Another day in paradise

We have just completed day 4 of our two week vacation to Cancun, and we are having such an amazing time. Pictures are to come soon, however for now I will post some of the highlights of the past four days. Mostly I´m trying to get this down before I lose it from my memory.

Friday
Early Friday morning my Dad drove us to the airport (thank you thank you thank you). We travelled via Air Transat with whom I´d never flown before, but would recommend. Once we landed on the ground we went through customs and got on the van where we met 6 others who were also from Calgary/ Edmonton and going to the same hotel. We have hung out a lot since.

This hotel is amazing. After Hurrican Wilma in 2005 much of this area was left badly damaged. It is now being rebuilt and, according to those who work here, is better than ever. We have 3 pools and back onto the ocean. Honestly, it is breathtaking.

Oddly enough, both Friday and Saturday we were in the presence of fame. Apparantly there were a large number of Mexican celebrities partying at the hotel and being the Canadians that we are, we had no clue who they were. But there were photographers and video cameras everywhere. When you don´t recognize those being goggled at, you gain a different perspective on the reality of fame. Really it was just a bunch of people standing around and talking.

Saturday
Beach day. We lounged by the pool and then jumped some waves. The ocean is much warmer then the pool, and the sand is SO soft. As mentioned before, pictures to come.

Sunday
Was a cooler day. I chose to go back up to the room and sleep. I love vacation! In the afternoon we went to a nearby mall and recognized ourselves for the suckers that we are. My favorite conversation with one of the vendors goes as follows:
Vendor: Hey lady, come in and see the jewelry.
Me: Sure!
Vendor: We have real silver, stirling silver. The genuine thing.
Me: Sorry, I have no pesos.
Vendor: We take American. I´ll give you a good deal!
Me: Sorry, I have no money on me at all (thank goodness I´d given it to Kurt).
Vendor: No problem, I´ll give you credit...
I had to get out as soon as possible.

Monday
Today we took a catamaran to the Island of Women. I must say that there were a lot of men, too. We went with a company that provided snorkelling, lunch and a trip both ways. While on the island we rented a golfcart and drove around. We were able to go a complete loop around going approximately 20 km/hr all the while backfiring and veering into the curb (the steering was horrible!). The island was gorgeous. What did amaze me was the huge disparity between those living there. We would see mansions neighbouring onto shantyvilles. The whole experience was very humbling.

We have now returned and I am as red as a lobster. Despite putting on sunscreen, the glare off the water was too much for my poor redheaded complexion. I´m curious to know how sleeping will be tonight between the burn and the waves that I still feel despite being back on land for six hours.

Vegas, baby!!!

We had the opportunity to go to Las Vegas with the other managers and their spouses this January. And, if you think that travelling with work colleagues is dull, you've never met the people at Kurt's work- they're fabulous. Here's some pics of our journey:

View from the top:
Taken from the balcony of the Vodoo lounge on top of the Rio.


The weather:
Normally this is a water fountain. Need I say more?


Strange but true:
A fresh flower vending machine

A sign that made me laugh in the Paris

How we got around:
Almost all road crossings are above ground, and escalators take you to the walkways.


Shows:
La Reve at the Wynn. Amazing performance, not my favorite show ever.


"Love" Cirque du Soleil set to the Beatles... probably my favorite show ever.



As you can tell by this snippet, we had a wonderful time.

Lots to catch up on

Ok, well maybe not THAT much. It has been a while.

Obviously one of the main events since my last post was Christmas. We had a wonderful Christmas and, with our families, the affair tends to be stretched out over days.

We celebrated Christmas eve at Scott and Andrea's (Kurt's brother and his wife) place. There was a small crowd and amazing food! Kurt's twin brother (Kevin) and his wife (Connie) came into town with their little guy, and Kurt's parents flew in from Windsor.

On Christmas day we had the pleasure of hosting, for the first time, the day-long festivities. There is nothing like having the so many of the people that you love around you in your own home. I also love having my three nephews in the house. As we long for children of our own, it's nice to have a taste of the dream when they are around.

We have a smaller home, but people seemed to fit cosily. My parents dropped by during the afternoon, and we all had a great chance to visit and catch up.

The next event was celebrating Kurt and Kevin's birthdays a couple of days later (their birthdays were on the 23rd). I was surprised to have my birthday celebrated as well. I received a new-to-me set of golf clubs along with all the paraphenalia a girl could want. Thank you Mom T!!! (Now the pressure's on- I'm learning to golf.)

One of the highlights of the week was watching my oldest nephew play hockey. This is his first year playing competitively and he is fabulous. I had no idea that I was such a yeller, but I left every game horse. I love it!

My family celebtrated our Christmas on New Year's day. Grant and Brenna drove in from Red Deer. Erin and Johnny and Katie and Allan drove all the way from (gulp) Calgary, and we were pleased to have Auntie Heather and Kate join the crowd. I think that I speak for everyone when I say that we all had a blast.

So, new fantastic things for this season:

Games:

-Family Feud (the DVD version)

-Ticket to Ride (European version)

Food:

-Cheeses of the world (drool)

-I made dinner roles using the frozen stuff over by the pre-made pastry- and they were good!

-Homemade stuffing (yes, by me!!)

Hobbies:

-I have re-taken up knitting. I highly recommend it.

As it has been for a while now, our prayer is that next Christmas a third will be added to our duo. We desperately long for our own child. Every day brings us another day closer, right? And for now, God has graciously blessed with so many people to love. Thank you to all of you for making our journey a little bit lighter.