Remember: Envy is a sin.

(Julianne told me this is a common picture for people to take. So I took it. Plus, I know you're all dying to see my work tan-line around my ankles.)

The Bartletts were nice enough to let me tag-along with them to Cancun from December 19-24, 2010. It was amaaaaazing! After staying up all night to catch a flight to Atlanta at 12:50 AM and then having a 2 hour layover and getting into Cancun around 11 AM then having to break into my own suitcase, it was nothing but relaxation, food, and sheer bliss.

For some reason the hotel gave me this super sweet room/mansion complete with a shower the size of a cruise ship hotel room, a balcony that views the sunset, and private jacuzzi. That's the kind of luck that only happens to Kare and Curtis. I didn't spend a whole lot of time in it, but the sun would start to set around 4 PM and we'd get too cold on the beach so we'd go inside and change for dinner. I would get up to my room just in time to watch the sun set in my private hot tub. It was incredible.

We spent the first two days burying Ethan in the sand and building ancient ruins on top of him, playing scrabble, sleeping, and reading on the beach. (And NOT having to prepare our own meals).

I was trying to take pictures of the ocean and somebody got a little jealous of the attention and kept jumping in front of the lens. What a ham. You're welcome for not putting the cartwheel pictures up.

Then on Wednesday we took a trip to Tulum to see ancient Mayan ruins.

Then we went to Xel-Ha, the world's greatest natural waterpark. It's the place that all water parks try to emulate synthetically. It is the most beautiful and fun place I've ever been. We floated down a natural "lazy river" without man-made currents to move you along. I wouldn't exactly call it lazy because I had to swing from vines and branches to get moving. Then we jumped off cliffs into the water, tightroped, almost killed two guys, ziplined, fed brightly colored fish swimming around our feet, explored caves, and....Ethan and Bryce swam with dolphins! Hopefully they'll put some pictures up of that because it was crazy!

The water is so warm and clear enough to see fish everywhere without needing scuba equipment. It was so much fun! It was during this excursion that Ethan informed everyone they were moving to Mexico by floating down the Mississippi River, swimming across the Gulf of Mexico with a sledge hammer so they could build a house in Mexico, get new jobs, and learn Spanish because "it's freakin cold in America." I don't blame him. I had such a fabulous time I want to go back soon!

I was too busy enjoying myself to take a bunch of pictures, so there aren't very many with all of us actually posing (sorry Crissy). But I did take a few of the beautiful scenery so if you want to purchase them to put on your desktop or blow up and frame for your living room, each masterpiece runs for $1,111.

And here are a few other hidden treasures we came across on the trip...

I thought they gave me the luxury suite because the jets in the hot tub didn't work. But I learned that I hadn't filled it up with enough water. However, I did not learn how to turn them off. When the jacuzzi started draining out the jets shot water into the air and through the open glass door and got water all over the place. It was out of control and ridiculous. Instead of helping me figure out what to do, Julianne ran away to get the camera to commemorate the chaos. Luckily she didn't get the worst of it where I repeatedly got sprayed in the face. So there.

We were trying to take a video to make everyone jealous at home in the snow when these guys next to us had a few surprise guests...

And check out what I found at the Cancun aeropuerto, a Bubba Gump Shrimp Restaurant.

Thanks Mom and Dad for the sending me and Bartletts for letting me crash the party! I had such a great time!

P.S. Check out what Dad made mom for Christmas. How hilarious is he?

Barbies and Bracelets! Boogers and Bugs! Ice skating! Bungee Jumping!

Jaden and I decided to take Kaleb ice skating. They have been talking about going since the weather started to get cold and Jaden has been teaching Kaleb how to do it on the wood floors in their socks. So we decided to go last Saturday. I was excited to take Jaden because I knew he could do it and he was really looking forward to it. I was happy to take Kaleb because he wanted to go, because Jaden wanted to go. I also thought Kaleb was skillfully capable of ice skating, but he had to have the right attitude. We all know his timid personality in certain situations can be quite limiting. But I was hoping that because he thought he was so excited, it would be okay.

We went to McDonald's to get lunch and I clearly asked for boy toy happy meals and we ended up with two Hello Kitty watches instead. I was thinking, "oh great, just when I finally have Jaden convinced that ice skating isn't just for girls." They decided to give their watches to their mommy and Kare's new baby girls. (Although I heard that later that night they were both wearing the watches) Kaleb was getting a little sleepy and kept slapping himself while saying, "Wake up, Kaleb!"

On the way to the skating rink, Jaden and I were telling Kaleb that it's okay if we fall, how we learn when we make mistakes and when someone falls, we first ask if they are okay and then we all laugh. We were trying to prep him as much as possible. When we got to the rink and put on the skates, Jaden was teaching Kaleb how to walk around on the skates like a pro. Then we got to the ice. Jaden was surprised at how hard it was and grabbed onto me. Kaleb held onto me for dear life with both hands. I knew that there was no way I could keep both of them from falling, plus I knew Jaden could do it on his own once he got going, so I told him to stay close to the wall and grab on if he needed to. (Sorry, Jaden).

Then we got going around...slowly...very slowly...Jaden was doing okay, he fell quite a bit but put on a really good face for Kaleb. Poor Kaleb was scared out of his mind. He was doing a really great job, he was just super freaked out. It took us about 30 minutes to go around the first time and Kaleb never fell!

Then Kaleb and I sat down while Jaden skated back and forth in front of us. Kaleb did not want to go back out. I told him we needed to go around so Jaden could go again. We went back out but after a quarter of a lap, Kaleb was pretty upset, so I was just pulling him along. Jaden got ahead of us so I was trying to catch up, but then he circled back for us but passed us so I turned around to call for him, but as soon as I did that Kaleb fell for the first time and freaked out, then I turned to look back at Jaden and he was in tears saying he hurt his back. Then I decided I needed to come back with reinforcements next time.

I think they had some fun...I hope. But Jaden can skate by himself in small doses and Kaleb can skate holding one hand. He doesn't need the wall like he thinks he does because when people would be standing against the wall, we would have to go around without holding onto anything and he did it just fine! I have no video of Kaleb for the simple reason that he would not let go of me long enough to snap a picture, let alone take a video. But here are some of Jaden's wicked skills. He can now get up all by himself too, which Kare can attest to, in winter sports being able to stand up on one's own can be quite difficult.