Baylor Homecoming

The whole family headed up to Baylor Homecoming this weekend. We were going to the football game because, if you don't know, the cheerleader alumni can cheer on the field during the 3rd quarter of the game. It is usually a blast and all the old cheer guys and gals play around stunting on the field. Well, I haven't been able to do this in a very long time (6 years to be exact) because I was living in California, and then I was pregnant every time homecoming came around since we have been living in Texas. So, this year I was excited to go to the game.

We decided to take the little guys so we wanted to show up around half time because we didn't think they would be able to last a whole game while both on Daddy's lap. :) Ian is super-dad, by the way. However, we ended up getting there late and only had 3 min. left in 3rd quarter for me to jump down on the field. (And, I mean that literally. I jumped down from the stands with just enough time to throw a few stunts in my jeans and all! Ronnie had me throw on some white t-shirt of his over my tank top and that was it!) Ha! It was fun though.

One-armed liberty

Left-armed Cupie

This was part of a stunt sequence

Twisting and smiling at the camera for a nice photo op :)

Arabesque after the game

Twisting out of a stunt at the game

Pike-open basket toss

One-armed lib

Right-armed Cupie

Ball-up stretch (kinda tough to do in jeans, ha!)

Eventually, Elijah got stung by a bee on his hand and the party ended. He was a tough little guy though and by the time we headed to the car, he had stopped crying all together! I wish we had gotten more photos of the boys and Ian at the game, but it was tough to remember the camera with so much else going on.

This was what they call a tic-tock. Ronnie switched off hands, holding both my feet above his head with his right hand, then his left. It is a tough stunt for the guys. Not as tough for the girls. We just stay tight and enjoy the ride. :)

One-armed liberty, which is where the girl is standing on one foot and the guy is holding her one foot with one hand above his head. :) This is a tough one. Ronnie and I were great partners together. It was like riding a bike; our technique just fell right into place again.

Backyard

We were playing in the backyard this weekend and decided to take some pictures.  We actually have these beautiful white flower weeds growing all over the place, which made for what we thought would be a good picture op.  :)

Elijah's favorite word is "BALL", which he says with the intonation of a question, like he isn't sure if it is a ball or not and wants someone to verify.  He is also learning to throw the ball to Joni our pug, and Daddy of course. :)

One of Elijah's favorites!  Daddy tosses!

Precious little man!

His hair is getting long and curly in the back.  I love it.

Elijah thought it was fun being in the flowers.

Joaquin liked daddy flying him around in the air.

He DID NOT, however, like laying in the flowers.  I think this one got a little too close to his face and it freaked him out.  :)  It was funny, though.

He is getting so big now!  

I love my little guys!

Cancun Pics- 2nd Vacation Post

*If you want to hear about our vacation in order, read the previous video post before you read this one. :)

This was day one of our trip, in the Prius, on our way to the airport in the morning.

The beach was beautiful. Ian and I loved those little beach beds. You would seriously be asleep in seconds listening to the ocean.

This was just one of the little covered huts where you could sit out in front of the ocean. You had to get to the beach early if you wanted to claim one. :)

Central pool with the lobster grill on top of the water.

This is another one of the pools and the ocean is in the background. It looks empty because it was around 8 in the morning just before we went out for breakfast.

I took this pic early in the morning of one of the pools with a swim-up bar and a little restaurant that is in the middle of the pool.

This was before we went out for dinner at the Mexican restaurant on the grounds. There were 5 or 6 nice restaurants that you could choose from each evening.

This was one of my favorite things to do. They had two person sized hammocks all over the grounds that hung just enough in the water to keep you cool. As soon as the breeze started swaying the hammock I was asleep in seconds!

I loved these palapa beds. Ian and I spent an afternoon in the pool and reading to each other out loud under our palapa.

This was the entryway when you check in to the resort. You arrive on the 2nd floor and then walk down these stairs to the rest of the facilities.

Here is Ian getting ready to start our hydrotherapy at the spa.

I know it is random, but the trash cans in the spa dressing room were just so pretty!

This was a huge 3 story water fountain wall in the center of the spa. The ceiling at the very top was a clear skylight. The architecture was amazing! I want one of these in my house someday! :)

A mid-day break from the heat, reading on our couch.

Ian and I laying out on the white sand beach.

Crystal clear tropical waters!

Huge jacuzzi tub!

The bed, with Ian still sleeping in the morning. :)

Our amazing rooftop terrace

Another picture of the balcony beds, our pool and the outdoor shower on the terrace.

The view of our side terrace from the covered balcony.

The tub had a window/door that opened up onto the covered patio

View from the balcony

This was the covered part of our balcony. We sat/laid out here when there was a mid-afternoon shower.

Looking towards the ocean from our balcony. The pool on the far left is part of the hydrotherapy spa.

This is a view of one of the pools that circles around the resort. I took this picture from our balcony.

I secretly took this pic during our second flight out. Ian was knocked out! :)

Here, we thought we were leaving. This was Friday morning. But, we actually sat on the plane for 2 hours before they drove back to the gate and cancelled our flight. :(

Excellence Playa Mujeres

Ian and I are back from our wonderful tropical getaway! It was sooooooooooooooo needed and absolutely the most relaxing vacation we have ever had! I have lots to say about our trip and still have to look through our pictures to put up some fun ones, but in the mean time I wanted to put up some of the videos. It might take a few posts to capture what an amazing time we had!

The hotel was astonishingly perfect! We knew it would be nice because it is a 5 star hotel, but it totally exceeded our expectations. If you EVER have a chance to go over to Cancun, you MUST stay at the Excellence Playa Mujeres! It wasn't on the peninsula where most of the Cancun hotels and touristy stuff is. It is off on it's own little cove about 20 min. from town, so it was totally private and relaxing.

This was when we first checked into our room. Our rooftop terrace and balcony were twice the size of the room. We had our own pool, outdoor shower, 4 outdoor full sized beds, and two eating areas. The pool and one of the beds were pretty private up on a deck that protected from onlookers; one of the beds and an eating area were under an overhang so we could sit in the shade and others were more for sunbathing. It was beautiful! If the rest of the hotel wasn't so inviting we could have been perfectly happy staying in our room the entire time!

The hotel spa was out of this world! The hydrotherapy pool was something I have NEVER seen or experienced before. Ian and I each had spa services then met up at the spa's pool for the hydrotherapy session together. By the time we were done we could barely walk we were so relaxed! That made for a pretty stellar start to our day. Laying out on one of the many beds by the ocean, snacking on quesadillas under a king sized palapa bed by the pool, cruising by the swim-up bar, sleeping in the hammocks that dangled you into the shallow pool water, and listening to the live music or falling asleep to the lapping waves about sums up the rest of that afternoon.

The evenings were a blast. They had different bands and shows all night, 6 different 5 star restaurants to choose from, night clubs, jazz clubs, karaoke bars, and more. We would just stroll around to one thing or another then down by the beach, then back to another show or what not. It was no pressure, but so much fun! If and when we didn't want to do much, we could just stay in the room and order 24 hour room service. (Did I mention this was an adults only all-inclusive resort? So all our food, drinks and staff tips were covered and there were no kids in sight! THAT is the way to relax!) They even had a little box next to your door to put the room service food in so that you never had to get dressed or get up to get the door! It was awesome!

This was one morning when we were having breakfast on our balcony.

This was one of the shows they put on at night.

And of course the karaoke bar! Hilarious! A lot of the younger couples were celebrating an anniversary or on their honeymoon so it was fun to be around so many people in love! :)

The sunrise and sunset were beautiful! I love being up in the morning when everyone else is sleeping, just to take in the quiet of the day.

I will post some pictures shortly, but I wanted to go ahead and put up something for now.

Is it strange?

I was carrying in the groceries the other day and when I finished I couldn't find Elijah anywhere. I was starting to freak out because the door had been open off and on when I was taking each load of groceries into the house and I feared he might have snuck out the front door when I wasn't looking.

I raced around the yard...nothing. I scrutinized all the rooms and closets...not there. Finally, I heard Joni, our little pug dog, running around in the laundry room. "Ahhhh, he is in there playing with Joni", I thought. (Elijah has recently grown tall enough to open and shut doors himself, which as every parent knows, moves up the level of security required to keep him out of trouble.) I hadn't really considered that he might have opened the laundry room door, walked in and shut the door behind him.

When I opened the door to the laundry room, however, I still couldn't see him! Joni burst out and ran into the living room, but Elijah wasn't in there. Now, I started to get worried. Joni was running all over the house a bit too enthusiastically and I was worried she was going to pounce on Joaquin, who was laying on the play mat in the middle of the living room floor,

so I decided it would be best to put her in her crate till I could find Elijah.

I carried Joni back into the laundry room to put her in her "house", when low and behold, guess who I found?

Is it strange that my 18 month old son likes to hide himself in a doggy crate? I have to admit, it kinda worries me to see him locked up in a cage like that, but apparently he loves it!

I remember how much fun it was as a kid to make forts and build secret hiding places behind pillows, so maybe he feels safe and hidden in there. Who knows!?! (But, just walking up upon your kid in a miniature jail cell still kinda freaks you out.)