Valentines Day and Mexico

Oh my goodness does Valentine's Day top the charts this year! That's because we were in sunny, warm Mexico!!! Remember when I told y'all about the trip my parents gave us all for Christmas?! Well, we finally took that trip. We left snowy Salt Lake City last Thursday for somewhere tropical. We had a layover in Houston...it was really too bad I couldn't take Ryan back to the house during that time to show him where my family used to/currently still lives. We arrived late that night in Cancun. The resort is beautiful but the beds are hard as rocks! Plus, most of us got stuck with two full beds instead of kings (Ry and I were in the full beds group). The resort had so many buffets and each night was a different theme. They also had restaurants you could get reservations at. Our last night there we went to the Mexican restaurant, La Hacienda. I ate SO much the whole trip! Friday we spent the day at Xcaret. It was awesome! We swam in an underground river inside of caves, took a nice boat ride, saw massive turtles, monkeys, dolphins, alligators, all kinds of fish....and many more things to name! Saturday we went to Chichen Itza. It was an all day affair. The bus ride was 2 and a half hours there and two and a half hours back! The ride was actually great though. We saw a lot of villages and it really made me grateful for what I have and realize I am truly blessed to live in this country. I couldn't imagine living the way that they do or raising a family in a place like that. Well, Chichen Itza was amazing. It's so interesting that these buildings are thousands of years old and they're still standing! I guess homes and buildings just aren't made like they used to be! We had a tour guide that walked around with us and told us literally everything he knew about the Mayan ruins for about an hour and a half. Then we had lunch at this great little hotel buffet and then had some time to ourselves to wander around and take pictures. On the bus ride home, we stopped at this underground swimming hole. You had to climb down inside - there were steps, but they were steep! It was like the movie Goonies for those of you that saw it. We could swim there if we wanted and then outside there were some little huts to shop in. Another stop we made was in a city that had this amazing old Catholic church. We finally made it back to the hotel and ate TONS! (just like every meal!) Sunday we went downtown to the market and shopped for a few hours. It was fun to barter with the people there, but honestly, I think they really try to rip off Americans. It seemed like so many things were more or just as expensive here! After shopping we headed back and spend the rest of the day at the beach laying out and snorkeling. I didn't really get into the ocean water...there's something about fish swimming around my feet (AND the enormous fear of sharks...which I know there weren't any...but STILL!) . I enjoyed that and the pool. It honestly was SO relaxing. Monday we got up early, 4:30 am. YES, that's right...I said 4:30 to catch our ride to the airport at 5:15. At the airport we shopped and ate at Bubba Gump Shrimp. Honestly, not very good. The food was cold and very small and expensive for breakfast. While shopping, my mom stocked up on drugs at the drug store. It's amazing what you can buy without a prescription. :) The trip was great and I enjoyed every minute of it. After coming back to the cold, I'm thinking about making Cancun a permanent residence. :)

Me and Ryan at Xcaret.

The group at Xcaret.

These turtles were gorgeous! AND incredibly LARGE!

Chichen Itza

One of the pyramids at the Mayan ruins.

Me and Ry at lunch at the buffet on the Chichen Itza tour.

The underground swimming hole.


At the beach.

Enjoying some yummy drinks before dinner at La Hacienda (yes, they're virgin).


Me and Ryan at the restaurant. HE wanted this picture. :)


While shopping at the airport in Cancun. Ryan's face is more appropriate. I shouldn't be smiling! Smoking kills!

Breakfast at Bubba Gump.