CANCUN!! February 15-22, 2009

At 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, February 15, 2009 the alarm sounded and we were up and ready for a week in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, with our children (Alex and Joy, Melissa and Amy). We had no idea the week would or could be as great as it turned out to be. I think I can sum up the week with these words: eat, lay by the pool, eat, lay by the beach, eat, drink, enjoy the shows, sleep. The week was extremely relaxing and our family ties were strengthened.

Here are a few pictures telling the story of our week together. (If you want to make the pictures bigger, just double click on them)

Our morning started at 3:30 a.m. so we could get to Kansas City International Airport at 5:15 a.m. for a 7:15 a.m. flight to Cancun. We arrived at Cancun International Airport and were greeted by Lomas travel who swept us right off for our resort.

As you can see, Melissa was anxious to start having fun.

30 minutes after we boarded our van, we arrived at:

We loaded up our luggage and headed for the registration desk.

The registration process took about 5 minutes.

And we started having fun!

We ran outside to this beautiful view.

Kids of all ages were having fun.

Every day we had new towel animals.

We sunned ourselves at the beach.

We dressed for many wonderful dinners.

We ate off the yummy buffet.

We attended the shows.

Some of us went diving.

Some of us swam.

We watched the native rodents. (anyone know what it is?)

Bruce was the international champion bingo player.

Ate yummy soup.

Watched the native animals.

Swam in the ocean (see Alex looking for fish?)

Read books.

Some of us were not real happy to see the camera again!

Watched the construction of sand castles.

Went kayaking.

Walked downtown.

Look, it is Hotel Melissa!

Got up early to watch the sunrise.

Waited for the buffet to be filled.

Shopped across the street.

Slept in our hotel.

Dug for treasures in our beach bags.

A view from the ocean.

Bonded!

Made new friends (Gaye and Henry from British Columbia)

Drank the daily special.

Enjoyed our last dinner together.

Displayed true talent.

Looked at that grey rice.

Smoked chocolate cigars.

Left the hotel

Waited at the Cancun airport to come home.

We had a great time and praise God for safe travels and good health!

2009 Family Vacation - Teaser

I am working on a post for our 2009 family vacation to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. This was our view when we stepped out of our hotel. Stay tuned for more!

February 14, 2009 (part 2)

Aren't we lovely?? Bruce and I joined my fellow PEZ sorority sisters and their husbands at the Peppercorn Duck Club in Kansas City for an evening full of good food, wine and fellowship. I can think of no better way to celebrate our love than with that group of people. We arrived home around midnight for three hours of sleep before the family vacation adventure. More on that later.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day! This is a happy day at our house. We finished packing this morning. Bruce thought everything would fit in one suitcase. NOT! The big suit case is full (40 pounds). Two medium suit cases are full and we have one carry one. I know we are taking too much but I can't figure out what to leave behind so I'm not leaving anything behind. Last night we went to the boat and RV show. It was pathetic! One of the vendors told us they expected 12,000 yesterday but when we left at 8:00 p.m. they had yet to hit 1,000. Economy. It is finally time for our big family vacation and we are READY! I'll talk to you when we get home. Until then, be safe and be blessed!

Monday, February 9, 2009

Here is a link to look at our new Jasmine!! We think she is a cutie pie. http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=12117629

Sunday, February 8, 2009

We've had a good weekend and hope you have too. It was so warm here yesterday that we walked in our shorts and I actually wore carpi's the whole day. I love it! Thursday night we had dinner with our friend Kari Swan. We have not done a good job of keeping connected with all of our friends in Olathe. Work is really getting in our way! Friday night we had dinner with more friends - Jim and Lisa Wilms. While we were walking into the restaurant we bumped into two other sets of long time friends. Fun night. Last night Glenn and Vickie Youngblood came over for dinner and we played Farkle. Of course I lost but I'm a really good loser! We have BIG news. We are getting another doxie and her name is already Jasmine! Can you believe that? She is two years old and is at a pet shelter called Home For Disposable Pets in Riley, Kansas. She has spent her whole life in a kennel at a breeder. She's a tiny little thing at only 5 pounds and has really crazy hair. Her foster mom describes her hair as blue and brown. Bruce and I loved her at first sight. She is being spayed next week and we will get to bring her home when we get back from Cancun. Two weeks later she will go on her first RV trip. Jasmine One made her first big trip two weeks after we got her too. We sure hope Jasmine Two loves travelling as much as Jasmine One!

Wednesday, February 4- Happy BD Amy

As promised, I finally took my camera to Taco Tuesday last night. The first three pictures are from Taco Tuesday. The rest are from Amy's birthday dinner. I've done something so all my pictures look like html code when I am working on the post so I can't figure out where to put the writing. I'll try to figure that out. Any suggestions?

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

This week flew by like all the rest. Let's see if I can remember what we've been up to. First of all let me say that I have 19 months to work. We thought about quitting again but my annuity will be almost $11,000 a year more if I stay until 9/8/2010 as opposed to quitting again so I'm going to stick it out. We have planned two trips. One is a week long trip to Cancun with the kids and the other is an RV trip to Florida. We'll be there about 3/16. We are hoping to see some of our friends down there. Wednesday night Bruce and I went to a Bible study called The Truth Project. Very interesting and very enlightening. We'll miss a couple of sessions so we have the dvd's to study at home. Thursday night I went swimming suit shopping with Amy. She had great success and left with two excellent suits. She is now set for Cancun. When I got home I did laundry and cleaned the house. Friday night, my friend Diane and I made dinner at the apartment while Amy and Bruce went out to dinner and a movie. Diane and I ate, drank, talked, laughed, cried and just had a wonderful evening. With Todd working and Bruce on a date with Amy, we had the whole evening for "girl time". Saturday morning Joy, Alex and James came over. We had a fun day. (Well, most of us did). Alex worked on computers all day. He took the info off Bruce's old laptop and transferred it to the new laptop. He took the info off of Melissa's old desktop and put it on Bruce's old laptop (Melissa inherited the old computer). He took the info off Amy's old desktop and put it on her laptop. He worked from about 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Joy and I went swimming suit shopping for her and again there was success. She came away with three great suits and a cover-up. She too is now ready for Cancun. To quote James, he "came along for the food". I don't think he went away disappointed. We did a LOT of eating all day long. They brought their Wii so Bruce and I had a taste of the Wii world. FUN! Sunday Bruce and I visited a different church. We selected the last service of the morning which happened to be the contemporary service and we loved it. We will very likely go back again. It too is a Missouri Synod Lutheran Church and is equal distance from where we live. We think it is time for a change. Who knows. After church I went to a baby shower - the biggest shower I have ever been too. You should have seen the number of gifts. Of course, you would see but I didn't take the camera and didn't even think to take a picture with my phone. After the shower we went to two Super Bowl parties. Last night was sorority and our Valentine gift exchange. I really scored on the gifts. My secret sister is the BEST! Since it's Tuesday, I have to quit this so we can head to Taco Tuesday. We are celebrating the Spaur's 29th wedding anniversary tonight. I'm going to try to get some pictures.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Taco Tuesday. Every Tuesday there is a group of friends that gathers at a neighborhood bar and grill called Pickerings for $1.00 tacos and lots of socializing. Tonight we had a record crowd - around 35. We celebrated our friend Glenn's birthday with a yummy ice cream cake. This group has been together for years and Bruce and I were invited to join when we moved back to Olathe last spring. We've missed the last two Tuesdays and when we got there tonight it was like we had been gone forever. We had lots of catching up to accomplish and boy we did! I always feel better when we leave there. It is COLD in Kansas City. We are right on the north edge of the ice but all we got today was a little bit of blowing snow. The roads were fine. Melissa is in Fort Worth at a meeting. They are having a bad ice storm down there but she is safe in her hotel. Winter is BAD!!

January 25, 2009

Bruce almost finished the installation of the vanity top. Now we need to patch walls and touch up the paint. Then he will put the end piece on (it's just resting on the wall in the picture). We are also going to order a new mirror and a oil rubbed bronze frame for the mirror. The project is coming along nicely. Last night we went to dinner with Mike and Donna David at the Olive Branch. The Olive Branch is the former St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Gravois Mills, MO. We met the owners. In fact, the owner was our waitress because so many of her staff failed to report to work. At any rate, dinner was wonderful and the company couldn't be beat. Today we slept in until 9:30. Can you believe that? We couldn't. It had snowned a little overnight but nothing to bother anything or anyone. We packed up and were home by 4:00. Amy came over and cooked white chili and fruit salad for all of us for dinner. She did an excellent job. She's going to be a real cook before long.

We are at the condo. Tonight we took the old top off the bathroom vanity and are now ready for the new vanity. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow to see what happens! Since I last wrote, I've had one of my famous dizzy spells. Good news - I missed a day of work. Good news - I didn't fall down once while I was dizzy. I think it was caused by my ears not clearing after the plane ride but who really knows. Last night Amy and I went to a Pampered Chef party and I gathered a couple new tools. Amy is having a party February 28 so I'll have the opportunity to get even more cool tools. If you want anything, let me know and we'll set you up! Today, Alex interviewed for a new and even more responsible job. We know that Alex would be outstanding for the job and pray that the selecting official arrives at the same decision. We are so proud of Alex!! Stay tuned for the finished bathroom.