Monday, December 26, 2011

We Did It!

Well we made it through out super busy Christmas weekend! Also it didn't go too bad. God had some mercy on us and allowed for the curse of the fussy evenings to be lifted for at least the weekend. Maybe we just made it through that stage, but I kind of doubt it.

Here are a few pictures from our first Christmas morning as our little family! Please ignore my pj's and general lack of caring what I look like at 7 in the morning.



Evelyn wasn't all that impressed by presents. Next year should be different. At least by then she will be impressed by unwrapping things and playing with boxes. That's a step up from this year!

A couple of things I've learned this first Christmas with a kid of my own.

1) We will never have to buy our kids toys. Everyone one in our family will take care of that. Evelyn already has more toys then she could ever want and she doesn't even play with any of them yet.

2) I need to be 10x's better about taking pictures! I never have been that good about taking pictures, but now that we have a kid I would really like to have the events of her life documented.

3) That being said about the picture taking, make sure you take those pictures early! Otherwise the brand new onesie that cost way to much money will only get worn once before being ruined by an explosive diaper! (Still crossing my fingers and hoping I can get the stain out. I'm trying my darnedest.)

4) You will completely miss your child after spending a family filled weekend with them. I don't think I held Evelyn for more than 5 minutes (not counting when I was nursing) the whole weekend.

5) Exhausting weekends lead to exhausted babies. While exhausted babies can be a pill to get to fall asleep, once they are out they're out for a long time. Got 7 hours Saturday night! No complaining here!

Now I will leave you will a completely adorable picture of Evelyn & her cousin Drew! (The only one I got of her in her adorable Christmas tutu.)



MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Changes: Part 3

Hey look I've made it back. Obviously not the same week, but only 10 days from the last time I posted. I'd say that's pretty good.

I said I wanted to write some more of the changes and struggles I'm dealing with. Honestly after the last time I wrote things started to get better. Evelyn was sleeping longer stretches and going down at night just fine. Well last week about this time things took a drastic turn for the worst. Slowly they are getting better. Only as long as Evelyn is sleeping in bed with us (yes I know you shouldn't do that, but I'm desperate) or sleeping in her swing. Sigh...I don't know how we will ever get her to sleep in her room.

Yesterday though I made a decision. I could either sit and wallow and cry about how much harder this parenting thing is than I thought it would be. Or I could pick myself up and be happy for even just the 15 minutes of napping I could get out of Evelyn. (I forgot to mention she wasn't napping either.) Surprisingly I got a 2.5 hour nap out of her yesterday afternoon. After 3 days of no napping besides 30 minute bursts it was glorious. I just kept telling myself, "Even if I just get 10 more minutes, I'm going to be grateful instead of mad that she didn't sleep long enough." While I'm not expecting that to happen everyday, it was a nice break and I repeatedly thanked God for it.

I'm also trying to make sure I spend time praying when I get those few spare moments to myself. Even if I have loads of other things that I could be getting done I've just realized that I've really been neglecting my relationship with God lately & it's having a negative effect on my outlook on things. So I'm hoping that will keep my spirit encouraged so that I can weather this season of my little ones life.

Now for something I'm very Thankful/Joyful about. Right now my husband is on his way to a job interview. He's had a few of them the last couple of weeks & we're just holding out and trusting that God will give him a job by the end of the month.

Right now the baby is waking up so I'd better be done. Maybe I'll write again next week. We'll see!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Changes: Part 2

So it's been 5 days shy of a month since I wrote about giving birth to Evelyn. I laugh at the last paragraph that says maybe I'll write again that week. Unfortunately getting time to sit and collect my thoughts enough to compose a blog post with all the other responsibilities I have is pretty lacking. This morning though I woke up before the baby and I'm letting her have another 20 minutes of sleep before I awake her to eat and start the day. So needless to say this will be brief.

My beautiful baby will be 8 weeks old in just 2 days! Time really has flown by. But for some reason in the moment it all just seems to drag and feel impossible. As though it will never end. Especially when there is a cranky baby involved.

I love my daughter with all that is left of my heart after you minus the love I have for My Savior, Jesus, and my husband. I love her, but sometimes I want to give up. This has been my struggle lately.

I know part of it is hormones and I know part of it is sleep deprivation. Another part is the enormous stress of waiting on God to lead Nick to a job. I think most of it though is that I wasn't better preparing myself through prayer and leaning on God before this monumental change happened in my life.

I thought I knew how to trust God. I thought I knew how to trust Him even in hard times. Boy was I wrong. Lately it seems like when things don't go exactly how I've been praying they go I jump to accusing God of not caring and maybe not even existing anymore. Even as those thoughts come to my mind or roll off my tongue I realize I'm completely wrong, but still part of me wants to believe it. Part of me is holding on to the notion that if indeed God doesn't care or doesn't exist then it means everything will be easier to handle, I won't have the extra pain of feeling let down on top of everything else.

Even as I write this out I realize how absurd I sound and how flawed my logic has been the last few weeks. It's almost laughable. I keep eventually (after Evelyn finally falls asleep or I finally decide to forgive Nick after a fight) coming back to God grovelling and asking forgiveness for even letting those doubts cloud my view of Him. He's forgiving and refreshes my spirit. I wish I allowed that to work longer than I do, but I'm trying.

Evelyn is starting to wake up and fuss. Guess she has different ideas than me. At least I got 15 minutes more, I can let the other 5 go.

I'm hoping to be able to get on later this week and finish writing about my struggles and some of my joys! You saw how well I did of that the last time though. So I wouldn't hold your breath. I'm just shooting for getting back sooner then last time. One month is a big window!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Changes

I have been MIA from the blogging world as of late. I have a good reason though!


See I had a very good reason!

Evelyn Darcy was born October 11th at 10:19am. After going to the Doctor on the 10th and then having contractions all day I still wasn't expecting to meet my daughter the next morning. I woke up in at 1:15am on the 11th having to go pee, which was typical. I went back to bed and before I fell asleep I felt weird. I got up and rushed back to the bathroom. Then it happened, my water broke. It was totally unexpected and a little terrifying. I thought I was ready for having her, but I really wasn't. So we rushed to the hospital and I was admitted and settled in my labor & delivery room by 2:30am.

On the way to the hospital my contractions really started. I had no idea the pain I was in for. I had wanted to do everything naturally without any drugs. I did, but I wished I would have had an epidural. The experience was pretty traumatic with the amount of pain I was in. I wish I could have enjoyed her birth a little more. I guess I know for next time.

We stayed in the hospital for 2 days and then headed home. It's very surreal taking your baby home. It's almost like you can't believe you're allowed to keep her. They just let you leave the hospital with this perfect little baby. That drive home really changed everything.

Hopefully either later this week or sometime next week I can write more about adjusting to having Evelyn home & the responsibilities of mommyhood. We'll see though, my time to just get things done is pretty sporadic!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

The Waiting Game

So I'm 38 weeks pregnant today. So basically that means I have no more than 2 weeks (give or take) till I get to see my daughter face to face. So right now I'm stuck in limbo waiting.

I keep jumping between wanting her to just get here tonight and hoping she never comes out so that I don't actually have to go through labor. One moment I just wish labor would start or my water would break. Then the next moment I'm anxious and happy I don't have to give birth quite yet.

Now don't get me wrong I've thought of the fact that birth will hurt many times through out the whole pregnancy. I even thought about it (at least briefly) before we ever even started trying to get pregnant. That doesn't mean that I'm not starting to get a little worried the closer it all gets.

I just have nothing to compare the pain of childbirth to. I've never broken a bone. I've had stitches a few times, but I honestly don't remember any of that being all that painful. The closest I even come to feeling that amount of pain is the 2 cervical biopsies I have had in the last couple years. But I have a feeling those don't at all compare.

I'm hoping to do it all without any pain meds. Hoping! That makes it all a little more daunting, but overall I feel that is the best option for me and the baby. I'm hoping I still feel like that when I'm the throws of a painful contraction.

So I sit here waiting. Counting down the days, the hours, the minutes until the pain begins. Which means I spend a lot of my time praying for God to have labor start soon and also to help me cope with the pain when it does arrive.

I've never been a very patient person, so that just magnifies everything. It makes the waiting game seem even more unbearable.

I'm just taking every day one hour, one minute or (sometimes) one second at a time.


This also makes it hard to wait. Look how darn cute she looks. I can't wait to meet her!


Thursday, September 8, 2011

Ready for a Change

For once in my life I'm actually ready (as much as I can be) for the change that awaits me in the next few weeks.

In 6 weeks (or less) I will have a baby turn my world upside down. Her long anticipated arrival will come with both change and, I'm hoping after life settles a bit, a sense of normalcy.

Ever since finding out I was pregnant it seems as though my life has been all over the place. Things keep creeping up that I'm not sure how to handle or how to cope with all of time. I'm not in a very good routine at the moment. Meaning that my daily/weekly routine seems to be ever changing. Which as the planner that I am, I can't stand. I know that this is God's way of teaching me to let it go when things don't go as I planned, it's still a daily struggle for me.

While I am slightly worried by the fact that I'm getting overwhelmed by my daily life and the baby is still safe inside of me, I can't help but feel that peace is one the horizon. I'm striving my hardest to lay my worries, anxieties and all of the things I'm clinging tightly to that I know I can't handle at the foot of the cross. This is my daily battle of letting go. And if you know anything about me it's that I'm Terrible (With a capital "T") at letting things go.

Everyday, especially right now, is a reminder that without God and His support I can not accomplish anything!
* * * * * *

On a separate note. Fall is here! At least my fall decor is out and the weather has cooled down for the time being. I thought it would be nice to celebrate the coming of fall with a change to my background. I love the colors and design. It (like my previous one) is from The Cutest Blog on the Block . They have few cute fall designs and many other cute designs to choose from. So far they are one of the best free blog template designers I've found.

So here's to Fall!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Fulfillment

I worry a lot about what other people think of me. I have for the majority of my life. It has held me back at times, but also kept me from making a fool of myself at other times. Sometimes it's meant that I keep from doing something I love for fear of being judged. Other times it's kept me from being completely fulfilled in my life.

Not anymore!

Two weeks ago on August 10th was my last day of work. I am officially a homemaker and soon to be stay-at-home mom. When telling my in-laws for instance that I no longer was working my stomach jumped and felt a twinge of worry of how they'll view me. They always knew I was going to stay home once the baby was born, but I don't think they thought I'd be through with work so soon.

My mother-in-law had my husband and 6-8 weeks later was back at work and probably wishing she could have gone back sooner. While I don't necessarily agree with that mentality; I have the feeling that a mother's place is at home raising her children. I try no to judge those who don't think that way and I hope not to be judged back for my views.

I can already tell though that I am going to be the most fulfilled I've ever been staying at home taking care of my husband, child and household. I'm excited to be starting this new stage of my life. One where I feel like I'll be better focused on the things I should be and being better at keeping everything in the correct balance.

God had blessed me with specific gifts and talents and they are best suited to a homemaker. I draw joy from these things. It's just wonderful to actually be able to live out what I feel God has always made me for.

Still in the back of my mind I worry about being judged by the outside world. I'm trying to put aside that fear of unexpectedness and draw strength from the truth that this is exactly where God wants me. This is my calling from Him. Now I just can't wait till I have my baby girl home with me!

Monday, July 11, 2011

Struggling to Trust God

So our lives have been a whirlwind so far this year. We found out we were pregnant in February after trying for only a month. Shorty thereafter Nick & I started praying for a sign of whether or not Nick should stay at his currant job. We both saw it as a dead end job that he was starting to not enjoy only a year and a half after starting working there.

In April Nick was told after putting in overtime since the beginning of the year, never missing a deadline, that he didn't seem willing to put in what was necessarily to meet deadlines. All because he needed to leave one day, without putting in any overtime, because he had plans with me. He was told this, on a Friday, that he had the weekend to figure out if he was gonna resign or give them a reason why they shouldn't fire him. We both prayed and discussed it the whole weekend. We eventually came to the conclusion that this was God saying, "It's time to leave, I have something better for you, you need to trust Me." We both felt completely at peace about the decision for Nick to quit.

Fast forward and many, many job applications filled out, meeting with recruiters and just a couple of phone interviews Nick still doesn't have permanent work. God was gracious and looking out for us though and Nick is working temporarily on base till the end of September. We have yet to have a month were we've struggled financially at all and that truly has been because of God's provision.

Nick has the amazing ability to just trust God, wholly and without question. I live my life waiting for the floor to drop out from under me. I know that God is good and He takes care of His people, but I also know that life on this earth is not easy and we shouldn't expect it to be. I just struggle with when God does something amazing for me, like answering my prayers for a baby, feeling it's just inevitable that something bad will also happen.

I've always struggled with being a pessimist. I miss out a lot on the great things that God has done, because I keep waiting for life to just get hard. Being married to Nick has really caused me to trying to work on that. He's such an optimist that I feel very spiritually inferior to him sometimes. I feel also that my pessimism brings him down.

This all has been a constant struggle for me while waiting for God's timing and God's guiding Nick to a new job. It's not all working like I initially thought it was going to. I thought that God wanted Nick to leave his old job because within weeks He'd have him set up in a new job. God's forcing us to trust Him. I'm willing to, but it doesn't mean I'm any less scared.

This verse has always been my hope when I'm having trouble trusting God.


Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Completely Exhausted

This holiday weekend was not the least bit restful. Though it was a wonderful weekend and I had lots of fun I could have used some down time. Hopefully next weekend is quiet.

On Friday night Nick and I went with my parents and my niece Drew to her VBS wrap-up event. Drew had tons of fun. She sang her VBS songs and showed us the actions.

Saturday night they were doing the large fireworks display at a local lake. We weren't planning on going, but changed our minds when my mom invited us to join them and her good friend Lorie. It ended up being a very fun night.

Sunday was a busy day of going to church and getting things done around the house. Then around 4 we headed to a friend's 3rd of July Party. It was a fun evening. Lots of bugs, but fun.

Then finally last night we went to my Aunt & Uncle's for their annual 4th of July party. It was fun as it always is. Good food, good fireworks, good drinks, but I can't partake. A good weekend, but like I say far from restful.

On top of the craziness of this weekend being packed with activities I've also been internally dealing with a spiritual issue with a dear friend of mine. This has been culminating for over a year now and has been addressed 2 times before to no avail. My other dear friend and I are going to address the matter again, this time hoping the seriousness of the issue is felt. Sometimes I don't understand the workings of God & sometimes it's really hard to allow Him to use me as He sees fit. Especially when I am facing losing a close friendship. Though I'm confident in what God wants me to do, it doesn't really make it any easier.

I also am struggling with this whole being patient and waiting till October to see my baby. I'm tired of being pregnant already. It's not as though it's been hard, because honestly I've had a really easy pregnancy. It's more to do with the fact I just want to hold my baby in my arms. I still also struggle with the irrational fears of the baby just dying, especially when I don't feel her move for a couple of hours. I'm such a pessimist.

I've just been feeling an overwhelming weight on top of me. I think that's why I feel so completely exhausted right now. I'm stressed and overwhelmed and that's leading to being a bit depressed. It's always been a struggle for me when I get this way to find a way out of it. My plan is to lean on God completely and allow Him to take the reigns. I've gotten too confident in my own ability to handle things lately and I think that's why I feel so out of control. But I'm at the point where I concede yet again to God that I can't do anything without Him!

Friday, July 1, 2011

I'm Melting!

Lately it's been obnoxiously hot here in Lincoln. Yesterday it got above 100 degrees! Today it's only 8:25am and it's already 81 degrees with the forecast predicting 96 as our high. Not fun for me currently being in my 6 month being pregnant. It just means I have spent almost all of this week in the house in the cool air condition. Thank the Lord for working air condition!

Since last blogging, which I honestly can't believe it's been so long, a lot has happened on the baby front. I started feeling our little one moving at about 16 weeks. Just little flutters and soft thumping. Now though it's ridiculous sometimes how much the baby is moving around. My stomach jumps and moves as the baby wiggles and kicks in there.

Also we found out just a couple of weeks ago if we are having a girl or a boy. (It was really hard not to use gender specific pronouns in that last paragraph!) I went to the ultrasound pretty positive we were having a boy. I didn't know why, but I just had a feeling. But I was wrong! We're having a beautiful little girl. I'm so excited. I've always wanted a baby girl to dress up in cute little clothes and bows or flowers in her hair.

She's already a cutie!

The doctors say our little girl is healthy and doing good. She has Nick's long legs already. So I'm already readying myself for the day when she'll tower over me.

Besides all of that everything has been pretty quiet around our house. Nick's working out on base full-time for the next few months, which leaves him coming home pretty drained every night. It will be nice to have a long weekend together even if it is filled with lots of different obligations.

Praying you have a fun and safe 4th of July!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

News Flash!

So I've been pretty absent for awhile. Mostly it's been because I've been not wanting to tell the blogging world something that has taken captive of my whole life. A couple of time I tried to write without mentioning anything, but found I had absolutely nothing to say. Like I said this has completely taken captive of my entire life!

So here it goes. Here's the big NEWS FLASH.....

WE ARE HAVING A BABY!

So there it is. It's off my chest and it feels great! Yesterday was the start of my 2nd Trimester being pregnant so I'm ready to let the blogging world know now. Hopefully this will mean I will be a little bit better about blogging more often. But I can honestly say that till at least October I will only really talk about being pregnant and then after October I will probably only talk about my baby. Just so you're forewarned.


Baby May 7 weeks 5 days

Our little jelly bean is due October 19th. So far I've had a pretty easy pregnancy. Besides being extremely tired and occasionally nauseated my first trimester was pretty carefree. I'm starting to get some energy back and my stomach muscles now can't hold in my pooch so I look like I'm showing, but I'm not really yet. I'm pretty elated!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Stuck In Bed

So I'm not feeling the best. I started to not feel that great Thursday morning. I work up with a sore throat and tried to ignore it. Then it turned into a stuffy nose that made it hard to sleep Thursday night.

Friday morning I was starting to feel better. Still stuffy, but I didn't "feel" sick. I'm afraid I over exerted myself though. For one thing I stressed myself out by driving to Omaha with Briana to shop. I really don't like driving in Omaha. The people drive too fast and follow too closely and I don't know the city well enough to feel comfortable. We shopped from 11:30-3:30 and it was tons of fun. I only had an hour at home with my husband to eat dinner and get ready to go to First Fridays downtown. (First Fridays is when on the first Friday of ever month all of the art studios and galleries in downtown Lincoln are open to the public. It's a lot of fun) First we started at our friend Spenser's showing at the UNL student union. Then we made our way to our friend's studio opening.

That is when we should have called it a night, but we didn't. Instead we went to our friend Trevor's 21st birthday party. We only went out with them till midnight. But honestly I was starting to feel sick again by 10:30. We got home went straight to bed and I knew that waking up the next morning was gonna stink.

I got up for work yesterday morning at 7:30. Leaving me about 45 minutes to pull myself together. I barely made it through work. I tried to be energetic and excited, but honestly I was only thinking about getting off work, going home, crawling into bed and cuddling up with Nick's laptop.

So that is what I did all afternoon yesterday. I'm still here now. At least today I feel like I have a bit more energy then yesterday. I can also breath better than yesterday. I'm just hoping I feel much better by the time I have to be to work tomorrow afternoon.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

No More Wrinkly Hands

Since last Thursday I have been washing dishes by hand. Our ancient dishwasher which hadn't been working well for the last few months finally decided to die on us. Which though an inconvenience was kind of a positive thing, because it meant we had to get a new one now instead of waiting.


Our Sad Broken Dishwaher

Wasn't it a beaut! Circa 1989, ha.


So last Saturday we drove up to Omaha to Nebraska Furniture Mart. We first looked at a few places here in Lincoln, but we knew we could find something cheaper there. Also it was an excuse to go to Nebraska Furniture Mart. I've never been there, but always wanted to. It's huge! But anyways. We looked and the one we got was actually the 2nd one we saw. It was being discontinued so it was quite a bit on sale. Plus it was stainless steel which is what I wanted.

Nick started the install process Monday night while I was at work. But he didn't get very far, because getting the old dishwasher out was more of an ordeal then he anticipated. And he needed a part. So for another day I had to wash dishes by hand. This time though I had to boil what because our hot water was turned off to the sink! It wasn't that bad though. It felt like I was camping.

The Hole.

All of the dishes I washed with water I boiled on the stove. It took awhile.

Last night Nick was able to install the new dishwasher. His dad dropped off the part he needed in the afternoon so Nick had everything he needed. It took him awhile, but he finally got it. So now there is no more washing dishes by hand. Except for my nice pots that is.

Here it is. All new and shiny.

I think it looks great!

I know I said I wasn't going to post on Wednesday, but because of this crazy storm we've had here in the Midwest I didn't have to nanny today. But I still have to teach gymnastics so I'm off to get ready.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Scratch That...

Well upon examining my cupboards I have come to realize I won't be baking. I'm completely out of brown sugar and quite low on both flour and white sugar. Well darn I guess the baking will have to wait till I can get to the store Thursday.

Snow, Snow, Snow

It's quite snowy outside and that's probably an understatement. After braving the roads last night for the first night of gymnastics I was glad that today I would get to just stay at home.

Today is one of those kind of days where you want to just wrap up in a blanket, read a good book and sip hot coffee all day. Unfortunately today and Thursday are my only days this week to get any house work done. And since I have errands to run Thursday today becomes my day to clean and pick up.

When it snows like this I wish I still had the hopeful eagerness I had as a child whenever it would snow. Because even though I was home schooled if public school got a snow day my mom would usually let me get by not doing as much schoolwork so that I could play with my friends. So every time there was the least bit chance for snow I would pray for a snow day.

Snow days always meant hanging-out with my best friend Caitlin (We're still best friends to this day). Her family had a fire place so on snow days the fire was always going. We'd play in the snow then come inside and sip hot cocoa in front of the fire. Lots of times we got to bake something or make snow ice cream. Caitlin's mom usually made us help her with some chores everyone once and awhile, but mostly we just got the day to play.

Now snow days just mean that I'm stuck at home so I should use my time wisely. The only thing similar to my childhood snow days is that I still love to bake when it's snowy outside. Something about having a home filled with the smell of yummy baked things on a snowy days just seems right.

I'm off to do that now. Dust then bake!

Monday, January 31, 2011

The Snow Hasn't Killed Me Yet!

Well I'm still here! It's been absolutely forever since I've really posted regularly or really even since I've posted at all. It's bad weather outside and I'm stuck in the house till gymnastics tonight so I thought I'd catch up a bit.

Here I thought January would be quiet since I didn't have to teach gymnastics at all. Just the opposite. I had one week of working only Wednesday right after we got back from Mexico. But the other woman who nannies the kids I watch Wednesdays had to go out of town to visit her sick father. So I picked up her days. Which meant one week I work Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Then the following week I worked Tuesday and Wednesday. Yes I know it's really not that much more, but I was quite looking forward to getting things done around the house during that time off from gymnastics.

Something exciting did happen that crazy week of nannying a ton. Inspiration finally stuck again after at least a year of being absent. While watching a Barbie Princess movie with the little girl I watch I got an idea for a book. So I began scribbling out an outline and it came very easily. The next day I actually started to write. I was so surprised by how excited I was to keep going. I hadn't been actively writing in so long that I had forgotten the feeling of not wanting to stop because you just wanted to get to the next part of the story. I'm just praying this inspiration and drive to write keeps with me. I'm great at starting books, but I can't tell you how many I've lost drive on and let fall to the wayside.

I'm going to make a point to blog everyday this week except Wednesday. Nick has drill this weekend so that should make it easier since I'll have all weekend alone. Here's to trying!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Last Week Sand, This Week Snow

Sorry this will be a long post because there are lots of pictures!

Last week Nick and I went to Mexico with Nick's parents and younger sister. We stayed at an all-inclusive resort called El Cozumeleno Beach Resort. Overall it was a great trip. Getting there we had a few bums in the road, but we never missed a flight and were in Cozumel by about 2 in the afternoon which left a whole afternoon of enjoying the sun.


Nick and I the first day. We headed straight to the beach.


Day 2, we just spent the day on the beach.


This was our set up underneath a thatch umbrella.

We enjoyed sitting sitting on the beach having people bring us drinks. We befriended one of the waitresses. We think her name was Alma she was very nice. She probably enjoyed our tips more than anything, but still it meant great service and strong drinks towards the end. I wish I would have gotten a picture with her, but oh well.

The view from the 2nd floor elevator area.

View of our resort from the pier.

On the third day we were there Nick's dad rented a jeep and drove to the other side of Cozumel Island. On the way we stopped at the San Gervasio Mayan Ruins. It was interesting, but it was towards the end of the day so I was just tired and kind of hot. There were a lot of Iguanas there though so I got a couple pictures.

Nick and I with some ruins behind us.

This tree was growing in the midst of these ruins, right out of the rocks. It looked pretty cool.

The iguanas would come out to sun themselves, but if you got too close they would hurry back into their holes in between the stones of the ruins.


On our 4th day there we took a bike tour to the Marina in the morning. It was kind of hot that day, but it wasn't too far of a ride and it was nice to see the big boats all docked.

Aren't our vests fabulous!?


The view from where we stopped and headed back.


Our last day was pretty laid back. Nick's parents and sister went on a snorkel tour and so we went into San Miguel to do some shopping. We got some good deals on t-shirts and gifts for my niece and the kiddos I nanny. We also found some really cheap Kahlua so we had to get some. After shopping we headed back to the resort to enjoy our last day on the beach relaxing. It was nice to spend one last day doing nothing.

Nick's favorite part of the trip.

We came home to cold weather and then Sunday and Monday it snowed all day. I wish I was back in Cozumel sitting on the beach!

The view out of the dinning room windows.

View from the living room.

All in all it was a wonderful trip and I'm so thankful Nick's parents wanted to take us. But it's always nice to be home. Especially since I had started to miss my kitties. The only downside of traveling is the enormous amount of laundry I now I have to do! I'm not a fan of laundry. At least I only work one day this week so I've got plenty of time to do it. Now if only I could get motivated so that I actually start doing it!