Mexico...Minus Two!

Last month Jeb and I went to Cozumel, Mexico with Chase and Stacey on a much needed vacation! It was just a couples trip so we didn't take the kids, which caused some major anxiety for me in the weeks leading up to the trip. The morning we left I was so nervous about flying and about leaving the kids that I almost threw up and thought I was going to have a panic attack on the way to the airport! The kids stayed with my parents so I knew that they were in good hands, but it was just the thought of us not being there if something happened or if they needed anything. The day before we left I was busy getting everything ready for the trip and I didn't get to spend as much time with the kids as I had wanted. So when I finally went to sleep I snuggled up with both of the kids in my bed and just held them as they slept. I remember making a promise to myself that when I got back I would spend more time playing with them and "enjoying the moment."

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The plane ride to Cozumel was great...I didn't have to take any of the Benadryl I had stashed in my carry-on in case of any anxiety episodes and one glass of wine on the plane got me all the way to Cozumel and ready to relax! It wasn't 30 minutes after we had arrived at the resort when Chase came up to our room and had already made an itinerary for the week and scheduled all our our activities with the tour guide downstairs. "Wow, this is nice!" I thought. Usually I'm the one that has to do all the planning, scheduling, and getting everyone together for events during our vacations and it was nice to have someone else take this role so I could just "chill." Jeb's just a "go with the flow" kinda guy (perfect for me who is the exact opposite) so during our Branson vacation he was just enjoying everything and I was stressing out about all the stuff we just had to do! I learned my lesson and didn't want this trip to be like that...I planned on not stressing, only relaxing and enjoy being with just my husband for an entire week. Just a side note: I'm still nursing LilliAnn so being gone for a week was a little bit of a challenge as well. I had pumped 40 extra bags of milk (6-8 oz. bags) the previous month and a half, as well as pumping extra milk for the two days a week that I worked and a little extra for when we went to things like OU games. If you know anything about breastfeeding then you know this was quite an accomplishment, especially since Lil was only on milk and no solid foods yet. So...to come back home and still be able to nurse I had to pump every 3-4 hours during our entire trip! Challenging, but I did it - in the airport bathroom, during the middle of the night, right after our snorkeling trip, in the back of the jeep we took to the other side of the island - I was a pumping fool!

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This was the beautiful view from the balcony of our room

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When we first arrived we walked out to the pier at our resort and fed the fish with some cheerios that Stacey had been eating (she was 11 weeks pregnant and made it through the flight like a champ!)

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This is how Jeb was feeling when we got there...free of his daddy duties and ready to have some fun in the sun!

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Our first little excursion was a snorkeling trip around some of the amazing reefs of Cozumel. We had planned on doing some diving on this trip, but after Stacey found out she was pregnant we decided snorkeling would be just as much fun. I thought this Mexican flag in the background was a great photo op!

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Stacey and I wearing our swimsuits that we both got for our honeymoons...they say "Mrs. Yott" and "Mrs. Rollins" on the bottoms

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After a day of snorkeling we went downtown for dinner and some shopping around the square. The food at our resort was real Mexican food and we weren't very impressed at first, so we were ready to go downtown and have a good, more Americanized dinner! Jeb bought some cigars at a way too high price and Chase was the king at talking the salesmen down on their prices. I bought LilliAnn a little handmade Mexican dress and Jeb bought me a wallet. 

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Jeb payed a Mexican guitar player $20 to play "La La Bamba" (spelling?) through our entire meal! 

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The next day we rented a jeep and decided to drive around to the backside of the island for a look at some exotic scenery. We kept seeing all these sticks in the sand that were numbered while we were numbered and we were wondering what they were for. After driving a little further we saw some men digging in the sand and putting out these sticks. It was a sea turtle release! The conservation society had been digging up baby sea turtle nests and helping them make it into the ocean. There is only a 7% survival rate of these species because of their difficult journey they make from their nests into the ocean an newborns. We pulled over and got to help out! I thought this was the best part of our trip. It was amazing watching the newly hatched baby turtles crawl instinctively out of their holes, over the rocks, and down towards the water.

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The landscape was just gorgeous!

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If the babies seemed to be injured or still had a yolk sac on their bellies that hadn't been absorbed they were taken to an incubator until they were ready for the ocean.

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We stopped for lunch at a little bar called Coconuts in the middle of nowhere. It was on top of a hill and overlooked the ocean - such a beautiful, relaxing place for lunch.

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A few pictures from downtown...

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My favorite picture of the trip. We took it during our jeep ride to the other side of the island...so romantic!

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One night we went on a Pirate Cruise, which was super fun! I was worried at first because the ship was very rocky and I thought I was going to get sick, but it's so entertaining that I completely forgot about it in no time! Here is a picture of Jeb and Chase waiting to get on the pirate ship.

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And the girls...

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Jeb had us all cracking up this night...he was quite the comedian!

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The next day was a day of relaxing around the resort. Jeb and I slept in and stayed in our room most of the day. Then that afternoon we got a couples massage up in our room. After the massage we hung out by the pool for a while and then played tennis together! I played tennis in high school and forgotten how much I enjoyed playing. Jeb and I were having so much fun together we kept playing even when it started raining. Although I was still pretty good, Jeb beat me - I need to work on my serving!

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All dressed up for dinner at the resort

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Yummy! Cheesecake!

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Listening to a band play down by the beach after dinner

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Looking for seashells to take home to Reid

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Soakin' up some sun!

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We were all supposed to go on this deep sea fishing trip, and although it wasn't fishing season, the guys really wanted to go. Stacey got sick the morning of the fishing trip and decided not to go, but since we had already paid, I thought that I would go ahead and go and take pictures of the guys. Right when I got on the boat I knew that it was not going to work. The boat was rocking like crazy and we weren't even in the deep waters yet. I started feeling really nervous and really sick about halfway out to the fishing location, so I made the captain turn around and take me back. I didn't want to ruin Jeb's much anticipated fishing trip throwing up the entire time!

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His catch of the day!

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The resort said they would cook the fish for us that the guys caught if we would sign a waiver saying that they weren't responsible if we were to get sick. I think the guy is laughing because he's thinking, "these guys are crazy...eating fish they know nothing about!"

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They cooked all of it and it was delicious! The barracuda couldn't be cooked because you aren't supposed to eat them, but they cooked all the tuna and sea bass (I think!).

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Thinking about my kiddos :)

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Another favorite - it's crazy to think about how far we've come together...it's been almost 10 years that we've been together as a couple and almost 20 years that we've known each other. And 2 beautiful children later I love this guy more than ever! Spending an entire week with just him and taking away all the hustle and bustle and stress of everyday life reminded me of more reasons of why I love him so much! He's everything I need at just the right times...the peanut butter to my jelly, the macaroni to my cheese, the ketchup to my french fries, the caramel to my apple cider, the chicken to my dumplings, the chocolate chips to my cookies, the hokey to my pokey, the music to my ears, the bubbles to my bath, the light to my darkness... You complete me, Jeb Walter! 

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Dinner at Pepe's Grill on our last night - one of the best steaks I've ever eaten!

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One last morning of relaxation before going to the airport.

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We sure are going to miss this place, but not as much as we missed our babies!!!

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Don't worry Mexico...we'll be back to visit soon!