Adventure Park

Upon leaving Tulum we went to an Adventure Park.  It was really fun.  Really it was a water park with some underground adventures as well.  We had to buy water shoes which were not inexpensive and wear a helmet.

They had some zip lines which were really fun.  All who went on them ended up in the water.  For whatever reason, I had no idea we were doing this.  

The underground caverns were really cool.  I enjoyed looking at the rock formations.  Of course there were some things that were added that obviously were not original.

We did some walking through the water in the caves.  That water was not overly warm but I got used to it quickly.  There were a lot of loose rocks on the bottom and it was treacherous at times.

We met a couple from Israel as we waited to go on the HUGE waterslide.  I ended up going backwards the entire time and had no idea what was coming.  Thus a lot of laughter was had by all four of us.  

What a fun time.  When we were done, we called and Antonio (our driver) came to get us.  

 

Tulum

Our first venture while in Cancun was a trip to Tulum.  Ancient Mayan ruins.

We booked through Alma's Tours as then we got an LDS perspective of the ruins.  

The tiny building in the background is a temple.  Low doorways so you would have to be in a bowed position upon entering.  It showed humility.

A closer look at the temple.  The city was built with the higher class people living in stone structures inside the city walls.  The lower class of people lived outside the walls in homes not made of stone.  Thus, there are no ruins of those.  

It was a very informative tour.

 

Cancun

The end of February took us to Cancun Mexico for one last hurrah prior to going on our mission.  It was a week of beach and sunshine.  The water was warm and temperatures were a constant 80+ during the day.

Pat spent a lot of time in the water just floating.  I lathered him up with lots of sunscreen.  I would spend most of my time in the  shade but went in for 20-30 minutes at a time.  I didn't want to get burned to a crisp.  Even with sunscreen I got a little toasted. 

We got one day to have a cabana on the beach.  This was my view.  It was heavenly.

The water on our beach was fairly calm due to a barrier.  But if we went further down the beach a person could get pounded by the incoming waves.  

I wore my rash guard a lot to keep my skin protected.  

Our resort had several pools which we never went to.  But the view from our room at night was quite pretty.  We slept with our door open most nights so we could hear the waves crashing on the shore.  

It didn't matter where you "camped out" on the beach, there were several waiters who would bring you whatever you ordered.  It was all inclusive so we didn't have to pay for anything separately.  It was a beautiful resort and we had a wonderful time.  

 

Samuel Williams House

Growing Babies

We are so blessed to have two beautiful little people in our lives.  It is so fun to watch them grow and learn.  It's been fun having Eloise live in our house.  

Little Koa is not so little.  He's growing like a weed.  I don't get many smiles from him but then I don't spend enough time with him.  

I love these squishy cheeks!

Primary with Goliath

I wasn't released as the Stake Primary president until mid-February.  Therefore, I needed a lesson for unit conferences.  I decided that we should teach the children about David and how he did hard things 

The Gresham ward conference was the first time we used Goliath.  Cierra draw a life-sized Goliath and we taped him up on a ladder in the gym.  Cece did the singing time and then I had Sharon teach about the hard things that President Oaks has done in his life.  Then we shared the story of David.  I bore a testimony afterward and then President Bennett shared his testimony.

It was such a treat to have a member of the stake presidency in Primary.  

 

Evelyn & Basketball

In Clintonville, the middle school students begin playing sports when they are in the 7th grade.  

This was Evelyn's first year playing basketball.  

I wondered if she would enjoy it.  I believe she did.

I was able to go and watch several games and watched her steadily improve.  

She was a scrappy player.  

I enjoyed watching her play.  Although they never won when I was at a game, they always played hard til the end.

I enjoyed my time playing with these two while their sister was on the court!