VIVA LA MEXICO!!

September 27-October 4, Greg and I and two of our best friends went for a much needed "sunny vacation." While we were there we enjoyed many of Mexico's finest activities including beach side laying, boogie boarding, outdoor excursions, dolphin swimming, romantic beach side dining and even a few "Umbrella Drinks."

The airport was interesting. We are very fortunate for our American luxuries as we arrive in the Puerto Vallart airport, where the ceiling had various water leaks, they don't use airconditioning, and you are bombarded with begging salesman as you try to get out the door. We literally had to push through them. It reminded us all of those annoying paper flickers that are streetside in Vegas. It reminded me a bit of what a quarterback must go through .

Our "ride" for the week was this cute little Renault Kangoo Elf. Everything is very different inMexico..for example, did you know in Mexico they make left turns from the far right lane at a traffic light? Yep.

While we enjoyed a spa day, the guys got to go out to the resort golf course, El Tigre.

Our resort was Paradise, as it advertised. Upon arrival, we were met with cold fruit drinks, ice cold wet towels for our sweaty faces and a warm, "Welcome Home!" from all of the attendants. They were very accomodating and hospitable. I'd recommend this place to any who need to be pampered. We stayed on the Marina Side of the resort in a two bedroom suite with a kitchenette.

Perhaps my favorite activity for the week was our dolphin swim. We had a baby and Mama pair of bottle nosed dolphins for our adventure. The hour and a half long experience was full with dolphin facts, mini training session, belly to belly swim with them and lots of belly petting. Dolphins are like big underwater dogs, they love attention!!

During our outdoor adventure we took a 25 minute mule ride up a very narrow and sludgy trail, zipped down 10 ziplines, rappelled down two waterfalls, trudged through some chilly rivers, across fun bridges and a tequila tasting finale, for a total of 6 hours of fun!! Needless to say, some of us (i.e. me) were very sore for the rest of the week.

We were sure to take a couple of hours to do a bit of shopping at the local flea market. The prices weren't as low as we'd hoped for, but we managed to find a few things for our kids. Wow, it was warm! This is a beautiful church near the market.

These Unimogs, used to transport us to and from our outdoor adventure were equipped with seats/seatbelts and "oh s*&^" straps to hang on to. They were made "Mercedes Tough" and we were so glad they made the choice to spend the extra money on this vehicle because the roads were a bit scary up to the mountain where we would start our adventure.

On the third night, we "shee sheed" (esp. for Sam) and headed out for a very romantic beachside dinner on a remote island about 25 minutes from the resort. We got there by boat and it was an amazing experience. This was what we saw as we approached the island we'd be having dinner on. It was beautifully lit with many torches and candles. After dinner was an amazing Mexican Heritage show, full with Mexican instrumentation, chants and music, a live python and some interpretive dance depicting the Mexican culture. It was so neat!

The sunset in Mexico is so beautiful against the water. Our boatride to our romantic dinner was 25 minutes. We were entertained with games, drinks, snacks, and performances by the funny staff. Of course, we couldn't miss out on a romantic kiss!

Among the many things we did on our vacation, we were sure to stay on our beautiful resort for a lot of the week to enjoy their pools and beach. As adults staying at Paradise Village, one of the luxuries we were granted was access to the relaxing "adult pool." Adults Only? We livened that up in a hurry.

The waves along the beach were so much fun this week. We did lots of boogie boarding and wave conquering. The last day we were there, the waves were around 10 feet tall...that was fun. We all got "bucked off" a time or two. I believe I got my allowed sodium intake for the rest of the year this week.

Law Enforcement is a bit different, as are many things in Mexico. These men look like they're back from a military tour. No. These are the "cops" in Mexico. They are all armed with, we assume, loaded giant black guns thrown over their shoulder and goodness knows what else that may be hiding. They are on street sides, outside of stores, etc.

The resort's property was covered in beautiful foliage, not short of fruit trees, like this banana tree. They were too yummy to pass up! Close to this particular banana tree were some tiger cages. They also had an on site zoo, although we didn't make time for that.

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New Season

August 24, 2009, my baby girl started Kindergarten at Reeves-Hinger Elementary School. She was so much braver than I was. She walked right in, sat down, opened her playdo and smiled for the camera. I cried during meet the teacher. Her teacher this year is a dream. She is so sweet and has it "together." I am thankful for where we live. This place is the best place for us to raise our family.

As for Avery.......

I am in class 2 days a week this semester, so Avery only goes to Kids Kollege for those 2 days. As for the other 3 weekdays....he's just chillin'.........

Avery and I are enjoying some one on one mommy-son time. He misses his sister so very much though. Nearly every hour that he's awake during the day he asks if it's time to go get Halee. Two days a week he is at Kids Kollege Daycare on the WT campus. He doesn't enjoy it all too much, but it's a great, safe place for him to be when he can't be with me.

This begins a whole new season for this family. Halee starts school, Avery and I have bonding time, and then starting in January, I will begin my first full time school schedule since I began college. In December 2010, I will be graduating college. I am thrilled at the thought of it. Until then, I will take all of the QT with my babies that I can get.

Summer 2009

First thing's first...the highlight of this summer was my 10 year H.S. reunion. Yes sir...I graduated from Hereford High School 10 years ago this year. The sad news is that only 15 of us out of nearly 300 in our graduating class) showed up to ride the float in the parade. It was fun seeing some of my old classmates and friends. GO MAROON, GO WHITE..GO MAROON, GO WHITE, FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT! Alright, I'm done now.

Moving on..............

Our summer was full of excitement..as usual. Roughly counting, we have around 12 birthdays we celebrate in the summer between close friends and family! It may be costly, but we wouldn't want to miss even one of those birthdays! Keri celebrated her 22nd Birthday this year and was treated to one of my homemade cakes after dinner!

Here is our 4 year old cousin, Brady's birthday party. Dustin and Jocelyn went all out and rented a GIANT inflatable water slide. I must admit that I had as much fun as the kids..only I'm sure they didn't regret it the next day! By the way, all but a few of these kids are cousins of ours. Big families are great!

Also this summer we had Jonathan and Keri's wedding! Lots of Greg's family came to celebrate with us. This may be one of the only family pictures this group of girls will ever have. We had such a great time with the family. I wish we could get together more often!

And look at this crew! Summer is always time for playing at the park for my kids. We pick up our cousins, call a few friends and head to the park, sometimes up to 5 times a week! Sure helps burn some energy and break up the long summer days. Of course, the mommies sure enjoy the adult fellowship too!

Perhaps one of the best things about summer for me is that my BFF, Sarah, is done with the school year and off for the summer!!! She is a school teacher and so getting together is often difficult. We sure try to take advantage of the time we have
together in the summer and spend as much of it with each other
as we can. Kade and Kenzie are her two babies. Our kids really do have a great time. Our boys are only months apart, and Halee is a great big sister. Sarah and I have been BFF's since 1998. She is my forever friend. I love her and her family very, very much.

Greg, myself and Halee also celebrated our birthdays this year. I had a BBQ and made a homemade pinata. It was an adult only pinata, which means that all of my friends and family were blindfolded, spun and made to take a wack at a high flying pinata. Some of them were surprised when it smacked them in the head as it swung back. It was hysterical. Thank you dear friends and family for humoring me and for being there. I love you all!

Greg turned 30!!!!!! It was awesome. I threw him a surprise birthday party the weekend after his actual birthday and he was so shocked. We had a great time with a hotdog cookout and I organized a poker game for him after. We had it at our friends, the Davis' home. They were so kind to let us have the party in their backyard and it really helped the surprise!

Another big part of the Shelley family summer's are the highly anticipated golf tournaments. Greg plays in several big golf tournaments each summer. One of those is the Budweiser Partnership. Every year he plays with his long time friend and old H.S. golf mate, Josh Shields. The last time they won was in 2001, and 8 years later...VICTORIOUS AGAIN!

Josh, Sam, Andrew and Ainsley are some of our very best friends. They moved back to College Station last year and we've missed them badly. We love when they come home to visit throughout the year and we are so grateful that their family allows us to share that time with them while they are visiting. At the end of September, Josh, Sam, Greg and I are vacationing to Puerto Vallarta together...DID YOU HEAR THAT?? This is the best of all worlds...vacation with best friends...no kids, no responsibilities. We are very excited about this and I've now begun the countdown! 26 days!!!!

This is an older picture of Andrew and Halee playing dress up. I'm quite sure Andrew is not upset that he's missing out on these playdates anymore. Sorry Josh..had to post this one!