Merry Christmas!!

I love this.

Remembering the true meaning of Christmas!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icilgwdHiZg

Cancun, Mexico

Last May our friend Kirk approached us about going to Mexico in December for his wife's 40th birthday. At the time our family had no idea where we would be living come December. A vacation getaway sounded great and so as soon as we knew where our family would be living we booked the trip. We have been anticipating the trip for 6 months, and had a great time keeping the surprise from our friend Nannette, who knew she was going to Mexico for her birthday, but didn't know so many of her friends would all be coming along.

It was a blast to be down in Mexico with so many friends.

A total of 8 couples were able to come.

The Birthday girl Nannette. I hope I look as great when I am 40!

It was also Brian Tew's 40th birthday.

Besides celebrating Birthdays we had a wonderful time together in Mexico. Here are a few highlights.

Xcaret
Was a beautiful park on the beach.

Xcaret had neat sea life



There was also an underground river where we enjoyed snorkeling.












Under water (myself and Camille). Not the most attractive picture, but pretty cool.
Thanks for all the water pictures Jared and Camille




At the end of the day at Xcaret we went to a spectacular show, about Mexico's history and culture.

Chichen Itza

One day we took a tour bus through a Mayan community and then to Chichen Itza. What an amazing place. Zeke and I were fascinated by all the history there.

A Mayan house.

Playing on the Beach!

Now that we are home in the snow, it's hard to believe we were swimming in the ocean a week ago. The water was wonderful!!! Quite different than the Northwest beaches we are use to.

Thanks to Brad Houser for these great pictures.

All the girls on the beach!

Some of the guys.

Walking on the Beach

One of my favorite activities was taking walks along the beach with Zeke.

Staying at The Cancun Palace

The view from our room.

A very large bed, and a jacuzzi

All inclusive! 5 restaurants to choose from.

Going to Church

This was a big highlight for us. Zeke served his mission in Mexico and it was so fun for him to go back to Mexico. It brought back so many memories for him and I loved seeing him speak to the local people in Spanish, and feel so comfortable in a place that was foreign to me.

Zeke found so many familiar things to him in Mexico. Here he was so happy to find a vendor sell a favorite mission treat.
Swimming with the Dolphins at Isla Mujeres

This was an awesome experience.

Shaking the dolphins fins.

Zeke being pushed by the dolphin.

Dancing with the dolphin.

Soaking in the sun and listening to Christmas Music--Crazy!

Swim bar!

Always wanted to order a lemonade at a bar in the pool

Mexico was wonderful, but the best part was getting away with each other. We haven't had that kind of time together in so long.

Thank you to both sets of Grandparents who took such great care of our kids.

They had so much fun that I don't think they even missed us.

Behind Blogger.......

Since the beginning of November, it seems as if I haven't had the chance to sit down and blog. There have been many happenings in our family and unfortunately we haven't posted much about any of them. Today we are snowed in, church is canceled and it seems like a perfect day to get caught up. So here is the readers digest version our life the past several weeks.

VETERANS DAY PROGRAM
The boys participated in a Veterans Day program at school. They were also asked to be the color guard for the flag raising. They took this very seriously and were very excited to do this in front of the school.

THANKSGIVING 2008

We had a nice Thanksgiving with my parents this year out on Tapps Island.

Lydia made everyone some Oreo turkeys.

The food is always so yummy at Grandmas

We were visited by Pilgrims and Indians on Thanksgiving

Seattle Christmas Parade

We have enjoyed for several years going into Seattle the day after Thanksgiving for the Christmas Parade. Many of the floats are the same each year, but we still love enjoying the Christmas decorations, songs, and cheer.

After the parade and a little shopping we headed over to the Marriott and met up with our friends the Biddulphs. We swam, ate some dinner and then the kids enjoyed a late pajama party in our hotel room while the adults went to see Twilight.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for babysitting.

Seattle Kids Marathon

The Saturday after Thanksgiving is also the Seattle Kids Marathon. This was Landon and Mason's 5th year running, and Lydia's first. They run 25 miles leading up to this day and then they run around the Seattle Center for the final 1.2 mile, completing a marathon. Over 4000 people run, it's crazy but a lot of fun.

Here the kids are with the Biddulph kids before the run.

Christmas Piano Recital

We began the Christmas season with a piano recital.

Mason played the 12 days of Christmas

Landon (Santa) played "Santa Claus is coming to Town"

Seeing Santa Claus

We couldn't expect a lot more from our 1 year old Jacob.
Poor little guy he had to see Santa twice in the same day. Once at our ward Christmas Party (below) and also at our Neighborhood Donuts with Santa (above).
Lydia
Mason
Landon