OLD married couple here.

It's 10:40 pm on New Year's Eve and I'm in my pajamas blogging. Wow. I need to explain for my posterity's sake. I'm SICK, people. I woke up Sunday feeling like a tractor ran over my throat, and it just keeps getting worse. Today I woke up unable to speak. I watched the entire 10th season of FRIENDS, and couldn't laugh without wanting to cry from the pain.
However, I believe this is a 'landmark' New Year's Eve for me. It's the first New Year's Eve since I was 12 that I didn't have fun and exciting plans. Or rather, I had to cancel our fun and exciting plans.
Oh and get this...my MOM actually had to get off the instant messenger with me because she had a party to go to?!! REALLY??!!!

We are definitely making up for this next year....Yeah, I'd better be in Paris!

nevertheless... HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

Makenna

Isn't she beautiful?
Look at the potential for our kids?


This is our niece. And I can't believe I haven't gotten to meet her yet. I just had to show this little beauty off!

Happy Christmas

I don't even know where to begin with what we have done over the past few days. Let me just start by saying it was the most fun ever! And guess what??!! I got zero pictures of it all. I'll just post images from google representing the activities in which we participated.

Christmas Eve: We spent ALL DAY long at the Concord Mills Outlet Mall. Got home, watched Family Man.

Love that movie.

At around 9pm we remembered that we were going to do something nice for one of our less fortunate neighbors. We wanted to leave one of those gift baskets with the beef log and cheeses on their front porch.

So we drove to every major grocery store within a 10 mile radius only to find that they were all closed. Except for WALGREENS!! Alas, NO BEEF LOG.

But they did have those popcorn bins, and who doesn't love getting those!!

So we pull up in this parking lot next to our neighbor's house, and I see him actually walking in this parking lot toward his home. I say to Spencer, "Hey, that's him!" And Spencer decides to stare at him. Which provokes this guy to throw up his arms and do that 'sweating us' motion with his body.

So Spencer just waves 'hi' at him

and continues driving in circles in the parking lot.

I was laughing so hard, I decided that it would be best if I remained in the car whilst Spencer continues to make the delivery. 10 minutes later...mission successful. The guy didn't shut his front door for that long, so Spencer just stood out front of his house all the while hoping the man doesn't come outside with a shotgun.

again....I was laughing too hard to help. Alas, the guy got his popcorn.

Christmas Day: Opened up presents from my mom! She is soooo awesome at gift giving. Spencer got some really nice clothes. And I got a beautiful scarf and new wallet.
This is how gift giving works with me and Spence. We budget out our money, split it in half, and go shopping together and just get what we want. Luckily Spencer likes to shop as much as I do, so we really have fun doing it that way.

After the morning festivities we headed over to our friends house for a great afternoon!! She cooked HOME MADE Italiano!! We had Meatballs, Eggplant Parmesan, Lasagna, and we brought the pumpkin pie. It was so amazing.

Since we were enjoying 70 degree weather here, we decided to work it all off with the funnest game on the planet!

LADDER GOLF

You throw these golf balls that are connected by a rope and try to lasso them around these different levels. If you wrap it around the top level: 3 points, middle level: 2 points; bottom level: 1 point. You play til 21. It ROCKS!!

1st place: Spencer
2nd place: Michelle
3rd place: Yours truly
4th place: Jason
5th place: Mike

I demand a rematch. The winner's bracket wasn't organized very efficiently. I actually won just as many games as Spencer.

Then on to more games inside.
Speed Scrabble:

Pretty sure I dominated that one.

Wii trivia: Teams of men vs. women. It came out pretty even, although Michelle and I brought it in the end!!


We are so grateful to have such wonderful friends here! We really had a great day. And hope all of you did too!

Stick this

Today was my first lesson in driving my non automatic vehicle.

Holy free movie screenings Batman!

This

and this

ARE SO AWESOME!!

Benjamin Button really deserves every award it is nominated! Cate Blanchett has always been in my top 5 of favorite actresses, but she blew it out of the water with this movie! She is truly AMAZING! And the cinematography was outstanding!
and
Valkyrie is gripping from the very beginning til the very end!

Should I be embarrassed that every night this week except for Mon and Tues I have gone to a movie screening, and I am on my way right now to see Four Christmases?

Mas Cabo

Here is Jeanette serving. She is so awesome at water volleyball. I think she served like 15 in a row, gave about 4 facials at the net, and blocked all of the big men in the middle. We LOVED having you on our team Jeanette!!


Wow, I think this was the most Matt and I touched each other, other than the occasional headlock.....Oh and when I had gone 9 hours without getting my hair wet, and right when Im getting out of the pool to go inside, he throws me under. But look, we DO love each other!!





This was such a great end to one of the best days. Eating a good mexican buffet dinner right on the beach after exerting our bodies kayaking and parasailing.
This is us painting our ceramic geckos by the pool. We each painted geckos for my mom's garden at home, and then we did our own. Except Spencer painted a bowl for his guacamole dip. I think Matt may be expecting.


I think there are more pictures of us eating than there are of doing actual physical activities, but I promise....we did do more than just eat. It's just that the food was always so pretty!

I do like this picture, but don't I look hairy??

There were really pretty flowers in the bathrooms.

Viva Los Cabos!!

So many pictures I love.....NOT on my camera.

I'll post the ones I like from my camera today, and as soon as some of my peeps.....(JEANETTE).... email me the ones from her camera, I will be satisfied with the completion of my Mexico musings.

SO MUCH FUN!!! 2 full weeks of beach volleyball, intense ping pong, kayaking the Sea of Cortez, parasailing, EATING, water volleyball, all you can eat buffets, pacific sunsets, barking geckos, and last but not least...Mexican Bingo.

This is our resident gecko endearingly named Juanito.

Did you know that geckos bark, and ONLY between the hours of midnight and 6 am??


Me and Jeanette. She rocks.
This is the day after Matt and Jeanette arrived. We had already been there for 5 days. I refused to take any pictures until I had a nice tan. Jeanette called that vain. I call that "Prior Preparation Prevents Poor [Picture taking]."


Matty and my mom
The ping pong was intense and so fun. We did a tournament of the family. I won. This must be a shot from the loser's bracket. ;) The only person I couldn't beat was Miguel, the Activities Director, who gets paid to play this game 8 hours every day for the past 7 years.

this is Miguel (on left) and Carlos. They work the Activities center. They have my dream job. Getting paid to do beach volleyball, water volleyball, water aerobics, ping pong...all day long every day.

The food.
Isn't it beautiful? (the food, not Spencer's hairy chest)

I just love this picture of Jeanette

This is one of the many buffets at Le Nao. (LOL...I LOVE my mom's face in the background)
This is my family and me surrounding the dessert portion of the buffet. (our favorite)

Spence and myself
This is the incredible Christmas tree in the main lobby.

This is dinner at The Bistro at sunset. INCREDIBLE view.
The men
The women


On Sunday after going to the Christmas devotional at a church building close by,

we went to this awesome italian restaurant in town. Ed, our escort, bought us ladies these beautiful roses.

The sunrise

The sunset

What is so awesome about where we stay is we get to see both the sunrises and sunsets, because we are at the very southern most tip of the Baja Peninsula. We get both sides!!

Me
This is on our balcony. right on the beach, ....yeah, I know.


And here we come to the section of black and white photos. We didn't look at the setting of our camera before we started snapping. Of course, it had to be the day of kayaking and parasailing. But at least the video is in color.
This is Spencer doing his 'Daniel Craig-James Bond' strut.
hotness.

I highly recommend kayaking, but only on rivers and streams. I'd rather go back to 3 adays for college volleyball then kayak the Sea of Cortez anyday.
On Lover's Beach.

This was HILARIOUS!!
Matt had climbed over to these rocks, and was imitating/tormenting this pelican for about 15 minutes. I was awaiting tragedy. Turns out pelicans are pansies.

AND THIS WAS AWESOME!! PARASAILING!!!

AHHHH...back to color

After we kayaked back to the main land and RESTED from that feat of strength and endurance, we carbo loaded here for dinner.

The next night Spencer, Matt, JZ and I went over to Cilantro's at Blanco resort for a fiesta!

This is Spencer knocking the junk out of a pinata.

Let me explain this one:

Matt is called on stage with 2 other men. Other men get tequila down there throats that Matt had refused. Then each man had to put a handful of ice in his mouth, then sing "La Cucaracha" while dancing. The winner left with free drink coupons.

go matt.


Mom and me
This is at the beach in front of our resort.

This is the activity pool. There will be more pictures of pool volleyball and water aerobics when my peeps (JEANETTE) come thru with the pics.

Here is one of the water aerobics pics after Matt & JZ left. You can't tell, but I was laughing sooooo hard I was about to puke. The guy with the beard on the left. His name is Mitch. One of the funniest people I have ever come across. We left with a ton of "Mitch quotes".

The morning of our departure.

The afternoon of our departure overlooking the vastness of peace, beauty and tranquility.

See you again in 2 months Cabo!!