Good to go.... Good to come back!

Isn't that how it always is? You count down the seconds to leaving, to having that perfect vacation to "get away" from the crazy life, the KIDS, the EVERYTHING so you can RELAX and let go of all RESPONSIBILITIES and then when you are FINALLY there you are almost doing the same thing to come home, to get back to "that crazy life", to hang with your kids, to doing EVERYTHING you left behind. WHY IS THAT? It's not right! (Or is it?)

Not to say we didn't have an ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL TIME, because WE DID! It is just so nice to be back. To be perfectly honest, we actually MISSED OUR BOYS! A LOT!

Here are just a few of the 100 or so pictures we took on our little 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY excursion to CANCUN (actually Playa) MEXICO! We've been home for over a week now, it about time we get this posted.

As is typical on many of our previous Mexico trips, here are a couple things we are usually greeted with:

This sign was posted on the shuttle that took us to our resort: (we're tourists so of course we took a picture)

If you can't read it, it says:
Dear Client, Please take all your BELON GINGS when you leave the vehicle.......

Seriously, this is not the only time we have seen things like this. (This one is not so bad) You'd think that because of all the tourists, they would actually have someone edit the translation. Oh well, makes for cheap entertainment.

Then... this is one of many. These are EVERYWHERE!

A place inside the resort we thought was lovely
Chess anyone? (this was for Tracen)
This is what we found while shopping in one of the market places in town. Such cute LITTLE guys.

We went on several excursions as well.

We visited the Mayan ruins of Tulum...

The view in Tulum:


And look who we found there.

You go to the other side of the world only to run into your neighbors. What are the odds?! It was really great to see you there Mike and Elise.

Another friend??

We then went to XEL-HA which was AWESOME! It is an inlet where ocean water meets fresh water and it is beautiful. There is so much to do there.


We went KAYAKING.


Hiked through some JUNGLE where we were EATEN ALIVE by mosquitoes.

We TUBED down the river and then went back to the top and SNORKELED down.

We spent almost 2HOURS snorkeling and checking out all the cool fish.

We ate more MEXICAN FOOD at a very tasty little place while we listened to a great MARIACHI BAND (I don't have a clue how to spell that) playing on a huge XYLOPHONE.
We swung from a rope swing and almost jumped off a cliff (I'm a chicken and Dan needed some competition).
We were there all day and still didn't get it all in. We REALLY would have LOVED to swim with the dolphins but at $150 per person we decided to take pictures of them and save up for the next time. It looked incredible!

We then went to Coba. WOW! Now that is the place to go if you are looking for some amazing Mayan ruins.
Dan on the steps of one of the temples.

This is the one we got to climb

Deanne half way up.


At the top. We counted 122 steps going up 156 feet.

Gorgeous view!

This was a fascinating place. Unfortunately, the history of the Mayan people was horrid. They were definitely a WICKED PEOPLE! I don't want to go in to detail, so if you MUST know, you'll have to ask.

More friends in the jungle?


We also got to visit a little Mayan village and then swim in a CENOTE, which means sink hole.
I fell in love with the Mayan children of course.

The CENOTE!


The rest of our time was spent...

Hanging on the beach,

Drinking LOTS of these... (virgin of course)

And mostly just LOVING being together!


****A HUGE THANK YOU goes out to all those who helped with our boys. ESPECIALLY MY MOM! She took over LIFE with the JACOB'S BOYS. (not an easy task mind you) and did a FABULOUS job! In fact, when we arrived to pick them up, Tate was the ONLY one who ran to me with a smile and said "Mama"! Tracen and Tyler were both crying. Tracen greeted us (through his tears)with, "Hi mom and dad. Can grandma please stay with us for just a little longer?" And Tyler? Well, I never did figure out why he was crying. Possibly, he was in trouble again. He later told me "Mama, I had a hard time being good."
I am so grateful to have family that I can leave my babies with and not worry a bit for their happiness and safety. However, I can't say I did not worry about the happiness and safety for the one staying with them.

THANKS AGAIN MOM! WE LOVE YOU!

Tale of the 3 T's (and their parents)

TRACEN:

.... "Mom, if you see that daddy is playing chess tonight after I am in bed, you just come and let me know right away- OK?"

.... he has decided that chess on the computer is the ultimate best "cuz' I am so smart - huh mom." (Thanks Sammy for getting him started.)

TYLER:

Quote: ..... "I pledge alligience to the flag and to the republic for it stands,
one nation, under God, invisible, with liberty and...
HAVE A GREAT PARTY! (and no, there are no typos)


... he has also taken up cutting his own hair. (notice the "hole" on top")

TATE:


.... has decided he has a better place for grilled cheese sandwiches.

MOM:

.... has decided she prefers being a "true" burnette. She feels smarter already. :)



DAD:

.... is STILL confident that he has still "got it" after all these years.
.... and he does! (10 amazing ones )

****Notice how many days are left till "the parents" are off to tropical bliss?!!!!!****

The Parties of "SECRET LOVERS"!

Did I mention how much Dan and I LOVE Halloween? I did. Yes, I am sure of it, BUT I will say it again. HOORAY FOR HALLOWEEN!

So I recently read the little blurp my parents wrote in the "Waite Family Newsletter" and found that they seem to think the MAIN THING Dan and I are doing lately is PARTIES! They think we are just party party all the time. Well.... it seems they might be on to something there. This weekend was definately a party!

On Friday evening, I, Jenna Ravenclaw, had the opportunity to accompany my lover, Bodrian Knightstrider, to a MASQUERADE being held in a REAL castle somewhere in the land of Provo, Utah.

Apparently it is quite the process to achieve the "perfect look" when attending a BALL with your LOVER. First of all, one MUST find the perfect dress. So where does one go to find such a dress? But of course, one goes to SAVERS and finds this one of a kind for the mere price of $12. (How cool is that?) I was also lucky enough to have an amazing friend with one of her amazing talents being able to create amazing hair and make-up!

*Of course, she HAD to do a little photo shoot* (I am a bit sheepish posting pics of myself, BUT it really is all about the amazing hair!)

They are a bit blurry, but you get the idea...

This is how it began... scary-eh?


This is how it ended...

Thank you so much Annie!!!! You really made me look, what was the word you used-- Oh yes... "FANTASTICAL"!!!

The MASQUERADE was incredibly cool. It was a Murder Mystery dinner. There were 5 courses of very delicious food with great entertainment in between. The entertainment included belly dancers (actually, that really was NOT my favorite part- a bit awkward actually) and a couple of vocal performances. One of those being my very talented LOVER who sang an Italian Aria that (as was part of the murder mystery plot) was to "reveal" his secret love for me (Jenna Ravenclaw-remember). He really did an incredible job. I fell in love all over again. :)

Unfortunately, we had to leave (had to pick up Tate) before the ending to this murder mystery was revealed. But I do believe that vampires were the ones hosting this dinner and that, had we not left, we would have been their feast!

*More GREAT pics*
Jenna Ravenclaw and her lover Bodrian Knightstrider...

Jenna and some of the other fair maidens... Oh and a monk.

Our masks were incredible! Mine was all black feathers and Dan's (I mean Bodrian's) was bone.
Even though I am not a " REAL LARPER" , I really had a wonderful time. (put aside the massive headache I got from waiting too long to eat-thank you drugs) I mean how often do we get to leave reality and dress up to go to a MASQUERADE DINNER with our LOVERS?! Thank you Kris and Kwint Kemp. It really was a BRILLIANT evening!

***Also a HUGE THANK YOU goes to Bruce and Christy for taking our boys for the night.***


Then Saturday evening, Dan and I, as a magical witch and wizard, hosted our yearly Halloween party! Such fun!

***THE WITCH and THE WIZARD!*** (what a versatile dress)

****OUR COSTUME CONTEST WINNERS BY POPULAR VOTE WERE:***
Sweeney Todd and his lover... (Leah and Joel Cooke)
*Sweeney Todd won:I -JUST-SOILED-MYSELF AWARD (scariest)
*His lover won: I THINK I'M A DIVA AWARD (best use of make-up)

Mr. and Mrs. Claus...(Kris and Barbi Kemp)
*They won: I'M WITH HIM/HER AWARD (best couple)

Little Red Riding Hood and Grandma (aka The Wolf)... Trent and Kelli Packer
*Grandma (the wolf)won: TRUE GEEK AWARD (most original)
*Little Red & Grandma won: ROFL AWARD (funniest)

Hercules & Venus... Burke and Heidi Hatch
*Hercules won: THE U CAN'T-TOUCH-THIS AWARD (best all round)

????Themselves????.... Mark and Debbie Noorda
*???Themselves??? won: I'M JUST HERE FOR THE FOOD AWARD (least effort)

Our other contestants were:

The Jedi's... Kwint and Gina Kemp


Fred and Wilma Flintstone... Bruce and Christy Jacobs


German Boy and Cat Woman... Megan and Corey


Bumble Bee Barbie and Ariel Barbie... Annie and Amy


The Hillbillies... Brian and Brittany Stratford


Mr. and Mrs. Dracula... Tyler and Melanie Wangsgard


Dan and I and the boys had a great time setting up the decor which included scary sounds and messages flashing across the TV screen and a smoke machine and strobelight!
We played plenty o silly games and had some VERY tasty food. We had homemade chili and homemade chicken noodle soup or yummy cheesy broccoli soup to go in breadbowls. We also had salad and a very creative and tasty Frankenstein cheeseball with crackers and veggies made by Christy. As well as more delicious sweets than we could possibly scarf down.




**Thanks so much to everyone who came and made this party so much FUN! We are happy to have so many silly friends to join us in our silly parties. Those of you who "bailed out" (you know who you are)... WATCH OUT! We know where you live!
We might have to make this an every other year party and somehow we have to figure out how to magically make our "hosting space" a bit bigger so more people can come.

***Also, another HUGE THANK YOU goes to my parents for taking on ALL the grandkids (6 under the age of 5yrs) and for letting our boys have a sleepover! They seem to have had just as much fun as we did. THANK YOU! THANK YOU!***

*So now back to reality. The boys all have yucky coughs and look exhausted. Time to put aside Jenna Ravenclaw and her lover Bodrian and come back to being mom. No more parties for us. Well, that is until we leave for Cancun in just over a week! Wha Hoooooooooooooooo!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!