October: Maya Riviera

Rusty and I got to go to Mexico for a work trip! ERC Specialists took some of their top performing affiliates on an all expense paid trip to Cancun to thank them for their efforts, and to introduce Orkid. There were quite a few work events spaced throughout, but I was happy that we seemed to have plenty of time to ourselves as well! 

September 30: 

My parents got in last night and we left early this morning. We got on our flight with no problems, the flight went quickly (it's so easy without kids haha) and then we got to the airport. We had a private car waiting for us to take us to the resort which was so nice. The drive was a little bit further than we were anticipating, but that ended up being because we didn't go to Cancun like we thought- we went down to the Maya Riviera! We got checked into our room and it was absolutely stunning. The first thing we did was get room service and lay in bed relaxing to take a nap. After that we went and walked along the beach. I cannot believe the color of this water! And I was very happy to see that the water here is very calm, nothing like the rip currents the last time. 

We saw the coolest wildlife right at the hotel!

Baby turtle shells on the beach next door

View from our room

October 1:

For our first day here we went down to the beach and laid out and went swimming! We read books while waiters brought us virgin mojitos and pina coladas. Man it is really such a great place haha! At around 3 I went and got a facial which was so relaxing and wonderful. Then after that we went to the Mexican restaurant here with some friends. The beef tacos and shrimp tacos were out of this world! So good! It was a perfect low key day of relaxing, slowing down, and regrouping.

Breakfast!

October 2: 

On Monday I had made plans for us to go scuba diving! I was really excited because it was Rusty's idea. I had not considered planning any sort of excursions because we had stuff for work planned already and last time we just stayed at the resort and it was so nice. But when he suggested scuba diving I was all in! We got dropped off at a place that looked a little sketch- it was being renovated so there wasn't a door and the bathroom was super gross. But we got our gear and then walked down the street, waded out into the water and got on the boat. The boat ride was stunning and then we dropped in for our first dive at Tortugas! We saw turtles, giant sponges that were blue and purple, huge fans, big corals, and tons of fish. I saw the biggest puffer fish I've ever seen, and Rusty saw a lion fish that somehow I completely missed. I had a heck of a time staying down because I didn't have enough weight in my belt, so towards the end the guide had to just grab me and hold me down. I was sitting cross legged upside down for a while haha. 

Breakfast room service!

After our surface interval we went to our next spot: Barracuda. And here we saw, wait for it... barracudas! We had seen them on the Great Barrier Reef before, but this time one of them swam so close to me I could count its teeth. Its huge sharp teeth. And I got a little nervous. We were able to see all kinds of cool caves, and swim under them and even through holes in some. We saw a nurse shark, which I had never seen before, and tons of other fish, including a ray and a trumpet fish.

Relaxing on the patio in our bubble bath!

In the evening we had the cocktail welcome hour and then watched movies in bed.

The new Little Mermaid- I was so disappointed but Ursula was EXCELLENT.

October 3:

Today was the first day of the conference and we listened to Mark, Josh and Derrin speak. Damon was also able to get up and give a little information about Orkid which was really helpful because I was pretty in the dark with all of that. The key not speaker was Ed Mylett. I have a lot of mixed emotions about him and his speech, but mostly the take away was that he was really pompous and arrogant but the things that are hard in our life can be used to make our lives, and others' lives, better. He spoke a lot about how much money he was worth (800 million) and how many jets he had (6) and an island... and then he'd be like, "But I'm not going to brag." And I was having such a hard time taking this man seriously. But then he'd get quiet and say something that seemed more like an afterthought, and it would be really powerful and meaningful. He said that you are best qualified to help who you once were,  who you used to be. And that really stuck with me; thinking about the struggles I've gone through or the mistakes that I've made. Getting through those times doesn't just mean that I'm finished with it, it gives me a qualification to help other people. And that's pretty cool.

After Ed Mylett we went to Fuego with some people and had a great time! There were ATVs, and somehow I was the one driving me and Rusty and I couldn't stop laughing. We were bouncing all over the place and dying laughing so hard. After that we went and rode these little rafts through a cavern. The paddles were tiny little things you put on your hands and they were full of holes. Then we went and swam through a cave and it was really fascinating to see all of the stalactites and stalagmites. There's no way we would have been allowed to do that in the US. Last we did the zip lines! It was weird because it was dark so we couldn't see anything, which kind of added some suspense but it also took away all of the scenery. It was fun, but the first time they had Rusty go after me and we went side by side, so when we got to the end he completely smashed me. And the harness was really uncomfortable. Like really uncomfortable haha. But it ended with going through a ring of fire and then landing in the water which was pretty cool! To end we went to the buffet but it ended up being pretty dang awful food. And then we still had another hour and a half before the bus was coming to pick us up so we ended up splitting a taxi with Jenn and Taylor Killian and we got home at around 10:30 and watched Hot Pursuit on TV. That show is so stinking funny!

October 4:

This morning we got up and went out on a catamaran with the whole group. We got put on a smaller boat with fewer people, and it ended up being so nice and quiet. The ride out was spectacular, and then we got to go snorkeling and paddle boarding. When we were snorkeling we saw two giant sting rays eating some of the pieces of fish the fishermen were throwing in the ocean. 

After the boat ride we came back and had a couples' massage. It has been a little while since I had a massage, and maybe it was just the whole ambiance and everything, but I think this was one of the best massages I've ever had. I started with the hydrotherapy so I did the steam room and then the sauna and then the dang chyrotherapy cold water. That was the worst! It was a small room with all of these jets and a rain faucet overhead, and then all of a sudden the freezing cold water started shooting out at me! Then the massage started, and they used hot stones and hot wax and it was absolutely incredible!

That night we went out to dinner at the Italian restaurant, and the food was not very good. My lasagna tasted like beef strogonaff. Yeesh.

October 5:

This morning we went to Coba on our own and it was a blast! I really wanted to go because I wanted to climb up it and I had read that they closed it down for Covid, but they opened it back up in July. We took a taxi out there and got there a little after they opened, which was awesome because then we were the only tourists there. We found out when we got there that they still are not allowing anyone to climb up the main temple, and maybe won't ever again. The plan is to make some wooden stairs to put over the top of the stone steps in order to protect it from deteriorating more. Anyways, we got on some bikes and rode through the town complex. We learned about different parts of the town and the culture. One of my favorite stops was the ball court. Here the court was much smaller and the sides were slanted instead of vertical. The games here were not held as often and were more ceremonial. Losing team was sacrificed.

We got back to the hotel and went to a dinner party, the big farewell to everyone. They had some entertainment come at the end and they played water drums. It was really cool!

October 6: 

Our last day had finally come, and although I could have stayed here forever I was truly excited to go back home and see my babies. And we are moving into our new house in a couple of weeks! Hopefully! Today was awesome. We got up and packed, got breakfast, hung out at the secret pool, walked along the beach and played in the water, came back to the room and took a tub on the balcony, and then went to the airport.

The flight home was uneventful! It is always fun to fly without the kids to watch over and take care of.

Rusty scored some incredible VIP tickets to a BYU football game, but I had already gotten tickets to take my mom to the Dracula ballet. Luckily my dad was agreeable to taking my ticket. They had the best time!

It had been a while since we visited Thanksgiving Point because it's so far, so we decided to add Farm Country on to our planned trip out to Cornbelly's. They were doing some fun activities with paints to make a mask, and the kids loved seeing all of the animals and playing inside like normal!

Then we headed over to Cornbelly's! They love this place so much and it really is such a blast. Except, this year the organized things a little differently and instead of having only one entrance to Kidopolis there's no part that's closed off at all. And I lost Amelia and ran to the desk and was crying and a worker came in holding her and just lost it. It is the worst feeling in the world. BUT. Other than that we had a great time! The girls got to meet the Pumpkin Princess and they loved that, especially Amelia.

We did a Halloween party at Jessica's where we carved and painted our pumpkins! We also made witch's brew, because traditions. It was super fun and we had lots of delicious treats (that mostly I couldn't eat because of my elimination diet I'm on). This year I let Amelia draw a face on her pumpkin and then I carved it for her and it was awesome! I loved it so much! 

This is the last month I will write about house progress... maybe. Hopefully. We're not renewing our lease for November so we are moving out of our rental by the end of the month whether or not our house is ready for us. I hope it goes okay haha. But we made some more good progress this month. It is looking so beautiful I just want to live in it already!

My STUNNING tile for the kitchen backsplash

I love the wall paper I picked for the girls room

Deciding between the two stains for the banisters

Master fireplace done!

The new paint color on the bottom with the wall paper all done!

UM WHY DID THEY SPACE THE LIGHTS LIKE THIS LIKE HOW IS THIS A GOOD IDEA TO ANYONE AT ALL I'M SO MAD

Seeing if I could live with the olive green paint. I decided against it and I'm glad I did.

I also asked to re-paint Henry's room because I HATED the original color I picked. This looks a million times better and I'm so glad we changed it.

For Beckie's birthday we all got together in Morgan at her grave and ate pumpkin pie! This was the first time that I was able to spend Beckie's birthday with Olivia, so that was really special. It's a bittersweet day for sure, but it's always better than May 10.

My comfort show and comfort drink in the tub

It was again time for the Scarecrow Festival! Every year right around Beckie's birthday is the Scarecrow Festival and it's one of my favorite fall traditions. We had fun walking around and seeing all of the different entries! As an added bonus "Hagrid" was there with an owl!

Nature school is still going strong! It's getting a little chilly but not bad at all, and it's so beautiful up there. I love having that time every week that we are just outside, and especially the sit spot time where it's quiet.

I had a fun idea for homeschool that was Halloweeny and spooky! I printed off these haunted houses and then let the kids color them and add whatever they wanted to them. Then, they had to write about their houses that they made as if they were a realtor selling the house. So they had to make all of the spooky things sound positive; like the wails of the ghosts will be a lullaby to you, etc. It was so fun and they were so creative! I absolutely loved it and want to do it next year too. Such a blast. Then they presented them to Rusty and Rusty had to choose which one he would buy. He said he'd buy all three because they were all so good. Afterwards we played Halloween charades!

One day we went to the park in Heber to do our schoolwork and we got lucky because a lady came by with her horse and let the kids feed her! Homeschool is so fun!

The Butterfly Biosphere was doing a cute Halloween activity one Friday night and I told the kids I'd take them, but then Bryndee invited me to go to a candlelit Taylor Swift concert at Thanksgiving Point that same night. So Rusty and Kyle ended up going to the Biosphere with the kids while Bryndee and I sneaked away for the concert. Afterwards we all met up for some fries and ice cream! The concert was really cool. It was very chill and mostly done by a string quartet. 

Trunk or Treat time! The kids decorated the trunk of Rusty's car to make it look spooky and then we put some candy in there in bowls. We had our chili dinner and treats and then the kids got to go around and get candy! They thought it was so much fun! And they made these little bat cupcakes to bring which was really fun too. For costumes this year Amelia wanted to be a princess, Della a cheerleader, and Henry a ninja.

For actual Halloween night we were in Logan at my parents' house. We had no home that night and the house wasn't ready. So we went up there and Rusty was able to meet us up there at the very tail end of our trick or treating. It was fun to spend it with my parents but definitely not idea to have Rusty away from us!

We had some visitors in the yard again! It really is the worst to not have a yard of our own, but having this big green space and having the deer come in so frequently is pretty cool. We love watching them from the pavilion.

Henry had some health things this month. He had that spot on his foot that started to get bigger and a red color. I took him to the doctor and they did an ultrasound on it and then later did an MRI. It turns out that when he dropped that knife on his foot before we left for Glacier he severed the tendon and it had balled up. We got a surgery set up for the end of the month, but I really didn't feel good about the surgeon. After I met with him I just cried and cried and felt like there's no way this guy can touch my kid- he had no idea what he was talking about. He asked ME what I thought the MRI showed. I was like, "Nah you can't come near my kid" haha. So I called and switched to a different one, but that meant we couldn't do the surgery until closer to the end of November. Worth it.

We went on a little family hike over by Dutch Fields. It's one of our go to places to get outside and we always see something new! This time Della was using a walking stick and somehow accidentally poked herself in the eye with it. So that wasn't great and I thought she was going to lose an eye. But she's fine.

I got a new car! I really did love my van but it couldn't make it up the hill in the winter to get to the new house. So we've been looking for a while and trying to figure out what would be best and landed on the Grand Highlander. It's bigger than a Highlander, but not as big as an SUV. Rusty went and picked it up and I love it!

I got to go mountain biking with Jessica! We went to a new place I'd never been before over by Kamas and it was so fun! The colors were really beautiful. And then afterwards we stopped and ate some Mexican food in Kamas.

I wasn't going to decorate for Halloween this year because we're moving at the end of the month. So I waited until about halfway through the month and then I decided that was stupid and it would bring me joy to decorate, especially because I bought some new decorations this year with my mom. SO I decorated and I didn't regret it. Even when I was packing up I still felt good about my choice haha.

ROY ATE MY WITCH'S BROOM

We didn't go anywhere cool to watch the solar eclipse, but we went outside and watched it from the yard! Rusty had the two older kids with him in Salt Lake for something (I can't remember) but Amelia and I watched it together and it was so cool. It got dark enough all the animals got quiet and the crickets started chirping again. SO COOL.

Extra Pictures:

Rusty mountain biking

Rusty accidentally poured beef broth in his cereal instead of milk haha

A super fun witch party at Katey Webster's house

Amelia in Beckie's dress

Playing charades

Reading with Gigi

I got to go to Dracula the ballet with my Mom!

I made these out of Amelia's handprints

Rusty and Wes dirtbiking

Henry's Highlights:

• He has started teasing me and Rusty and it's so stinking funny! When I make a weird sound he mimics it. Once he said, "Mom you know what? You make the gobble sound so much you should be a turkey for Halloween."
• He is trying so hard to be a good big brother. He played with Amelia on a hike pretending like he was a rocket ship and Amelia would count down 3, 2, 1 and yell BLASTOFF and he would take off down the trail. She had a great time and I was so proud of him.
• Henry worked so hard to memorize all of the rules to become knife certified for Nature School. He was so happy!
• Henry's in such a bad habit of always coming out of bed after bedtime. One night I told him that if he came out he'd have a consequence the next day. He stayed in his room and a while later he yells, "I HATE STAYING IN MY BED. I FEEL LIKE I'M IN A CAGE!"
• He loves singing in Primary!

Adeline's Adventures:

• Her song Mama Mia from her playlist came on and it starts quiet and she said, "I thought it was rockier" like more of a rock song haha
• Says "Don't you know" all of the time. She's trying to say like, remember when... but it sounds so mean haha.
• Told Grandma Julie that "Mom and Dad are in a place of romance" when we were in Mexico haha
• Favorite colors are "Fourth of July colors"
• She says, "I know, right?" in the most low, monotone voice it kills me
• She will talk to herself in the mirror for a long time
• Loves her friends in primary

Amelia's Updates:

• Saying prayers one night, she is naming people she's thankful for and then just stops and says, "And all somebodys names... I can't remember, I don't know. Ha ha". Speaking of prayers, she always starts with "Grateful for this prayer"
• On a walk and she is behind Rusty. She comes up and pokes him in the stomach and says, "Get out of the way, ya big weirdo!"
• She says, "That's not eh-ceptable!"
• Bailey got in the duck pond and I said, "Oh Bailey, that is so gross! You're going to be so gross in the car." And Amelia doesn't even miss a beat and looks up at me and says, "I guess Bailey's not our dog anymore."
• She was in bed with me one morning and I looked over and she was poking her eyes. I kept watching her because I was so confused and she looked at me and said kind of annoyed, "I'm playing an eye game Mom" and then used her pointer fingers to lift up her eyelids as high as she could haha