The 3rd Annual Lochaber Mines Luau

What a day for a luau! We had glorious sunshine, and folks came from near and far to enjoy the day with us. The big event, of course, was the 3rd Annual Luau Scavenger Hunt, and it did not disappoint. Papa outdid himself with the hiding spots this year, and even the adults were at a loss to find a few of the items. Here you see the kids setting off on their quest:There was lots of time spent in and around the water, as always.
Ty and Trevor, in grass skirts, declared themselves Mayan Warriors, and ran around in the woods, letting every mosquito in town have at their ancient Mayan blood.
Late at night, the kids drifted off to the sound of horseshoes clinking and laughter around the campfire. Ahhh, Summer.

Rainy Day Games

Today was supposed to be Luau day, but we postponed it because rain was in the forecast. Good thing we chose to believe the meteorologists. By all accounts this would have been a tough day to entertain a pile of people. Nonstop downpour.

Lucky for us, Uncle Bryan arrived today and was ready to play. There was a Mille Bornes marathon (belated Christmas gift from Uncle B), some Chinese Checkers, and a lot of Survive:
As the rain kept falling, Chess made an appearance:Endless games and plenty of coffee. A perfect rainy day.

The Mini-Beach

Just down the road from Nana and Papa's place is a cool little spot where the locals come for swimming lessons. A few truckloads of sand were brought in to create a nice little beach for sandcastle-building and whatnot. We met up with Tracy and her gang for a relaxing afternoon of sand and swim.
Getting there and back (with the help of a teeny, tiny bike) was half the fun.

Out came the sun

Today was full of coffee, catching up, walking through our favorite woods to see the old sights, and staring out at the lake. Oh, ya, and swimming. Lots of swimming.
The sun rose, shone, and set beautifully today.After the sun sets in Nova Scotia, the Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble always come out.

Hello, Nova Scotia!

We're all over North America this summer, let me tell you. :) Yesterday, the kids and I hopped on a plane to visit Nana and Papa in Nova Scotia. And now, here we are! Cloudy but warm, the kids hit the water right away, and Clara got to hang with her NS buddy, Jenny.
We're all going to have webbed feet by the time school starts.....

Not a Box

You've got to love big boxes that become homes and vehicles. Like this one:
Even more lovable are the kids that inhabit those box creations:Box love also gives one a good excuse to buy things that come in big boxes..... :)

Haircut!

I normally wouldn't blog about a haircut (Seriously, have I ever blogged about a haircut? I don't think so), but this particular haircut is so completely awesome and perfect, and not only will I never get this good of a haircut ever again, but it won't even look like this tomorrow, when the gifted hand of a stylist has not placed each strand of hair just so.

So, here it is, One Night Only, Exclusive Engagement, my excellent haircut:
You were beautiful while you lasted, sweet coiffure....

Earthquakes!

We've lived here for 12ish years, but somehow hadn't ever made it to an Earthquakes game until today. It was very cool to be so close to the action, and the Quakes were playing the Vancouver Whitecaps, so I got to sing along with the Canadian National Anthem. Yay.There were some crazy loud fans, a funny mascot, and caramel corn. Everything you want in a sporting event. We'll have to do this again.

Showtime

After so many days spent outdoors and on the go in Mexico, we're all kind of doing the homebody thing at the moment. The kids decided to treat us (and all of their stuffed animals) to a show.
There were tickets, there were snacks, and there were souvenirs. Full service.
And don't our new floors look super awesome???? They smell better, too. Just take my word for it.

Porcelain Anniversary :)

Today makes 13 laughter-filled years of marriage, so we celebrated by purchasing two new (much-needed) toilets. I'll refrain from making some crude joke about marriage and crap. ;)I really do love the new toilets, though. And, according to the info on the box, they are "Virtually Unpluggable!". Again, refraining from a crap comment......

I'm flushed with excitement! Happy anniversary to the least crappy husband imaginable! xoxo

Adios

Since our flight didn't leave until early afternoon, we did some pool lounging and drank it all in until it was time to head to the airport.
Clara and Trevor took one last look from their own little balcony.
Other than the fact that the van driver neglected to close the back door properly, and our luggage almost ended up scattered across the Mexican highway, it was a smooth trip home. Trevor's homemade sundial kept track of the time during the long flight.Sad to leave, but good to be home. Although this trip really did kick up some serious wanderlust for me.... Thank you, Grammy, for a fabulous time!

Mar y Sol

These little beach palapas are a thing of beauty. I spend half of every waking moment in the summer trying to keep everyone shielded from UV rays, so I really appreciate shade. You wouldn't know from Clara's brown little body that I attack her with sunscreen every day, but I do. Just ask her.
We did venture out of the shade to snorkel a bit. Look closely for a bald head and a blond one:
Later on, we did a little souvenir-making.
We toasted to a great vacation, and had our farewell dinner at the biggest palapa of them all:

Also in the farewell department:
After discovering that we couldn't pack them and take them home, Manny had to say a sad, sad goodbye to Dr. and Mr. Coconut. He put on a brave smile for this parting photo....
Heading home tomorrow.....

Si'an Kaan

Now this, this was a day to go down in the annals as one of the coolest days EVER. We spent the day in and around the Si'an Kaan Biosphere.

It started with a boat ride across this marvel of color:
Chad and I took turns riding the bow. Ahhhh...
We rode through channels between the mangroves and grasses, and came upon this dock:
Which led to this mini-ruin (a lookout post, apparently):(We would have made very tall Mayas.)

Then the most incredible part of the day (of which I have no photographic proof, but you'll just have to believe me...). We donned our life jackets diaper-style (weird, but effective), and floated down the river/channel. Wow. One of the most peaceful ways I've ever spent an hour.

The next phase of the journey was a walk through the forest, and a chance to get up close and personal with a ruin or two. Now this is the way to see Mayan ruins. Quiet, empty, and tucked in among the trees (along with the odd mosquito).The guide told us that this site is soon to be touristed up into a Tulum-style destination, so I'm really glad that we got to experience it in its present state. Darn tourists always wreck everything. ;) (Thanks for the tip and the trip, Grammy!)

After our forest walk, we drove into town for a giant lunch, and then we hit the last stop on our day of adventure. It was a gorgeous, clear cenote with a very high jumping spot. We all did the diaper-style thing again (photographic proof this time around), and took the plunge....
What a day. It would be hard to squeeze more awesomeness into eight hours. Wow.

Tulum (aka The Best Laid Plans...)

Since Trev has been obsessed with the whole "Mayan Ruins" concept from the minute we touched down in Cancun, we couldn't wait to head to Tulum to see some of the biggest ruins around.

Today didn't quite turn out to be the showstopper we'd imagined, though.....

I guess it started with the stinkin' hotness of the day. The rental car was all nice and air conditioned and everything, but everything from the parking lot on was about as sweaty as you can imagine. Trev's sweaty feet, in his nasty old crocs, led to some pretty gnarly looking blisters. And when you've been looking forward to something, and then you're trying to enjoy it, but your feet really hurt, well, it doesn't make you happy.

So you take off your shoes and try to walk on the grass....
You definitely aren't amused by your mother when she tries to tell you that it's probably more Mayan to be walking barefoot anyway....

And you're not really in the mood to pose for pictures.
Although, as luck would have it, the aforementioned mother happens to have a very high tolerance for heat, and she is willing to carry your 50-pound, burning-hot self around, through throngs of sweaty tourists, to spare your little feet further distress.
Cold coconut milk proves to be less tasty than imagined, but it was worth a try.
And the car is still cool on the way home.