Day 3 - beach day and tacos ...

 Another beautiful day on the beach ... we never ventured further than Chac Mools ... we started the day again with green juice, fresh orange juice and chilachiles for breakfast and parked ourselves under the beautiful palapa for the day ....

 The venders were starting to get to know us ... we ate way too many fresh coconut balls, pies, and here we are getting matching bracelets....

 Following Ellie with the shade ... making her stay under the umbrella was a challenge!

Street tacos at night .... $1 well spent ....

Day 2 - waking up ...

Another beautiful day .... Carrie was up early with the kids around 6:30.  I met them up on the rooftop terrace for coffee around 8. Such a beautiful place we have - big and private. I took this shot from the pool later in the morning - see Carrie and the kids up top?

Shortly after it was time to hit the beach for breakfast for the ‘mamas’. (You buy food, and you get a gorgeous spot under a palapa with a lounger)

Chilacilis with eggs, green juice and orange juice for breakfast .... best

Carrie has been running all over town for UV shirts and more sunscreen etc.  Trying to keep everyone un-burned is a real task around here!!! Here I am, covered top to bottom for the walk down to the beach:

And a few precious minutes soaking the sun in before running back under the palapa!!!

Day 1 in Chacala !!

Carrie and the kids beat me awake, I found them up on the roof on that first morning - Coffee in sisters hand, and Ellie on  her heelies and Jack running after her .... I knew at that moment, this house would be great for us this week!

 Our view from the roof down to our pool!  We were pretty lucky to not have anyone in the downstairs units for most of the week!  And when someone did move in, it was a nice woman from Vancouver we had met and her daughter who was Ellie's age ....

 We found a crab in the pool on that first morning!  So, we snagged it in a bucket to bring down to the beach and talked about all the ways this crab would have found its way into the pool!  The most popular thought was that a bird lost its grip and dropped it from the sky!

 After we let the crab go, we ordered breakfast and drinks from the first restaurant we came to on the beach with the nice loungers (turns out we never went anywhere else for the rest of the week!) 

 It was a sweet start!  Pretty cups the kids had eh?  They each took one sip of their pina colada and then left the rest ....

 So, I think may have finished them, happily ....

 My beautiful sister .... sigh ... such well spent time this week with her.....

 Ellie and her mom .... dirty, happy feet!

 No idea how I got this crazy pineapple ..... I just wanted sliced pineapple ....

 Probably my favorite picture of the week with this sweet girl ......

 After beach time and a little siesta, we went exploring down the beach and came upon a yoga retreat centre  .... and found these beautiful stairs ....

Launch Day to Chacala!!!

Who knew it was going to be the time change when we booked our flights!!!!  So up at 4:30am enstead of 5:30 (though it was now technically 5:30). Max wasn’t too stoked about the time change either!  

Pretty cute seat companion- he actually was nicer company than the owner who insisted on telling me how awesome he and his new life is ... happy for him at first and by 4 hours in, I looked out the window as he continued to talk to the back of my head. I preferred the dog.

Anyways! While looking out the window-With all the research I’d been doing about chacala, I knew it the moment I saw it from the plane!! 
Met Carrie and the kids at the hotel we’ll be staying at next weekend.  They swam and ate while they waited for me to get there. So the hotel organized a taxi with the best rate to get us directly to chacala. It was SUCH a long taxi ride .... Ellie had a good nap. And I think I did too....

Carrie and her two finger touch lol.  The taxi driver couldn’t find our place. We drove around the town a few times in the dark and he kept asking people. Lol. Carries thoughts on first impressions “we’re gonna die here”.  

Our place ended up being amazing.  The door was left open, we walked right in.  And after we dropped our bags, we headed out for a walk to take in the little town ..... we ended the day feeling pretty good vibes from the place. 
Master bedroom and two smaller rooms.  And Carrie ends up in second bedroom sleeping with her kids, and I slept in the smallest room.  Everyone found their place and had a great sleep. Glad to be here. 

We are moving on ....

I don't want to write a lot about these last few months because we are in a new chapter and we are both just so thankful to be moving forward.  Looking backward is not a thing I try to do ... but I want to remember this and I want my boys to read this when they are older.

Music has always been a huge part of how I listen to God .... it has always been how he gets to me.  When I first believed, it was Steven Curtis Chapman who was my soundtrack through the rest of my teen years... I have never been as big of a bible reader as I want to be, but his songs had so many bible verses that made sense to me the way he sang them .... and after that, 'random' songs would hit me, in often 'random' locations, and I would be still just for a moment, and listen.  And I quote 'random' because I believe that there is really no such thing.  You are somewhere, often for a moment, to either learn something, or teach something ....

Well, these last few months, we feel like were in the desert, so to speak .... not being able to move forward or backward because no answers were being given to us, partner that with the snow and feeling like we couldn't go anywhere, we really felt locked down.  Many nights after supper, Chris and I would walk the property .... sometimes the boys would come ... but when it was just Chris and I, there was always a feel to the walk, dependent on how we were feeling.  We often would take turns feeling all the different emotions ... and there were a lot of them!!  But as I look back on that time, and in reality, it really wasn't a long time, but it just felt like it.  It was a time where I really got to know Chris better.  Watching him work through all the emotions, I came away feeling like I married such a special man. 

But there was a certain day, that has come back to me this morning, while I was sweeping my kitchen and the 'song' came on over my Bluetooth.  And I stopped.

See, the memory was of a day where we took a trip to town, despite the snow.  And I was feeling so down and angry and all the negative feels that I hate feeling ... but I was.  Mad, sad, frustrated, powerless ... all those yucky ones that were creeping out of the shadows.  I was in my new favorite thrift store, just killing time until I was meeting Chris at our favorite Thai restaurant, when this song came over the radio ... loud and clear ... and stopped me cold.  I knew it was for me ... and even today, as I sweep the floor and it comes over the radio .... I stop ... and know that He's got this ... all of this.  And then I keep sweeping.

Give a listen ... close your eyes and really hear the words. Thy Will (Hillary Scott)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAmh3yvmzXs

This is just like in the middle of the night at the hospital, when I was alone in the dark with my sleeping boy who was consistently seizing, and they were currently trying to rule out a brain tumor, I was at my lowest ... so scared and feeling so alone .... this song was given to me at 2am that morning .... and I knew then too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lybYyxoGTgg  Whom shall I fear (Chris Tomlin)

I LOVE MY MOM!!!!!  

Chris makes Isaac a sweater ....

 Presenting his eldest with HIS sweater, made with love by his dad!

 He hasn't taken it off all week .....

Twin Day, Vikings, and resumes ....

Can you tell which one is Isaac?  lol - it was supposedly twin day at school ... (turns out Twin day is Friday, but Elliot didn't find out til later)



Doesn't this look like Mittens?  Little hint of this summers theme!!!

 Youtube has been teaching this kid guitar!

 His headshot that we picked to put on his resume ....

Elliot thinks this is hilarious ....

Ok - I liked all the pictures of this kid ... but here he is totally giggling about this silly little Japanese video of a computerized dog .... every.time!  He makes me watch it, and laughs through the whole thing.  So funny ... I love that he wants to share all these quirky little things he sees online ....

This face says: SO???  It's funny right???

Isaac falls into the lake .... again.

This child of ours continues to make decisions that make us wonder about his frontal lobe!  Here are his wet pants and shoes, hanging to dry outside our local A&W while he waits inside for me to pick him up.  Isaiah was with him, and not sure I need to say more ... teenage boys ....

And as a side note, the other day, they went at lunch time ... and he fell in then too ... and spent the afternoon wet ... at school!

Lydia turns 40 ....

It was a beautiful day for a girls road trip to Botanical Beach to celebrate Lydia turning 40!

 And this girl!  Always love my time with her!  The lucky brat got a brand new X iphone that had no case on it yet, so she kept trying to pawn it off on me to carry - totally stressed me out because I am often a clumsy mess on slippery rocks!! lol  But man, that phone sure takes nice pictures!  Even on the selfie mode!

 It was a fun group of gals ... lots of laughs ....

 Couldn't have asked for more perfect weather!

 Nic and I with the birthday girl!

 After margaritas and nachos, I broke out the 'craft' ... and I am not crafty but everyone walked away with a sweet little keychain that they made (don't tell them they were guinea pigs for a WOA craft that I was thinking of using!)

 Homemade mousse cheesecake with raspberry coulee .... older women really know how to eat well!