Mayan Riviera

Last week Rod and I were able to travel south for a little vacation in sunny Mexico. Rod had just finished a tough semester of school and he was ready for some real relaxation. We stayed at The Grand Mayan, which is about halfway between Playa Del Carmen and Cancun.

On our first day we drove to Tulum to explore the ruins and touch the Caribbean for the first time.

We played in the water and then went to Playa Del Carmen for some delicious food.

We spent the next couple of days mostly hanging out at the resort.

We read . . . 

slept . . .

and went for walks

Our building

Our classy room

fancy dinner date

The next day Rod went scuba diving while I went to yoga and laid at the pool. Our waterproof camera couldn't go deep enough for his dives, so he doesn't have any pictures.

On Wednesday we drove ourselves 2.5 hours to Chichen Itza because we really don't like doing tours with big groups of people on a bus. On the way back we took the "scenic route" through a lot of little towns, and it took us about 3.5 hours. On the way there we stopped in an old town called Valladolid and ate lunch.

Chichen Itza was amazing. We were able to walk around at our own pace and look at everything. Rodney really liked it because he got a Spanish minor in college and took some history classes about the Mayans. I love going places where he has to use his Spanish. I just listen and try to follow the conversation the best I can. At the end the person he is talking to almost always compliments him on how well he speaks the language and I can tell because I hear him say "Vivía en Venezuela por dos años" and I know he's explaining his mission. So lucky I married such an intelligent man.

The next day we went into Cancun. The beach was amazing, with pure turquoise water, but it felt a lot like Waikiki or the Vegas Strip. Not really our favorite, but fun for a day and we had the most amazing burritos of our lives for lunch; they were so good that we went back to the same place for dinner! 

The next day we went snorkeling in the Cenotes (freshwater underground caves). Rod was in heaven, but I was pretty sketched out. I didn't want to do it, but I faced my fears and actually enjoyed it. There were big tours that were expensive that would take you, but Rod just found a little podunk place that let us go all day for $12 each. There were 3 different Cenotes and the water was so crystal clear. 

Then we went to a beach called Playa Akumal. It was gorgeous. We went snorkeling some more and saw sting rays and a giant turtle!

This trip was pretty much perfect and was deemed our unofficial 2nd honeymoon. People kept calling us honeymooners and we just went along with it even though it's almost been 4 years. (we almost got bumped up to 1st class even! So close!).

Summer

We had such a great day yesterday; shopping and lunch with my brothers followed by swimming, eating, and fireworks at Uncle Rod and Aunt Barb's house. It was the perfect way to celebrate the 24th! 

Amy, Brian, and our little baby nuggets have been in town from New Jersey for the last few weeks, and we have been able to spend some time with them. I think they are the cutest, but I might be biased.

Sometimes she loves Remy

Sometimes she doesn't

At the Zoo

Summer has been treating me well. Since I finished my classes at the beginning of July, I have had time to relax and pretty much do whatever I want! I might not get paid much to be a teacher, but this break in the summer is so nice. I have been to the pool, hung out with my mom, exercised a lot, learned to cook/bake a few new things, started reading a good book - The Culprit and the Cure - became obsessed with How I Met Your Mother on Netflix, went to an awesome Health and PE conference, watched way too much TV at my friend Katie's house (we still don't have a real TV with cable), got some stuff done around our house, and spent time with my baby Remy.

Still not 100% potty trained - but he's doing much better. Hard to stay mad at that face . . . 

I have also managed to not kill the big beautiful flower pots my mom helped me plant. I'm pretty proud of myself. 

We leave for Mexico on Saturday! Then I go straight to training at school for a week, Lake Powell the next week, more training, a week off, and then school starts after Labor Day. So crazy! I can already feel summer slipping away. 

Wahweap

It was yet another successful Rasmussen party in Lake Powell. We ate like kings (as usual), celebrated the 4th with an amazing fireworks show over the lake, paddle boarded, surfed, wake boarded, played games, watched movies, read books, and went on one of the coolest hikes ever. We are so lucky to have such a fun family! Can't wait to see this year's video - it's our favorite tradition.

Here are the highlights: