Christmas Spirit

To put us in the Christmas Spirit...
First, some friends from the ward invited us to their house for a Christmas bash with tonz of yummy food, Christmas bingo (I won!), and a white elephant ornament exchange.

Then, Brett and I went to downtown Glendale for "Glendale Glitters." We saw TONZ of Christmas lights, shopped at lots of fun booths, sipped hot chocolate and ate fresh roasted nuts (yum!), saw Santa, and enjoyed all the live Christmas music.
I love all the fun Holidays this time of year (although I HATE the weather that goes with it)! :)

Just Pretend...

Yes, I'm still moping over not putting up ANY Christmas decorations this year. To help myself feel a little bit better, I'm PRETENDING this is what the front of my house looks like right now!
This is actually from last year, when we weren't total scrooges!

Mixed Emotions

Cause for Frustration: In one week the weather has dropped from a warm and sunny 75* to a cold and gloomy 65*! Burr!
Cause for Celebration: In one week the gas price has dropped from $1.89 to $1.69! Hooray!

Cause for Frustration: Because we have been gone, and we leave again in exactly two weeks to head to Utah for Christmas, we are not putting up any decorations this year. :(
Cause for Celebration: My office is completely decked including a Christmas tree with ornaments and lights, a fresh pine wreath, a nativity set, and stockings for all the girls that we each decorated and continually fill for our “Secret Santa.”

Cause for Frustration: I have had this cold and sore throat for almost 4 weeks now and it won't go away!
Cause for Celebration: I have yet to get Brett's stomach flu he got on the way home from our trip. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

M.I.A.

I know I have been M.I.A. from the blogging scene for the last few weeks. The cause: being out of the country for a week without any Internet connection.
Yes, Brett and I were lucky enough to take a trip to Cancun, Mexico with several members of Brett's family. Brett's parents called us a few weeks ago and asked if we were interested in going to Cancun for a week... in a week-and-a-half! With about 10 days notice to our employers, we were both amazingly able to get off a week of work and rotations, so we pulled out our passports and headed for Mexico. It was so beautiful and relaxing, and we had an amazing time. Thanks so much to the Blasers for a wonderful trip!

The beautiful resort

We spent a lot of time relaxing by and swimming at the beach and in the pools. They also had a lazy river and a wavepool that kept us entertained.

While we were there, I finally got scuba certified. Enough of the illegitimate diving! I was able to go diving with Brett, three of my bro-in-laws, and two of my nieces. They boys also went diving in a Cenote: a fresh water cave. They got some amazing pictures and had a blast!

Unfortunately, the night we had planned for a family tennis match was the only time we were rained on! We had a blast playing in the rain anyway!

These odd animals could be found at any time in the trees around the beach. They are called Coatis or Coatimundis and are typically found in South America. Brett and the kids had a good time feeding them bread from the buffet, but I preferred to keep my distance. :)

We had an absolute blast, and are so thankful for the opportunity we had to spend time in paradise with some of the Blaser clan.