Belly Laughs

Abbie's got the giggles....
 

and yes...when she falls off the couch she was fine :)

Cantrells in Cozumel

Ethan and I just returned from 6 days in Cozumel...ahhhh.  It was beautiful.  We celebrated our 10 year anniversary as well as my Masters graduation

We had been to a resort in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico last year with Heather and Chad and so our expectations were for it to be similar.   Although this time we were there almost twice as long, by ourselves, and I wasn't pregnant.

We had a forever delay on top of an already long layover from Kansas City to Dallas but finally got into Cozumel late afternoon on Saturday.   The resort was beautiful - Park Royal Cozumel.  It sat right along the ocean front, near a pier so we were able to see the cruise ships sail in and dock all day.  The staff was wonderful and pretty accommodating. The food on the resort was "okay", we found ourselves wanting something simply amazing that you would want to go back for more but it wasn't very flavorful either and not much variety.  But, we managed to be stuffed every time we left the restaurant.

Our First day...pre-burn...standing on the balcony

The Resort's Beach

The first full day we spent it mostly in the pools. There were 2 infinity pools and a beach but we didn't really get into the ocean water but once. We did snorkel for a bit there at the beach but apparently we were there at the wrong time and didn't see much.  We also forgot to put on sunscreen, and reapply frequently....which meant major sunburn.  

One evening we went out on the Jean Lafitte Pirate Dinner Cruise.  It was a lot of fun - not what we expected, probably better though. We would definitely do it again sometime.

Prates aboard the ship

The crew we ate dinner with on the pirate ship (Lobster & Steak for E, Chicken & Steak for me)

Another day we rented a Jeep to tour the whole island. This, too, was a great way to spend time in Cozumel.   The island itself is only 33 miles around and if you drove straight around it would take about an hour.  We left around noon and got back by dinner,  stopping frequently and checking out side spots.
    

At the far southern tip of the island is an ecological park which is protected so sea turtles can nest at night. We drove the Jeep back in the there and saw a crocodile and got to climb an up into an old lighthouse (150+ steep steps up, ugh).   Beautiful sight to see.

Standing alongside the ocean, near the lighthouse.

view from atop the lighthouse
150+ steep stairs high

Ethan with the "Last Mayan"
at a Mayan sacrifice ruin

Then we found a beach side restaurant and had guacamole and beef nachos (YUM).

The rest of the stay was definitely full of just relaxing. I managed to read TWO books (not sure when i last finished a one book, let alone two!) and get a good tan.  It was a great time to spend with Ethan and have a little getaway.

This was our last day, as we were leaving the resort. 

The girls on the other hand, spent the week at our house with Grandma Diddle.  According to Hayden they were silly a LOT (no surprises there). Sounds like it rained for most of the time we were gone but they still had fun.  I'm sure mom was exhausted, I know the girls were.

Hay was super excited to see us back and chatted non stop, also not getting very far away from me.  Abbie on the other hand...when she first saw us the next morning it took her a good 20 minutes to realize who I was (awe) and to come to me.  She remembered Ethan right away though! Once she got used to me again, it was like nothing had changed and she was content to check in and run off as usual.

Great trip...glad to be back.  Until next time, here's a few more random pics.

Balcony view of the ocean - 5 floors up

Happy Birthday Abbie!!

It was a beautiful day to have Abbie's birthday party. The weather was just perfect. And we are all very thankful for those that came to celebrate our little Abbie's first birthday.  We had friends and family from Kansas City (Aunt Cheri, Aunt Di, Gabriel and Ryan & Alisha Naylor), family from Joplin (Aunt Heather and Talyn), Grandmas and Grandpas (Grandma Diddle & Papa Tractor and Grandma Rhonda & Papa Ronnie) as well as our local friends (Matt, Heather & Benny and Josh & Andrea).

We had a watermelon themed birthday party with pink and green and black. Abbie's smash cake was a really cute watermelon cake that my friend had made.  We also had cupcakes and cookies and watermelon.

Abbie got a lot of fun gifts, that fit her personality perfectly. She got several toys where you can put objects into them, a few dolls, some little people, I talking puppy dog and a little art set. The big present this year was a water table, which all the kids loved.

Abbie wasn't too crazy about her smash cake. She stuck in one finger and them looked disgusted. We tried our best to help her smash it or to try it and realize how yummy it was, but it didn't work. We ended up giving her a watermelon cookie what she thought was the best.

After we did cake and cookies we all went outside to play. The weather was perfect.  The kids (big and small) were able to get out in the backyard and play with the trampoline, sprinklers and the water table.

It was really a great birthday and a wonderful way to celebrate Abbie. I still can't believe she is one!!

Thank you so much to those that were able to come!  

Sorry the pics are in a random order...its hard to manipulate and move them on the Tablet.  When we get back from Cozumel Ill try to remember to hop on here and fix it. :)

A Little Landscaping

Just some pics from the latest work that's been done on the house.  Ethan chose the week before Abbie's birthday party as the week to make our front yard a mess, in order to build the front retaining wall. 

As usual it was a perfect job for his "eye for precision" as the hardest part was getting it all level. Those first few days were interesting while we both were figuring out how to make the awkward slope of the house cooperate with our plans.