Julian Michael Korzh Rucker

Julian Michael Korzh Rucker

Was born June 18th, 2009
at 6:20 PM (18:20)
weighing 9.4 lbs (4.25 kg.)

Vehicles

TTL I sold the truck and have found a new vehicle, yes it's a mini van, I know I know. I am just thankful the Lord supplied something in the price range I had to work with. Thanks for all your prayers.

HB2Y Mom

Texas Trip

Well I head out in a few hours on a trip to Texas for the last time in my little truck. Yup, it has come time to sell this one.


This truck has been a tremendous blessing for the years I have had it and has with it many memories. But with my family growing we just don't fit in it so it's time to upgrade.

I will be on the hunt for something that can fit all of us so any and all prayers would be helpful. Adrian will be my travel partner on the way up and Adrian and Jade will come down with me when I go back. It's going to be a busy trip and I might not be in touch, but I will update as I can.

GBY!

HB2Y Nyx

Happy Birthday Friend. You are in my prayers, that you have the best year yet and the Lord will give you the hidden desires of your heart.

JT Board Meetings

I just got back from 3 days at JT Board meetings. They sent this thank you to our home for letting Katrina and I attend the meetings. But I also want to take the time to thank all of you there at the meetings for being understanding and helpful with me and my back having been out. Thanks alot to Andy, for driving down to Cuernavaca to pick us up, to Joanne and Sharon for making sure we all had everything we needed.

Mothers Day

Thanks Bruni

My dear love made me a wonderful Russian birthday cake tonight and organized a surprise party with the home for me. It wasn't hard to plan being I have been in bed the past few days with my back problems. I leave tomorrow for JT Board meetings so she wanted to do something special for me before I go. I love you honey. Thanks everyone for the party and for all the nice things you said... I just hope I can live up to the reputation. Ha!

Back goes out...

My back went out today, please be praying for it. I have 3 days of broad meetings coming up with a trip to Texas right after that so all prayers for my mobility without much pain will be much appreciated. Thanks, Big hugs.

Birthday BBQ

Today we had one of our supporters over with his kids and grand kids, when he found out it was going to be my birthday next week he went all out on throwing a birthday BBQ. There was good food, good music and good company, what more could I ask for?

The Grill Master

The Company

The Food

Bus Ride

Here's a good funny story sent to me from Gala in Russia.

A bus stops and two Italian men get on. They sit down and engage in an animated conversation. An American woman is sitting across from them. The woman isn't paying attention to their conversation at first, but her attention is grabbed when she hears one of the men say the following:

Man:
Emma come first. Den I come. Den two asses come together. I come once-a-more. Two asses, they come together again. I come again and pee twice. Then I come one lasta time.

American woman:
You foul-mouthed sex obsessed pig "shouts the lady indignantly." In this country....we don't speak aloud in public places about our sex lives...

Man:
Hey, coola down lady," "Who talkin' abouta sexa? I'm a justa tellin' my frienda how to spella... ' Mississippi ' ..


Now I bet you'll have to read that again. Ha!

Seven Months

Bruni, seven months PG.

Birthday coming up...

...yeah it's getting close to that time of the year again, My Birthday!

Bruni, asked me today what I wanted for my birthday and I didn't know the answer. I am a simple guy with simple joys, it doesn't take a whole lot to make me happy, I guess it's cuz as a child my parents drilled into me the verse about "being content in whatsoever state I am in." I am glad they did it has really helped me a an adult.

So I started thinking about it today and I like birthday gifts that involve lots of people so I think I came up with a good one, I would like to get this blog up to 50 followers by the end of May. For that I need your help. So if you like this blog and would like to give me a b-day present just click on the "Follow" button on the tor right hand side of this page. Let's see how far we can take this.

Have a good day.

Swine Flu

It's hard to know from the news what is the truth about the Swine Flu. Different channels, websites and newspapers all say different things. Stories fly ranging from, "it's a cover up and thing aren't being reported accurately, more people are sick and dying then whats reported" to " it's just a big hype to test government control."

One thing is for sure though, whatever is going on it is really affecting the country of Mexico and it's economy. Businesses are closed, people aren't going out as much and Mexico City is shut down. This is having a very big impact on the homes in Mexico City and the surrounding cities, with not being able to do their normal outreach and fund raising.

Please take a minute to pray for those homes being affected, that the Lord will keep them safe and also that He will supply all of their needs during these difficult times. Add us to your prayer lists. Thanks so much.

Crazy Family

Many years ago when I was twenty-three,
I got married to a widow who was pretty as could be.
This widow had a grown-up daughter who had hair of red.
My father fell in love with her, and soon the two were wed.
This made my dad my son-in-law and changed my very life.
My daughter was my mother, for she was my father’s wife!
To complicate the matters worse (although it brought me joy),
I soon became the father of a bouncing baby boy.
My little baby then became a brother-in-law to Dad,
And so became my uncle, though it made me very sad.
For if he was my uncle, then that also made him brother
To the widow’s grown-up daughter, who, of course, was my stepmother.
Father’s wife then had a son, who kept them on the run.
And he became my grandson, for he was my daughter’s son.
My wife is now my mother’s mother and it makes me blue;
Because, although she is my wife, she’s my grandmother too.
If my wife is my grandmother, then I am her grandchild.
And every time I think of it, it simply drives me wild.
For now I have become the strangest case you ever saw:
As the husband of my grandmother, I am my own grandpa!

Blast from the Past

Bernie, a Croatian friend I know from my days when I lived in the E.E. came with his son Alan and spent three weeks in our home. A few days before they left we had a kids party for Alan's birthday which Bernie organized. Here are some photos of the fun.

All the kids in a relay race.

Tug of War: Bernie and Fran vs....

...All the kids.

Bernie, moderating a water balloon fight.

Adrian, wearing the pinata after it was broken.

HB2Y Cel

Superman Cel.

Dear Cel, wherever you may be I wish you the best year yet. That your life be filled with love and happiness and that you don't miss me too much. I hope you don't mind the photo, it is one of my all time favorites of you.

Easter

Yesterday was Easter and Paula and Nadia organized a kids club type activity day at the new home here in Cuernavaca. They had pool games, painted eggs and some treasure hunts involving prizes for the kids. Here's a couple photos from the day.

Alex and Adrian playing a pool game.

Alex painting eggs.

Adrian painting eggs.

Cielito getting the eggs ready for painting.

Me, doing what I do best.

HB2Y Jason

Happy Birthday Bro, I hope and pray that this year is a good one for you with progress in all areas. Thanks for all you have done for me and the help you have been over the years. I'll see you soon!

The Country of Texas

DISCLAIMER: I got the following email from a friend of mine living in Texas and having been born and raised in Texas I found it quite funny. This is not however a political statement of mine or something I believe in, just an email for a good laugh.

THE COUNTRY of TEXAS

In case things get a little tough after Jan 2009

Please note that Texas is the only state with a legal right to secede from the Union. (Reference the Texas-American Annexation Treaty of 1848).

We Texans love y'all, but we'll probably have to take action since Barack Obama won the election. We'll miss you too.

Here is what can happen:

1: Barack Hussein Obama becomes President of the United States and Texas immediately secedes from the Union.

2: George W. Bush will become the President of the Republic of Texas. You might not think that he talks too pretty, but we haven't had another terrorist attack, and the economy was fine until the effects of the Democrats lowering the qualifications for home loans came to roost.

So what does Texas have to do to survive as a Republic?

1. NASA is just south of Houston, Texas . We will control the space industry.

2. We refine over 85% of the gasoline in the United States.

3. Defense Industry--we have over 65% of it. The term "Don't mess with Texas ," will take on a whole new meaning.

4. Oil - we can supply all the oil that the Republic of Texas will need for the next 300 years. What will the other states do? Gee, we don't know. Why not ask Obama?

5. Natural Gas - again we have all we need and it's too bad about those Northern States. John Kerry and Al Gore will have to figure out a way to keep them warm....

And don't forget that Texas - unlike the other 47 Contiguous States has its own Electrical Power Grid. No power outages here!

6. Computer Industry - we lead the nation in producing computer chips and communications equipment -small companies like Texas Instruments, Dell Computer, EDS, Raytheon, National Semiconductor, Motorola, Intel, AMD, Atmel, Applied Materials, Ball Misconduct, Dallas Semiconductor, Nortel, Alcatel, etc, etc. The list goes on and on.

7. Medical Care - We have the research centers for cancer research, the best burn centers and the top trauma units in the world, as well as other large health centers. The Houston Medical Center alone employees over 65,000 people.

8. We have enough colleges to keep us getting smarter: University of Texas, Texas AM, Texas Tech, Texas Christian, Rice, SMU, University of Dallas , University of Houston , Baylor, UNT (University of North Texas ), Texas Women's University, etc. Ivy grows better in the South anyway.

9. We have an intelligent and energetic work force, and it isn't restricted by a bunch of unions. Here in Texas, it's a Right to Work State and, therefore, it's every man and women for themselves. We just go out and get the job done. And if we don't like the way one company operates, we get a job somewhere else.

10. We have essential control of the paper, plastics, and insurance industries, etc.

11. In case of a foreign invasion, we have the Texas National Guard, the Texas Air National Guard, and several military bases. We don't have an Army, but since everybody down here has at least six rifles and a pile of ammo, we can raise an Army in 24 hours if we need one. If the situation really gets bad, we can always call the Department of Public Safety and ask them to send over the Texas Rangers.

12. We are totally self-sufficient in beef, poultry, hogs, and several types of grain, fruit and vegetables, and let's not forget seafood from the Gulf. Also, everybody down here knows how to cook them, so that they taste good. Don't need any food.

13. Three of the ten largest cities in the United States, and twenty-three of the 100 largest cities in the United States, are located in Texas. And Texas also has more land than California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Vermont combined.

14. Trade: Three of the ten largest ports in the United States are located in Texas.

15. We also manufacture cars down here, but we don't need to. You see, nothing rusts in Texas, so our vehicles stay beautiful and run well for decades.

16. Most importantly, we have the Dallas Cowboys!! America's team with 5 Super Bowl Championships.

This just names a few of the items that will keep the Republic of Texas in good shape. There isn't a thing out there that we need and don't have.

Now to the rest of the United States under President Obama:

Since you won't have the refineries to get gas for your cars, only President Obama will be able to drive around in his big 9 mpg SUV. The rest of the United States will have to walk or ride bikes.

You won't have any TV as the Space Center in Houston will cut off satellite communications.

You won't have any natural gas to heat your homes, but since Mr. Obama has predicted global warming, you will not need the gas as long as you survive the 2000 years it will take to get enough heat from Global Warming.

Signed, The People of Texas

P.S. This is not a threatening letter - just a note to give you something to think about!

SLEEP WELL TONIGHT THE EYES OF TEXAS ARE UPON YOU!!

''Life's tough......it's even tougher if you're stupid.''
-- John Wayne

Seven Pounds

I don't usually put up posts about movies as it is such a touchy topic with some. Some people are very strict in what they see others have no guidelines at all. So to recommend or not recommend a movie can become a fast way to paint a target on your back from either side. So by not posting about movies you can avoid the whole issue.

Today I am stepping out of the norm to recommend the movie Seven Pounds with Will Smith in the leading role. If I had to give an age recommendation I would put it at YA's and up maybe Sr Teen if seen with a Shep and really discussed. The movie has certain elements that we don't promote as a Family in general. And that is the extent of my disclaimer.

I have not watch a movie in the past few years that had a bigger impact on me, a movie that really got me thinking about my life, what I am doing for others and the reasons I am doing it for. Each one of us wants to have a life that counts, that makes a difference and one that would really affect the world, even if that world is only a handful of people. The choices that are made in this movies shows how each life can touch another, how each decision makes a difference and how we influence others.

If you want to see a movie that will make you ask the Lord if you are doing what you can, a movie that will bring a tear (or many) to your eye yet at the same time bring warmth of a life touched, changed and saved. Then I would recommend this movie.

This is not a movie to go into lightly for entertainment as it will make you ask of yourself,

"What am I doing with my life?"

I hope that when all is said and done and my umber is called, I hope I can say that I have done all that I could and that I gave all that I had.

April Fools Day

Today passed uneventful enough, maybe because I am usually the one playing the tricks and pranks on people and it has just been way to busy lately for me to plan anything that would be good and interesting.

One of my all time favorites pranks from the past though was BBC's spoof broadcast of growing spaghetti from trees in Italy and Switzerland. I ran across the article a few years back but looked it up again for you all. You can find the article about it along with the video that originally aired by clicking on this link.

Life Before Computers

Click to Enlarge.

Chemistry

Click to Enlarge.

The Ol' Cowboy

An old cowboy sat down at the Starbucks and ordered a cup of coffee. As he sat sipping his coffee, a young woman sat down next to him.

She turned to the cowboy and asked, 'Are you a real cowboy?'

He replied, 'Well, I've spent my whole life breaking colts, working cows, going to rodeos, fixing fences, pulling calves, bailing hay, doctoring calves, cleaning my barn, fixing flats, working on tractors, and feeding my dogs, so I guess I am a cowboy.'

She said, 'I'm a lesbian. I spend my whole day thinking about women. As soon as I get up in the morning, I think about women. When I shower, I think about women. When I watch TV, I think about women I even think about women when I eat. It seems that everything makes me think of women.'

The two sat sipping in silence.

A little while later, a man sat down on the other side of the old cowboy and asked, 'Are you a real cowboy?'

He replied, 'I always thought I was, but I just found out that I'm a lesbian.'

Good Guys

Just a random photo of Chris Brown, Philly Dee and I from the fellowship we had at the Family Birthday Party.

Self Motivation

I saw this video clip over on Angelina's blog of a little girls technique of self motivation. You should give it a try sometime esp if you feel like quitting.

Ange I hope you don't mind I borrowed the video without asking first, it's for the benefit of the world. Ha!

Tomorrow is...

...Friday the 13th.

Paraskevidekatriaphobia - or the fear of Friday the 13th is a very real problem for some. I personally think I am not very superstitious, but Ali (of Nathan) thinks I am. In seeing we have 3 Fridays that fall on the 13th this year, February, March and November I did a little looking into the origins of the supposed unluckiness of the day.

With the complete variety of the origins you have stories ranging from as far back as the Garden of Eden to as late as the book Friday the 13th about an economic crash written in the early 1900's. Some say it started with Norse Gods and others with the Last Supper. No matter where the story began the thing they all have in common is that Friday and the number 13 are unlucky, so combining them together and it's even worse.

Here's an excerpt of some of the superstitions taken from an article on UrbanLegands:

LEGEND HAS IT: If 13 people sit down to dinner together, one will die within the year. The Turks so disliked the number 13 that it was practically expunged from their vocabulary (Brewer, 1894). Many cities do not have a 13th Street or a 13th Avenue. Many buildings don't have a 13th floor. If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil's luck (Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names). There are 13 witches in a coven. Never change your bed on Friday; it will bring bad dreams. Don't start a trip on Friday or you will have misfortune. If you cut your nails on Friday, you cut them for sorrow. Ships that set sail on a Friday will have bad luck – as in the tale of H.M.S. Friday ... One hundred years ago, the British government sought to quell once and for all the widespread superstition among seamen that setting sail on Fridays was unlucky. A special ship was commissioned, named "H.M.S. Friday." They laid her keel on a Friday, launched her on a Friday, selected her crew on a Friday and hired a man named Jim Friday to be her captain. To top it off, H.M.S. Friday embarked on her maiden voyage on a Friday, and was never seen or heard from again.

Studies have been conducted to see if there are more traffic accidents on Friday the 13th compared to other Fridays. Some show that more people stay home on that day due to superstitions so there are actually less traffic accidents reported, so driving should be safer. At the same time, studies have shown that there are more hospital admissions due to traffic accidents on Fridays that fall on the 13 than on other Fridays. One such study showed an increase of 52%.

Even my accident where I got hit by a taxi was on Friday the 13th, in July of 2007. For that story read the post by clicking here.

I will conclude this post by saying, Stay close to the Lord, claim the keys and you will be okay on any day of the week even if it is Friday the 13th.

Building

While I was gone on my trip, back at home a team was sent for nearly a week to San Bartolo to help improve some of the villagers houses. Additions of rooms were added to 4 houses during that time. Here are a few photos from the team that went.

Fran adding the last nails, with Gabo good Mexican laborer that he is, looking on.

Phil, the Foreman adding the last piece.

Isreal, Fran and Gabo with one of the families who received an addition to their makeshift home.

Home

Adrian in the truck, he is a good traveler.

Just got home with Adrian, who will be with me here in Mexico til mid August. We are looking forward to the time we will have as well as me learning how to do his school. This is the first time I have been able to have him while he is working through his normal school year. It will be fun and we will make progress.

She's Gone

Yes Folks, she really is gone. My good good friend Celeste has answered the Lord's call in her life in a ministry that most of us could never do. We have been through a lot over the past decade, through each stage she has been a friend ready to help, through my highs and lows, my good times and bad times, she always had the guts and conviction to call it how she saw it even when I was the one out of it. And despite it all her friendship and love remained strong and true.

Cel, each one of us (your friends) who had the chance to live, work with or be friends with you have been most richly blessed.

You will be missed!!

E-Spresso

E-Spresso is here. The new hip email that will keep you up to date in your professionalism. If you haven't signed up already do so NOW by clicking on the logo above.

Cola in the Middle East

A disappointed salesman of Coca Cola returns from his Middle East assignment.
A friend asked, "Why weren't you successful with the Arabs?"

The salesman explained, "When I got posted in the Middle East, I was very confident that I would make a good sales pitch as Cola is virtually unknown there.
But, I had a problem I didn't know I had to speak Arabic. So, I planned to convey the message through three posters...



First poster - A man lying in the hot desert sand...totally exhausted and fainting.
Second poster - man is drinking our Cola.
Third poster- Our man is now totally refreshed.
Then these posters were pasted all over the place"

"That should have worked," said the friend.

The salesman replied "I didn't realize that Arabs go from right to left"

HB2Y Adrian

Today my big boy turn's 9. He had his party last week with his mom so today I took him and Jade out to celebrate with me since I wasn't in town for his party. We went to the Magic Time Machine restaurant. We had a blast, ate in a walk in freezer with packaged meat hanging from the ceiling, and drank UGLY bubbly potions while being served by Harry Potter. Adrian had a birthday song sang to him by about 8 waitresses, which he has forbidden me to post the video of, while Jade had her face painted. Here's a few photos.

Adrian and I waiting in the lounge to be seated at out table. (photo by Jade)

Adrian with his cool birthday Viking hat.

Jade, after getting her face painted.

Jade snapped this photo of the amour.

Angelina Rieli

Angelina Rieli, is a friend from my distant past... haven't seen her in nearly a decade. She was in Houston on her way to Taiwan when I spent the night at Jer's so I picked her up from the home she was staying at and took her to the party. It was fun to hang out and catch up a bit on old times. She has started a blog and I follow it when I have time... looks like it will be a good one. I have added it to my blog roll, give it a look and leave her comments. Ange I hope you don't mind me stealing the photo from your blog.

HB2Y Jeremy

So I was passing through Houston yesterday on business and called Jeremy and Mila to ask them if I could spend the night at their place before heading to Dallas for other business. It turns out That they were celebrating Jeremy's birthday with a little party at their place which was totally fine with me. We had a great time hanging out and I got to see some awesome friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in a coon's age. Here are some photos from the night.

Jeremy, the big guy himself and Angelina looking on.

Mila, trying hard to explain something to me and me just laughing at her.

The lovely Ambie, my personal goddess.

Clair Costello, debatable the life of any party.

Ricky and Rosie

Countless Miles...

Seems that in the past few years I have done a lot of driving on the open roads... a lot of the times I have been alone. That leaves for lots of time to ones own thoughts. These trips have been made for basically been for visa trips or fund raising, sometimes to see my kids.

I am taking another one of those trips now, this one will be different then the others in the reason for the trip. Before the trips were for what I needed or what was needed of me. This trip will be done for the purpose of someone else. After 8 years of living a certain way, I am changing for the one I love, doing things different than before.

When looking back over the countless miles its easy to wonder what was worth it and what was just filling time. I hope the end of my journey is as good as the journey itself has proven to be.

HB2Y Family.

Happy Birthday Family

Valentines Hugs

Yesterday we sent a team of 10to the center of town, armed with SLY tracts and wearing "free hugs" t-shirts and signs in attempt to hep cheer people up. They were out for a couple hours, gave away lots of hugs and tracts and prayed with over 200 people to receive the Lord. What a day.

Gabo, Olympia, Ivan, Katrina, Fran, Lynette, Israel, Lena and Esther

Katrina hugging a little girl.

Lena giving a hug while Esther is giving the tract.

Olympia and a young woman.

Esther hugging two at once.

Sucker for Love

I know you have seen it before but this is my Valentines day word for you! Enjoy and have a good one.

Best of Craigslist

I sometimes visit Craigslist, an online classifieds website, when I am looking for good deals on things I need. They have a section where you can vote to add one of the ads to the "Best of Craigslist" section for funny, bizarre, sometimes strange and totally out there ads. Reading a few always provides me with a good laugh. I am going to include here one of the ads I saw that I had a good laugh at.

Vintage British 3 Speed Bicycle, Very Nice! - $30 (Dover)

Date: 2009-01-18, 11:49AM EST

Perfect for commuting and just leaving outdoors. Great for everyday use. Great "Winter bike"
I cant remember if it is a Mens or a Womens, but I know its a 3 Speed. Pick up only. Bring a shovel.

Case Dismissed

In Florida , an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter and Passover holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians, Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days.

The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, "Case dismissed!"

The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your honor,how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays."

The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant."

The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists."

The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fools Day. Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is adjourned."

Vacation: Day 10

Today my back is completely out, I can barely walk. It's the last full day here and I am just resting staying in bed Please pray that I can heal quickly.
The boys went to the beach today for some water and air sports. They said it was great fun and something they would do again. Just a few photos I stole from Bruni.

Fran taking off from the beach pulled by a motor boat.

Fran about 60 feet about the water.

Gabo at takeoff.

Gabo, high above the sea.

Vacation: Day 9

Today we went out to the island again for a lazy day at the beach, I read a short book about the importance of small talk and how to make people comfortable in conversations. The kids went snorkeling and shell hunting. By the time we got back in the evening my back was hurting quite a bit so I just went to bed early.

Alex, wanting to drive the boat to the island.

The Island Beach

A cave Lena and Alex found that was littered with thousands of sea shells.

Lena, Fran and Alex snorkeling.

Sailboats were a common sight today.

Vacation: Day 8

Day Eight: Laguna de Potosi
Today the 8 of us went to a lagoon about half hour from Ixtapa. We intended on taking a boat tour of the lagoon which takes about an hour and a half, but after swimming and shell hunting and having a good lunch no one was up for it. After just lazing around in hammocks and drinking from fresh coconuts we ended up heading back to the hotel in late afternoon, a good all around relaxing day at the beach.

Restaurants lining the lagoon.

Alex with fresh coconut.

I guess I was wondering if they added rum to mine.

Later that evening Bruni and I went to the beach to watch the sunset, we sat on the beach taking photos, me drinking Baltika 9 and her sipping on a French wine. We got so many photos of that sunset trying to get the perfect one, you know where there was either a pelican flying over the sun, if the shadows were just right and getting annoyed that two collage age girls were sure set on ruining our perfect photo by having picked the setting sun as thier backdrop for thier splasing around in the waves. All in all I think we got one or two good ones so I will put them up here for you to see.

The beginning of the end...

The pelican...

The reflection...

Final moments...

Vacation: Day 7

Day Seven: Zihuatanejo
After spending the morning at the beach we headed into the local town of Zihuatanejo. Since Ixtapa is the expensive touristic town catering to Canadian and US tourists, Zihuatanejo is the cheaper town where almost all the locals live. It is the small fishing port and commercial heartbeat of the area. We do all our grocery shopping and things here. But tonight we spent some time to just explore the town in the cool of the evening, we got a few trinkets and took some photos and had dinner at a quant little side street resturaunt. It was a very relaxing day.

A trinket shop where we got a few inexpensive items.

The bay at dusk with table's set on it from a local resturaunt for romantic dinners.

It took us nearly half hour to get Alex to let us take his picture.

Bruni and I

Dawn, Phillip, Fran, Bruni and I at dinner. Gabo took the photo and the young ones, Lena and Alex sat at " the fun table."

Our dinner of chicken fajitas and vegetable soup.

Vacation: Day 6

Day Six
Today we just lazed around on the local beaches and hung out resting and relaxing. Bruni, Alex and I had a buffet breakfast at a 5 star resort. It was pleasant and a nice way to start the day, we also took a tour of the hotel and we ended up about 12 stories up with good views of the beaches and city so here's a few photo's for you.

My breakfast. Chilliquilles with srambled eggs, potatoe wedges and rolls, accompanied with a fruit plate and fresh grapefruit juice.

The town of Ixtapa, looking inland.

The beach and pools below.

Lena and Alex riding horses up the beach.

The sunsets here are spectacular.

Vacation: Day 5

Day Five: Offshore fishing.
Early morning before dawn five of us headed out for 7 hrs of off shore fishing. We were hoping to catch a couple of sailfish like they did last year, and even though we were about 14 miles offshore in the end didn't catch anything at all. We did have dolphins swimming with boat part of the morning and spotted a couple of large sea turtles. But most of the time was spent sitting with one hand over the edge in the water lost in my own thoughts while watching the waves.

This is what we were hoping to catch.

The sunrise over the open sea.

The fishermen laying the lines.

Gabo slept most of the trip.

And since I had been out for most of the day with the fishing trip Bruni and Alex hung out at one of the luxury resorts where some other Family members were staying. It has been amazing running into so many brethren from different parts of Mexico all vacationing here this week. At the resort they have a turtle release program for introducing hatchlings into the ocean they get the kids involved which is quite nice and helps the kids learn about the species.

The little turtles in a holding tank before being released.

Alex, holding one of the turtles.

Vacation: Day 4

Day Four: Ixtapa Island
Phil and I got up early before dawn to try at get a fresh fish for our lunch later today while on the island Here's a couple photos of the fish market right on the bay.

A fisherman offloading his cacth.

Fish displayed for sale right on the beach having been caught only hours before.

We then headed out mid morning to Ixtapa Island to laze around for the day. The pristine offshore islet is a wildlife preserve featuring several crescent cove beaches, fleshy green orchids, multi-colored fishes in underwater gardens, tall cacti and shady native acacias. And to sustain this ecological paradise, the whole island is cleaned every evening. No one lives on the island so it is only a day excursion. There are two swimming beaches and one snorkeling beach. The water is clear and calm makes for excellent swimming and easy time seeing the fish and wildlife. Shells are in abundance scattered on the beaches and rock edges circling the island, making the hutn for the perfect one a time consuming activity for the kids.

One of the swimming beaches. Each of the three beachs on the island are lined with resturants a bit pricey but if you bring your own food they prepare it for you for a fair price.

The coral beach.

A view of the snorkel beach.

Bruni very content with her fressh pineapple drink.

The fish we got at the market this morning prepared by one of the local resturaunts on the island.

Vacation: Day 3

Day Three:
This morning we went to the free breakfast buffet at The Pacifica resort. They offer the buffet in exchange for having the opportunity to show you their resort and then you sit through a presentation to try to get you to invest in their resort and buy a time share to get your vacations for the next 30 years. 3 1/2 hours after arriving we were finally out of there.The breakfast was good, the resort amazing, and the views spectacular but having to sit through the presentation and the sales pitch as a real damper.

This is the view from our breakfast table at the resort of the beach.

In the afternoon I took a quick trip into the local town and found a great deal on a Russian beer that I had never tried. Bruni suggested I just get one or two before stocking up. I got two and enjoyed them so much I went back the next day and bought plenty more.

Baltika #9 is the best of the three I tried. The number system for the beer 1-9 indicates the amount of hops used in the brew. I tried 3, 7 and 9. The last was the best and for an 8.0% beer it is worth every cent I paid. Elliot and Jen I got enough to bring some to you guys to try.

The rest of the day was spent at the beach. Here's a photo of Alex having fun in the waves.