What do you do...

when you look out the window and this is what you see?














Well you head to the outdoor swimming pool of course, silly! Ok maybe you wouldn't normally do that...but if you happen to be in Southern Idaho you can. This weekend we had to stop at the














and enjoy the 95-105 degree water. Sadly the water slides were closed but there was a great orange Octopus to play with :)

Mexico - Tulum

The last place we visited before going home was Tulum, the fortress city on the hill. This was my second visit and it was equally as beautiful as the first time. Unfortunately we got there as the same time as a cruise ship tour, but the place is big enough that once we were inside we could get away from them. Here is a montage of some of the pictures we took.

Mexico - Aktun Chen

So when I was visiting before I took a trip out to these caves and enjoyed it so much that I brought people back. There were some disappointments, mostly that before we actually got to play with the monkeys (there were only 2) and now all the animals were in cages like a real zoo but mostly it was just nice to see how successful the place had become. We took the cave tour that went through a series of limestone caves while the guide talked about various facts regarding the area. Mostly I just think it is really beautiful and enjoyed it the second time around just as much. Here are some of the fun moments...

This was the cenote that is at the end of the tour. A cenote is an underground pool of water. They shut off all of the lights and then slowly light up sections so that you can really catch the beauty of the place.

And then there were our animal friends, like this snake for instance, she gave birth th 70 live babies last year...gross I know :) We also made friends with birds and pigs and then who doesn't love a monkey?

Mexico - Fishing and Beaches

So the week we were set to arrive in Mexico it was gorgeous...and the week after we left was also supposed to be gorgeous (sunny and in the 80's) but of course the week we were actually there it was showery everyday. Just the way it goes, however that Monday was nice and where John had a deep sea fishing trip planned Mom and I decided it was a great day to hit the beach at our hotel. I've included just a few pictures of our hotel, it was amazing!

While we were enjoying what sun we were going to get, John was also having great success. He made the big haul on his boat that day, landing a 60 lb grouper...and it was delicious!

Mexico - the Coba ruins

Ok, I know I've been horribly delinquent in posting these pictures etc (I have been home for over a month after all) but I just haven't felt like blogging. I've been trying to exercise and be more disciplined this year, but man it eats up my time, so blogging has just fallen by the wayside. Anyway, I loved my trip to Mexico. I've stayed in Cancun about 9 years ago and things have changed a lot in the area. This time we were staying at a resort about 40 minutes south of Cancun. The resort was gorgeous and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Our first day there however was rainy, so we took the time to make a run to the local WalMart (yes they are everywhere now) to grab some groceries and figure out the lay of the area. We had rented a car, and the highway they have built there was great so traveling around the area was a breeze, I highly recommend it. When we woke up Sunday it was still overcast but warm enough so we headed out to our first stop...the Coba ruins. Now last time I was in Mexico we went to Chichen Itza, which was very impressive but hours away so I suggested this stop. These ruins were closer and it is still being excavated so it's different than visiting some of the other sites. It just blossomed right out of the jungle and made you feel very Indian Jones like while exploring. This city was huge in it's day (600-900 AD) but then was just abandoned for some unknown reason. It has the 2nd tallest Mayan pyramid, which I made it half way up but John did make it to the top. We did have to stop to do a little emergency first aid to bind up some bleeding blisters...

So very touching

I just had to share this blog post as it was so touching to me. Maybe because I know the back story to several of the adoptive parents (my co-worker's sister was adopting one of the children that this story refers to) I was moved while I read, but really it just is an amazing story of one mans own experience as he helped aid the orphans of Haiti.
http://countdowntohomecoming.blogspot.com/2010/02/suffer-little-children.html