Mayan Village tour

We had the opportunity of going to a Mayan village and seeing how they live. In this picture the man is doing a religious ceremony and blessing us to be safe in the cenote that we will be swimming in later. After he sprinkled water on us they offered us some strong alcohol in a community bowl to share. (NO THANKS!)

The women and children are making corn tortillas for us to eat. They made them by hand and then cooked them over an open flame fire. They were really good.

This young lady was making the beautiful embroidery that is found on their dresses and purses and other things that they sell. It was an old treadle sewing machine which she made work in her bare feet.

These little guys performed some of their native music and poetry. They were adorable and so willing to do their little dances and music. I wish I could have taken them all home with me. Notice the floor of their home and that they have no shoes on again.

This little girl was playing the drums that were made out of a hollowed out log. She had such a sweet face.

Favorite Dinner Spot

There are so many good places to eat at this resort but one of our favorites was the Hacienda Mexican place. You have to dress up for dinner and the live band was great.

Mike and Christy waiting to be seated!! Can't wait for the yummy food!

These guys were so much fun to have sing around our table. They were kind of loud and so talking was hard to do when they were right at our table. The little guy on the left was a really funny guy. He made weird whistle noises during the songs and thought he was really funny! I don't think I will every forget the "Cat Meow" song!! (don't ask!)

Did someone say dessert?? These are 5 shot glasses filled with yummy desserts. My favorite is the middle one!

Rock Wall Climbing

These boys thought it would be fun to try out the rock climbing wall at the resort. Mike zipped up really fast and Sid had to make two tries before he made it to the top. They both did really well and the instructor was very impressed!! The instructor said Mike was very fast!! He liked talking to Mike in Spanish while Sid climbed!!

Mexico 09'

A room with a view again!! There is nothing that can describe the beauty and the perfection of sitting on the balcony of your presidential suite and taking in the blue water and the white sandy beach. The weather was perfect every day and we had such a great time getting in the most rest and relaxation that we could!!

getting ready to go on another day tour!! This is the family side of the resort now and there was not very many families hanging out!! It ended up being one of our favorite sides to hang out at because we were pampered and spoiled by the staff!!

Good Memories

Today is a sad day for us because we had to put down Rusty, Sid's beloved hunting companion. He will be really missed by all of us on our daily walks down Barker road and of course the swimming in the pool with us!! He was almost 12 years old and lived a good life. We all have great memories with this wonderful dog and I hope he is reunited with Pepper and they are chasing each other all over Heaven!! Sid was by his side at the Vets and said it was peaceful for him. When we return from our trip I will post some pictures that I think will be a nice remembrance for him. I thought you would all like to know about his passing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

Today I awoke to Sid asking me to come into the kitchen and he gave me some beautiful flowers! How sweet is that??? then I was talking to Kandis on the phone and the UPS guy left 2 boxes, yes you read it right, 2 boxes at my door from pro-flowers!! Lo and behold (I just had to say that) I received 2 lovely arrangements from Kandis and Nic, and Jacob, Julia, Isaac and Loraya!! How spoiled am I???? (don't answer that one) I'm going to lunch with the hubby and Mike and Christy today and then dinner with Sid possibly tonight or this weekend. THEN, the best present ever....... ta,da............Aventura Palace Resort in Cancun! We leave on Tuesday and can't wait to feel the warm sun on my lily white body! Hey pool boy, bring me a virgin miami vice please!! Seriously, I am so grateful to have reached the ripe old age of 54! I still feel like I am in my 20's in my mind but my body does not seem to respond like it is still in my 20's. I have such great kids and grandkids and I love working in the temple every Tuesday. What more could a girl want??? I can't think of a thing, (oh, yeah, I can think of a few things, like both my sons getting into dental school soon!!) Thanks to everyone for all the calls from friends and fun cards from friends and family. Love to you all and thanks for being my friends and family

and putting up with me all these years. Hopefully I will be around a lot more years to bug you!

So Grateful

I can't let another day go by without posting about the wonderful conference we heard on Saturday and Sunday. I was filled with emotion (not surprised!) as the prophet and apostles spoke to us and of course the music by the choir was amazing. It is so cool to see my brother sit in the choir seats and be singing with such a great group of people. We are so blessed to have a living prophet to give us direction every six months at the general conferences that we get to hear. It was so good to hear such positive direction for us to follow and know that our Heavenly Father knows and wants us to succeed in this life. I really enjoyed the talks and especially the talks about the temple and the importance of attending and renewing our covenants in that holy house. I feel so blessed to be able to work in the temple every week and feel the spirit that comes from being there. I have learned so much from the people that I work with and am truly blessed by their friendship and love. I am also so blessed to have such a wonderful family that I love so much. What a blessing to know that we will be an eternal family for the eternities because of the blessings of the temple. I felt the spirit so strongly when the choir sang We Thank Thee O God for A Prophet. I know that President Monson is our true prophet of God and he is to give us direction in our lives. We are not to fear if we have faith and do what we have been counseled to do. It is never to late to change habits, ideas, or whatever needs to be changed to become better followers of Christ in our lives. I truly believe that service is the key to happiness. No matter what we have in this life we can always give of our time and talents to make others happy and help in some way. We have been so blessed with things in our lives but the best things in life are not things. They are the joys of a wonderful posterity that I have and the examples they are to me. I hope we can all take the time to truly look at all the blessings that we have in this life and share something with others, no matter how big or small that may be.