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.

Vacation: Days 1 and 2

Yesterday, Bruni, Alex and I headed out with 5 others from our home for 10 days of vacation in Ixtapa Mexico, A coastal town about 7 hrs drive from Cuernvaca. The Lord has supplied a nice hotel with 2 suites for us for that time. I am hoping to update with photos of the things we encounter and are able to do duringthis time.



Day One:
We spent most of the morning packing and re-packing the SUV to get all the stuff and 8 of us in it and at noon we set off for the coast. The drive was pleaseant enough considering we felt ike sardines in a can. With the excitmnt in the air of 10 days of fun in the sun, sand and sea and with the hope of much relaxation, he 7 hours in the can were endured without compliant. Arriving in the evening we stopped for some groceries and headed to check in at the hotel. Each suite has a back bedroom with two double bed and a separatekitchen and dinning foor with a living area with a second fold out double bed. So there is plenty of room for all. The hotel has a pool, tennis court, excersise equipment and ping-pong.


Day Two:
This was a lazy day exploring the town and seeing what is available to do in the next few day while being here. We spent time in the pool and went and explored the beach. Being that Ixtapa is very touristic and caters to US and Canadian tourists just about everyone speaks english. I still prefer talking to the locals in Spanish but it does make it easier for Bruni to get around.
All the hotels and big resorts here have litle stands all over town with people trying to get you signed upfor vacation packages and activities to do. Some are very relentless and will do anything to get you to come check out thier resort, after truning down about 6 offers on the way to the beach, (which is a 5 minute walk from our hotel that took us nearly an hour from being stopped by so many people) we agreed to a reservation from a big resort that was offering a free breakfast buffet to come se thier resort. So we will be doing that tomorrow morning. I will leave you with a photo of the beach.

500th Post

Back when I first heard of blogging I wouldn't have thought that I would actually start one let alone keep it going for 2 1/2 years. I don't know how long the blog will go for and maybe this year things will change, as they already are.

With this post, the 500th on this blog I want to announce:

Bruni is pregnant!!! We are expecting in early July. We are both very happy about this and so thankful. So please keep her pregnancy in your prayers.

Thursday Thought - Goals

If you never aim to hit anything you're sure to do just that.
Missing the mark is never the fault of the target.

A Turkey Story

One year at Thanksgiving, my mom went to my sister's house for the traditional feast.

Knowing how gullible my sister is, my mom decided to play a trick. She told my sister that she needed something from the store.

When my sister left, my mom took the turkey out of the oven, removed the stuffing, stuffed a Cornish hen, and inserted it into the turkey, and re-stuffed the turkey. She then placed the bird(s) back in the oven.

When it was time for dinner, my sister pulled the
turkey out of the oven and proceeded to remove the stuffing. When her serving spoon hit something, she reached in and pulled out the little bird.

With a look of total shock on her face, my mother
exclaimed, 'Patricia, you've cooked a pregnant
bird!'

At the reality of this horrifying news, my sister started to cry. It took the family two hours to convince her that turkeys lay eggs!

Yep..................SHE'S BLONDE

Achilles Tendinitis

The first week of December I twisted my ankle in our yard and due to the Christmas Push being upon us I didn't get off it. I suffered through the month of OR and a visa trip before finally going to the doc today to get it checked.


Achilles Tendinitis is what it developed into for not having got it in time. So the Doc has prescribed anti inflammatory meds and to get pressure off the foot. So I will be taking a few days easy then heading out on vacation on the 11th. I am hoping to get some time off my feet to allow it to heal well. PLease keep me in your prayers that it can heal with no problems and in a short time without having to get it casted, as that's the next step if it doesn't heal. Thanks so much!