Happy 4th Birthday Evan!!

FINALLY - it was time to celebrate Evan's 4th birthday!! His birthday was actually Feb. 18th but we had decided to wait a week so EVERYONE would be available to have his party - but it wasn't to happen............

Glenn and I headed up to Denver on Friday night - traffic was light and we made good time which is always a plus since the kids are usually so excited to see us!! We went to Jessi's first as she was babysitting Kylan and Rayna so had a nice visit and even did some dance wii which was SO much fun - I want to do MORE next time!!

We took Rayna and Kylan back to their house and soon Jaime was off work and home - then morning arrived and Jaime came down to tell us that Kylan was vomiting and had the flu - yes, the yucky kind that Jessi's kids had the week before - who knows where Kylan picked it up but he had it good!!!

Darn - next was the phone call to Jill to let her know and of course she decided that she would not come down, and didn't even want Glenn and I to come up (Glenn has YET to meet his newest grandson!!) since we had been exposed - I didn't blame her a bit!! Jaime ran out to get some much needed supplies for a day at home with Kylan and luckily found someone to work for her as Brad was out of town!!

Glenn and I headed over to Jessi's to celebrate Evan's birthday without any other family!! But he loved his presents and we spent the morning playing with him and Kenzie!!

Kenzie was doing a great job in the potty-training division so was awarded a sucker and she was all smiles!!!

Evan was having his friends over that evening but we opted to head out after lunch (and of course after Caribou coffee with Jessi). Glenn had a couple of things he needed to buy in Co. Springs and we decided it was a great afternoon for a movie - we STILL had a gift card from Robby and Jill from a YEAR ago so it was great to have a free movie, popcorn, and pop!! We saw "Unknown" and loved it - one of those edge of the seat movies and a great car chase (and I don't normally like car chase scenes!!). I will definitely see it again when it comes out on video!!

So not quite the weekend we had planned but oh well - that's what happens when you're trying to get 6 grandkids together!! And Sunday I finished up the taxes and FINALLY got the laundry caught up from Mexico - we'll all try another weekend together soon!!

Introducing Parker Savage!!

AT LAST I made it to Ft. Collins to see the new addition to our family, Parker!! He is a cutie!!

It was great to spend some quality time with Jill and to help her out with a lot of the household duties so she could rest! I loved holding Parker whenever I could - it's so easy to forget how little they are when they're born!

I love this picture as it looks like he's holding up 4 fingers!!

Jessi came up on Monday and we decided to try a little photo shoot with Parker - we put on a couple different hats and had fun snapping pictures of him!

Aleah seems to enjoy the new baby - whenever she sees him, she pats him on the head and says, "doggie". We say Parker and she repeats, Doggie - it's cute as can be!!

What a great time I had spending 4 days with Jill and the family - there's just nothing like holding a new little baby, especially your grandson!! He is one precious little bundle!!

Homeward Bound....................

Is it really time to go home? Can our 5 nights and 6 days REALLY be over? I guess it is because the check-out note was slid under our door during the night............


One last buffet breakfast - one last coffee - one last look at the ocean -but it's all OK because we have a new grandson that needs to be seen just as soon as possible!!!


We packed up our bags and headed to the lobby for our transfer to the airport!! The lobby was one huge building with the most beautiful water arrangement right in the middle! The pictures don't really do it justice but the water was shimmering over the edge constantly!

Before we knew it, our transfer arrived and we headed to the airport!

Checking in was a swift process this time!! And after we piled our luggage with the guys, it was off to shop!! If you recall, I have stated before that the BEST place to find my Christmas ornament is right at the airport - and this year was NO exception!! I found the cutest sombrero - an ornament I had never seen before so quickly purchased it along with some cute bracelets that Patty had found!

As I'm looking around, guess what is RIGHT in front of me?? The vanilla that Jessi wants!! She had told me that the one she wanted had 5 suns on the front and sure enough, that was the one!! Even though I had already bought 3 vanillas, I purchased another one to give to Jessi - after all, she's the baker in the family and I'll get to taste a LOT of her special baking with the vanilla!!

Our flight home was uneventful and the layover in Dallas wasn't bad - customs was a breeze to get through and it was nice having almost 3 hours so we didn't need to run to catch our next flight!! We all had a bite to eat before catching our respective planes home.........

What a great trip!!

A Day At The Pool!

Relaxation Day - at least for some of us!! Glenn and Jim headed out on their fishing trip while the rest of us SLEPT IN!! After all, isn't that what you're supposed to do on vacation??


But with the sun beckoning, I just HAD to get out of bed - I decided it was a great day for taking some photos around the resort! Apparently Patty had the same day as I soon met her and we walked around together and took our annual "sisters' picture"!! (WE MISSED YOU TERI!!)

Even though we never tried out the hammocks - as I could just see myself attempting to get into one and then falling right on my tailbone again - they looked so pristine just lazily blowing in the wind! And made for an awesome picture since no one was up and about yet!!

I always enjoy taking photos of the pool reflections and the morning was perfect since there a lot of clouds around!!

I did forget to say earlier that I WAS up at the crack of dawn to save a "bed" at the beach - the actual loungers were really not that comfortable, especially on my tailbone, so I had decided the night before that I would get up no MATTER WHAT to reserve a bed!! After checking at 5:00am and deciding that was TOO early, I waited until 5:30 and sure enough, saw the guy putting the towels on the beds - once the towels are DOWN, then you just spread them out and lay your magazines on them to reserve it!! I was right behind the towel guy putting my stuff out at 5:35am and then it was back to bed...............

We hit the pool area after breakfast and proceeded to spend the majority of the day there! Yes, there was a waiter bringing us our drinks of the day and the snack bar was open to get chips and guacamole so we never really ate lunch ! These loungers in the water were actually not that uncomfortable!!

The guys had a great time fishing and Jim caught a pretty large red snapper, along with some smaller ones caught by Glenn. They took them all to the chef to prepare our dinner and it was one fantastic fish feed with lots of garlic butter to smother the fish in - AWESOME!!! The cerviche ahead of the main course was great too!!

Another glorious day in paradise...............

Xplor - Adventure Day!

8:35am – that was the time we needed to be in the lobby for our trip to Xplor!! And what is Xplor?? It’s the newest park in the Playa Del Carmen area where you pay one price for an all day outing, including lunch and drinks!

I had researched it quite in depth before deciding it was something we all should do and everyone was willing to participate for a day of zip-lining, riding ATV’s through the jungle, rafting through a cave and swimming through another cave!

Our bus was late and had another stop at the hotel right beside us where we waited and waited for a couple who never DID show up – by the time we arrived at the park, it was more than an hour later than what we had expected so we were all quite irritated by the transport to get there (we certainly let the Apple representative know the next day how disappointed we were!!).

Check-in was in a huge underground cave system and we were all given hard hats – we looked like orange ants running around all day! In each helmet was a computer chip (the hats were numbered) and at certain points during all of the activities, you would see a sign that said smile and your picture would be taken – I had already decided that I was going to buy the pictures (yes, they were expensive) because there was just no way you could have carried a camera around all day and captured some of the shots that were taken!!

Zip-lining was first –my oh my – this is something that has been on my bucket list for years and here I was getting the opportunity to finally do it!! I’m scared of heights but was certain I could follow through – and I DID!!! The first set of zip-lines was 9 different stations and the 2nd set was 7 stations! We were all harnessed up and taken through the safety course and soon we were flying through the jungle!! It was exhilarating – it was exciting – and we all loved it!!! Towards the end of the first set, it was time for a water landing which we all expected – you zip right through a waterfall and land in the water!! Quite a shock at first!! And when you finished the next one, the guide told you to lie on your back and go down a water slide!!! That was the LONGEST water slide I have EVER been on and of course when you get to the bottom, it drops you into a deep pool- by the time you surface, you’re laughing so hard because it’s SO unexpected!!

We all wore longer shorts and t-shirts over our swimsuits – but coming out of the water and then climbing the towers again was COLD because the wind was blowing by this time – brrrrrrrr!! If anyone EVER gets a chance to zip-line, JUST DO IT!!!

We were starved by the time we finished that so headed to the buffet – it was a fantastic spread and we not only had a great meal but there was hot coffee and hot chocolate to warm us up!

Next on the agenda was the ATV ride through the jungle – not actually an ATV but a powerful golf cart and it was fun – up and down hills, extremely rough spots, caves and potholes – if you had never been on one before, you would greatly love it!! Because we all own ATV’s, it wasn’t quite the same thrill but we still enjoyed it!! The FUNNIEST part of the day happened right before we climbed in – we were all SO COLD being back on the “outside” after lunch and when the set of ATV’s pulled up in front of us, Glenn backed his butt up to the exhaust as it was warm!! As the driver turned the machine off, it backfired!! Boy did Glenn jump and we all laughed till we cried!! The helper there said it was the best laugh he’d had in months!! Luckily, there were no burns on Glenn that needed attention!

Next it was rafting through a cave – we all chose double rafts and used hand paddles to glide through the caves – talk about low ceilings!! There were stalactites and stalagmites all over the place and it was a relaxing, peaceful journey through the cave – there were blue lights in the water that you just followed and we even had bats flying around us at one point – an awesome experience!!

Unfortunately there wasn’t time to do the cave swimming as we still had to stand in line to buy the pictures – they were all put on jump drives which made it easy to transport!! I think we all fell asleep on the way home! And how did my tailbone survive the day – pretty darn well along with some help from the IB Profren!! We all decided it was ONE FANTASTIC day and I would love to do the entire day again in the future - that's how much fun it was!!

Since it was Valentine’s Day, there were “special” dinners throughout the resort – we decided to eat Mexican again since it was so good the first time!! And it WAS a special dinner – along with our usual 4 course meal, we had special blended tequila drinks, wonderful guacamole made at our table, and some awesome mini pork tacos. All the girls were presented with roses from the restaurant and later Cupid made an appearance and we each received 2 additional roses!!

The Sports Bar was all decked out for the holiday and after enjoying the drinks of the day for a nightcap, we fell asleep to the sounds of the ocean…………

SUNSHINE - But More Important, NEWS FROM HOME!

Sun was streaming through the window when I woke up – hooray, the rain had stopped –it was cloudy out at times but who cared – we were just excited to see the sun!

I had brought the laptop with us as we had free internet access in our room but didn’t check my email that morning – we headed to the preferred lounge to meet everybody as we were going to breakfast at the French restaurant, a perk of the preferred members! When I walked into the lounge I saw Patty sitting at a computer there and when I looked at the look on her face, I immediately said, “Jill had the baby, didn’t she?” And of course Patty replied yes!! Oh my, a million emotions raced through my mind but of course the main one was, I wasn’t there – once again……….we raced back to the room to call Jill and I realized I did NOT have her cell phone number as I hadn’t brought my phone, only Glenn’s! So I called Jaime who of course was still sleeping and visited with her a minute to find out if all was OK and later on that morning, Jill called!! What a relief to hear her voice and her announcement that Parker Alan had been born early that morning, Feb. 13th and weighed 6# 14 oz!! 2 weeks early! Jill and Parker were doing great and it had been an easy delivery which relieved my mind!! Congratulations Robby and Jill – now you have 2 beautiful children, a perfect baby boy and an adorable baby girl!! I would have loved to have been “beamed” home for a few hours in order to hold our new grandson!!




We enjoyed our “French” breakfast and quickly changed to our swimsuits to sit in the sun – ah, that glorious warm sun!! Each day there was a new “drink of the day”, one non-alcoholic and one with alcohol and every day we usually tried both!! Some were fantastic, others we weren’t as fond of!!

The infinity pool on our side was gorgeous and WARM!!! Most of the places we stay in Mexico have unheated pools but this one was heated so it was a joy to be in! With books in hand, we easily passed the morning away!

Glenn and Jim knew they wanted to fish so took off for the little town of Puerto Morales to find a captain to take them out! We girls followed later in a taxi to do our shopping! It was time to find vanilla this year as both Jessi and I were almost out and I searched for the brand she wanted but couldn’t find it – another brand would have to do!

And then it was back to the pool – and then down to the beach – and too soon, time to take the suits off and dress for dinner! This night we dined at the Italian restaurant, Capers!! Because it was rather busy, we opted to sit outside instead of waiting for a table inside – which would have been fine if the weather had been a little warmer that night!! But it was pretty cool out and most of us were pretty chilly by the time we were finished! A great meal, especially dessert!

We slept soundly that night after all that wonderful sun………………and a great soak in the hot tub!

Rain, Rain Go Away!!

We woke up to the sound of rain – and I remembered that I had heard it raining most of the night – rain, on vacation???? Apparently so……

I had brought an umbrella – yes, a small one that fits quite nicely in my luggage and is stowed with my “travel gear”. We headed to breakfast at the buffet and at that point, also found the coffee place – that had to be one of the perks of this resort – a special little internet café where you could get your coffee – fantastic!!

Since the rain didn’t look like it was going to stop, we decided to get our “duties” out of the way! First was a meeting with the Apple representative for any questions on the resort and what could have turned out to be a LONG seminar about all of the excursions!! I had done my homework in advance and stopped him right when he started his spiel – the ONLY thing we had planned on doing was the “Xplor” adventure day on Monday! But we hadn’t yet decided if we were going to book through him or through the resort so we quickly got away and told him we’d be back later!

Next on the agenda was our annual farm meeting – the REAL reason for our trip!! It was great to find out that everything farming wise was going just fine! And we also celebrated Brenda’s upcoming 50th birthday!! Our afternoon was free – except it was still raining………….

Patty and I booked the Xplor trip – more on that later and while the rest of the gang played some pool and hung out in the Sports Bar, I took the opportunity to go back to the room and rest a little bit – yes, my tailbone was still extremely sore!! And I was sporting a huge purple bruise on one side of my hip!

I made it back to the Sports Bar for the end of the “Tequila Tasting” session!! It was a fun event for the rest of them and since I’m not a tequila drinker, I didn’t mind missing it!!

Dinner that night was at Cin-Cin, Mediterranean cooking!! We all dressed up as we usually do for one night and the decor in the restaurant was hot pink – WOW – we all enjoyed our meal but decided that it wasn’t as good as the Mexican the night before, except for the dessert!!

As we strolled past the lobby, we could see a band playing so stopped in and we were sure glad we did –we danced and danced till they stopped playing – what a fun night!

We found this cute little guy sitting on our bathroom vanity – and enjoyed having our bed “turned down” for us with a program of the next days’ activities waiting for us!

Mexico Bound!!

I wish I could replay the morning we left on our trip - you know, the part about the ice.......

The morning started out great - the alarm went off as expected at 3:15 - it was only zero out - there was no traffic to contend with that time of the morning - we were right on schedule..........

Glenn pulled into the parking lot at the airport and saw the airport shuttle following us so turned abruptly into a parking spot and said let's hurry and catch the shuttle!! I opened the car door and no sooner stood up outside the car when I was flat on my butt - you guessed it - it was a sheet of ice outside my door and after my warm sandals hit that ice, it was less than a second before I was down..........

I think I moaned something like "OH NO" as Glenn came around the side of the car saying "Why weren't you more careful????" as I sat there in tears. Why is it when you want total sympathy that you get a lecture???

I landed right on my tailbone - it was a couple of minutes before I even felt like I could stand up and then it was painnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn........ Glenn kept asking me if I needed to go to the hospital and of course I'm saying no, I'm not missing my vacation

The driver took us to the top of the airport where we would go through security so I wouldn't have any further to walk than necessary and it DID hurt to walk, but I was bound and determined to get on that plane!

Sitting was NOT fun on the airplane - but I had the stewardess fill a ziploc bag with ice and that made it bearable!! Our layover was in Dallas where we met Patty and Leonard and Jim and Brenda and soon we were Mexico bound!!

We landed in Cancun and the Customs line seemed especially LONG but soon we were picked up by our transport and whisked away to our resort - the Now Jade Riviera!!

Cool moist cloths were waiting for us as we stepped out of our van and we were whisked away to the "Preferred" check in and lounge - drink orders were taken - sandwiches were passed out and by this time we were quite excited with the "preferred" status that we had chosen this time!!

And then the moment of truth - being taken to our rooms!!! Because I do all the research for the trips and basically choose the one we stay in, I always feel responsible if someone is not happy with the rooms! No chance of that with this place - the NICEST rooms we have ever stayed in!! We had a suite that had a living room and desk area, pocket sliding doors that opened into our bedroom - 2 large closets with pristine white robes waiting for us along with slippers - a huge walk-in shower with a rainfall shower head - double sinks with luxury bath items - another bathroom with a sink, toilet and bidet!!! Oh, did I forget to mention the balcony with a couple of wicker chairs along with the built-in hot tub??? It was ONE FANTASTIC room!!! Of course all the little perks were nice with 2 flat screen TV's and a mini frig filled with drinks - champagne chilling in the ice bucket along with fresh fruit - and 24 hour room service!

The nice thing about the preferred program was a very nice lounge you could go into at any time with lots of tables and chairs - there you could order a drink at any time and there were always food items there for your enjoyment - games to play - computers to use - just a nice quiet place if you needed to relax!!

We hurriedly unpacked and saw a little bit of the resort before it got dark but what we saw was impressive!! Dinner than night was at the specialty Mexican restaurant - the nice thing about this resort was NO reservations to make for the speciality places - you just show up when you wanted to at whatever restaurant you wanted to eat at!! There were several to choose from, along with the main buffet place

Our dinner was leisurely and EXCELLENT!!! When we first arrived, our host poured us each a shot of mango tequila to sip on- I don't drink tequila but I DID enjoy this and even asked for a 2nd one as the night wore on............ It was great catching up with everybody!!

We checked out the sports bar after that and enjoyed the "drink of the day" which is printed on the daily schedule that you receive daily - the drink was awesome!!!

No late night the first night - everyone was tired and content to just head back to their room to relax and get some shut eye!! Unfortunately, there was no hot water at that time to fill our hot tub (we were in a different building than the other 4) but I was so tired anyway that I didn't have any trouble falling asleep - even with a severely sore tailbone...............

Is It Time To Head South??????????

The picture says it all!!! We're DEFINITELY going south!!

Sledding Fun!!

Ah, the joys of sledding - that thrill racing down the hill - the snow in your face - the cold hands - the long walk back up the driveway!! Don't you wish you were a kid again?????