Mexico Anniversary Trip

Dan and I went on a trip to Cancun last month for our anniversary and it was everything I dreamed of and more.

The girls were even great for the car ride up to VA to drop them at Nana and Papa's. And this is my favorite picture of Lilah ever. 

Aside from our flight being moved from Lynchburg to Charlottesville (sorry Dad!) and the car rental place taking an eternity to get things together, the whole trip was perfect.

Our room got upgraded for free from day one (always travel off-season) and we got THIS view:

Since it was the off-season, I was worried about storms. It had stormed the entire week before we arrived and did again the entire week after we left, but the weather was fantastic while we were there. The only day it rained was our first full day, Sunday, and we spent that time in a somewhat awkward timeshare spiel situation to get free tickets to Chichen Itza and Cenotes anyway, so no skin off my nose. 

The next day, we utilized our free tickets. Cenotes (or The Cenotes? I'm not sure of the proper name) was the first stop. A cenote is a natural pit or cave made of limestone which exposes underground rivers, creating awesome pools. The one was saw was beautiful and much bigger than I was expecting. 

Not everyone wanted to get in and swim, but we brought our suits and YOLO, y'all. It was freezing but really incredible and I'm so glad we did it. 

After a truly horrible buffet lunch (which is saying something coming from me), we headed to Chichen Itza where we sweated like crazy and occasionally picked up some of what the tour guide was saying. He gave a lot of specific information, but not a lot of general information, so I'm still not totally sure if this place was a university or religious training center or city or what...but the specifics were still really interesting. 

I particularly enjoyed this artist's rendering of the victorious team captain's neck spurting blood after he entered paradise via beheading because he won the ball game. 

On Tuesday we took a boat ride to Isla Mujeres. That was a lot of fun and very relaxing. 

When we got to the island, we went snorkeling as a group. 

Then we came back and had another truly horrible buffet lunch and relaxed like I've never relaxed before in my life. 

We rented a little golf cart for an hour or so and drove around the tiny island. There was a TURTLE FARM so of course we hightailed it there so I could spend some time with my spirit animal. 

There were so many of them and so many different kinds. I loved it. 

I saw a sign for cold coconut, and I wanted to try it, so I embarrassed everyone (especially me) and took a picture to memorialize the occasion. 

Turns out it was pretty gross, but I think it would have been almost tasty if it had actually been cold. 

Then we all went to the downtown market and got harassed to buy overpriced crap, as God intended. 

I also had the best ice cream I've ever had. It was custard and nutella flavored, I think. I ate it before I could take a picture. Plus, who takes pictures of their food, or the people on the side of the road who sell it to them? Weirdos, that's who. 

On Wednesday we signed up for another tour called the Jungle Tour. I couldn't take pictures because it was all in the water, but trust me, it was really fun. We were in a group of 5 couples or so plus a guide and each couple got their own little two-person motorboat. We drove the little boats out to a reef and snorkeled for about 45 minutes (and touched an octopus!) then drove back. I guess it doesn't sound like much, but it was great. 

On Thursday, our last full day, we drove down the coast to see Tulum. We didn't want to pay for a tour and I'm so glad we didn't. It's beautiful but we were both drenched with sweat by the time we got to the actual ruins. It was so hot I think I would have strangled a tour guide who'd made us do anything other than head down to the water immediately. 

There were iguanas everywhere. They were all over Isla Mujeres and Chichen Itza, too. We probably looked to the locals the way Californians look to me when they stop to marvel at a squirrel, but I took a picture of every iguana I saw anyway. 

And this really pretty bird. 

I didn't get great pictures of the ruins, but we saw them and it was deathly hot, so it was a pretty short day. It kind of felt like Pompeii because you could see the homes and streets and almost picture the people living there. Although they must have been small people if even Dan has to stoop to get through a doorway.

That night was our last night and we didn't really have much to do. I took some really noteworthy naps on this trip, and I think that afternoon was one of them. So that evening after we'd eaten, we were just hanging around the hotel balcony. I saw a little commotion down on the beach and thought it might be something to do with the small turtle sanctuary at the base of our hotel, so I insisted we go down and check it out. 

I'm so glad we did because I got to HOLD AND RESCUE A BABY SEA TURTLE. 

Some eggs had hatched earlier that day and most of the turtles were gone. However, apparently some of them got lost and came back to the shore that night, so we found them wandering in wrong directions on the beach. There was a British couple and a German couple fretting over them as well, and the British people named the turtles Peter, Paul, and Mary. I got to release Mary back into the water (after checking with the turtle caretaker at the hotel, of course) and it was the most magical end to a vacation ever. 

When we got back to Virginia, we watched the 10-Miler with the girls (and Nana and Papa).

And then Dan finally had his first Cheesy Western. He didn't love the relish, but at least it won't be another Waffle House situation where he refuses to go just because he's never gone before and doesn't want to break the streak. 

We even got to be in town for my friend Bree's wedding, which was so charming and fun. 

The next day, we were home in time to put the kids down and watch the finale of Breaking Bad.

Happy 7th anniversary to us. We should definitely stick it out for number 8. 

Anda Says 2013

I've been letting this document build up again. I think this one started in fall of 2012 and goes through today. 

Anda: [giving me her bread crusts] Mom, you can have these ones because I licked the honey off already. 

Anda: [after we dropped Nana and Papa off at the airport] Why do they have to go at Virginia? Why do they live at Virginia? 

Me: That's where they live. They need to go home to their house and take care of Dooley Dog.

Anda: And get him his Dooley Dog breakfast and Dooley Dog lunch and Dooley Dog dinner?

Me: Yes

Anda: And their piano? 

Me: Yes?

Anda: I don't want them to leave at our house. Why they don't live at our house? Can we go at Virginia again? But my daddy will miss us because he has to go at work. 

Anda: [looking at the handful of marshmallows I gave her] I just need a little bit of more. 

Anda: We are cats now. But my sister is a dog because she has drool. 

Anda: [referring to Lilah licking her chops after sneezing] She thinks food comes out of her nose

Anda: She wants her sucker. It's a flumb sucker. I took her flumb sucker out of her mouth so she could be happy at me. 

Anda: I'm just going to hold it for a couple while.

Anda: Why is this taking for a long time ago? 

Anda: [after putting in the Star Wars BluRay] This isn't Lego Star Wars; this is the movie about Lego Star Wars. 

Anda: Why is he a Storm Chooper?

Anda: [watching Darth Vader force choke a guy] Why is Luke's father doing that? [Spoiler alert]

Anda: I want my daddy to come home so we can play Lego Star Wars.

Anda: How does Rapunzel go potty with her long hair?

Anda: [praying]...and please bless Mama and Dada to be healthy so they can do their exercise for a long time ago...

Anda: [watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory] I don't like that part because it's scary. It's scary because animals that will bite you come and a mean guy. I don't want a boat like that. 

Anda: [after Lilah took a tumble down the stairs] I told Miss Joan [preschool teacher] that my sister was on the stairs all herself and all the way up and she falled down. But if someone would watch her, she wouldn't hurt her face.

Anda: [someone had been sick in our home on any given day for about three solid months] Why can no one be healthy and safe in this house?

Me: Anda, that was such a nice thing to do. You are a very nice girl. Why are you so nice?

Anda: Mommy...everybody's nice. 

Anda: My mouth feels like its time for macaroni. 

Anda: [after being in the car for a long time] Our heads are saying, "We want to get out of this car!"

Anda: Ooh, that's a pitty tank. [piggy bank]

Anda: Why Mrs. Potato Head has so many arms?

Me: I don't know. Didn't you make her that way?

Anda: I guess I just want her to reach a lot of things. 

Me: Do you want to go back to the zoo?

Anda: I think I can play a little bit of there with my broken arm. 

[We were talking about our families and got on the topic of how some people are dead and she didn't get to meet them]

Me: But when we get very old we will die and then we can meet those people in heaven.

Anda: Then who will take care of Lilah?

Me: She will be very big then so she will be fine. But when she gets very old she will die too. 

Anda: Is Dada going to die like you?

Me: Yes. We won't die until we are very old, and you will be very big then.

Anda: And I can reach things?

Anda: [tugs on my sleeve during church] Mama I think about things every day. Yeah, I think about trees and houses and churches and doors if the door closes really loud and if someone cuts my arm...[Well that escalated quickly]

Anda: We are seahorses now. And upstairs is sea rooms and sea laundry and sea bathrooms. 

Anda: Mama how do giraffes hug?

Me: I don't know. How do you think?

Anda: I think they just do their necks to each other and that's how they hug. 

Anda: Mama look outside it's still raining and it's flunder time!

Anda: [I wrote "THANK YOU" for her to copy on a thank you note] But where's the D?

Me: What D?

Anda: For "Dank you"?

Me: Anda, look at those cows. What do those cows say?

Anda: They say, "Hello, every car."

Anda: That guy had robot arms!

Me: He did. What do you think happened to his arms?

Anda: [quietly] I think they fell off. 

Anda: That boy was crying. 

Me: Oh no. Why do you think he was crying?

Anda: Because he had tears. 

Birthday the Fourth

[Fair warning: This is probably going to be a wordy one. Feel free to just scroll through the pictures and move on.]

Anda started her birthday this year as we all do.

She ate her pink pancakes with sprinkles.

Then she put on her witch dress from Halloween two years ago and watched "The Nightmare Before Christmas."

Her only requests for her birthday were a very specific cake (a Princess Aurora dress cake with candles that spell out "Happy Birthday") and some balloons. Easy peasy.

I thought I might try to make that cake, but since we moved into our new house on Monday and the birthday was on Wednesday, and the kitchen still looked like this on Tuesday:

...my mom ended up saving the day by ordering the cake at a Walmart nearby instead. 

We picked up the balloons at Walmart too, and I feel it worth noting that their balloon-buying procedure is as follows: Ask Customer Service if they do helium balloons; find out they do, but you need to purchase the balloons at the party section first; find out that they mean you need to buy a whole pack of balloons at the party section; go through checkout and purchase balloons (and ice cream, etc.); go back to the produce/bakery section and wait 20 minutes for someone to appear who can fill up six balloons for you; wait another 10 minutes for that person to tell you that actually, their shift just ended, so this other person will be filling up the balloons; wait another 15 minutes for that person to clock in at the other end of the store, which is located in Narnia; wait another 10 minutes for that person to chat it up with Mr. Tumnus or somebody as they mosey back to the produce section; wait another 10 minutes for them to actually fill the balloons; get told that you will now need to go through checkout again to pay $0.75 for the helium in each balloon; survey the four open check stands, each with twelve people in line, each with a full cart of groceries and their checkbooks in hand; screw that and walk out the door, after exchanging the ice cream soup for a fresh one. 

In total, about an hour and a half to fill up six balloons and get some ice cream. Not bad!

I then "ran" into Sam's Club (while my parents waited in the car with the kids) to pick up some cupcakes for later that night, where I had to wait another 20 minutes because they had to renew my membership which I had opened four days earlier, and which had mysteriously expired already. 

Ugh, could this day get any worse?! Amiright?

Fortunately, next on the docket was our first visit to the local zoo, which turned out to be awesome. It's not so big that it's exhausting, but it has all the animal highlights you'd expect: Lions, penguins, giraffes, etc. We had a great time!

There were plenty of animal statue photo ops. 

And Anda even got to hold a bird.

The zoo closes at 5:00, so we had to go without Dan, but this meant that we would be back in plenty of time to do pizza, cake, ice cream, and presents before bed. Someone's gotta earn that money, and also provide health insurance, which just happened to begin covering us (after Dan's first 30 days of employment) on Anda's birthday. What a mundane and not at all foreboding coincidence!

Toward the end of our visit, we decided to visit the Aquarium real quick before riding the little train and calling it a day. Lilah had finally started walking a little, so I let her get down and watched her closely. 

At one point, I glanced up and saw that Anda was climbing on one of the railings at the top of the step-seating in front of the big tank, so like every other doting, vigilant, conscientious mom in the world, I told her to "be careful," then went back to not paying any attention, certain that she would be heed my words.

As soon as my head was turned, I heard, "Ah...ah...AHHHHH!!!!" as she tumbled over the railing and down a couple of carpeted steps. I made sure my parents were running over to where I left Lilah, then sprinted to the crumpled, sobbing heap that was Anda.

Anda has a tendency to be dramatic about injuries, and milk the crying much longer than is actually necessary, so I sat and tried to soothe her for a minute. The screams didn't subside, so I picked her up and rushed her outside, where we sat down on a bench. She kept up the hysterics, but kept insisting that nothing hurt--it had just scared her when she fell. Honestly, it wasn't that far of a fall, so at first I took her at her word.

However, even Anda usually gets tired of screaming and wants to move on with her day, so after 10 minutes of relentless wailing and refusal to get down or even readjust so I could check her out, I got a little concerned. I let my mom take her and walk around a little to try to get her calm, and so that I could maybe get a look at her. Nothing changed.

Eventually we got her to sit in Lilah's stroller with the promise that we'd take her to the train. She was very eager to go to the train, but still screaming ferociously as we walked in that direction. Now that she was sitting in the stroller, I could see that she wasn't moving her right arm at all, so I called Dan and told him to look up an in-network urgent care facility, and told my parents we were changing direction and taking her to a doctor NOW.

As we turned around, she kept screaming, "I'll stop crying! I want to go on the train! I'll stop! I'll stop!" It broke my heart. We reassured her that we weren't leaving because we wanted her to stop crying--we were leaving because she was hurt and needed help, but we could come back and ride the train later.

We gingerly put her in the car and took off for the address Dan had texted to me. She screamed in agony the whole way, particularly when we went over even the tiniest bump. "I don't want no bumps..." she would wail. And once, "I don't want cake. I don't want it." Did I say my heart was broken before? No--that was what did it. All she had wanted for her whole birthday was cake and now she just wanted everything to go away.

Dan met us at urgent care, where we were rushed back for an X-ray, while my parents took Lilah home. I had Dan take her to the X-ray room because by this time I was quietly sobbing uncontrollably every time I had to write the date on a form, which wouldn't have helped her at all. They immediately sent us over to the ER, which was 25 minutes back the way we had just come--right by the zoo.

I held Anda very still in the front seat this time, and she calmed down enough that she could talk a little about all the fun things we had done that day. Once we got her laid out very still on the hospital bed with some ice, she finally calmed down completely. She even got some birthday balloons.

She insisted the whole time that nothing hurt, it had just scared her. For over an hour and a half of hysterical screaming, she insisted on this. I don't know if she was in shock or what, but to wrap the story up, this is what had happened:

After about six hours in the hospital (five of which were just us sitting around and waiting for someone to show up), her bone was back where it was supposed to be, she was a little loopy from the sedation, and we were headed home. 

The rest of the festivities waited until the following evening, and Anda was a great sport doing everything left-handed. 

Although I have to admit, I hadn't anticipated the kaleidoscope being kind of a sad present when I was at the store buying it. 

When I hesitantly asked the next week if she wanted to go back to the zoo, she was thrilled. The first thing she said was that she wanted to go back so that I could "show [her] the place where it happened." The second thing she said was that she wanted to ride the train.

We did both.

Other than being itchy for the first couple of days, she never once complained about having a bulky cast or having to do everything one-handed. She even drew thank-you cards for birthday presents with her left hand and ate corn on the cob without batting an eye. 

She is now in just a brace and doing great. 

Happy birthday, Anda Chicken. Let's do it a little differently next year. 

Happy Birthday Lilah!

A couple of months ago, Lilah had her first birthday! We celebrated in Virginia and had a great time. 

I tried to get some good pictures of her ON her birthday, since we were waiting until the weekend to have her actual party.

They turned out pretty well...

Mostly...

We had the birthday party on Saturday at my parents' cabin. I didn't take many pictures, but it was low key and fun. Anda liked helping Lilah open her presents and Lilah liked when we sang her "Happy Birthday." 

  

I liked the cake. 

A good time was had by all. Let's do it again next year. 

Happy birthday, Lowly Worm!