{Mexico!}

Cody and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary 2 months early this year and went on a cruise to Mexico. We are so lucky to have our sweet mothers and friends who helped out with our boys so we could sneak away and make some great memories! We drove to California and left from Long Beach. Who knew that driving could go by so fast and be so enjoyable without kids movies playing in the background and demands to use the bathroom or go to McDonalds?

The first few days we were at sea, so we spent a lot of time being eating, being lazy, eating, reading, eating, etc! Cody did work out but I enjoyed sleeping in while he ran on top of the ship.



Each night we would find little animals made from towels and thought our boys would get a kick out of seeing pictures of them.



The first beach stop was in Puerto Vallarta. I had booked a snorkeling expedition online and we were a little nervous jumping in a taxi and giving them the address of a place we've never been. We made it to the shop, and jumped in a boat that took us out to Los Arcos, a beautiful coral reef. Along the way there we saw dolphins, and the weather was perfect. When we jumped in the water we couldn't believe how many fish there were. There were so many more than in Hawaii, it was amazing. Our guide gave us bread to feed them and they were rubbing all over us trying to get the bread, even biting us if we held on to it too long! After an hour, they took us to a new spot we saw a lot of other great fish, including lots of puffer fish. Cody was able to snuba, scuba diving with a long hose attached to a tank. He held a puffer fish and going deeper made him more excited for us to get scuba certified so we can do that on our next trip.



The next day we went to Mazatlan. We booked an shopping/lunch/resort excursion that began with a taxi (more like a golf cart) ride through the city to the beach. In both Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan it was alarming to see all of the people who had guns. There were people in the back of trucks with machine guns, people on the sidewalk guarding gated entrances with guns....it was crazy. Definitely somewhere you would not to be at when it was night. We watched a show where men hung by ropes upside down and spun up on a big totem pole, and then shopped along the beach. Then we used a resorts cabanas and had a yummy lunch, and had fun in the ocean. I got to go para-sailing, something I've wanted to do for a long time. It was breathtaking being up so high, and so peaceful.



Our last stop was in Cabo San Lucas. We decided we wanted to sight-see a bit, and go snorkeling again. We paid a "water taxi" to take us out to El Arco, the beautiful arch you see in the travel ads for Cabo. The waves were huge and the boat driver was so crazy, so we were glad to not only see the arch but to make it back alive. We saw seals sunbathing on rocks, they were so cute. Our driver dropped us off at Lovers Beach, a cove by the arch where he said the snorkeling was excellent, and he would pick us back up a few hours later. Getting from the boat to the beach was difficult, the waves were rough but we made it. As soon as we got on the beach someone told us that there were a lot of jellyfish in the water, 5 people had just been stung. That deterred us from jumping in the water there, so we climbed over some rocks to get to a beach a little ways away.

As we were almost there, some waves pushed Cody against the rocks, scraping up his leg, ruining our camera (it got wet), and he lost a flip flop. A man jumped into the water, going after the flip flop. He got the shoe, but the current was so strong and he could not get back in, and was being sucked closer and closer to some huge rocks. It was so scary. Another man with a life jacket jumped in, and they swam together further out to sea and then were able to swim into another beach where the rip tide wasn't so strong. We went over to see if he was okay, and he said he was and then walked away with Cody's shoe. Cody had found another shoe in the sand, and we realized that that man thought Cody's shoe was his....so after Cody went up to him, they swapped shoes and laughed about how he risked his life for another guy's cheap flip flop. As the afternoon progressed, people were getting hurt left and right. It was not the best place to swim, but it sure was beautiful and secluded. The Mexicans probably laugh at how they take all the tourists there and then they all come back injured.



The picture below was the last picture taken before our camera was ruined ;o( SAD!! Although we didn't get to snorkel like we planned it still was fun to be in such a beautiful place, there's nothing like the beach and hearing the ocean, it's so relaxing. When our taxi came to pick us up these men we paid to help us get on the boat told us to hurry into the water and jump up on the boat. Long story short I was half way on when a big wave knocked me back into the water, then as the wave receded back into the ocean it took me along, whacking my head on the boat, and then pushed me back towards shore. When Cody pulled me out of the water I was quite the sight. I didn't think it was possible to have that much sand in my hair and swimsuit. It was mainly my pride that was hurt, but oh well, it's one of those funny memories we can look back and laugh at.



We had fun on our last days at sea, they had a chocolate station one day which was divine. Anything you can think of that includes chocolate or can be dipped in chocolate was there. Cody surprised me with a trip to the spa the last day and I loved every minute there. It was such a fun trip and I loved having all that time alone with Cody....he is truly my best friend and the person I love being around the most....I can't wait to see what the next ten years brings!