mexico: day 3

Kristina and Jeremy's family joined us on day 3 and we all drove out to Tulum to check out the ruins. We had really hyped it up that the tour guides were so good that it turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. We still enjoyed learning all the facts and the Mayan version is interesting but it was more fun hearing things with an LDS twist the first time. We pointed out a few of the things that we could remember, like the temple and the three gods. The temple and the watch tower on the cliff are still my favorite buildings. It is just so amazing the knowledge these people had. On the summer equinox the sun shines perfectly through one of the windows in the watchtower so they know what day it is. I wish our house did that.
There were lots and lots of iguanas here. They seemed to keep Keegan and Jameson entertained (for as long as anything can entertain a 2-year-old). This was a hard place for the kids; it was hot, all facts, and you couldn't touch anything. By the end of the tour we were very ready for some food and beach time.


Lunch was at the infamous Oscar and Lalo's but this time nobody ordered the fish platter, no fish heads on this trip. It totally redeemed itself and everyone was very satisfied.

mexico: day 2

On day 2 of our trip we went caving again. Only this time we had to wet-suit it up and swim. The cave is in its natural state and has no electricity so we also had to wear helmet flashlights. Our tour guide, Flavio, took an instant liking to Stephanie and spent most of the tour talking with her in the front. The rest of us found fun things to do though. Jared and Ali lovingly fought like true siblings and we had to break them up several times. It must be a baby of the family thing. Flavio tried to make it a soul-searching, renewing expedition but we were there to see some sights and have some fun. His meaning of life speech was very deep and touching but I was there to swim in a cenote. I think Jared's facial expressions say a lot. I have one crazy husband!

beautiful mexico: day 1

It will take me quite a while to finish this post since most of the pictures are with my mother, but I will do my best. The first non-travel day in Akumal we went to a cave adventure place called Aktun Chen. We had been there before on our last Akumal trip. The caves were interesting. It is always fun to experience something that we don't have close by at home. The caves had the clear beautiful cenote water, stalagmites/stalactites, and bats. It was interesting to learn how the Mayans thought of cenotes as sacred places. I can see why they thought that; it is so quite and serene. We learned that going down into a cenote was a form of cleansing yourself and if you came out alive it meant that you were a new person. I don't know if I'm "new" but it was fun.



Outside the cave we found some exotic birds, boars, deer, and monkeys. Although to our disappointment the monkeys no longer roamed free to grab your hand. It wasn't the most action-packed day but it was still fun. Plus being in the cave was like being in a sauna, so it was like going to a very low-key country club or gym.

the one we'd all been waiting for

Kristina and Jeremy finally tied the knot January 29. It was a really nice day. As far as I know everything turned out great. They both looked so happy and excited that it rubbed off on everyone else. It was also really fun to be back in the sealing room where Jared and I were married. It brought back such fond memories.

Of course the weekend was full of family fun and I even got to be right in the middle of a Layton vs Keegan throwdown. No one was hurt but I think everyone had tears of laughter streaming down their faces. Its times like these that I realize just how much I miss my family.

another wellness expo

This semester's wellness expo was huge. Over 600 people participated. That's a lot of checking fat levels and blood pressure. I stood there for 6 hours saying the same thing over and over until my boss sent me over to power the music by riding a bike for a little while. I'd rather repeat myself all day. It was fun and not too bad because I got some free samples and I was being paid to do it. But I was very glad to go home and get off my feet. Until next semester...


After attending USU for 5 years I finally got my picture taken with Big Blue. I'd have to say we're best friends now.

rosette kissing balls

I was in need of a new table centerpiece to match the season so I roped my friend MacKenzie into helping me. She gave me the idea and some company while I put this one together. The rosette balls are made from crepe paper and it took forever to make all of those little roses. It did give me something more productive to do. I just turned on an episode of something and starting crafting. Eight hours later I was finished. (I did break it up on several different days) I think it turned out better than I expected.

the holidays

Our very first Christmas as a married couple was great. We went to Durango, Colorado to spend it with the Ash family. Kim and Michael were there with their two girls Averi and Sienna. Having kids around always makes Christmas better. Jared wasn't able to get work off until Christmas eve, meaning we drove for 8 hours that day to get there in time. Christmas morning we woke up early to open all the presents. We got a lot of really great stuff (thanks Randy and Tammie). After presents it was time for breakfast and I was very pleasantly surprised to find that Tammie had made gooey rolls just to make me feel more at home. All that was missing was the orange julius, but it was still amazing without it. The rest of the week in Colorado was full of movies and relaxing. It was perfect. We even took Grandpa Dustin out to lunch for his birthday and so now I have been in New Mexico. One more state to cross off. And Colorado lived up to its snow hype. After the first few days with very little snow, it dumped. We woke up one morning and it was time to get out the shovels.
For New Year's we drove back to SLC to spend the evening playing at the salt palace. But with the extremely cold temperatures and tired little girls we avoided the outside and did as much as we could inside. There was a room full of balls to throw around, a room of blow-up activities, and then the planetarium down at the Gateway. We got some hot chocolate and cider and eventually ended up in the hotel waiting for it to be midnight. It was a lot of fun to hang out and make fun of celebrities that were on the tv. At midnight we all gathered in Randy and Tammie's room for fireworks only to find out we were on the wrong side of the building. Oh well, we watched them on tv.
It was an amazing week with the family and now we have to get back to real life.

*We actually made a nice Christmas video with a lot more pictures but it would not load to blogger in any format we tried so if you're curious you can go to Jared's MobileMe account to see it. http://gallery.me.com/jaredash#gallery