Cancun!

Between work, the holidays and getting settled into our new apartment, the Blog has taken a back burner.  We had a great holiday season and are really enjoying our new apartment and FINALLY starting to feel settled.  Dominic and I have enjoyed spending lots of time with Michael as he has spent the last two weeks travel free.  He will begin working in Philadelphia again Monday-Wednesday this week.

We are excited to celebrate Dominic's second birthday this weekend.  Hard for me to imagine I can love another little person as much as I love him.  Don't get me wrong, he definitely drives me crazy but I can't get enough of his sweet and sassy personality.

I wanted to fulfill my promise of posting pictures from our trip to Cancun.  I know that you have all been on the edge of your seats waiting for these pictures, so here they are :)


You may or may not remember that the events leading up to our vacation were a little crazy.  Michael worked his usual Monday - Wednesday in Philadelphia and then took a train to New Haven, Connecticut where he spent a few days packing and moving our belongings from a storage unit into a moving truck.  It was a busy weekend for a lot of people and he had a hard time finding much help, so he had a large task of moving all of our belongings in a truck to be driven across the country (a million thanks to those of you that were able to help him!).  Sunday morning he flew from Connecticut to Cancun, where Dominic and I rendezvoused with him in the airport.

Although Dominic woke up with a nasty cough the morning we were supposed to fly to out and was feeling awful during our flight, his anticipation to see Michael grew as we got close to Cancun (after not seeing him for a whole week)

Michael arrived in Cancun about 2 hours before we were scheduled to arrive, and despite his hunger (with no restaurants in the airport terminal) waited eagerly for our arrival.  That was a happy reunion.  It had been a stressful week managing all the moving logistics and I think we were all excited to be on a warm, tropical vacay.

Taking in the warm sun outside of our hotel at sunset

We were all excited to see that our hotel was literally on the beach

We arrived with enough time to get checked in and walk along the beach before the sun nestled behind the horizon for the night.  We were lucky enough to enjoy a full moon from our private balcony for several of the nights.  It was breath taking to watch the moon rise and illuminate the darkened ocean each night.

 The next morning we were tickled to see the view from our private balcony.

Most of the days were spent at the beach--and we had perfect weather--mid 80's and sunny.  Michael played in the waves, while Dominic and I played in the sand and then we switched: I swam, while Michael and Dominic played in the sand.  Dominic played in the ocean some, but mostly loved playing in the sand and swimming in any of the hotel's many pools (I think the waves were a little big for him).

We enjoyed lots of delicious shrimp and fish tacos with all the assortment of fresh salsa's one could want.

This was one of the several pools at our hotel.  I could get used to this.

Devouring crackers while catching some rays and enjoying the view (while Michael snorkeled)

Flight

Living the high life
(and yes, I actually got to read a book while we were there.  Work has been so busy this year, that I haven't had any time for recreational reading)

At times when we needed a break from the sun, we would walk through the many souvenir shops.

"Livin' la vida loca"

The sunrises, sunsets and moonrises never grew old from our private balcony.  Just looking at these beautiful photos brings a ray of warmth to my soul during these cold winter months here in Utah.

I have a confession.  I hate flan.  I always have.  I have tried many variations, ranging from authentic to americanized and have never been able to enjoy it.  Until I was introduced to this little number.  Flan nestled atop a delicate moist layer of chocolate cake.  Not too rich, not to sweet.  The balance of textures was amazing.  The texture was always a problem in the past but now the problem had been solved.  Why hadn't anyone given me this version in the past?

Needless to say, we ate at this restaurant a few times while we were in town

 Walking through the town at night:

 We took a break from the beach one day to visit Chichen Itza, one of the seven world wonders.  It was a decent drive on a packed tour bus, but well worth it.  Michael snapped this little gem while we were stopped for lunch.

I love it.

Chichen Itza was one of the largest Maya cities.  We loved walking around all the ruins.

Tour guides love to point out the acoustics at Chichen Itza.  For example, a hand clap in front of this pyramid's staircase is followed by an echo that resembles the chirp of a quetzal (a gorgeous colorful bird found in certain areas of Central America)

I was awestruck with the stone carving around the city

Sadly, too many people were defacing the ruins (with graffiti and urine), so a few years ago they ban the public from entering the interior of the monuments.

Several thousand people visit Chichen Itza on the spring equinox to see the light and shadow effect on the Temple of Kukulcan in which a feathered serpent god appears to be seen crawling down the side of the pyramid.  Maybe we'll have to visit again in the Spring time some day.

This was the only day we had a light cloud covering and momentary sprinkles--to which we were grateful to have a barrier from the scorching sun.  Not to mention a gorgeous photo opportunity.

To think of this enormous pyramid being built stone by stone is simply inspiring.

Following our tour of Chichen Itza, we got to stop and swim at a cenote on our way back to Cancun. Cenotes are natural pits that result from a collapse in the earth's limestone exposing underground pools. There are many cenotes in this region of Mexico.  We loved cliff diving into this particular pool and swimming with the fish, while the vines and roots dangled above us.

Looking up at the sky from the pool

It was a FULL day visiting Chichen Itza, but we loved it.  We have now seen a few of the World Wonders and look forward to visiting more in the future!

The next day we were happily reunited with the beach :) ...

...and the pool

Dominic enjoying the fountains after dinner one evening

Breakfast of champions: Yogurt drinks and Choco Krispies.  We often did quick breakfasts so we could hit the beach ASAP!

(Our private balcony)

In the mornings we would see iguanas sunbathing on the paths (before they were too hot).  As you can imagine, Dominic was quite enthralled.

...And really wanted to pet them

As an early birthday present, I participated in a dolphin program our second to last day.  I spent a while in the pool swimming and doing tricks with these two beauties.

One of the most amazing feelings ever: Two dolphins came from behind and propelled me across the pool with their noses pressed to my feet.

They moved with such speed and force I feared my swimming suit bottoms might come off :)

We danced...

We cuddled...

We even kissed.  As with all wonderful dates, it ended sooner then I would've liked and with me being totally smitten.  Dominic and Michael watched from a deck above.  Thanks to Michael for capturing some photos!  The trainer said that because dolphins see/hear through sonar waves, they were likely very aware of the baby in my stomach.  Sonar is when sounds are interpreted as they bounce off other objects and come back to produce an image...ie we create a sonogram of a baby based on this technology.  Dolphins have this ability innately so in theory, they were likely seeing/hearing my baby in their minds.  Amazing!

Our final night in Cancun we visited one of our favorite taqueria's and enjoyed the blissful chocolate flan one last time.

We had a wonderful trip and have decided that we should visit a tropical destination at least once every winter for the rest of our lives!

At the end of 2013, Dominic has been to a total of 7 countries.  Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy, Taiwan (if you count one night's stay in a hotel, but we didn't get to explore anywhere), Thailand, and Mexico.  Not bad for a near 2 year old.

We look forward to what 2014 will bring!