abridged trip log

Got back last night. Such a great trip. I wish we could have stayed longer, or found Sam a local job, so we could live there forever.

Came back to Utah to snow. Ugh.

We took the kids to Mexico with the intention of showing them poverty, to make them understand how grateful they should be for all the blessings they have. For running water, and carpet, and even the privilege of attending school instead of selling chicle to tourists all day in the blistering sun.

Anyway, we ended up nabbing a last minute killer deal in an all-inclusive resort hotel. Sigh. This thing was like being on a cruise, on land. There was a water park for the kids, gourmet restaurants, and buffets 24 hours a day. A spa. A gym. Room service. All free.

Needless to say, the kids never went hungry, and were never bored. It really was awesome!

We did drive further into some small villages on our way to Chichen Itza and were able to show the kids the small cane houses with clean wash hanging outside, and children dressed in tattered clothes...with huge beaming smiles on their faces. It is always amazing to me, to see how happy the people are in such humble circumstances.

Seeing the ruins was amazing! We had a guide point out some really cool things to us, things that coincided with the Book of Mormon, a record of the Lamanite and Nephite people who lived in the area so many years ago. There were rock carvings on the walls of the temples depicting "The Great White God" (Jesus Christ) descending from heaven to visit the people. Even the kids thought it was cool, to see where certain parts of the Book of Mormon, their favorite stories could have taken place. A lot of symbolism, and history.

And on a side note, I tried to eat good, and stay somewhat within my points. I skipped dessert, which believe me wasn't a huge sacrifice. Not really into Flan or jello-y cheesecake. I did love the seafood though. And the fresh fruit.

The Mexican tooth fairy is alive and well. Shayne lost his tooth while we were there, and got TWO PESOS under his pillow! He thought it was the coolest.

The hotel had a great gym. I went down three of the nights we were there. Not because I like exercise. Cause I hate it. And I hate people that exercise on vacation. But the gym was the only place that they didn't allow children...and after being cooped up with all the rug-rats either in the hotel or van- 30 minutes of alone time was looking pretty fabulous! I ran on the treadmill for 35 minutes. I ran hard. And I sweat. A lot. They had no air in the gym. It was like the bowels of hell. I was so stinking proud of myself, running...and I actually went 5 miles in those 35 minutes!

Not bad, huh? A 6-7 minute mile?

Until I discovered that they measure everything in kilometers, not miles, so really I only ran like 2 miles in 35 minutes. But oh how sweaty I was. My gym clothes wouldn't dry out, and smelled like toxic waste. I was afraid they would throw my bag off the plane. So with that little bit of too much information, I leave you with some pretty photos of Cancun and get on with my laundry...