Hooray!!

...for a non-photography related post!! Other than sessions I did not take one picture over the holiday break so I had to jack some pictures from Kellye and Paige for this one. Thanks guys, if it weren't for you I would have zero documentation of the awesome two week vacation in Tyler.

It was seriously the best two weeks, we had so much fun.

Kicking the break off in the box at the Rockets game -

They gave everyone Scola wigs and hilarity ensued -











Kellye and Paige found this old school trivia game we used to play when we were little, what nerds. =)








And then Melissa found some strange wig and decided Molly looked pretty freakin' scary as a middle aged cat lady with a beaded purple purse, hahaha. This just makes me laugh.





Wellington (Kellye and Sean's little dachshund) on Christmas morning with his pile of toys (stolen ferociously from all the other dogs mind you).



Then he got tired -




Little Sophie-Soph and Cosmo just chillin -




New Year's Eve -










Oh Sean-athan -







Then Jared and Adam found some place out in the boonies to play paintball, SCARY! I still laugh hearing stories of how Kellye would just start screaming when people started shooting at her.

I wasn't there for this one - I don't really like being shot at ..... and I had a hair appointment. :)






Then it gets serious -










Paige got hit right in the forehead so on the way home her bangs were sticking straight out.






All in all it was probably one of the best holidays ever, just relaxing and all being together - it just doesn't get much better than that!

Old Mexico 2008 part 3

The finale. Where were we, oh yes - Tulum. What's crazy is that the last picture I posted from Tulum of the beach was straight out of my camera, no digital trickery or editing whatsoever. It's really that beautiful, loved it!

We knew we wanted to go to Tulum from all the amazing things we've heard about it and our driver, Jesus, (Hey-sus people, it's Spanish) was totally pumped to take us, and make a few other stops on the way. First a bit on Jesus - he's pretty much the coolest guy ever! He served in the Mexican army for a while but left because of the corruption (Jared was pumped to hear the Mafia bribing and snake eating stories) and then lived in California for two years working in various places. Then he moved back to Mexico and has several jobs, one of which is a private driver. He told us about his family and his life in Mexico, took our picture at every place we went and bought crackers for us to feed the fish when we went snorkeling. One of the highlights of the trip was getting to meet such amazing people like Jesus.

So when Kellye, Paige and Melissa decided they wanted to fulfill one of their lifelong dreams and swim with the dolphins we called Jesus. It was the coolest place! Not only were there dolphins, but sea lions and manatees too! While they got suited up and watched a safety video about not scratching the dolphins and such we checked out the sea lions. They reminded me of Chauncey for some reason.

Then the dolphin adventure began, in all its glory. Now we went on a "swim with the dolphins" excursion once before on a cruise that turned out to be more of a "stand in the same water with the dolphins and watch them swim by you very closely" kind of thing, but this was the real deal. They pet the dolphins, got dolphin kisses (Kellye's favorite), rode on their fins, and got propelled through the water/air with a "foot push". It was pretty awesome.

The next day Jesus asked where we'd like to eat lunch "inside or on the beach?" That was easy, "On the beach!" I don't even know if the place had a name but it was awesome. Almost everyone there was in a swimsuit and we couldn't understand a thing on the menu, my kind of place. After we ordered, Jared and I took a walk on the beach and officially decided that we love Mexico. The food was delicious and so was the lemonade (which was actually just margarita mix, I'm pretty sure.)

Jared found a baby coconut.

The last big adventure was one of my favorites. Jesus told us about this lagoon and it sounded like paradise. It is a giant pool of fresh water that connects to the ocean, so the fresh water and ocean water mix to make a crystal clear blue lagoon full of fish and some sea turtles and smooth as glass. It was like snorkeling in a freshly cleaned zoo aquarium, like the ones the otters swim in you know? So awesome.

And on the last day we relaxed, shopped the local market, and ate Guacamole until we turned green.

Dad's beach read - "The Coming Economic Collapse" - how relaxing.

Kellye showing a little love to the swan towel.

What a trip, the adventures were great and the beaches were beautiful but during that week I realized that good company is more valuable than anything. Thanks Mom and Dad for the awesome vacation and for getting everyone together, love you more than words can say.

Old Mexico 2008 - part 2

After a couple days of lounging, sleep, and guacamole we decided to venture out a bit and head over to Chichen Itza and Tulum to check out some old stuff. Chichen Itza was neat to see, there were so many buildings and stories to go with each one so it was pretty incredible. Then we found a whole in the ground and decided to jump in and take some pictures, so easily amused.

Then it got really hot and we were ready to go!

It was a pretty long drive from Playa to Chichen Itza so on the way home we stopped in this little town to buy some ice cream and walk around the park. These little kids were selling handkerchiefs and bracelets and there was just no resisting, they were way too cute. I actually got to use one of the five sentences I know in Spanish and found out their names were Lupita and Juan Carlos. Juan Carlos was not satisfied with the way I pronounced his name and repeated it to me until I rolled my R's enough.

He then gave all of us a little spanish lesson there on the bench by pointing to a bird that was painted on the back of it and naming the different parts in slow spanish (he knew what a moron I was from the whole name debacle). I was so pround that he understood me when I asked him in spanish "Where are the birds shoes?". He pointed to the black toenails on the birds claw and replied "The bird is wearing black shoes". Since the word "toenails" is not one of the ten spanish words I know I tried to think of how to explain it but then just said "Yes, the bird is wearing black shoes." Sure, why not!

There are these things all over the place called Cenotes, basically giant sink holes in the limestone full of fresh water. Some are open like huge pools of crystal clear water in the middle of nowhere and some are more like caves with a small opening in the top. We stopped at one on the way home for a little swim but we didn't know it was the cave-type with freezing cold water. So we took some pictures and stuck our feet in while Jared swam in the freezing water. He said it was really really cold, like iceberg cold.

Tulum was closer to Playa, only about 45 minutes away, and right on the coast. It was AMAZING! I liked it a lot more than Chichen Itza - it wasn't as crowded or overun with people selling you stuff, the guides are much more informed, and the tour ends with the most amazing beach I've ever seen. I think 90% of beach postcard pictures are taken there, it was incredible.

To be continued once more...