400 rooms!

Our room was the third floor balcony on the right... just below the palm tree.


Sitting at the pool.
Waiting patiently for our food. The pace of life is SO much slower in Mexico. So, if you are in a hurry, you're out of luck! We had to learn to sit back and enjoy ourselves.

Jay and Luke playing pool at one of the restaurants. The atmosphere on Isla Mujeres was SO relaxing.
Our bill after our first meal on the island... if you forget that everything is in pesos, you're in for a small shock when the bill arrives.




We rented a golf cart for a day and had a blast cruising around the small island. It was BEAUTIFUL. Amidst the beauty, there still remains several third-world characteristics. There were homes, more accurately described as shacks or lean-toos, with no electricity or running water and mats or hammocks for beds. Because of the absence of zoning laws, these shacks were often found next to nice resorts or beautiful million dollar homes on the beach. It was hard to believe that a country so beautiful could be so poor. It was a very humbling sight.
On a cliff (75 - 80 foot drop) overlooking the water.
Jay and I by the Myan Rocks. It was too hot to make the long walk down and see them, but we did take pictures from afar.
One view of the beautiful water of Isla Mujeres.

Making friends with the Mexican government. I figured it was better to have them on our good side... just in case we needed them later. They had guards at this post 24 hours a day guarding the Myan temple at the far South side of the island.
A small Bed and Breakfast called Isla Bella we found while exploring the island. It is owned by an American couple.
Enjoying a homemade pina colda in a coconut shell. YUMMY! The best drink of the trip.
Sitting in a small pool surrounded by rocks at the beach. The scenery was breath taking!
Exploring

Enjoying our last night on the island. We ate at a restaurant called JAX owned by Texas folks. We enjoyed some southern food: cheese fries, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, RANCH, etc. It was a great last meal surrounded by an amazing atmosphere.


One of my favorite things was seeing the iguanas walking down the street. Each time I saw one, I got excited like I hadn't EVER seen one before.
A few of our friends from the island...
Some trip highlights not pictured: 1. getting locked in our hotel room without a working phone, all I could think about was this is like a scene from a horror movie. Luke had to walk out onto the balcony (remember we were on the third floor) and yell at a lady who was laying out at the pool to go to the front desk and get help. The mantainence man had to break the door jam and put in a new lock. 2. Almost dying in every taxi ride we took (picture no lanes and jam packed streets) 3. One of the taxi drivers cutting off a truck filled with Mexican soldiers, and then honking and giving hand gestures when then cut back in front of us. I wanted to ask the man if he could see their machine guns.

Trip to Mexico...$900.00
Doctor Visit for the funky rash I got in Mexico...$195.00
Hearing your baby girl squeel in DELIGHT the first time she sees you in a week...
PRICELESS!


Jay and I had a blast, and enjoyed our break to just be a couple, but we missed our baby girl BIG TIME. By the last day of the trip, we couldn't get home fast enough.


Jay and I brought Camden some maracas from Isla Mujeres. We thought she would enjoy those more then anything else...
Boy were we right...they were an INSTANT hit!
Playing the maracas while sitting on her daddy!
Shakin' and Jammin' with momma!
Mowing... but still holding on to the maracas.

PARTY!!! Mommy and Daddy are hoooooooooome!!!

10 comments:

Leigh Ann said...

Love, Love LOVE this post! I am so happy you guys had fun and what I would pay to see Jay in girl jeans!! Love the dress...I am so glad you got it:) Miss you guys and let's plan a fun day soon!!

Charis said...

Your trip to Mexico looks like a blast! Glad yall had a great time!!

Leslie said...

Great post. Long, but great! Camden is SO stinkin beautiful. I love the shadow video. Looks like you guys had a blast on your Mexico trip.


Its good to be teachers.... in the summer.

Shopoff Family said...

Patrick and I can't get over the shadow video...how stinkin' cute is that! I love that you captured that fun childhood moment of video. She'll be able to laugh at it one day. Enjoy the rest of your awesome summer vacations!

Sarah Durham said...

Wow women, you are busy! Looks like a great start to the summer. Camden is the cutest thing I have ever seen! The shadow video is a trip!! What a cute personality she has:)

*Kendra* said...

I'm glad you finally updated your blog---I was wondering where yall went. Looks like you have had a fun, busy time lately. Head up here to Keller soon so we can all hang out!

Andrea W. said...

Wow- what a rough life you have going on all these fun trips! I feel as if I was there too- good writing.

Laura said...

loved this post, awesome! first of all, I need a vaca! (m says he will not go on one if use this word :)! but loved the post and seeing all the pics of your fun times!

carla's gateway said...

I know about those "priceless" squeals! I really like the picture of you and Jay on the rock with the ocean crashing behind you... and those of your little girl in the backlit room are truly very good Alison. You have a good eye! I want to know more about the place you stayed... I'll go to that site you listed! sounds wonderful!

Alyson said...

I am so jealous! I am seriously wishing we could go on a trip this summer. We are not doing a darn thing! Stephen is working like as stinking slave mowing the fields at the high school. I am hoping for vaca next year...where will we put a 9 month old? I'm glad you guys were able to have an awesome summer.