Isla Mujeres

Wow, this day was crazy. We started off wrestling this hungry, ferocious, razor-sharp-toothed shark into submission to get this sweet picture for our blog. Man, it was wild. Ok, so none of that's true. Let's move on...


So this day we hired a boat, captain named ChocoMilk, and snorkel guide to take us out to Isla Mujeres, a tiny island off the coast.



They took us to three different snorkel spots where we saw tons of fish and reef. Then they dropped us off in town to do a little shopping and beaching.



Then we went to another beach where they roasted up a huge fish over open grill. It was super-yum. It was definitely a day to remember!

Beach on the Cancun Hotel strip. I know, I look like a total nerd. Devin warned me about my outfit but I didn't listen.

Later that night in Playa for another amazing meal and my favorite, FLAN!

Mexico- Tulum

This will be the most interesting thing on my blog so I might as well drag is out for awhile, right? Plus it's therapeutic for me to relive it bit by bit. Especially as I sit here at my computer on this grey, rainy day. But as background, we just came back from a week in beautiful Playa del Carmen. It's about 40 miles south of Cancun. I've always wanted to go there and Devin's parents are total experts on the area. They generously gave us this trip for Devin's graduation last spring and we are so grateful. It was such a blast and Tom and Joan were perfect travel buddies. They knew every hot spot and could wheel and deal with the best of them. I'm just glad I could contribute the Spanish skills. So here's some pics from the beautiful ruins at Tulum. Those Mayans picked a prime piece of real estate for their temple. It overlooks the turquoise ocean with the most beautiful beach down below. After our tour, we headed down the beach a couple miles to enjoy the water and the sun. I'm totally sold on the Caribbean, or let's say, hooked.

Eva's Vacation

When Devin's parents invited us to go to Mexico with them this spring I immediately started scheming about how to do it sans baby. We love her to death but having to spend 3 hours of prime tanning time in the hotel for baby's nap was not my idea of a perfect vacation. So I flew out to Vegas early and left her with my parents. It was really hard to leave her. I cried like a baby when I said good-bye to her. I was all depressed and worried then I got on the plane and got over it. Let me just say that it affected me a lot more than it did Eva. I had this mental image of a mopey kid wandering around the house shouting "momma" but she didn't even miss a beat. She had a blast and didn't seem to care one way or another. And with grandparents, aunties, cousins, a tramp, yard, dog and friendly neighbors, what kid wouldn't have a blast? Here's a few texts and emails from my family I got during the week and pretty much sum it all up.

Dad: Mom and Eva had a nice nap. Eva enjoyed the meatballs for dinner. Just went for a walk around the circle. Eva walked up every driveway and rang every doorbell. She has been a good girl! Have fun and enjoy yourself!

Julie: Just wanted you to know Eva is doing really well. She had a smile on her face all day and was giggling a ton. Her fav of the day was the trampoline (as usual). She was squealing with delight when Gracie took her on it. She discovered the Sesame Street toy and played quite a while with the downstairs toys. She took a pen to the chalk board (no shocker there... I caught it in time). I think she is really taking advantage of having a back yard. She played in the garden with mom for quite a while too. We are smothering her with attention. We think she can now say Gracie (Deecie). I slept in her room and was worried she would be freaked out when she realized I wasn't you but she woke up with a smile. We played peek-a-boo for a long time and it was hilarious to see her smiling and laughing from under her binkie. In church she was a crack up because as soon as she saw the sacrament she wanted some and wanted it NOW! Unfortunately it was still 4 rows ahead. She was begging for it quite loudly and was so relieved when she finally got the bread (all 4 pieces that she snatched up!) and she had everyone around us giggling. We will keep you updated. Enjoy your time!

Love you!

Mom: I know you can't hear enough! so here goes. She is such a wonderful baby! Right now she's jumping on the tramp...she ate a great breakfast and now she's jumping and eating her egg. It cooks up nicely for her hands. She ate a whole grilled cheese sandwich yesterday while jumping on the tramp. Anyway have a great time..we are. Love Mom

Mom: We know how Devin watches basketball games. Craig turned on the end of No IA and UNLV. Eva stood there jumping and cheering and grinning and having a great time. Craig picked her up and put her on his lap and she sat there cheering clapping yelling "go!" and yelling all kinds of other things we didn't understand but the passion was huge. She's still there on his lap cheering..it's all tied up so grandpa is laughing and cheering too.

La Playa

I've been out of the loop for a couple weeks and for good reason. Here's a little tease while I work my way through 100 emails and try to pull myself back to reality. This is the stuff Corona commercials are made of.

Duke, Babies and Beans

Last week one of Devin's Clemson friends offered us her dad's season tickets to the Duke game. We were really excited because Devin has been a huge Duke fan since his childhood and tickets at Cameron Indoor are not easy to come by. It is supposed to be one of the best places to watch a college basketball game in the country. It's just this tiny little place and the crowd really is crazy. And I think it was really fun for Devin to show me one of his favorite sports venues.

Cameron Crazies.

Tents covered the lawn. Students camp out all year to get tickets to the Duke vs. North Carolina game.
Then the next day my sister Teresa brought up my two little nieces for a visit. They are such cute little things but I didn't take nearly enough pictures. We were so busy holding, feeding, changing, bouncing... you get the picture. Having twins is crazy and my sister is amazing at how she handles it. I could never do what she does in a day. But it was so fun to have them and we miss those little things!

And this is where food storage meets baby-sitter. I made Eva this little sandbox with a 25 lb. bag of pinto beans and she loves it. She'll spend 45min to an hour in it every time she climbs in. The first thing she did this morning was run up to the covered box with her hand outstretched. And the best part: If we're ever starving, this box will keep us alive for a month!

18 Months!

A simple shower, that's all I ask for. I sneak into the bathroom while Eva is distracted, turn on the water. Before too long I hear the pitter patter, door pushing open. Then "Mom-meeeeeeeeeeeee!!" Then toys, coloring books, crayons come splashing into the tub. Then the curtain is flung open and fully clothed Eva is trying to climb in. So I strip her down, pull her in, try to finish rinsing off while she plays with the shampoo bottles. Then she turns and looks up to the rack hanging from the shower head and sticks up her little hand declaring there is something she wants in that direction. The soap. No, just wait. I'm almost done. "Mom-meeeeeeeeeeee!" I relent. She sit and rubs soap on herself for a bit, sneaks a bite when I'm not looking. She's happy, I'm happy. Shower is about over, must get soap out of her hand and baby rinsed off. Colossal battle ensues. Finally pry slippery soap out of her grasp. Kicking and screaming she reaches up to rub her eyes. Now she's screaming from soap in her eyes. I'm prying hands away from her face, spraying water in her face, she's squirming to get face out of water, I'm laughing my head off because somehow I knew this was going to end badly. This is life with a one-and-a-half-year-old and I'm still learning the ropes.

Yorktown

Here's a couple pics my brother-in-law took of Eva about a month ago. I just love the way it captures her eye color and her little personality. I've got to get myself a DSLR.

A few weeks ago on our way down to Raleigh to see the baby blessings we met our friends Carrie and Corey at Yorktown, VA. Not much was open so I didn't get into the history of it but we had fun walking around on the beach and trying to keep Eva from running into the water.

On your mark! Get set!

I put this picture up to show off possibly my favorite element of my wardrobe. I heart this coat with all love. I get tons of compliments on it and it fits perfectly. I'll see it on others and think, "what a great coat" until I realize it's the same style. The coats go on sale this time of year at Nordstrom for about $50 so if you're in the market for a new one, check it out. They have tons of different colors.

Picky, picky. Thanks for all the great pics, Carrie!

And how cute is this, really? Snapped on my camera phone a couple weeks back.