Splashing Around

Some of our friends invited us to go to the splash park today.

Great idea! I can't think of a much better place to be when it's 90 degrees!

Cinco

Any guy willing to marry this girl...

...deserves props indeed.

Happy fifth anniversary to my Adam. It has seriously been fun!

The End

On Thursday we spent the entire day at sea, sailing from Mexico back to Miami. It was a perfectly relaxing day--we napped, read side by side on the deck, attended a health seminar, watched a couple of shows, and just enjoyed our last day.

I left my sunglasses on our bed at some point during the day and the room attendant decided to have a little fun!

We spent our last night playing euchre with Sam and Laura from Omaha and Brittany and Mike from Ohio. They were couples that were at our table in the dining room. I love euchre and hadn't played in so long!

So, though I missed our boys like CRAZY, it was a great trip. I would totally recommend it!

And on an unrelated note, I just wanted to tell Adam HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! I could not have asked for a better dad for these two little boys! Men of his caliber are an "endangered species" these days I'm afraid, and I feel so grateful to have him!

The Cruise: MEXICO

It was a toasty 105 degree day when we arrived in Mexico, with probably 90% humidity. Yikes! Still, the heat could not dampen our enthusiasm for our adventure!

We were shocked at the color of the water. It looked dyed. I had never seen anything like it before. Gorgeous.

We took a ferry from Cozumel to the mainland of Mexico to check out the ancient Mayan ruins of Tulum.

We saw a few of these guys along our way.

The entranceway into the city of Tulum was very short. Our guide said that the Mayan people drank water from springs that were so near the ocean that the water had a high concentration of sodium. It calcified their bones and stunted their growth. Adam would have looked like a giant to them!

The ruins were amazing! We actually found an LDS tour guide named Mosiah and ditched our cruise ship group in favor of the religious perspective.

The Temple at Tulum. Mosiah pointed out different carvings and symbols on the temple that correspond quite closely to symbols found inside some of our modern LDS temples. It was incredibly fascinating!!

Most LDS folks will recognize this picture. Though there is nothing official that states the exact geography of the Savior's visit to the Americas, this artist used the temple of Tulum as his inspiration. We thought that was kind of neat!

This was the view from the hill where the temple sat. It was beyond breathtaking! We went down to the beach and swam in the bathtub-warm water, but I won't post pictures of that. Our glaring whiteness is just alarming! ;)

Behind us is one of four "watchtowers" that sat at the four corners of the city walls.

Again, our camera just couldn't do this sunset justice. We were able to enjoy it as we took the ferry from the mainland back out to Cozumel Island.

When we got back to Cozumel, we shopped around a little. The shops by the pier were up-scale, unlike the shops around the ruins where Adam was able to haggle with the vendors.

What an amazing day this was for us! We both agreed it was our favorite part of the trip. Besides the beaches and the ruins, it was so fun to see Adam in Mexico. Though he served his mission in Northern Mexico, he was as excited as a little kid on Christmas morning as he talked with the Mexican people, ate the food, and re-visited the culture. I loved seeing him like that!

The Cruise

These next couple of post are going to photo-heavy. I did my best to be selective, but we took a lot of pictures on our cruise!

On Sunday night, we took a red-eye flight from Salt Lake to Miami. After we boarded the ship, we spent a good portion of our afternoon catching up on sleep. We had a fun time at dinner, where we met four other couples in their 20's. They were all such enjoyable people!

I don't think I realized how huge the ship was until I was right next to it!

Early Tuesday morning we arrived at Key West. Adam and I were up EARLY to go running before we disembarked. He was good to be so supportive, when I am sure he would have rather been sleeping!

We debated about going on a snorkeling excursion, but ultimately decided against it. Instead, we walked around and shopped. It was so fun!

This Aussie guy was hilarious! We went into his bakery where he convinced us to buy some key lime pie. It was amazing--and I am not a pie fan at all! Those cookies he is holding were like a pound each. Yikes!

After we were done shopping, we walked down to the beach. The water was shockingly warm and clear. It was so beautiful.

Tuesday night was formal night. It's always fun to have an excuse to dress up for something! We had a fabulous dinner of lobster, caught a dance show, and watched the sunset on the deck. It was fabulous!

The Race

Saturday was the day I have been anticipating for nearly five months. After hundreds of miles run in training, it was time to see how well I could do 13.1. Honestly, I was scared, especially after being on a cruise ship all week prior to the race. The race began at 5:30 AM, and we had to be at the Provo mall at 4:30 t0 take a bus to the starting line up Provo Canyon. The whole bus ride, I kept saying to my mom, "We are crazy. Why are we doing this? What were we thinking?" I was a wreck. At the starting line, I saw an old high school track rival of mine and suddenly I wasn't nervous anymore. That crazy competitive side of me kicked in and I thought, "Bring it."

The first six miles were mostly downhill as we went through the canyon, and it was pretty enjoyable. I formed a pack with three other women and we kept pace with each other. At the mouth of the canyon, I started to feel a bit of pain. Miles 6-8 were stinking hard. The urge to walk was very strong, but I kept telling myself that I hadn't trained as long and hard as I had just to walk it. After I hit mile eight, I thought, "Only five more to go," and it got easier. I was doing well until there were only a couple of miles left, and it got really tough again. Then, I saw my sister. She was volunteering at the water station at mile 12. When she saw me, she threw her arms up in the air and started jumping around. I literally sobbed out loud when I saw her. She gave me the boost I needed to finish the final mile. I saw Adam and our boys at the finish line, and I got emotional again. I crossed the finish line at almost exactly two hours (according to my watch; the official time hasn't been posted online yet). It was SO hard, way harder than I thought it would be, but I am glad that I did it. It has helped me prove to myself that I can do hard things.

The Finish Line

I did it!

My Biggest Fans :)

My mom finished only about fifteen minutes after me, and that was after stopping and going off the course to change pants. She rocks. Seriously. It was SO incredible to have this experience with her!

So, now it's over and I am sort of at a loss. This has been my motivating factor for so many months that I'm not sure exactly what to do now. All I know for sure is that I won't be doing another of these anytime soon!

The Birthday

We're back!! In the last week and a half, we have traveled from Denver to Salt Lake to New York to Miami to Key West to Cozumel to Miami to Memphis to Denver to Salt Lake and finally back to Denver again (and for those that are wondering, yes, that includes our layovers). We have traveled thousands of miles, had an absolute bLAsT, and are completely exhausted! In addition, I completed a half marathon and Ty turned three! We sure know how to pack it in!! I have some major catch-up to do on the blogging, so bear with me as I get through all this! My plan is to work backwards, and blog the birthday first, then the race, and finish with the cruise. So, here goes!

On Saturday, we celebrated Ty's third birthday! He has been waiting anxiously for his birthday to come, as his is the last one in our family. Sadly, he was pretty sick on his birthday, but that didn't seem to curb his excitement for his cakes and presents! We were able to have a little birthday party with my family in Provo, and then go up to Salt Lake and have another one with Adam's parents. There was certainly no lack of either cake or presents for our boy!

After all the presents were opened, Dad pulled out a new bike! Ty Guy was pretty darn excited!

And, as a side note, Mac has a knack for digging into chocolate cake like no kid I have ever met before! He thoroughly enjoyed this one! Both nostrils were clogged, he smeared it in his ears, and it was encrusted to his eyelashes and eyebrows. Yum!

Happy birthday to my sweet, hilarious, and precious Ty Guy! I love you dearly!