November Family Time

I guess we didn't get any pictures of our Thanksgiving feast. I guess it's because we had it at our house and we were too busy. We had Peggy, Edd, Denise and Ali Thacker come. We had all of the Remund family except for Kelsi and Tom and their girls. It was a bummer that they couldn't make it, living so far away in Des Moines. A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, we met Rachel and her boys at Fat Cats to bowl and have pizza so I posted those pictures here as well.

I have to fight this big 5 year old for a hug or a kiss.

Look at Kolton yelling cheese with his mouth full!

Thanksgiving appetizer was bacon wrapped smokies made by Rachel and Dean. They were so delicious.

Madi and Saige got rollerblades and rollerskates for their birthday so they brought them.

Brinley tried them out.

Making the cream for the Dixie Salad

We had to get the energy out of the kids so we drove to Orem to Hangtime.

I love seeing the kids in action!

6th Grade Talent Show

The "Outcasts" or "The Gavin/Hunter Experience" tried out for the 6th grade talent show. Of course they were picked to perform and they even asked them to perform for the 5th grade as well. Brett and Natalie were passing through and so Natalie brought her kids to watch. I let Brin skip school so she could hang out with her cousins. 

Dalton LOVES Hunter.

I love this rocker!

Halloween 2014

This year was pretty low key for Halloween. Powell was gone for family night when we decided to carve pumpkins. Mckenna opted for the non-messy carving and stuck her princess pieces in her pumpkin. Brinley loved digging her pumpkin out. 

Little M did this princess pumpkin.

Our dessert was dirt in the graveyard....Chocolate ice cream on the bottom, oreos on top and the headstone was a milano cookie that said RIP on it. The kids loved it.

The little girls were kittens this year. Brinley had a collar that said "Daisy" and Mckenna had a collar that said "Smokey" (after our cat). Hunter's costume was "Ollie the Ostrich". His was a huge hit at the ward trunk or treat. It had a fan with batteries that kept the air in it.

Look at the loot!

Mexico Part 3

Sorry about all the food pictures but that's such a fun part of traveling.

This is a chocolate cup made out of chocolate and filled with chocolate and eaten with a white chocolate spoon!

I loved the white sand beach

This was the view from the balcony in front of our room. We could hear the entertainment every night.

We just had to go for another show after Mama Mia! This was a Hollywood/Las Vegas show. It was interesting. Definitely better than Mama Mia but still a little lacking! Ha Ha. There were some tight white pants on the men and a ripped crotch in this one. 

The drinks were so yummy. This was a Copacabana. I can't remember exactly what was in it. I know coconut cream....

This dancer from Cuba was super good.

Go Stacy! They invited a few dancers up on the stage and she joined in.

We hired Arnie to take us to Akumal, which is half way between Playa Del Carmen and Tulum. The snorkeling there is great. It was pretty busy so I was glad we went early. The beach is super nice. I'm dying to take the kids! It was Denises first time snorkeling and I think she liked it. We saw some colorful fish and 5 or 6 turtles.

Coconut and Mango Ice Cream to cool off 

I think this might be the first of many trips for Denise!

We stopped at a little place to eat while waiting for Arnie to pick us up. I was shocked that they were selling Dr. Pepper 10.

I love this! 

Here is the homemade quesadilla they made us! Yummy!

Mexico Part 2

We made reservations one night in the Japanese Restaurant. The food was amazing!

Dessert! Mine was tempura fried ice cream.

After dinner we decided to head over to a "Mama Mia" show that was recommended to us. It was held at one of the other Riu resorts nearby. We left early so we could get good seats. Let me just say, it was one of the WORST shows I've ever seen. They lip synced every song and their mouths were not even close to the music. I wondered if they even spoke English. It was seriously the funniest thing. They had these quick costume changes and came out looking a big frazzled. Sometimes their zippers didn't quite make it up either.  Oh man, it was entertaining.....just not quite the entertainment we were expecting!

We booked an all day excursion through Alma Tours. We were really happy with them. Our tour guide was Arnie (although somewhere along the way we thought his name was Arnis???) Anyway, our excursion was Tulum Ruins, Coba Ruins, Mexican Buffet Lunch, Cenote (cave with fresh water), and a visit to a Mayan family home.

Tulum

They put these cages around the areas where the turtles lay their eggs

It was fascinating to hear how smart the people were. They learned to use the sun to help with with growing crops. It was one of the last Mayan civilizations.  

It's located right on the waters edge! 

Arnie took us to see a Mayan family that his tour company has gotten to know. It was fascinating to see how they live. They had a kitchen hut, a cement shelter built by the government in case of hurricanes, animals caged or tied up to cook, a laundry area, etc. 

I can't remember the names of these little rat like creatures.

Because the tour company brings people buy sometimes, they have some homemade crafts they sell.

Look at this vintage sewing machine they use!

The mom was making tortillas in the kitchen hut. 

Notice the pet monkey

They will eat these rodent friends eventually!

There is Arnie. We really like him. He is from Mexico City and engaged to be married. He served a mission in Arkansas. Notice the laundry area. They wash their clothes in these tub made from a tree. The kids go to school part of the day and they where school uniforms.

We visited an authentic Mexican Buffet. The food was delicious.

The next site we visited was Coba. It was a Mayan city that was really spread out so we did the excursion on bikes.

These were very rusty bikes and the brakes did not work! Denise had a kick stand that kept coming down but she would magically flip it back up while riding.....it was pretty amazing!

If you look close, you can see the Mayan "basketball" game. There is a hoop that they put a rubber ball through.

A cenote is a natural sink hole that exposes underground water. They are all throughout this part of Mexico. They are a little creepy....this one reminded me of the Timpanogus cave a inside. The water is fresh and clear.

Ali was the only one who jumped.