Thursday, October 7, 2010

whooooa Mexico: update #4

So Jeremy and I got a pretty sweet tax refund and debated for a long time about what we should do with it. We toyed with revisiting one of our missions or a touristy sight-seeing trip. We decided to go on a 7-years-later honeymoon to Tulum, Mexico and try very hard do absolutely nothing but sit on the beach. Katie and Van went on the same trip and gave us some tips, so we decided to try our hand. Cons: we were naive-looking scam targets and people were at us for money at every turn, Jeremy had some very strange allergic reactions our very first morning there, we missed the cool spring weather (sticky, sticky HOT), there were lots and lots and lots of mosquitos, we both got a 2-week something-or-other from our breakfast our last morning there, and Jeremy's glasses are now a fixture in some Caribbean fishies' living room. Pros:
Yes, it was worth the cons, and we would go again in a heartbeat. Here's our first eco-touristy place. I loved the vibe, but at the end of the two days, we decided we're not qualified to be eco-tourists.
We rented bikes one day and rode this route to a handful of cenotes
We saw gobs of these guys and thought of Scotty every time
Walked the beach .a lot. Found a few pretty shells, backpacks, shoes, and something for Van:
Too bad Jeremy's glasses didn't wash up on shore. They were in his lap while he was trying on his snorkel mask (our first day!) and there they stayed until he bailed out of the boat :( He's blind enough that we decided to go to the mall in Cancun to the only while-you-wait glasses place in the Yucatan. We even caught Iron Man 2 with subtitles before it was released in the states while we waited. (How did they do that?) Silly, yes, to go to the movies while in paradise, but fun nonetheless. Here's Jer sporting his spiffy new lenses with the *awesome* clip-on sunglasses that don't quite fit
We ate several to-die-for Thai dinners here (nothing like eating scrumptious food with the waves as your background music)
Went to the Tulum ruins



My favorite "shoes"
A little friend the snorkeling guy made us while we were talking to him (I thought he was just fiddling with some grass!)
Here's our second place at "La Vita e Bella" (it truly was!)
And our view
Every time I scroll through our pics and I skim past these babies, I involuntarily sigh and my limbs go limp. It was dreamy. I wanted everyone I know to experience it! We *will* be back someday...

Visits from family: update #3

We had a few visits from family this spring. Hooray!!! Aunt Katie came on the tail end of a conference her hubby had in Baltimore. We went to see Ben one day, then met one of her friends in NYC. We took the ferry in, which is never boring! (Sorry about the finger print on the lens, Lady Liberty)

In front of the templeOn Mother's Day. Jeremy spoiled us rotten with filet mignon and creme brulee. mmmm!
Then Jeremy's parents came for a bit. We went to Hershey with them and took the trolley ride. Has anyone else ever been floored by this rotunda in the middle of nowhere PA?

Hooray grandparents! We had lots of fun.

Visits to Uncle Ben: update #2

We've been down to the Baltimore area to visit Ben a bunch. Here are a few highlights. The boys *loved* the National Aquarium in Baltimore:



Waiting for the dolphin show:
Yay! Tricks!
We got to see a dude feed the massive rays and the 3-legged giant turtle
My personal favorite was the jellies exhibit. I could stare at fire, waterfalls, and jellyfish for *hours* and not get bored!
Another personal favorite: mr. grumpy stone owl.
Next trip we went paddle boating on the Chesapeake:
Next we went to the Naval Academy. Scotty still talks about the soldiers in white.
And finally, we went to the Howard County Fair, very nostalgic for both me and Ben:
Ben took the boys on the ferris wheel and aged about 10 years in the process. And here's the best part of the day:
Yay goats! I sure do love them when I don't have to drink a glass of their milk for breakfast every day....

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Top 10 of '10: update #1

Hi friends and family --

We didn't desert you. I just went through a little blog-soul searching for a bit. And now my blog-soul is revived. I'm ready! I'm going to do my best to catch up on our crazy-busy-fun year thus far. Part of the reason I'm finally getting around to this is because I realized the snowman on my last post (who many of you have told me is becoming part of the family) is almost ready to be rebuilt! My nose is cold as we speak, and it's getting dark at 4:43. And I haven't recorded our family's doings during all the time in between. So here goes. I'll start with our much anticipated Spring. After snowmageddon x 4 we were getting a little antsy. We were a bit sad when Jeremy's snow sculpture out of ice and speed bump chunks melted.
And we did prefer ice falls to bare rock for freeway scenery.
But mostly we felt like this when the sun finally came out:




Easter with a 2 and 4 year old is hard to beat. The boys spent toddler hours (translation: 15 whole minutes) painting the sidewalk and hid and re-hid the eggs until there was nothing left for egg salad sandwiches (shame).



I think this may have been inspired by candy-filled eggs? Maybe the other ones taste better??
Yay green grass!
Yay bubbles!
We also celebrated 2 birthdays in spring, Jeremy's first. Here he is making his wish holding a post-tantrum James:
Chocolate makes everything all better:

Then James turned 2!

"Mom, see, it's empty! Give me more! More! More!"

We're excited for all that accompanies cooler weather, but I think kids were *made* for spring with its mud and puddles and sunshine for longer than they can stay awake... Fun.