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Thursday (A week ago today!) we headed out on another adventure. This one was close to our hearts.

The resort we went to is called the Bahia Principe Akumal. We went to the Bahia Principe Tulum on our honeymoon almost eight years ago. We knew they were in the same area, but figured they were possibly in two separate locations. Nope. They are right next to each other.

We were allowed to eat/drink/swim anywhere on the resort (including the Tulum side), but did not venture there during the day as we would have to take a shuttle. We liked walking to the beach from our room and being able to head back there for naps (*Ahem*) whenever we felt the need.

Part of the deal with our resort is that in addition to the amazing spread to be found at the main buffet, there are eight different a la carte restaurants. We were entitled to go to any three of them that we wanted to, anywhere on the resort. We booked Thursday night at the Mexican restaurant on the Tulum side of the resort, where we had spent our very first week of married life.

We hopped onto the shuttle (extended golf cart) and soon realized we were in the perfect seat to use the rear view mirror.

Excuse the blur, but we were being jostled around like, um, Mexican jumping beans.

We walked into the lobby and were brought back eight years in an instant. We walked out the back side and had someone take our photo in the same place that we have one from our honeymoon.

I’m too lazy tired to scan the original. You will have to take my word for it.

We sauntered over to the side pool where we spent all of our days.

Sigh.

This little outdoor gazebo was new, and I loved how it looked. I took about twenty photos of it.

I kid you not.

We finally found the building that we had stayed in, after debating between a few of them. Eight years and three kids wreaks havoc on your memory.

We wandered down to the beach and did a few self-portraits. This is my favourite.

So, so happy.

I took a photo of the skirt of my dress blowing in the breeze.

I took a photo of our feet in the water.

I took some photos of Honey.

Mmmmm….

That’s my man.

Here is where things took a surprising turn.

My husband is not a photographer. He can wield any power tool and build almost anything out of wood. He has no desire to take photos. If I ask him to take a photo of me, or of me and Emily, he does so with a great attitude. I set up the shot, adjust the camera, and check his work before he is allowed to stop snapping.

Thursday was different. He told me to hand him the camera. He then started directing me and telling me what to do, where to stand, etcetera.

At first I felt silly. Making kissy faces while holding out my camera is one thing, but to just BE ME…with a touch of saucy?

I cannot take myself seriously. He laughed too, and then told me to look out at the water.

I gained my composure.

He told me to look down.

Channeling Monica again…

Lest you think it was all sultry and saucy, I pulled a classic Angella and tripped backwards over a rock.

I am all about the gracefulness, you know.

He told me to walk down the beach.

Then I walked back.

I like this one, except for the fact that it looks like a week full of chips and Mexican Sauce WENT RIGHT TO MY THIGHS. This past week of illness and nausea has been good in the fact that I lost the few pounds I packed on while on vacation. Hooray for the trots!

Sorry about that. Let’s get back to my night on the beach. Honey told me to walk down to the water.

There are about fifty more and I honestly love every single one of them. Not in a narcissistic way, but in kind of an eye-opening way. Honey caught glimpses of me that I will catch in my reflection once in a while, but that I could never possibly catch in a self-portrait.

I also feel like I can feel his love for me oozing through the lens. I mean, I know that he loves me. I feel that he loves me. Now through these photos?

I see that he loves me.

The kids are on the upswing (I think). Yesterday was the first day we did not have to dunk the boys in a tepid bath and listen to them scream about how much it hurts. Woo!

Miss Emily still has a river of boogs flowing out of her, and is also working on some bottom molars. There are two squishy mounds of throbbing red flesh on the gums of her bottom jaw. I do not envy her in the least. She wants to spend every waking moment on my hip/lap so I have not been able to get much done. I am totally fine with it though – we are just making up for last week’s missed cuddles.

Yesterday afternoon we were all feeling a little stir crazy, so we did some errands as a family. We threw in a trip to the park down by the lake for good measure.

This was before she went down. Once. She was pretty skeered after that and refused to go again. This surprised me as she has been known to climb on top of the table and jump up and down. Go figure.

On to Mexico!

Matthew and I are lame and boring. Really. Our days were pretty routine (Just how we like ‘em!). We would get up once the sun was over the horizon. We would (gently) toss my camera, our books and iPods into the backpack and saunter over to the Buffet Of Amazing Food for breakfast.

We would hightail it back to the south end of the beach. It was less crowded, had a smaller pool (complete with a pool bar), and next to that was the 24 hour snack bar. We would claim a pair of chairs under one of those straw umbrellas that were everywhere.

We would set up camp. Sunscreen lathered on, iPods blazing, noses buried in books, sipping bevvies. It was awfully boring. And truly wonderful. I would look up every once in awhile to take in the view from my chair.

To the left:

That area to the left is where they had built a breakwater.  It is quite windy there, so most days it is not safe to swim in the ocean.   This little area provided you the opportunity to swim in the salty blue water.

Isn’t that colour amazing?

We took self portraits.

(This is the one I posted on Flickr from Mexico.)

We were miserable, as you can see.

After two days of listening to the Activities Coordinator yelling into the microphone at the pool directly behind us, we thought we would venture down off of the bench so that we could have unobstructed views of this.

And, of course, my beloved hammocks.

The hammocks were down for the last two days because there were weddings being held there.

Honey and I both agreed that if we could go back in time eight years, we would get married RIGHT THERE. Maybe we should renew our vows for our tenth anniversary…

We would eat our lunch at the snack bar so as to not lose our chairs. And so as to not exert more energy than was absolutely necessary. We already had to take more steps from our new location to refill our refreshments, so we needed to balance that out.

The highlight of eating at the snack bar? THE HOMEMADE SALSA. Or as they called it, “Mexican Sauce”. The guacamole was also phenomenal. During the week I ate my body weight in chips and salsa. And pineapple. Mmmm…pineapple.

Most nights we were in bed by nine o’clock. I KID YOU NOT. We might not have been (ahem) sleeping, but we were in bed. We wanted to soak in as much sun as possible during the day.

Tuesday we decided to mix things up and go on a three-hour shopping excursion in Playa del Carmen. They have a street called 5th Avenue that reminded us of Robson Street in Vancouver, except there were no cars on it. There was a Starbucks, however.

I took my camera, but did not take many shots. I was too busy bartering. GO ME. We got a beautiful dress for Emily, shirts for the boys, a couple of necklaces for myself as well as a sarong that called out to me from a rack of about two hundred of them.

(Taken the next day)

I also bought a pretty blue skirt (see below).

I did happen to catch a shot of these guys.

Authentic Mexican experience going on!

As I mentioned in my last post, we had our photo taken by our tour guides after they supplied some props.

They really were the best nachos I have ever had. I don’t have a photo of them because I was too busy stuffing my face enjoying Honey’s company.

We got back to the resort a little after nine. (Gasp!) Each night they had a live band out at La Hacienda from ten until midnight, and then the discotheque opened up. We thought we would shake off our old fart status and check it out. We had a “nap” and then thought we should set up the camera with the self-timer to catch us party animals ready to go shake our booties.

A little crooked. Let’s try again:

I love that skirt. It flips and twirls when I walk. Wheee!

The live band was amazing, but the discotheque was lame. We bailed after only a few songs. I am glad we checked it out, but we were pretty tired and grumpy the next day. Nothing a nap couldn’t fix though.

I will stop here (if you have even managed to make it this far). Next post will be about the adventure we took on Thursday to the other half of the resort…where we honeymooned eight years ago.

Stay tuned.

Palm trees just exude that tropical feeling.

I should be documenting all of the highlights before the memories fade, as memories are prone to do.

Like the night we went shopping in Playa del Carmen. We ended the adventure with a plate of the most amazing nachos I have ever eaten.

Our tour guides supplied the props.

I should be sharing some of the many photos I took of my hair. The humidity caused it to channel Monica from that Friends episode.

(This one is pretty tame. My hair was a sight to behold all week, and caused us both to laugh out loud many times.)

I should be mentioning how I took way too many photos of the white hammocks.

I want to live right there. Forever.

I should be posting photos of Honey and I, all tanned, and relaxed, and grinning from ear to ear twenty-four seven.

As you can see, we were miserable.

Unfortunately, upon arriving home the wind was knocked out of my proverbial sails.

When we got into Vancouver on Friday, the kidlets were feeling a little “off”. They traveled fine for the drive home Saturday morning, but by mid-afternoon they had all succumbed to the flu.

The boys have been battling fevers, and for the first time in their short lives I have had to race them upstairs into a tepid bath to bring their temperature out of the danger zone.

Emily is a little warm, but nothing dangerous. Her illness is more of the head cold variety. Every time she sneezes it looks like half of her (lime green) brain matter is displayed on her face. And dripping onto her shirt.

In the midst of dealing with three sick kids, Matthew and I were dealt some emotional dung. The last two days have been craptastic (Yes, it is a word). We both are tired, physically and emotionally.

On the bright side (I can always find one), we have been reminded (yet again) how we have been blessed with the most amazing circle of friends that you could ever ask for. They love us, they encourage us, they are Jesus to us daily. They give me a glimpse of what Heaven is going to be like, and you know what? It is going to be awesome. Trust me.

I have been too bone weary to do anything beyond the basics and had lost any desire to try to formulate coherent thoughts. I even wondered if maybe my words had dried up.

But today? Today I feel a glimmer of me. The real me. The me that I found while I was away. And sitting here typing I feel like the glimmer has turned into a ray.

I should be back to my spunky self in no time.

Then maybe I can give some justice to one of the best weeks of my life.