Cozumel

Febuary 7th we took the red eye flight to Houston, then to Cozumel for our Paradise get away. After our road trip to Houston we actually contemplated not going to Cozumel even though we had had it booked for a year, I still hadn't bought the airline tickets and with other problems we had, we just weren't sure it was something we should be doing now. But after watching the airline tickets drop from $650 down to $430, I just couldn't pass it up. At our connecting flight from Houston to Cozumel we got bumped UP to first class.....gotta love that, and we did.

Coming into to Cozumel, isn't that the most beautiful water?

The garden outside our room, with the beach just a couple of feet from that and the ocean just a few more feet.

The one time we didn't bring our own snorkeling gear and we knew the our resort had snorkeling right outside our front door....So we had to rent and it's expensive.

Ok...I know, impulse buying is such a bad thing, especially right now... but with Circuit City closing and cameras on sale and me wanting a digital underwater camera since out last trip down here and it got the better of me and I did spend. But look at the results...great pictures that I don't have to wait to get processed.

We talked about the one thing we wanted to do while we were here was to try scuba diving. At the resort they had their own diving instructors, so Tuesday morning I signed us up for that morning Logan and I were the only ones that went. We took an introductory course, where they run you through some of the basics and then while in the water they have you show them that you can perform the survival techniques.

Okay, I hyper ventilate when I'm nervous. Short version, the instructor gave up on me, Logan's nerve over his eye started to flare up, so he quit and instructor just let me swim and enjoy the moment. I would still like to certify, but maybe in fresh water first.

The pier at our resort.

Sunset

And this is where you could find Logan.

4,150 Miles

Logan having a soft heart for his little girls, offered last October to help Brittany and Brett move to Houston. The journey began on Saturday, January 3rd, we headed for Bountiful, Utah to retrieve their furniture. We spent the night with Mom and Dad, and early Sunday morning, Brett, Dad and Logan loaded up the truck and trailer for our journey south.

Now, I'm thinking that we are headed south and choose not to pack a coat, just a light hoody jacket. Shouldn't it be warmer when you head south? As we pass thru the corner of Colorado I wasn't surprised to see snow on the ground and as you can see in the photo below, not one sign of a snow storm.

Sunset near Cortez, Colorado

Yes, we looked like Hillbillys and our maximum speed was 57 miles per hour, which translates into four days of travel from our home to Houston.

About an hour into New Mexico we hit snow and it doesn't stop, maximum speed 30 miles per hour and praying we stay on the road. We called it quits with tons of other travelers in Gallup

and took a hotel room to wait out the storm.

View from the hotel parking lot Monday morning.

Snow covered in Gallup New Mexico.

Pcitures of Gallup for Robin. Not the ones I'm sure she really wanted to see, but we were thinking about you and your missionary.

Somewhere over Texas on I-10 - love those Texas clouds.

We spent three days in Houston, of course Logan built shelves under the stairs for April's food storage. Halli was excited and has now found a new secret hideout. Will April be able to keep the toys out of her new storage room?

El Paso Texas, okay, we are in Texas, the houses you see are in Mexico, it's quite interesting to note the distinction, it's really quite sad. I didn't get a picture of the border fence that runs along the road.

Sunset over Arizona as we head towards California. Sunday we left Fork Stockton Texas, somewhere on I-10 and drove for 23 hours home.

Click your heels three times and say "There's no place like home, there's no place like home".

Lunch with Halli at her school.

Halli in Gymnastics

Tyler's most Favorite Gift

What boy doesn't love a Remote Control Car? Tyler went crazy with this bug, running it up the stairs.
Look who got in the way of the car, notice Chase running for cover. The remote control car was on his heels and he was going to escape the wrath of the BUG, Ryan barely got out of the way in time.

Rock Band

The gift of the year....Rock Band. Everyone has spent the week testing their skills. It has been voted that I NOT sing. I don't understand, I did get most enthusiastic when I did sing, just because no one could stay on the beat.

Brittany rocking out.....

Finally Logan and I got a moment on the guitar and drums. Such deep concentration on my part.

I still don't understand why they won't let me sing.....

What a Wonderful Christmas

Christmas didn't start as early as I had suspected it would, apparently the boys were told that Santa would not come if they got out of bed, and with no windows in their room they had no idea what time it was.

How I love seeing piles of wrapped presents under the tree....The kids say that it's a Jackson tradition, but really it was a way to disguise the the lack of presents when the kids were little and has continued from there.

Still lacking in the photography abilities, I must say this picture of the boy's stockings is sweet.

Tyler taking it all in while awaiting the Aunts and Uncles...geeze...don't they know kids are waiting to see what Santa brought them?

Chase loved his car from his stocking, not so interested in clothing boxes. Thank goodness mom is.
The boys and their toys.....

Tyler and Chase love the cars, tractors and army guys.

From the cousins...Truck Garage, so cool.

Yes, even Logan thought this was cool, even though I've tried to talk April out of it for years...here it is, The Christmas Story lamp. Just expect pink bunny suits for your kids next year.

Everyone checking out their gifts...

Jill got her Sewing Machine....YEAH!

Brett and his GPS...He can't wait to find his way around Houston.

And for those whose pictures didn't make it here...please forgive my photography skills, the pictures just didn't turn out. Sorry Sorry Sorry.

Gingerbread House

What fun is it to make a gingerbread house by yourself? I eagerly awaited the arrival of some grandkids so we could bake and eat candy. The evening before Christmas Eve, we began the process of making the gingerbread, using the recipe and tips off of Ruth's blog, Tyler, Chase and I started measuring and mixing. I of course messed up the very first ingredient and ended up needing to double the recipe to offset my goof. And that meant we needed to add lots and lots of flour to the mix. The boys love measuring and pouring the ingredients into the bowl. I had a few moments where I wasn't sure where we were at in the process, expecially the flour. So we just kept adding until it looked like it was solid and we were able to roll out the dough.

We had quite the time and ended the night in a flour fight, started totally by Chase... For more details and pictures you will need to go to Kate's blog, who was ready with the camera to capture it all.

Of course we had enough to make gingerbread men also. They were mighty tasty treats.

Merry Christmas to Me

One of the things that attracted me to our house was this storage room. For the past three years it's been just that, but in my mind, it's has always been meant to be "Jackson's Market". Knowing Britt and Brett were short on cash this year, I suggested to them in lieu of buying us something, to build for me these storage racks and shelves.

I absolutely LOVE IT!!!! Now I can see what I still need and want not to mention I can now find those items that have been tucked away in the back of the cupboard.

Love you Brett and Britt for this wonderful wonderful gift. And Lots of love and thanks to Logan for paying for the wood and design. I can just stand in this room for hours, if you can't find me, check at the Market.

It's Beginning to Look alot like Christmas

Christmas is almost upon us and with the beginning arrivals of our family, I've been busy placing the final touches on Christmas decorations.

I love the outdoor lights. I remember when I was young we would drive around and see the neighborhood Christmas lights, I loved the ones where each bush was a different color.

Having an abundance of "fake" trees, I love to decorate each of them differently. This one is in the kitchen/family room, where all the other decorations are whimsical and just as bright.

At the top of the stairs you are greeted with the Candy Cane tree.



Now I avoid the idea and terms "Going Green", being politically correct drives me insane... but this year our main Christmas tree is a Holly Bush, which we will plant in the yard afterwards. This idea also comes from my childhood and a need for shrubbery and trees in our yard, not to mention a fence.

The final touch...the fireplace mantel. We can't wait for Eric and Jill and Ryan and Kate's families to arrive. Brittany and Brett arrived last night after a long and slow moving train ride and just in time as the snow and rain has set in again for another few days.

Kevin and April, we miss you, and I'm glad to hear you're feeling a bit guilty about dishing us, but we certainly understand how hard it is to travel with three little ones...oh, wait, didn't April do that by herself just a few months ago? Hmmmmm.....well, we hope to see you here in two years.