Mexico

Hola! Es hermoso, verdad?

  Del and I were able to go to Mexico for five nights in the middle of our Utah trip. We celebrated ten years of marriage on the Mexican Riviera.  We stayed at the very pretty, and very friendly,  Secrets Maroma Riviera Maya resort.

It has been such a fulfilling ten years being Del's wife. It has been a privilege to be by his side through the joys and trials of life. I have gained more than I ever would have dreamed... four beautiful children that define so much of who I am, a stronger testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it's power to strengthen families, a greater appreciation for hard work, and the ability to exercise more faith than I ever had before our journey started as a married couple. I have a long way to go in learning all that I need to know in this life about how to be a better person in all of the above areas and more, but I am so glad that I get to learn with Del as my husband. Everything is just more fun when we can do it together.

Okay, maybe not shopping. Sorry My Dear, but who are we kidding, you hate shopping. And that is not fun. I'll tell you what was fun though... Mexico!
Now, I apologize for the upcoming picture-o-rama.  

There was no shortage of activity to keep us busy while we were there. The resort had around 8 options of restaurants to eat at, I believe I read that there were 25 pools, a beach, basketball, and tennis courts, shows in the evenings, volleyball, ping-pong, yoga and pilates, a gym, rifle shooting, and bike riding, among others on the list. Del joined in with many of these activities. Here is is playing volleyball on the beach. Yes, he is chasing the ball out of bounds, but I thought he looked cute in the picture.

We gave archery a try. I wasn't the absolute worst person at it, but I was compared to Del, who grew up with a bow and arrow.

We attended a fiesta one night. I am probably one of the only people to go to an all inclusive resort and walk away having lost weight. But, when you have a food allergy, and every bite could equal a life or death situation, and despite the people knowing English, there being a communication barrier, you tend to lose your appetite when the food is set in front of you. It was agonizing deciding weather or not I believed them telling me that there were no nuts in the food. I found it easier to just go hungry most of the time. I was able to find things to sustain me, like fruit and guacamole, and with the granola bars and Wheat Thins I had packed, I did okay.  I was just so happy not to have an anaphylactic incident!

The beauty and relaxation was worth the food drama.

We were asked about five times every day if we were on our honeymoon. When we would say it was our ten year anniversary, or that we have four kids, people were completely shocked. We would say, "Yes, we got married young." a lot.
I am so glad to have the ten years that we do under our belts. I would not change those years for anything.

We went on a visit to the Mayan ruins of Tulum one day. It was interesting to see the buildings of those who inhabited the land of Mexico so long ago. It was also interesting to hear about how their pagan religion was based on the Tree of Life.
It was so stinkin' hot! My poor pale skin could only handle so much before I had to hunt for shade.

We joined in on activities like a bike ride through the jungle, (sounds cooler than it ended up being,) and Del participated with some of the staff in a kayak race. I am sorry to report that his team lost.


And yes, I do realize that this one of the nerdiest get-ups possible.

The kayak race.

A few of the resort grounds.

I loved sitting on a chair under the cabanas at the beach with a cold drink and a good book.

I also got a massage at the spa. A word of advice that I wish I had heard before hand. Don't go for the deep tissue!!! Stick with the swedish massage. Eeeoowwww! It hurt so much I had to ask to have less pressure, and even then I was trying not to flinch. I am smiling because the pain is over. I wanted to say, "Yea, that is a BONE! So maybe don't try to break it, thank you very much!" That was hardcore.

Del ran around and played things like basketball.

Del flew his Georgia manager Rullie and his wife Noelle in for the weekend. Our stays overlapped for a day, so we spent some time with them. It was fun to see them and to get to know Noelle better.  Rullie has done a great job for Patient's Choice in Georgia. Del is glad to have him!

P.S. The whole trip was one long bad hair day for me. The humidity was impossible.  But you better believe I wasn't going to spend my time trying to get my hair right on vacation!

We enjoyed the trip so much! I really can't say I had any complaints about the resort. It was so well done. Thanks to Del's sister Renee, her family, and my Mom and Dad being so willing to watch the kids, even when they got sick, we were able to get away. Thanks so much! We love you, and so do our kids.

I wasn't kidding about the amount of pictures, was I?

We got back from Mexico and loaded the family up to drive to Denver to see my best friends Christy and her family. Del recently hired a guy in Denver, and used the time to train him.
 It was one of the most beautiful drives I have ever taken. We drove through Veil and all the little old mining towns in Colorado, and all the amazing rock formations and mountain ranges in Eastern Utah. It was truly breathtaking! I didn't even snap one picture while we were with the Cutler family in Denver! It guess I took enough in Mexico to burn me out. We did have fun visiting. I love to see my forever friend! I did get one picture at a gas station before we came out of the canyon into Denver. Beautiful! It was a lot of time on the road, but we feel so blessed to be able to drive back, and have Del take time from work to be with us and our extended families. What a great time we had! Now we are getting back into the swing of life. And I am good with that too!

If you are still reading, you made it to the end! :)