Beach Day- Cancun

We had a relaxing time Wednesday in Cancun.  We slept in, sat by the pool and didn't have any solid plans.  We decided to try para sailing first.  When it came time for Seth and Matt to try it Seth decided it looked too high.  So Matt went solo.  Paige and I had a fun time sailing over the amazingly clear water.  Later we tried out the SeaDoo's.  After Seth got used to the feeling he went crazy.  Yelling at Matt to go faster and jumping over waves.  Paige on the other hand was holding onto me for dear life and yelling for me to slow down, and I wasn't going that fast :)  Another day of fun and sun.

 Trying to catch fish with his hands :) good luck!

 Matt para sailing, Seth decided against it.  He said it looked too high.

 Ready for take off!

 A view from the air, our shadow on the water!

 Flying High

 Paige making Winter in Cancun :)

 Seth loved it...

Paige, not so much.  This picture freaks me out that we look the same height! oh yeah, we are!!

Day 3 Hidden Worlds

Our last night at our hotel in Tulum was the Lunar eclipse!  We set our alarm and woke the kids up at 1am to see it.  It was amazing.  We asked Seth the next morning if he remembered go outside to see it, and luckily he did :)

The third day we spent at Hidden Worlds, our last day in Tulum before driving up to Cancun.  It started with a 20 minute ride into the jungle.  I use the word ride loosely, this was the "truck" and we held on for dear life as we bumped and bounced around.  We told Seth if he did this the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland would be a piece of cake :) and a lot shorter. 

 The was the only picture that turned out, the rest were so blurry from all the bouncing.

 After the ride we got to a long zip line through the trees, Seth even did it solo.

Next it was zip lining into this cenote behind Seth.  He is smiling because he was going for his second time into the cave.  The first time he was almost in tears because you can't see the water where you will land from the platform.

 This is the cave we did everything in, zip line, repelling, and zip line coaster.

Avatar coaster. Seth was too little, Matt and Paige weren't fans after the first ride, but I did it twice :)

Wednesday we checked out and headed back North to Cancun for the remainder of the trip.  When we got to the hotel strip it was dark and the kids thought it was the Las Vegas of Mexico!  Lots of cars, hotels and lights.  We were on the 10th floor facing the ocean and the full moon was rising.  Luckily this picture did it a little justice.

Dreams Tulum

We drove over an hour South of Cancun when we arrived, to a resort called Dreams.  It was a nice place to stay, even though we were out exploring the wilderness everyday :)  The kids enjoyed the amenities!  It was such a laid back atmosphere compared to Cancun.

Seth was always looking for a hammock to relax in, luckily we had one on our patio in Tulum.

The trampoline in the ocean was a plus.

Seth scaling the floating iceberg.

We enjoyed eating dinner at the outdoor grill at night, and Seth enjoyed watching the cats roam free around the restaurant :)

One of the nights Seth and I watched the drum and fire show! 

Merry Christmas to Me!

I realized with all of the water activites we were going to be doing in Mexico I wanted to look into a waterproof camera.  I was surprised the day before we left with an early Christmas present, a new camera! Seems to be the theme the last few years, but I love having choices of which camera to use for each occasion :)  All of my underwater pics and activities were taken with the new camera! It works great, even one of our guides loved it and thought it took great pics.  Best present of the year!  and yes, I got the green one :) better than boring black!

Xel Ha Day 1

We are having an amazing time.  We arrived late last night and woke up to beautiful sandy beaches and sun.  We grabbed all our gear and headed to Xel Ha.  It is incredible.  The only way to describe it is a natural amusement park.  Our favorite part was the sea trek, an underwater helmet adventure.  We did lots of snorkeling, zip lines and Paige and Matt even did the cliff of courage.  And that's just the first day!!

A warm welcome to Xel-ha, these creatures were everywhere!

 Seth mastered diving down while snorkeling, and did it often.

 Relaxing doesn't get any better than this :)

 The Sea Trek was a favorite of the whole family!

 Paige jumping off the Cliff of Courage, great job!

Seth's first zipline of the trip which then became a daily occurrence. 

December 20
DAY 2  Edventure Tour

We had a packed day today.  We did the Edventure tour (the owners name is Eduardo :) This started with walking through the Tulum ruins. So interesting and right on the water.  Then off to zipline over a cenote and then swim in a cenote.  Seth and Matt even jumped off the cliff at this one, multiple times :)  Then we went snorkeling in a cenote cave! Unbelievable!!  My favorite part of the day! Then snorkeling in the ocean with sea turtles and a coral reef.  Eating lunch at a mexican restaurant on the sand and finally snorkeling in a lagoon with so many tropical fish.  We were wiped out at the end of the day to say the least.  Today we are doing some extreme ziplines and then headed up to Cancun for the rest of the week!

 The family that ziplines together, stays together :)

Swimming in the clearest water of a cenote.

 Swimming in the caves of Dos Ojos.  We used flashlights and snorkeled into the bat cave.  Here is some info about the site:
Dos Ojos (Two Eyes) is a flooded cave system located north of Tulum, on the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. and there are no less than 25 known sinkhole entrances, which are locally called cenotes. The Dos Ojos Cenotes is a popular snorkeling and cavern diving site receiving typically a hundred or more tourists per day. The majority of cavern dives are at 5-7 m (15-20 feet). Most guided cavern dives include two dives in one day, with each being 45-minute long, and a 60-minute surface interval. It is possible to traverse underwater into another adjacent cenote called the Bat Cave, which is also used for snorkeling. Visibility is excellent and generally limited by available light rather than water transparency.  

This was underwater, that's how clear it was in the water.

 Getting ready to swim with the Sea Turtles

 We got to see three

 The Great Maya Reef is the largest reef in North America and ranks second in size globally behind the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia.

 Freak in a Tree House :)

Eating on the beach

I think Paige and Seth really enjoyed the diving, everytime I turned around they were diving down.  Our guide Sarah loved to free dive and I think she rubbed off on the kids.  Snorkeling here you could dive down and the water would be warmer below because it was salt water on the bottom and fresh water on the top.

Ocean boy :)

Paige's Yosemite Trip 10/17/2010

Paige made the Honor Society again!! She was able and wanted to go on the 8th grade Yosemite trip!  It was a whole week away and so much hiking!  She was worried she wouldn't be able to do it, but she came come happy, hungry and tired :)  They stayed in tent cabins with a small heater and got to eat in the cafeteria for breakfast and dinner.  The views look amazing and they had a once in a lifetime experience with naturalists guiding them everyday.  I am so jealous that she got to go on these amazing trips every year in middle school.  Next up, Washington DC for spring break with the school group!

Paige turns 13!!!

She's a teenager!! How did this happen?  How did Paige get old enough to be 13, and how did we get old enough to have a teenager?  She had a wonderful birthday.  She decided that since her birthday was on a Friday and that Disneyland trick-or-treating was that night, that it was meant to be for her to invite some friends to celebrate with her at Disneyland :)  The 2+ hour drive to get there on a Friday afternoon was tedious, but the night was amazing.  It was so much fun to see the girls dressed up and able to go on the rides with very short lines and "trick or treat" throughout the park.  The fireworks were incredible as always, and they ended the night with ghost galaxy (space mtn).  Then we headed home (1am) so all the girls could crash on the floor for a sleepover.  Yes, we are way too nice!  But we all had a great time!!!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAIGE!