Swimming with Dolphins

Swimming with dolphins definitely deserves its own post!  I think that the kids will remember this experience forever!  A long time ago someone told my girls that aunt Kati swam with dolphins when she was a kid and they have never forgotten it.  I chose to be the photographer but Michael went with the kids.  I will post the video as soon as I figure out how to!  

Xpu-Ha Palace, Playa de Carmen

Liv posing around the pool!

On the beach!

Hayden's first experience with scuba diving.  He loved it!

YMCA.....Once again, on a bribe the kids got talked into doing Karaoke!

Poker night!

We have had a very fun week at Xpu-Ha Palace resorts in Playa de Carmen.  It has been a week full of new discovery:  swimming with dolphins, snorkeling, scuba diving (for Michael and Hayden) swimming in the ocean, doing karaoke, playing some poker and fulling understanding the concept of "all inclusive".  The kids have ordered pina colada's round the clock and room service a handful of times.  It has been a fabulous week.  Tomorrow we will return to Veracruz and get back to work and school!  

Chichen Itza (One of the wonders of the world!)

Michael is giving the kids a lesson on astronomy!

Chichen Itza is one of the wonders of the world, but because of its high traffic they no longer let you climb the ruins - this was a real disappointment for us.  This site reached their peak about 600a.d.  The Mayans are known for their calendar and study of astronomy.  They created highly accurate calendars based on astronomical observation. Recently much has been made about the Mayan long calendar because it presumably ends on Dec 21st 2012. The truth is that these calendars were designed in such a way that they could be extended either into the future or the past. A variety of new age religions (and hollywood) are using this end-date as just another way to predict the end of the world or some other significant event. 

Significant astronomical observations and understanding by the Mayans and their predecessors, however, is obvious. In the first picture above the kids are standing in front of a famous pyramid called El Castillo. This pyramid is built in such a way that twice a year - on the summer and winter equinoxes (when the sun is highest and lowest in the sky) the sun shines through the corners of the pyramid on to the walls of the protruding staircase and creates 7 isosceles triangles (triangles where the two legs are the same size) leading down to the snake heads at the bottom of the staircase. The intended illusion is to create from a mixture of light, shadow and physical rock an undulating snake body coming down the stairs and ending with the carven rock head.

Can you even imagine - not just the understanding of astronomy and the regular (short and long term) movements of the heavens - but also the architectural competency to build a pyramid a thousand years ago that produced such exact lighting - only twice a year! This is a feat that I think would be difficult today. What a neat place to see and share with our kids. 

Uxmal

 

Uxmal is one of the great - lesser known - ruins in the Yucatan. It is between the towns of Campeche and Merida on the North side of the peninsula. The roads getting there have considerably improved since our honeymoon 18 years ago. We kept the visit to this set of ruins short (about 2 hours) because the Mexican government has become increasingly restrictive about tourists climbing the ruins and it was very hot and humid.

We are having so much fun and have one more set of ruins to see before getting to our hotel near Cancun. 

Cascades de Agua Azules

After  our visit to Palenque we took a one hour detour and visited the most amazing place I have ever seen.  Cascades de Agua Azules (water falls of blue waters) are falls located in the Chiapas state of Mexico.  Neither Michael nor I have ever been to Chiapas because of previous local unrest.  Pictures cannot adequately describe the beauty of this place and it has now become one of our very favorites!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Sampson.  We love you and miss you already!  Have a wonderful birthday!

Palenque, Mexico

Termite nest!  Eek!!

Mexico celebrates a holiday called "Carvinal" this coming week.  I still have yet to understand what exactly they are celebrating but the news on the street is that the week of Carnival is a little crazy- lots of drinking and loud music all night.  We decided since the kids are out of school that week anyway that we would pack up and head to some of the ruins that we had planned to see toward the end of our trip.  

Yesterday we spent the day in Palenque, Mexico visiting the ancients ruins there.  Palenque started 200BC and was abandoned 900AD.  We had a fun day exploring the ruins and taking a jungle tour.  Only 5 percent of Palenque is uncovered so it was fun to go on the jungle tour and see evidence of more ruins.   We swung from Tarzans vine, heard monkeys and enjoyed the thick jungle.  Hayden and Brittan earned $5 for eating a live termite!  Our guide explained to us that termites are edible and actually pretty tasty!  The kids trooped up and down the ruins and had a great time.  

Feliz Cumpleanos, Abi Pepe!

Michael's Mexican father celebrated his 73rd birthday the other night.  Our girls decided that it would be appropriate to put together a dance/singing routine for him as his present from them.  They spent hours choreographing to some of the "Momma Mia" songs.  It ended up being the cutest thing ever.  I took them to Walmart and we put together some costumes with huge dangly earrings, bright blouses, high heals and lots of makeup!  Fabiola lent Brittan a bright pink boa right before they went on stage that made the costumes complete.  They sang and danced to "Super Trouper" and "Dancing Queen".  Brittan is in her element on stage and her little sisters make great back up singers!  

Valentines Day Celebration

This last week has been all about getting settled in.  The house that we are living in is great minus a few broken things.  It is a three bedroom house so the kids are all sharing rooms.  The air conditioner in Hayden and Bella's room is not working properly so all 4 kids are sleeping in the same room.  We took a trip to Walmart and purchased cheap mattress for all of the kids to sleep on.  Our bedroom came with a bed and dresser so we didn't have to buy anything for our room.   Michael's Mexican sister Fabiola and her husband Pepe have spent a lot of time helping us get settled.  They have a piece of property on the river that they hope to build on sometime in the future.   It has a fabulous swimming pool, trampoline, sandbox etc.   We have spent almost every night there.  Poor Isabelle has been eaten alive by mosquitos there though so I think that we will have to lay off for a few days.  We went to the pharmacy today and got her some special creme.  I believe we counted 35 bites.  She even has them on her face.  She has been pretty miserable the last few days.  

We went to church yesterday.  The chapel is right next door to the Veracruz LDS temple.  We stopped in to check what time church started but somehow got the wrong information.  We showed up just as they were saying the closing prayer in Sacrament meeting.  It was a lot harder than I thought to sit through 2 hours of church.  I thought I was going to die when Michael left me after Sunday school!  I sat through Relief Society by myself and didn't understand a word.  The kids all did great.  Isabelle was terrified and held onto my arm like she was going to get thrown in with the wolves or something.  When we picked her up she had a following of about 7 little girls and they were running through the halls.   The other kids did great.  Hayden had a 13 yr old interpreter that kept him in the loop.  Brittan was the talk of the class- all of the boys thought she was "hot"!  Olivia had no problem.  She has been the most excited about this whole trip.  We miss all of you.  Please keep our family in your prayers.  

We made it!

Hooray!  We arrived in Veracruz around 10pm last night.  It was a very long day with only one major stop.  We toured the ruins of El Tajin which were slightly out of the way, but we were glad for the break in driving.  The ruins of Tajin are over 1000 years old.  We watched a totem pole dance that was pretty scary.  They scaled to the top, tied ropes around their waist and hung over backwards in a spinning motion all the way to the ground.  The most excitement of the day was the 6 inch deep pot hole that we hit at 60 miles an hour and totally messed up our back tires.  Our tires look pigeon-toed when you look at them from the back and the steering wheel is crooked when the wheels are in the straight position.  There is a Toyota dealership here in Veracruz so we will take it in today.  Michael's Mexican sister Gualu is taking very good care of us.  She had her cleaning ladies go over and clean our house, prepare the sheets etc,  and filled the fridge with food.  She will come pick us up at our hotel this morning and help us get settled in our house.  We are so grateful to have arrived safely.  Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for our safe arrival.