tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31439662666993296942024-03-18T04:41:36.893-04:00Libby's LatestUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger804125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-49942885518490785702024-03-10T23:42:00.002-04:002024-03-10T23:42:42.711-04:00Rose's Birthdays<p style="text-align: center;"> Little Rose just turned 4! 💖</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Kf6JUTlMF3DxF6CjhLwHlzj6OL3BHAo6S0ruVvCQxCnrMIgqCSU7mD8RCTEKcL35pbw8e6UVqHQZf0SBTWt8pfyYuuMAJ4J3yiJHPRmQdwnjR4C63Y0ufhSxRKZJgvAEIuViYONDMtLHYJoi7oEwaWl0cM050RC8XcEXT5Jtk_tGcbrx6SZe7eGZiEd3/s4032/IMG_7873.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Kf6JUTlMF3DxF6CjhLwHlzj6OL3BHAo6S0ruVvCQxCnrMIgqCSU7mD8RCTEKcL35pbw8e6UVqHQZf0SBTWt8pfyYuuMAJ4J3yiJHPRmQdwnjR4C63Y0ufhSxRKZJgvAEIuViYONDMtLHYJoi7oEwaWl0cM050RC8XcEXT5Jtk_tGcbrx6SZe7eGZiEd3/s320/IMG_7873.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiey73VQQAkfOxXCggpYccnROGV7W3sEG4FU5wGROj6QrfPrTULRg05tOPjG7b_qJWEWC4uNCqqF47RcUqzBgsKmxz8NX4BalJACYKqVqkD2hquowemM7GtxihDvvR5UMPe7mcM-59zrH6ubpzZTioce69Dqb9AbD1YS8RBdL067vzxcbL91A1O4S3e8qQD/s4032/IMG_1571.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiey73VQQAkfOxXCggpYccnROGV7W3sEG4FU5wGROj6QrfPrTULRg05tOPjG7b_qJWEWC4uNCqqF47RcUqzBgsKmxz8NX4BalJACYKqVqkD2hquowemM7GtxihDvvR5UMPe7mcM-59zrH6ubpzZTioce69Dqb9AbD1YS8RBdL067vzxcbL91A1O4S3e8qQD/s320/IMG_1571.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzVJ56H9Eki1tKFlQodQWIW_eNQk9ixiP0vY9QcvgxGL0aV9NS6wBgFys4TvjYB6ZkgMKdrzPAZGSMQfHikI85RxEzDxhO6h-wojx1YeSH1-LNL-KgiN6EtVI9iYUbsK2-8MtX4AkLqI3BGhrYvb2xLNlHUx6-gPK1btcWoiiT2B1JCkaiYUUE_p-5BbE2/s4032/IMG_6207.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzVJ56H9Eki1tKFlQodQWIW_eNQk9ixiP0vY9QcvgxGL0aV9NS6wBgFys4TvjYB6ZkgMKdrzPAZGSMQfHikI85RxEzDxhO6h-wojx1YeSH1-LNL-KgiN6EtVI9iYUbsK2-8MtX4AkLqI3BGhrYvb2xLNlHUx6-gPK1btcWoiiT2B1JCkaiYUUE_p-5BbE2/s320/IMG_6207.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBLC1EdIbLe1RMGuejeU2KcbUO0OOsNUO-44ejs6OYppy_7FCkbQeKTdn4Vtzr1h9kfJfjJVMk34tavaxQSm0icKNieXqQ58P-nE5gRffrYAQ4FZCW7qII4y9GwtAZjLq5Vm0mahfbMoQDtHhCjCy3zwsk8fPN_8-N1nHsvNVxf-7KoJNATo3rwx2GoWyM/s4032/IMG_0727.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBLC1EdIbLe1RMGuejeU2KcbUO0OOsNUO-44ejs6OYppy_7FCkbQeKTdn4Vtzr1h9kfJfjJVMk34tavaxQSm0icKNieXqQ58P-nE5gRffrYAQ4FZCW7qII4y9GwtAZjLq5Vm0mahfbMoQDtHhCjCy3zwsk8fPN_8-N1nHsvNVxf-7KoJNATo3rwx2GoWyM/w480-h640/IMG_0727.HEIC" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>Jay McCarthyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07912023932333508057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-68011976011029019942024-02-18T18:59:00.006-05:002024-03-10T23:34:05.787-04:00Playa Del Carmen 2024 Review<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span> </span>A couple of years ago I whined too loudly that I hate New England winters- too long, too cold, and too gray- and I wanted to get a break from it somehow- preferably end of January when the temperatures are coldest, the hubub of Christmas is over, and not much else to look forward to. Jay, the problem-solving and adoring man that he is looked for a warm place to take the family. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span> </span>I grew up going to a time-share in Mexico for the first several years of my life, but I believe the tourist safety has declined (or maybe not... my invincible and Spanish-speaking father probably wouldn't feel intimidated by government recommendations and tends to do whatever the heck he wants 😆) because our beloved Mazatlan is now considered a "Do no travel" location. Jay figured the most touristy place in Mexico he could think of would probably be safe and so we decided on Cancun.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span> </span>This trip was a really big milestone to me because we had never really taken a family vacation before. Family trips? Yes. Many. Never a family vacation. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What is the distinction? Family trips are to visit family. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Family vacation is only to be relaxing and have fun together.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span> </span>Needless to say, our 2022 trip was wildly successful in meeting my anti-New England weather goals, but we used a travel agency to help us find a good place to stay and we thought we could do it cheaper on our own this time. Last year we spent January selling our house, so didn't repeat it, but this year we got to go again and it was just as fun as I remembered.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Without further ado, a bajillion pictures of our adventure this time around.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Getting to our rental house</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjqsz5_pCHPHT6VmKQ_e4nBXubenOe4ctUyCGm_MBQPT-bJUACLxex4uW5VhvH92uZGb2eAMAR3kDHa4hVtNVIWFEIEt7gNWe-v-5Hhyphenhyphen-Ht_ZX5QxeS3UiSHTB4EKNcUlw5pV9FqdOQmz9k_tTXB79pEEEbWzzqZO0JkYg-vklFZe0I7P0zBOmUbDhi6h/s4032/IMG_5934.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjqsz5_pCHPHT6VmKQ_e4nBXubenOe4ctUyCGm_MBQPT-bJUACLxex4uW5VhvH92uZGb2eAMAR3kDHa4hVtNVIWFEIEt7gNWe-v-5Hhyphenhyphen-Ht_ZX5QxeS3UiSHTB4EKNcUlw5pV9FqdOQmz9k_tTXB79pEEEbWzzqZO0JkYg-vklFZe0I7P0zBOmUbDhi6h/s320/IMG_5934.HEIC" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFquKkiykruri94sJviE9NQlQjxXh8kSAyPTQkx6Gl5iw_3Cng9BDprPBAH-8iUOQVqLDP_IXk3OGG1i1dKLWpEVJecOva7MOcNQOgOcQqUta8ENjsVFBnmMEqjd0F8iyHNUn_Ra0vuqeysZjwf7gBd74NIQeCe0NYnrv6guUYNVK8Kn_H3eIGP2rcbuXg/s4032/IMG_5941.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFquKkiykruri94sJviE9NQlQjxXh8kSAyPTQkx6Gl5iw_3Cng9BDprPBAH-8iUOQVqLDP_IXk3OGG1i1dKLWpEVJecOva7MOcNQOgOcQqUta8ENjsVFBnmMEqjd0F8iyHNUn_Ra0vuqeysZjwf7gBd74NIQeCe0NYnrv6guUYNVK8Kn_H3eIGP2rcbuXg/s320/IMG_5941.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFYvEOZMtCzuSYSUDsu4Qmk_Ebfq29ndKjrX9D-VJuXITCzuOthvAMGLmFrhCsamfVz_wf3Bbmq__gVoCeVhStpRdW73qYLqCm-XbEn1m5i_FuW8zpBPArHZVcgdXYGw7R4Ta-RxBFOkwyS2H34Pcg96AoQ2Z45bMuGQ6yfvDD-EZiKWYyqXQocf1Jkpsq/s4032/IMG_5930.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFYvEOZMtCzuSYSUDsu4Qmk_Ebfq29ndKjrX9D-VJuXITCzuOthvAMGLmFrhCsamfVz_wf3Bbmq__gVoCeVhStpRdW73qYLqCm-XbEn1m5i_FuW8zpBPArHZVcgdXYGw7R4Ta-RxBFOkwyS2H34Pcg96AoQ2Z45bMuGQ6yfvDD-EZiKWYyqXQocf1Jkpsq/s320/IMG_5930.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdE9mjPNB1TFRGV_nYao5gCwYOtafm7xIY2fqBhgf-qAsJr_-XCygbNpilOXSqhziGna93TeRv3x_M-TkbrHVpYssD1rGzM_ZTDPSkE4wlxXbTLHNKqsnCpocY-W5910j5TyNogTt1rKlkPWzXgW3vsEanPrzfUhR9hUxBfMWhB6ndZ4lNA0Vx9U6DWOoV/s4032/IMG_5950.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdE9mjPNB1TFRGV_nYao5gCwYOtafm7xIY2fqBhgf-qAsJr_-XCygbNpilOXSqhziGna93TeRv3x_M-TkbrHVpYssD1rGzM_ZTDPSkE4wlxXbTLHNKqsnCpocY-W5910j5TyNogTt1rKlkPWzXgW3vsEanPrzfUhR9hUxBfMWhB6ndZ4lNA0Vx9U6DWOoV/s320/IMG_5950.HEIC" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFph-I8gHRsLoFP9VVZF_TeR68mshI5o4nv4pVRD164uUeKwu9f53G-j8ieTeKLTI_V6B7GMkC7NxzCkNjaI9vJ5XFys9lNoFFgWKT4tzdWO29nTlv1lZlyc9xLdSUfSSHcyY7CdU5J-2XR_PUHCcDHbTTFr_GXDLiupMJVIcEqAxLLi52qFbpEbusbOZK/s4032/IMG_5951.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFph-I8gHRsLoFP9VVZF_TeR68mshI5o4nv4pVRD164uUeKwu9f53G-j8ieTeKLTI_V6B7GMkC7NxzCkNjaI9vJ5XFys9lNoFFgWKT4tzdWO29nTlv1lZlyc9xLdSUfSSHcyY7CdU5J-2XR_PUHCcDHbTTFr_GXDLiupMJVIcEqAxLLi52qFbpEbusbOZK/s320/IMG_5951.HEIC" width="240" /></a><br /><span><br /></span><div><span> </span>The first night we discovered the main TV to be broken, so the kids watched a movie in the master bed while Jay went to Walmart to get groceries, sunscreen, diapers, etc. (They replaced the TV for us the next day)<div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsd8a_UHuUKbSrjzoFadbuUKcCOmGuT7oXmiWPjCOxeSabrMjLFboO5NAaOy5TosXvd3AmoixfgpmkT1JowZTQGnTj7H-2230nxYHycSd-ItDEDfN8IJYZxJ1hWOVVzExbIfDuFtcL4OR8mubj5k34nxAi39vAnAiAgYIg_fX4OkQvKRkrRCZuKdpRK1KK/s4032/IMG_9993.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsd8a_UHuUKbSrjzoFadbuUKcCOmGuT7oXmiWPjCOxeSabrMjLFboO5NAaOy5TosXvd3AmoixfgpmkT1JowZTQGnTj7H-2230nxYHycSd-ItDEDfN8IJYZxJ1hWOVVzExbIfDuFtcL4OR8mubj5k34nxAi39vAnAiAgYIg_fX4OkQvKRkrRCZuKdpRK1KK/s320/IMG_9993.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div>We developed a daily routine: Laze around in bed. Breakfast at home. Walk to the beach. Walk to town for lunch. Gelato at Adlo's. Walk home. Swim in our own pool. Beach again or laze around reading (mostly only the older kids did this). Bath for littles. Dinner (usually involving guacamole) in PJs at home. Movie. Bed. It was divine. 😎</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjfbBk8FVOOp8L0G0yULgJ2NAQixr8FqzBKkoMeCCDXJjcrngHNHwiVt6BPe6fkNF7xj9YygRKbmKGCRrSOOObKTgulVYIOgfPTD2CUM-OfmQRmdXJfUYWNJUd2yqi7Hw1E7W7v89c4SA-zTx7VRo39O6uI6NvB3PzcZUJhMBG7SY0CH4cKlv44FSpZjKh/s4032/IMG_6250.HEIC" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjfbBk8FVOOp8L0G0yULgJ2NAQixr8FqzBKkoMeCCDXJjcrngHNHwiVt6BPe6fkNF7xj9YygRKbmKGCRrSOOObKTgulVYIOgfPTD2CUM-OfmQRmdXJfUYWNJUd2yqi7Hw1E7W7v89c4SA-zTx7VRo39O6uI6NvB3PzcZUJhMBG7SY0CH4cKlv44FSpZjKh/s320/IMG_6250.HEIC" width="320" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgWFIZHdsLwIdGkEkjAfZ44hrcltLtL_nMg23Bz6M0Txkatxw5mRc9K_SF8Q9is5V4va4Sj1A8DSOhYs8IlVczs1wuinOjG2-BltjcQpVzXQM5L155h83rDUwik_3Ag3VtKkSDKumWHdjiDFhEJwHKc_rtq-T-K2GYUfsBdtGC7FTRg0clOXs5S6ILMXKL/s4032/IMG_6236.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgWFIZHdsLwIdGkEkjAfZ44hrcltLtL_nMg23Bz6M0Txkatxw5mRc9K_SF8Q9is5V4va4Sj1A8DSOhYs8IlVczs1wuinOjG2-BltjcQpVzXQM5L155h83rDUwik_3Ag3VtKkSDKumWHdjiDFhEJwHKc_rtq-T-K2GYUfsBdtGC7FTRg0clOXs5S6ILMXKL/w240-h320/IMG_6236.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgQjUblKjqySgcSQ-UYK_N-xq-uM96rVb9xelTXVLlsQYnYwbJ0YTqCTbM_kUq9xemoojvIJcn6UPwC7j6YopQe5rBjLn3jd4tWUv45EN44ugCVJsVfeUFc9VOa3T7fJUKpQFKR-7HHcbrsfMZtZCVOw4CoHnlHmj76vlApognPJhZJA30lQAPjgvIind5/s4032/IMG_6281.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgQjUblKjqySgcSQ-UYK_N-xq-uM96rVb9xelTXVLlsQYnYwbJ0YTqCTbM_kUq9xemoojvIJcn6UPwC7j6YopQe5rBjLn3jd4tWUv45EN44ugCVJsVfeUFc9VOa3T7fJUKpQFKR-7HHcbrsfMZtZCVOw4CoHnlHmj76vlApognPJhZJA30lQAPjgvIind5/s320/IMG_6281.HEIC" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiySMmPmcV7IQFQK6-7vSMkdx_SVrSnBoDT1mhnWXHCSsynOxWtqEA7CLrFeJRGbybVzE7QPUoxibcdfKjTGe3y-wiKd1tkI119Uuz6eV4G8zaUFkgd2qOZGSefFXCECOgSX9wu3-48QQSTCDeKHmPbe-ZEUARzXxJ2xSSQ4IQpfu4S9mOM4kdbFKUuSa6x/s4032/IMG_6034.HEIC" style="clear: right; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiySMmPmcV7IQFQK6-7vSMkdx_SVrSnBoDT1mhnWXHCSsynOxWtqEA7CLrFeJRGbybVzE7QPUoxibcdfKjTGe3y-wiKd1tkI119Uuz6eV4G8zaUFkgd2qOZGSefFXCECOgSX9wu3-48QQSTCDeKHmPbe-ZEUARzXxJ2xSSQ4IQpfu4S9mOM4kdbFKUuSa6x/s320/IMG_6034.HEIC" width="320" /></a><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ7tgBmLfBa_e75CWZM9cdw5MiuUDz6ZnTbe53iOFqwsNLJf1rxwaWRIU2vMriwX4B9wMA-TxwaY98EO_CQ_KnVNYYkassE0U3eEE5qlUTv5Y_F8z2F9Iw6SJOy2_MaglFw9uV0PKYws2NVqUYN_rrBfMStiYsbndaIDq-MKd2FiNUcKEEYaCT5i0p4xln/s4032/IMG_0002.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ7tgBmLfBa_e75CWZM9cdw5MiuUDz6ZnTbe53iOFqwsNLJf1rxwaWRIU2vMriwX4B9wMA-TxwaY98EO_CQ_KnVNYYkassE0U3eEE5qlUTv5Y_F8z2F9Iw6SJOy2_MaglFw9uV0PKYws2NVqUYN_rrBfMStiYsbndaIDq-MKd2FiNUcKEEYaCT5i0p4xln/s320/IMG_0002.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We discovered some cannibals<br /> living in our back yard</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqeV0ASu96fXaBibu1z-Sh4xDtGhNo92OkIrpLlDgaFwOi46yNzb4EA9GPH-c2l9i7VyT2NfLt0AtxbKaUuj21BTcwIPDXVWLHgB72cBYM9bROtvwk1AA71cPSFrsPdPqyHjf2QFL6hVssKtlgKDvJ7A21feCIDsqeK9G1qAI_xQEBCnR_wWO8TAG10EE/s4032/IMG_5953.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqeV0ASu96fXaBibu1z-Sh4xDtGhNo92OkIrpLlDgaFwOi46yNzb4EA9GPH-c2l9i7VyT2NfLt0AtxbKaUuj21BTcwIPDXVWLHgB72cBYM9bROtvwk1AA71cPSFrsPdPqyHjf2QFL6hVssKtlgKDvJ7A21feCIDsqeK9G1qAI_xQEBCnR_wWO8TAG10EE/s320/IMG_5953.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">breakfast by the pool</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjm6OE7Tzj9Q0olj-kLqXSATzEeUonWizNINYbeCZuMq7MIjEo4Kv-Gfb94mC5Sun-g4gpYV959WdoJGyGPC9Nzq-pCOd4XhnAheJPWzjRGYyJwtLHv_jKBakd25TjGRq3_1OUmJOt_5t7-VzqrbqJTsSVMVRk62xfH2vKtuglL8r97oP5aU7vP-YiGdhV/s4032/IMG_0007.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjm6OE7Tzj9Q0olj-kLqXSATzEeUonWizNINYbeCZuMq7MIjEo4Kv-Gfb94mC5Sun-g4gpYV959WdoJGyGPC9Nzq-pCOd4XhnAheJPWzjRGYyJwtLHv_jKBakd25TjGRq3_1OUmJOt_5t7-VzqrbqJTsSVMVRk62xfH2vKtuglL8r97oP5aU7vP-YiGdhV/s320/IMG_0007.HEIC" width="240" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbiHyqqx3to7aZfb_Zy9TqVbG9pQwzCDJtwupEg9Od2Gh5f0kkXRMQW2rpK9ZDOXovt6DT6i8tFeAU1fDbWmTe89DE5GojVZnKjezwdCHN7oa7k7r92B8Vs0WMZ-EgJdqr1hI1esYHxOaj4Zo3K4UP0I3jxwzBphAcmMcyI4YPIVxcey2NCGZLM4Z28Hue/s4032/IMG_0011.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbiHyqqx3to7aZfb_Zy9TqVbG9pQwzCDJtwupEg9Od2Gh5f0kkXRMQW2rpK9ZDOXovt6DT6i8tFeAU1fDbWmTe89DE5GojVZnKjezwdCHN7oa7k7r92B8Vs0WMZ-EgJdqr1hI1esYHxOaj4Zo3K4UP0I3jxwzBphAcmMcyI4YPIVxcey2NCGZLM4Z28Hue/w640-h480/IMG_0011.HEIC" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I love the beach at Playa Del Carmen where we stayed because: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">-it's a neighborhood of houses so it's WAY less crowded than the areas where the resorts are</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">-the sandy part is wider than in front of many other beach house areas- better for sand play</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">-the sand is shallow for a long way out so even a skittish person like me feels comfortable wading out quite far and letting the good-swimmer-children do the same, unaccompanied by an adult to actually swim</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">-some days the waves are so calm that even that toddlers gain some confidence in the waves, yet</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">-some days the waves are big enough to boogie board</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">-the ocean is the most breathtaking turquoise blue </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">-the water is even warm enough that I'm willing to get in for long periods of time (80 F)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">-there are very few creatures in the water, and none of them creepy (I hate jellyfish)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">-no rip tides (like in CA)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">-the sand is so so silky-soft and amazingly doesn't burn your feet</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I think the only downsides compared to other beaches I've been to is there isn't much shell collecting to do here and my oldest really enjoys climbing on the rocks and looking for creatures in Maine, and there isn't really anything like that where we stayed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAmiTWPEeLAVgtcGA2OSxlumcRcFIjgbJVozJJ2Qt95HgSvtIZrUBvI8Q_sALG8qrhgs9M4OdmpQj4w3bfHOUoFi15y77bMjHUgnuQEBpAZb-Q1aAPRPBZ5suWo_K9NAEb-jS5rM4egZ6wGMSR0AngGKa-a0KrK78S72VZ1chr7waMEyzow1seuG4vyKql/s4032/IMG_0130.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAmiTWPEeLAVgtcGA2OSxlumcRcFIjgbJVozJJ2Qt95HgSvtIZrUBvI8Q_sALG8qrhgs9M4OdmpQj4w3bfHOUoFi15y77bMjHUgnuQEBpAZb-Q1aAPRPBZ5suWo_K9NAEb-jS5rM4egZ6wGMSR0AngGKa-a0KrK78S72VZ1chr7waMEyzow1seuG4vyKql/s320/IMG_0130.HEIC" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8CG_NS5TfvXvef20AhZiT0Qt44rpS_JAGkHdAd-q8HUjdIE90sBAFTRF7HJVzPtcAitpqpHkkoFWq2JiYux_uvxWd2RZ-P5nMbfP3FTO9FiuGovwE14cIh_opUvge4brHUgqsuPOQcSAaRFl_rd7zExvVH9dL_r6Z2_cC1vv5L-EO_STpgdG8PyO0xW_p/s4032/IMG_0143.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; 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float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7bV1bNrYnEegxRswDcNQC-2t-o8O-QrhpdCEG8wOQ0OQznJ2UwotTHavHpEFzMEGjwD3CwHUL-jTYx0v62MBhBU4EyYDGeZbWOoFZy6aB6fm8KHZ-JMSTyN1Qmsu_1S3znfbSNZatDD3txuZiaKu9CuUn8ogsZEMNucW-mQZKcOzQVKYajSrkR6qDfsw9/s320/IMG_0078.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLCx554smFJfTHOkgvQRHRetJDQU-4zSwGRyuoHJPfyLfUQANh9eI2olxhaJFQ6zf09uW0Z55j4QnlMphO24lE_-XUzMiUP5SO3Y_PQqVRgfY27n4AC-pxluw_C82txsHC6b_G6A1CMIcKdunSnQCOYEyfcT7fyiqlmdQcbcsBWXmnytWIoT5vMXd1xX9q/s4032/IMG_0468.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLCx554smFJfTHOkgvQRHRetJDQU-4zSwGRyuoHJPfyLfUQANh9eI2olxhaJFQ6zf09uW0Z55j4QnlMphO24lE_-XUzMiUP5SO3Y_PQqVRgfY27n4AC-pxluw_C82txsHC6b_G6A1CMIcKdunSnQCOYEyfcT7fyiqlmdQcbcsBWXmnytWIoT5vMXd1xX9q/s320/IMG_0468.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First beach trip where Toad starts feeling <br />confident in the water by himself 😅</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span> </span>I didn't get any good pictures of the boogie boarding, but there were several days with big enough waves for it. I really, really regret not bringing my phone to the beach on the very last day because little 3-year old Rose decided to try her hand at boogie boarding and she did AWESOME! She got a lot of amazed stares and chuckles from the people walking by. 😍</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Walking to lunch</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It took 20-30 minutes to walk to lunch each day, but it was a nice way to break up the day and we always saw local wild animals like agouti, coati and giant iguanas, which the kids loved. For some reason, most of our kids would order "hot cakes" (pancakes) for lunch and many restaurants seemed to serve them. We did go to a few places that only had tacos to force them to try local food. We learned last time to avoid all restaurants in the touristy part of town and to venture a few blocks away from the beach to save a lot of money. In the end, our favorite place was the cheapest place we went and only served pork tacos and empanadas. We found the street vendor food not to be very good.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ajca27UK_ND0gkicBv2IAXHN1UmsdgruVQjjGMOmw7vbl6qTASeZdcSo8q0k558imcNpYQkVUUPMA5RPvPYQjyPLVMYvRgK0va7lNMHbFB2ogV3CtDZTL6zr22z0mce9CPsKDfUpQPNiTRHyNRQbGxhl6GZishZYeI9Gx5-AZwO3xMhJfKSF8sds0OJN/s4032/IMG_5961.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ajca27UK_ND0gkicBv2IAXHN1UmsdgruVQjjGMOmw7vbl6qTASeZdcSo8q0k558imcNpYQkVUUPMA5RPvPYQjyPLVMYvRgK0va7lNMHbFB2ogV3CtDZTL6zr22z0mce9CPsKDfUpQPNiTRHyNRQbGxhl6GZishZYeI9Gx5-AZwO3xMhJfKSF8sds0OJN/s320/IMG_5961.HEIC" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3JsPNSetbwIoyHuFc_uSkpRNZ02LpB2qdjbHIeVUrq1kGyYZOLyF8TN61S_CRMXxyH-q6IgT4VI54Hdqf_rnc9KxeNJAQicVvfUmI7S0eeGasTp4NxEa8AvNVCeSxaNcw4Dolr2JXOy91jowJCjhmw3UzbEx_uCnZq2rZnSxjX24ukunmaYi1AHM5DOb/s4032/IMG_6035.HEIC" style="clear: right; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3JsPNSetbwIoyHuFc_uSkpRNZ02LpB2qdjbHIeVUrq1kGyYZOLyF8TN61S_CRMXxyH-q6IgT4VI54Hdqf_rnc9KxeNJAQicVvfUmI7S0eeGasTp4NxEa8AvNVCeSxaNcw4Dolr2JXOy91jowJCjhmw3UzbEx_uCnZq2rZnSxjX24ukunmaYi1AHM5DOb/s320/IMG_6035.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfcxuCdBi_CVHGn2S1yiwB3ZX31cHo2vB6mhcteMTWbb3RqHw0faP70EDA4nkIihtl1LcT12OIQoMhSnRkaqrw9qHow5CeIF2N8qSftdgpA8P2W7A4Ka_u3jJtenqH5YydlMmrYx3W6_Csoiv3AMCaucxNU64LJ_nd4OnygztBCjY8KoKK4wh-Hye3trtC/s4032/IMG_0118.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfcxuCdBi_CVHGn2S1yiwB3ZX31cHo2vB6mhcteMTWbb3RqHw0faP70EDA4nkIihtl1LcT12OIQoMhSnRkaqrw9qHow5CeIF2N8qSftdgpA8P2W7A4Ka_u3jJtenqH5YydlMmrYx3W6_Csoiv3AMCaucxNU64LJ_nd4OnygztBCjY8KoKK4wh-Hye3trtC/s320/IMG_0118.HEIC" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Since you can't drink the water our kids <br />reveled in being allowed to get other <br />drinks at restaurants.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_RgtB3ubUz7NqIZJDPLPp2xesecJQceJL5b-xmYaHTjGJc2zBiPnHU6tdm3PF013B0hTSz1r92pSZYfkhCf6V1noDeGOIGsc56e5YXGbQzfHHoOSHoKRYZ8fD0sY4PRUvLTcPRmzlb_jy_VMho4k2S2w69laNnW2vQZitpUaVG5a-vQmOUY3hJnU5NzqZ/s4032/IMG_0057.HEIC" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_RgtB3ubUz7NqIZJDPLPp2xesecJQceJL5b-xmYaHTjGJc2zBiPnHU6tdm3PF013B0hTSz1r92pSZYfkhCf6V1noDeGOIGsc56e5YXGbQzfHHoOSHoKRYZ8fD0sY4PRUvLTcPRmzlb_jy_VMho4k2S2w69laNnW2vQZitpUaVG5a-vQmOUY3hJnU5NzqZ/s320/IMG_0057.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA-21Tx7F27kwWuwEyXCn6sosMNPE53ZHRBm0A9-TRE5VfTr1mLYEY0_7QwjPRce2WhvbWK31W1X6D1J2zRiTHdgVdghmHWSpGtEMbZ3Q7aVrmtzS0kPrBUPVvvlKBdvcD18bEWLwCYt-YYPJOnXGcbk2u8SchqF4rwzAnuH4y7DWPDI0cXiIgqd8ohRpf/s3088/IMG_0063.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA-21Tx7F27kwWuwEyXCn6sosMNPE53ZHRBm0A9-TRE5VfTr1mLYEY0_7QwjPRce2WhvbWK31W1X6D1J2zRiTHdgVdghmHWSpGtEMbZ3Q7aVrmtzS0kPrBUPVvvlKBdvcD18bEWLwCYt-YYPJOnXGcbk2u8SchqF4rwzAnuH4y7DWPDI0cXiIgqd8ohRpf/s320/IMG_0063.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Toad asked me why there was a giant <br />turd in the tree. I'm guessing something <br />lives in there? Anyone know what it is?</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFH8oyJQ6dbfQQ0qWbCWPLU-yiAmHpTeTf_iQFl739BrrbY9DH2ONVb7D69DuJi8qoZfmx1P1S4dpdwYhn5s-Vg1Xh1wB9EMQQBaAHMdkio-yMo-cRLlSXBA0oLUcWtm4yFwiTij9M1BpmyDRAQUswa3WKjywfZRLfOyJzrINkkRPTNrGa_UH893Oa8YC/s4032/IMG_6247.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFH8oyJQ6dbfQQ0qWbCWPLU-yiAmHpTeTf_iQFl739BrrbY9DH2ONVb7D69DuJi8qoZfmx1P1S4dpdwYhn5s-Vg1Xh1wB9EMQQBaAHMdkio-yMo-cRLlSXBA0oLUcWtm4yFwiTij9M1BpmyDRAQUswa3WKjywfZRLfOyJzrINkkRPTNrGa_UH893Oa8YC/s320/IMG_6247.HEIC" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9tbU6FD7a6Y56yYs1IsLWTLt1-CW8tY4qFp2fqeFP67h93ENgr3-VCqwNx4EVjvafep5EtZVYra4DroNJ1qnnJhHntD9hn1vv_eap7G4_yPa8zPpQoeKJk2snB8zW_zZlXrLE51c3FAiFddjPLjXMkrdbbOzxKIAx06W5AZfOAjzoDgJWQQ7dmIB3uPxr/s4032/IMG_5997.HEIC" style="clear: right; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9tbU6FD7a6Y56yYs1IsLWTLt1-CW8tY4qFp2fqeFP67h93ENgr3-VCqwNx4EVjvafep5EtZVYra4DroNJ1qnnJhHntD9hn1vv_eap7G4_yPa8zPpQoeKJk2snB8zW_zZlXrLE51c3FAiFddjPLjXMkrdbbOzxKIAx06W5AZfOAjzoDgJWQQ7dmIB3uPxr/s320/IMG_5997.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi80HoNcVpSiVEJkNuL2yhKZ602HxySMjaoftBZ_grwlVfY9-Ft54eR6w5z2OyYQ6oT6vEajWaKd5dqIxFRwzNTeqT8mt4I5IlkxZyh81rbeGuNv9_gXuqC-MN9eZNWSSqzE3x8JG0ocM7I28GRa_a36FUTLaEoBpYMsXnlLiNmSIq6y7tWCnLcgI-wydeB/s4032/IMG_0267.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi80HoNcVpSiVEJkNuL2yhKZ602HxySMjaoftBZ_grwlVfY9-Ft54eR6w5z2OyYQ6oT6vEajWaKd5dqIxFRwzNTeqT8mt4I5IlkxZyh81rbeGuNv9_gXuqC-MN9eZNWSSqzE3x8JG0ocM7I28GRa_a36FUTLaEoBpYMsXnlLiNmSIq6y7tWCnLcgI-wydeB/s320/IMG_0267.HEIC" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhooUwswxP7cJFhuLErHm6OTqqocRMPBDEijzvLNWdaaR-lajKh-uvytedIafS1bISKEg4B62wvkm4PXpJx2qw1CbIq0OAVJ86Ee3yayRVSkUiQrbz5oIZGNyr8_mGB-YURAt_noLPuBr2EdrGzJw0dzV_TN1-pfl12cg07lKU3TwqaxpRMyqglx0LEhRsA/s4032/IMG_6035.HEIC" style="clear: right; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhooUwswxP7cJFhuLErHm6OTqqocRMPBDEijzvLNWdaaR-lajKh-uvytedIafS1bISKEg4B62wvkm4PXpJx2qw1CbIq0OAVJ86Ee3yayRVSkUiQrbz5oIZGNyr8_mGB-YURAt_noLPuBr2EdrGzJw0dzV_TN1-pfl12cg07lKU3TwqaxpRMyqglx0LEhRsA/s320/IMG_6035.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNtQcFlzOVcRlyGFZwAdDap4nJCBZzo53u38QRmFf02EyCurdMOrULA9EwBwJzTkFkEUe-AYRlEIVS5hqUwG9AxAnwD32GcyE9b-TGOmJCfcfan3MWwSIJjI58fFgiN4lXJJpts6PKKpCU9QPnEy4Apwjh1F7JCgpaz6GnvG3mJZwMgWhmqD-M5HaMSbE/s4032/IMG_5986.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbNtQcFlzOVcRlyGFZwAdDap4nJCBZzo53u38QRmFf02EyCurdMOrULA9EwBwJzTkFkEUe-AYRlEIVS5hqUwG9AxAnwD32GcyE9b-TGOmJCfcfan3MWwSIJjI58fFgiN4lXJJpts6PKKpCU9QPnEy4Apwjh1F7JCgpaz6GnvG3mJZwMgWhmqD-M5HaMSbE/s320/IMG_5986.HEIC" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZrz6Kmafb9lY59ofIjGP4cft9yHIrJkFpqk0WQQpHU_fYWi9-z_hyG84XyGjXs2qt89FSBQX2DPEUmX7EcnD4dvbUTw4JcZe6vW88zlaJKDZXxVcRdhrpumkyUeQIG8pPhXyxVdJIWlh8DnShjr22YHtJUGh3Uay_7DfHWdOxAbVvaQuKXcO6OaeBIqy7/s4032/IMG_5985.HEIC" style="clear: right; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZrz6Kmafb9lY59ofIjGP4cft9yHIrJkFpqk0WQQpHU_fYWi9-z_hyG84XyGjXs2qt89FSBQX2DPEUmX7EcnD4dvbUTw4JcZe6vW88zlaJKDZXxVcRdhrpumkyUeQIG8pPhXyxVdJIWlh8DnShjr22YHtJUGh3Uay_7DfHWdOxAbVvaQuKXcO6OaeBIqy7/s320/IMG_5985.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKrxigJq_aK1hIVJpwuRxHGrSLhtdaML72Mms2bKLZ46M1Q_cIRriCUdBkVo2wRGUq7l2d4IadhcF_mNI7c5sy3y7rN4x7S_LlyROOUu9Ij_EJkGksvi05v7u_Xi3gHcCAxC8HTDu6QHLl5ZDXQ8axyP5fJ2MpOJfpMPP4hjrdZVDhSgF7uc_F0KQCaLK/s4032/IMG_6268.HEIC" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKrxigJq_aK1hIVJpwuRxHGrSLhtdaML72Mms2bKLZ46M1Q_cIRriCUdBkVo2wRGUq7l2d4IadhcF_mNI7c5sy3y7rN4x7S_LlyROOUu9Ij_EJkGksvi05v7u_Xi3gHcCAxC8HTDu6QHLl5ZDXQ8axyP5fJ2MpOJfpMPP4hjrdZVDhSgF7uc_F0KQCaLK/s320/IMG_6268.HEIC" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPwfO3MRC98vtsWn2gbgBVpQBjaeJy8IjQHbp1ISGujF0GFJ07nZAkA90dfYLi5TeZQed9DprM5PwtWSxG4Kma5akHKdhrh2zH82Urb85pt44bnABHBZMMV90DIuEVLqjy7pVaHaTKRSuF2mfanW-jfYMBigyfz6O9kcEIK-sWFCxn4ngNuua1qfXzqUA/s4032/IMG_0479.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPwfO3MRC98vtsWn2gbgBVpQBjaeJy8IjQHbp1ISGujF0GFJ07nZAkA90dfYLi5TeZQed9DprM5PwtWSxG4Kma5akHKdhrh2zH82Urb85pt44bnABHBZMMV90DIuEVLqjy7pVaHaTKRSuF2mfanW-jfYMBigyfz6O9kcEIK-sWFCxn4ngNuua1qfXzqUA/s320/IMG_0479.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Afternoons by the pool</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The pool was not heated and the water was significantly colder than the beach, so we found it was best to swim after being nice an hot from our walk home. (Did I mention the weather was usually low 80s every afternoon? Amazing!)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBRHigXq46tY4HmqN4wW_7vaCPMOdWW0CAlKr70bg3hLmEanl5HGTYx1zTPsC5T5mJ4hv97cEUdlOOkRr6tHYgbNn9E5qCjGh72_pi9DkdPLvSZ4mQqARY7MbTaiuaachhVvJf2-Syu1uguBZAfI9G_F9beoh48Jyo9pEupp7yxIqOy8680yZ0jehzASml/s4032/IMG_0066.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBRHigXq46tY4HmqN4wW_7vaCPMOdWW0CAlKr70bg3hLmEanl5HGTYx1zTPsC5T5mJ4hv97cEUdlOOkRr6tHYgbNn9E5qCjGh72_pi9DkdPLvSZ4mQqARY7MbTaiuaachhVvJf2-Syu1uguBZAfI9G_F9beoh48Jyo9pEupp7yxIqOy8680yZ0jehzASml/s320/IMG_0066.HEIC" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUgqPZhFT0H8SBrzn1d719PFRuMd6BSZgG9ienalYjThOy94XZ2unOyO-c7qV0dpF6qHXoyodzinaxx2EZwIU4_xLIMdZEkNJ1hU0vEeeaq2JowpsczGWot8sM_wW8oq_aBDC4UVw6N5Nfj5BtdV1ReIEXFiwFUFch7MjyihbLew1PCE6NI6LdmGZlSiwj/s4032/IMG_0208.HEIC" style="clear: right; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUgqPZhFT0H8SBrzn1d719PFRuMd6BSZgG9ienalYjThOy94XZ2unOyO-c7qV0dpF6qHXoyodzinaxx2EZwIU4_xLIMdZEkNJ1hU0vEeeaq2JowpsczGWot8sM_wW8oq_aBDC4UVw6N5Nfj5BtdV1ReIEXFiwFUFch7MjyihbLew1PCE6NI6LdmGZlSiwj/s320/IMG_0208.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXcQUBWedLlD3-tAJrrfnegBh0OBXImyrQsXRzyd9bsubg-VyWYzOfLo9PLy_UMbfsa8n5gx6K5Bs2zOp76RjOkCSmXHZl4DBBFRyEp6VMPEc8XkyvezyHdT8v7J_fGi4PQu4B5r7tk2yyoDOidWrIbPhx36udzaOZYsZdxGpvh4r4tfBKjGG3FORcBr_Y/s4032/IMG_0196.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXcQUBWedLlD3-tAJrrfnegBh0OBXImyrQsXRzyd9bsubg-VyWYzOfLo9PLy_UMbfsa8n5gx6K5Bs2zOp76RjOkCSmXHZl4DBBFRyEp6VMPEc8XkyvezyHdT8v7J_fGi4PQu4B5r7tk2yyoDOidWrIbPhx36udzaOZYsZdxGpvh4r4tfBKjGG3FORcBr_Y/s320/IMG_0196.HEIC" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw92aRU_4oGgDuaID9EgxgDUV0hwmmf494_oAU7xxdT_GSI4dZ9lYJg2ZHPx3-HShw_1kO9I56K9R7-_XcT-K8jdWDvwqBV6J0zg877SsFg3P0JeOf3AdGeWCces7AjiL_5kvd90FUYyg1HdZvdRm85iOGs0TQgPLmHnqf33H52UXry_xsYxBMwrdPpyCy/s4032/IMG_5956.HEIC" style="clear: right; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw92aRU_4oGgDuaID9EgxgDUV0hwmmf494_oAU7xxdT_GSI4dZ9lYJg2ZHPx3-HShw_1kO9I56K9R7-_XcT-K8jdWDvwqBV6J0zg877SsFg3P0JeOf3AdGeWCces7AjiL_5kvd90FUYyg1HdZvdRm85iOGs0TQgPLmHnqf33H52UXry_xsYxBMwrdPpyCy/s320/IMG_5956.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw71ZYf5edCp08pdnJS9HzI02DB7B8a0IjP_zL4ilwSZVVRvfRfZ3hKUAZl418YfJW2cNApCSBFqRzRBlGVwWvuHHiwWP_w8H5BKso_d393qQatC3_HFLpE67Z0vGMDy7A4tqFt8zKwPpJQ9gyol4vVqnS_IrBUudU1-eB1bkFqGO-CIdtcm3Z6sEF6S5b/s4032/IMG_0215.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw71ZYf5edCp08pdnJS9HzI02DB7B8a0IjP_zL4ilwSZVVRvfRfZ3hKUAZl418YfJW2cNApCSBFqRzRBlGVwWvuHHiwWP_w8H5BKso_d393qQatC3_HFLpE67Z0vGMDy7A4tqFt8zKwPpJQ9gyol4vVqnS_IrBUudU1-eB1bkFqGO-CIdtcm3Z6sEF6S5b/s320/IMG_0215.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Halfway through our trip we went to XCaret- there are advertisements for it EVERYWHERE and a Mexican company Jay consults for recommended it to us. It was great and I think 1 day is enough. It's sort of like a Mexican zoo/aquarium/museum/water park rolled into one. Almost everything is outside but I was impressed by how well shaded it was and there were very few times we felt too hot. I was very excited to see the manatees (didn't take a pic though) and there were a lot of cool experiences you could do for extra $$, which we didn't do, such as feeding sharks or manatees, swimming with dolphins, etc.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwkvJg_2pqM9ORJN1_EzQlPuueaYCDtGrf7z0HyDFqswrYDUxLCZ26fyVnfWGF1oVSXmMFb4ddpisucH97S8xFJA10513AqTRSmvLqalwwMmk8kboRPnVfK0oSgankG_ug96LZv8glk2ES0yljtj2CriZDnsLcNh4yL2fkfYZvD2915Svxkn8CIdJYUTxN/s4032/IMG_0277.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwkvJg_2pqM9ORJN1_EzQlPuueaYCDtGrf7z0HyDFqswrYDUxLCZ26fyVnfWGF1oVSXmMFb4ddpisucH97S8xFJA10513AqTRSmvLqalwwMmk8kboRPnVfK0oSgankG_ug96LZv8glk2ES0yljtj2CriZDnsLcNh4yL2fkfYZvD2915Svxkn8CIdJYUTxN/s320/IMG_0277.HEIC" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYQvANvGQvx7CWnt1HAPef5a06tJEIV_k05-Ntg-FvCKEaaB2qXXoS5YqDvSHdTANz62g55DrFYCu1F7Ko4NWEmozFrgX73Ft8eMBC-0oQmve-PsHYp4rAtjb4IiUe9KX-hDXE352EGsP74lk02BRh0H40L-lw_17QDzo9BxZfTnSxR8HQYA_1_MvwxKj/s4032/IMG_0283.HEIC" style="clear: right; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYQvANvGQvx7CWnt1HAPef5a06tJEIV_k05-Ntg-FvCKEaaB2qXXoS5YqDvSHdTANz62g55DrFYCu1F7Ko4NWEmozFrgX73Ft8eMBC-0oQmve-PsHYp4rAtjb4IiUe9KX-hDXE352EGsP74lk02BRh0H40L-lw_17QDzo9BxZfTnSxR8HQYA_1_MvwxKj/s320/IMG_0283.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSLivLbZbGQSalz_Ry5OdlR4rdK6FhPDpekTISYwcoF7bsqmWWxlSZJ8sPxXmQjZV-IRkqGLgS0a-5zHeBDrG3Be6rZK1bh3buBcFGxICoE9cXHte411RpjviX6gwA9l5Mfa9cRWJ4xFF64J5FD1q1rgxMGeu5d3JnHNHRMMCoq1agYgtiIPJUs8Z1Nl1k/s4032/IMG_0301.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSLivLbZbGQSalz_Ry5OdlR4rdK6FhPDpekTISYwcoF7bsqmWWxlSZJ8sPxXmQjZV-IRkqGLgS0a-5zHeBDrG3Be6rZK1bh3buBcFGxICoE9cXHte411RpjviX6gwA9l5Mfa9cRWJ4xFF64J5FD1q1rgxMGeu5d3JnHNHRMMCoq1agYgtiIPJUs8Z1Nl1k/s320/IMG_0301.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This pelican was a little too comfortable <br />around people and traumatized Newt <br />and Rose by giving each of them <br />a nip as they tried to walk by.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZBnFZYANUJUEB_UEBRXzVeJ8_cPcXjA4udrQe6ubP6Ye3AEKLlcunWLG43E6bwLZSmdXf79LpgdyBHmqyV_KJA72aqdFiveCGN4zfAs18Yu1v6Fa3gjxzQ0ax8PBU8udzCulkOdw9iDEMm_CKc1YfhKDHiqiMAEQcoR-r8VDorlcwr9nuzL7-XfZSwJG3/s4032/IMG_6082.HEIC" style="clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZBnFZYANUJUEB_UEBRXzVeJ8_cPcXjA4udrQe6ubP6Ye3AEKLlcunWLG43E6bwLZSmdXf79LpgdyBHmqyV_KJA72aqdFiveCGN4zfAs18Yu1v6Fa3gjxzQ0ax8PBU8udzCulkOdw9iDEMm_CKc1YfhKDHiqiMAEQcoR-r8VDorlcwr9nuzL7-XfZSwJG3/s320/IMG_6082.HEIC" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVp9R2AMp7BH3temvUl46bG72a_PW-UcTKan7sp3E2xHDc-OGVWV85C-fnLb-q2pp4XvBBJtwxdcPfwJYsck_9C4n1P5Ry-PdRB-aXdAMA3qGgVqLzQ1UsXph2k1rF3qhYdAjCbxLkuou118kCSHXenMrnGN-Wn2SYpPPHrefKGZ-Il9hKjlzfkJkPauoQ/s4032/IMG_6093.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVp9R2AMp7BH3temvUl46bG72a_PW-UcTKan7sp3E2xHDc-OGVWV85C-fnLb-q2pp4XvBBJtwxdcPfwJYsck_9C4n1P5Ry-PdRB-aXdAMA3qGgVqLzQ1UsXph2k1rF3qhYdAjCbxLkuou118kCSHXenMrnGN-Wn2SYpPPHrefKGZ-Il9hKjlzfkJkPauoQ/s320/IMG_6093.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXpBZGcFYTlIromlEq7mK2el4mvkNUZfQkgodbLPW9i78dSNq0CVaVbTaZfDAsuaL9x9dnK6AZr0_WwVNvuVn5KR8injzaxjVLWeN4OBgP4sczh_nSTG8L3EgVA8JML_CofhP6SKldiv7pUiwJ79Rbzo-stU2IOGzuzAfWcKfutPRBSBu7UvGpIcGAm3P0/s320/IMG_6123.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mexican cemetery was <br />surprisingly colorful and interesting. </td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXpBZGcFYTlIromlEq7mK2el4mvkNUZfQkgodbLPW9i78dSNq0CVaVbTaZfDAsuaL9x9dnK6AZr0_WwVNvuVn5KR8injzaxjVLWeN4OBgP4sczh_nSTG8L3EgVA8JML_CofhP6SKldiv7pUiwJ79Rbzo-stU2IOGzuzAfWcKfutPRBSBu7UvGpIcGAm3P0/s4032/IMG_6123.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVoKvFWV1RGwMTkT1ZYLypMymsD0K9D0Zecl1t0vaNqvRZz91Z1FUVKUSYsi2JdW4d542Wf_zsJp6AJDA23ubBrqFYll8STMVHiIYLmdGMcDRnz4TIsRvIitXYbVbKBvEQA46D7_WvOtxHdYCb1yYM70hLDI1NYiC_PoJTm7R8LVpc1FdlxXrpPdQYsTw/s4032/IMG_0320.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVoKvFWV1RGwMTkT1ZYLypMymsD0K9D0Zecl1t0vaNqvRZz91Z1FUVKUSYsi2JdW4d542Wf_zsJp6AJDA23ubBrqFYll8STMVHiIYLmdGMcDRnz4TIsRvIitXYbVbKBvEQA46D7_WvOtxHdYCb1yYM70hLDI1NYiC_PoJTm7R8LVpc1FdlxXrpPdQYsTw/s320/IMG_0320.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were ruins all over the place. Very cool!</td></tr></tbody></table><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdsB9Z2ogRwzg14DYKcGFU0TI7qhOgYd8sNNDyc44Mg7XjZSLCbN2AYReaNPwOeCXxlvixpgL9LpV0pIgQNGBRtS7Vs-yuhVcyC5BFCmy0TPZOX2UfvgBZ5zqm1hLKYtgSGM3uV6vAxsKSHdNklrvHrrfCOinufM2rgvFQevsbKrTRs8ojZZYKnFJUxoXf/s4032/IMG_6128.HEIC" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdsB9Z2ogRwzg14DYKcGFU0TI7qhOgYd8sNNDyc44Mg7XjZSLCbN2AYReaNPwOeCXxlvixpgL9LpV0pIgQNGBRtS7Vs-yuhVcyC5BFCmy0TPZOX2UfvgBZ5zqm1hLKYtgSGM3uV6vAxsKSHdNklrvHrrfCOinufM2rgvFQevsbKrTRs8ojZZYKnFJUxoXf/s320/IMG_6128.HEIC" width="320" /></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCaH7OCCJRvrkT9tj7KHALpDDSr1IIH_1IcgfMzNtiNl7JbPSVWh-2PKTajfUJsGiM3tkaYMjqHmktA5Yhewqh_BOUeTYHXdPNIECyTz2z5PSCIMr_skAYJkJnExRJJ05sNUohs82T8pns7WSfKfHr58kwKAPzWDbW7oM-8sSPga9guK4DNx6j2KpPcDQD/s4032/IMG_6138.HEIC" style="clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCaH7OCCJRvrkT9tj7KHALpDDSr1IIH_1IcgfMzNtiNl7JbPSVWh-2PKTajfUJsGiM3tkaYMjqHmktA5Yhewqh_BOUeTYHXdPNIECyTz2z5PSCIMr_skAYJkJnExRJJ05sNUohs82T8pns7WSfKfHr58kwKAPzWDbW7oM-8sSPga9guK4DNx6j2KpPcDQD/s320/IMG_6138.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwKTzFIsFe2ZBGXBzspIes7jaIEvsPCBPoFP0tCHApSody-Ix5w6nDZQDJArJgimGumrEWlwvDYFHqI9AN9Qm0VNnTqIYstiM6V6pw6cFVb3Owfh5NIb0lZjhvsOveT2Itr4Kw3nTDRwSyKpSqpdQr7F3cUuHxaw70MeblI1wVZykw8uR83yz7hcjkm-XM/s4032/IMG_0313.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwKTzFIsFe2ZBGXBzspIes7jaIEvsPCBPoFP0tCHApSody-Ix5w6nDZQDJArJgimGumrEWlwvDYFHqI9AN9Qm0VNnTqIYstiM6V6pw6cFVb3Owfh5NIb0lZjhvsOveT2Itr4Kw3nTDRwSyKpSqpdQr7F3cUuHxaw70MeblI1wVZykw8uR83yz7hcjkm-XM/s320/IMG_0313.HEIC" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The underground "river" was really cool, but <br />Rose was terrified and screamed the whole time 😓 <br />Thank you Jay for swimming with her and <br />Toad clinging to him the whole time 😆. Swimming <br />while carrying Newt was enough for this preggo lady!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA36p0LSnWwU49O1_MsU2lbF1fmJGoQ52f3_zHeiKPQLZm65NyaCu8LFn6SlPWU8D51xrPM1iMdUcNJ-0PhovHDHd3W0_X9SUvLIWCOL0MuqOLFdYg6oFDfuwzCwdnL926lluMaegA_RZpopxf04HiYMLkOP8eWawP7VNh1lKRZVrAZbRRdwd5D0zw9yRb/s4032/IMG_6140.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA36p0LSnWwU49O1_MsU2lbF1fmJGoQ52f3_zHeiKPQLZm65NyaCu8LFn6SlPWU8D51xrPM1iMdUcNJ-0PhovHDHd3W0_X9SUvLIWCOL0MuqOLFdYg6oFDfuwzCwdnL926lluMaegA_RZpopxf04HiYMLkOP8eWawP7VNh1lKRZVrAZbRRdwd5D0zw9yRb/s320/IMG_6140.HEIC" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVtpe7ms7wW6-CZN6jOZP4bCVGLIqV7SqZQCVPWWzt-ngX6iBECjibk2Fnt6KmSW8n2b57hwCRs44TopCu0ZV914tbOOoJ87CQzJ1qSyGEMHxRVHBygrtrd6p4rLq_-qalY9siU54OogOwrpEoNbX1VliD5J19V6P_9L9bHqV-J9g64MFZovXpaAZnkd9f/s4032/IMG_6153.HEIC" style="clear: right; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVtpe7ms7wW6-CZN6jOZP4bCVGLIqV7SqZQCVPWWzt-ngX6iBECjibk2Fnt6KmSW8n2b57hwCRs44TopCu0ZV914tbOOoJ87CQzJ1qSyGEMHxRVHBygrtrd6p4rLq_-qalY9siU54OogOwrpEoNbX1VliD5J19V6P_9L9bHqV-J9g64MFZovXpaAZnkd9f/s320/IMG_6153.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAAGXBrl2JIk5o2zisrj0bRZcHNHpGMZkVzHa82eJqJL86QBj9tI87ZpcXbERxVuY4NH7j5My4HD5VBR2ZuraIRj5KIW3x6pXo04fVgUbR0RwuEDW7hkZ_QZc5Lb2jdfCk0JZ4ZkBmGqh3DGETZimZqhbke_MOAKSkioKbyannBKyEjOVTLe-38iD9qjbB/s4032/IMG_0331.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAAGXBrl2JIk5o2zisrj0bRZcHNHpGMZkVzHa82eJqJL86QBj9tI87ZpcXbERxVuY4NH7j5My4HD5VBR2ZuraIRj5KIW3x6pXo04fVgUbR0RwuEDW7hkZ_QZc5Lb2jdfCk0JZ4ZkBmGqh3DGETZimZqhbke_MOAKSkioKbyannBKyEjOVTLe-38iD9qjbB/s320/IMG_0331.HEIC" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Wp736aouC_5PfXtIrBYRvLP3h4ue6u7KZHgapXhVGn8LlWmrvZluxWYEAq4erdLpTpT_bCeqrUK6QpT9noyLsrXqadA2ni1x_5mHjjUutittsKEBNXjkY8NTV2Dy7lCHIXURtX5pB3cQOP3QBsMs70LcUr170T3d0RHg9Sp0zQHFew6E4T7lNLB7rdLU/s4032/IMG_0333.HEIC" style="clear: right; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Wp736aouC_5PfXtIrBYRvLP3h4ue6u7KZHgapXhVGn8LlWmrvZluxWYEAq4erdLpTpT_bCeqrUK6QpT9noyLsrXqadA2ni1x_5mHjjUutittsKEBNXjkY8NTV2Dy7lCHIXURtX5pB3cQOP3QBsMs70LcUr170T3d0RHg9Sp0zQHFew6E4T7lNLB7rdLU/s320/IMG_0333.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGpdjsWs_CgNp6Pxe9NM8UJxTB46yk33LWFxXL1_OEZEfDEVc2Q5ogGbRkJ0j112uiHePtyplRgAwr7MtTxtthhi9rF5n6UaX9fai3A8VACbiXvAoYuqWPc7mOI5MHJ_dJIFzVuKeDr7RLsTa1c57gy_PCgiOzasTVGnCRY-JP4X2hOZED_8Arps_FG7y/s4032/IMG_0337.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrGpdjsWs_CgNp6Pxe9NM8UJxTB46yk33LWFxXL1_OEZEfDEVc2Q5ogGbRkJ0j112uiHePtyplRgAwr7MtTxtthhi9rF5n6UaX9fai3A8VACbiXvAoYuqWPc7mOI5MHJ_dJIFzVuKeDr7RLsTa1c57gy_PCgiOzasTVGnCRY-JP4X2hOZED_8Arps_FG7y/s320/IMG_0337.HEIC" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFWvLt0T7EYeGAGXxQbBQFaKKs0j1MXunprmFVRzR_nxF9Sqc9bfsDyRiRBnZgWbzay6xKJ3HGLP2fs3SMa0sTHSjqDDB6wvpHwFsR1diX0ltwUqGnqvE45WD0FR8iZaRScZqzxOe-S5nEGGWvcsjGbWR9UBZRdvevfOgGaeOaDe_wOCEdOdQ04mPE7NIf/s4032/IMG_6167.HEIC" style="clear: right; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFWvLt0T7EYeGAGXxQbBQFaKKs0j1MXunprmFVRzR_nxF9Sqc9bfsDyRiRBnZgWbzay6xKJ3HGLP2fs3SMa0sTHSjqDDB6wvpHwFsR1diX0ltwUqGnqvE45WD0FR8iZaRScZqzxOe-S5nEGGWvcsjGbWR9UBZRdvevfOgGaeOaDe_wOCEdOdQ04mPE7NIf/s320/IMG_6167.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEictuBvzrLcB9ljYgmAOQobmq3y55XWkGeVZsodW0RAMQlY32mMkSkSlO42zq2g74N3ejMAmLptAb0EKGtb3jZanYxes33hIgQerR52x4ZSKRe9nSDkBkG_VOT_Ehcmik5r9CJATaH0YMRQ4wZ_lb14iZINd6GBHwymdLEnS5Usfj2xTAPHZYugw53vtzKh/s4032/IMG_6174.HEIC" style="clear: right; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEictuBvzrLcB9ljYgmAOQobmq3y55XWkGeVZsodW0RAMQlY32mMkSkSlO42zq2g74N3ejMAmLptAb0EKGtb3jZanYxes33hIgQerR52x4ZSKRe9nSDkBkG_VOT_Ehcmik5r9CJATaH0YMRQ4wZ_lb14iZINd6GBHwymdLEnS5Usfj2xTAPHZYugw53vtzKh/s320/IMG_6174.HEIC" width="320" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFTMhobm5Hy4tjyJG4bG23K7_HKnI000yD0hYn-019VxXPTiGXKg1KnIHltGeJy4SGcZ9IoeQE67xhj0Pg7wPNQsrRqwkbQWqAfxt_CanT1hbybZCWZ1NAuCylzkIH8jc_qhulyVz2Dv60JYFhNt1eTAAIRtfw5P4fKiYq32ZB_LXIGkdhvJXCxPmGSFz0/s320/IMG_6178.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I couldn't believe how HUGE <br />the sea turtles were!</td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_reVh9qsBU3J_R9J057odKvS03pmW8nJbiS2Xg2Ea4iq_wkNsp45ZIJlWpLPLiklb00tjQMZbTRx1i5KUK32VKFuua8AoB8iRcFskwpBDfXX2CLlfN6yzw0gOpqJ7TaV_kLGm7Fgg3Tu8-Sbidk2N5E88iu_QGmLGdZl5uELqL9gUGUQ-JeqjIxoY8Mke/s4032/IMG_0340.HEIC" style="clear: right; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_reVh9qsBU3J_R9J057odKvS03pmW8nJbiS2Xg2Ea4iq_wkNsp45ZIJlWpLPLiklb00tjQMZbTRx1i5KUK32VKFuua8AoB8iRcFskwpBDfXX2CLlfN6yzw0gOpqJ7TaV_kLGm7Fgg3Tu8-Sbidk2N5E88iu_QGmLGdZl5uELqL9gUGUQ-JeqjIxoY8Mke/s320/IMG_0340.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They had an area specifically for kids, but only between the ages of 6-12 and they were pretty strict about the ages. Kind of a bummer for our big family, but Hazel and Toad liked it a lot.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFTMhobm5Hy4tjyJG4bG23K7_HKnI000yD0hYn-019VxXPTiGXKg1KnIHltGeJy4SGcZ9IoeQE67xhj0Pg7wPNQsrRqwkbQWqAfxt_CanT1hbybZCWZ1NAuCylzkIH8jc_qhulyVz2Dv60JYFhNt1eTAAIRtfw5P4fKiYq32ZB_LXIGkdhvJXCxPmGSFz0/s4032/IMG_6178.HEIC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5nfK6E2X8m8tJ-crz3yQhumJ3D3-UPFB3fUwRx3QkNQshN9O4qjK9XYNXzpcC8m9EKR9m41OEufGo4KbClXA-hpMg0z90ytqoxhehdvmH81DHPO2CQ84MELkKrNZKtw0PjDK7_ipVOu9Jldaf7nzrSiyyIyJClc4dmrMsqHbip5uhXXWeiXAyWVRYSmkE/s4032/IMG_0346.HEIC" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5nfK6E2X8m8tJ-crz3yQhumJ3D3-UPFB3fUwRx3QkNQshN9O4qjK9XYNXzpcC8m9EKR9m41OEufGo4KbClXA-hpMg0z90ytqoxhehdvmH81DHPO2CQ84MELkKrNZKtw0PjDK7_ipVOu9Jldaf7nzrSiyyIyJClc4dmrMsqHbip5uhXXWeiXAyWVRYSmkE/s320/IMG_0346.HEIC" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyN5xFLbQDIdWyPB1M2yQMwX8QuACKfHRdfmK5d-p6nOBACBi0q0VLbWB8oV6BwkNROKsGp7oxbiE67HgcQ77JtdkZl7G_X7heHJWtBwXjDeLufr-Prpk26nElApzw9xlka7x_9KFbtnW_CaYtj4orcTBPf5XcitqWWLhg586oPjwKdA1sSYy7fn5vi0Oq/s3088/IMG_0352.HEIC" style="clear: right; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyN5xFLbQDIdWyPB1M2yQMwX8QuACKfHRdfmK5d-p6nOBACBi0q0VLbWB8oV6BwkNROKsGp7oxbiE67HgcQ77JtdkZl7G_X7heHJWtBwXjDeLufr-Prpk26nElApzw9xlka7x_9KFbtnW_CaYtj4orcTBPf5XcitqWWLhg586oPjwKdA1sSYy7fn5vi0Oq/s320/IMG_0352.HEIC" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">At the end of the night all the attractions close and they sort of herd you to this huge arena where you pass by people dressed in amazingly intricate costumes and they have a Mexican heritage show where they have people playing Mayan games with a ball on fire and an impressive scene where they reenact Cortez taking over the natives in battle. There are also many musical numbers with singing and dancing from different parts of the country. It was a great way to end the day feeling like you got a real taste of Mexican culture while getting to sit down after a long day of walking. </div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6nCmwgY8r5Tx42CIi87wGcVqQOKz0-Uf68BBZBFHWcKWC6jcP4i5A33xHFhDF0y2R_0la47ESEgVO8JVFex88JtfZQJWt560LdVlnCNK8LGc7ewt-vT_8NKW40Ryr389Pac5p386qiMfQvM7ebKJfc8J5bh60BNQtDmropi6idbJ5gUJ4j-aB16H653N/s4032/IMG_6275.HEIC"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6nCmwgY8r5Tx42CIi87wGcVqQOKz0-Uf68BBZBFHWcKWC6jcP4i5A33xHFhDF0y2R_0la47ESEgVO8JVFex88JtfZQJWt560LdVlnCNK8LGc7ewt-vT_8NKW40Ryr389Pac5p386qiMfQvM7ebKJfc8J5bh60BNQtDmropi6idbJ5gUJ4j-aB16H653N/w400-h300/IMG_6275.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Our last morning, Jay and I went to the beach to watch the sunrise. I was surprised how cold I felt at 65 degrees and how warm the ocean was on my chilly feet. A fun end to an awesome trip!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div></div></div>Jay McCarthyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07912023932333508057noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-23425216621753692362024-01-21T19:47:00.003-05:002024-01-21T20:38:28.739-05:00Newt's First Words<p> It's been years since I've written here regularly, but my older kids love love hearing about the funny things they did when they were little and I'm feeling guilty that not Hazel and Toad won't get much of that because of the hiatus. #middlechildren I'm going to try to repent.</p><p>The other day, while talking to Jay on the phone, I heard little Rose talking in the background and was struck by how cute and toddlery she sounds when she speaks. In my mind, she speaks perfect English, but really, no. She can't say her Rs etc and it's pretty stinkin' cute still. </p><p>Newt is just barely starting to sometimes attempt multi-syllable words and I thought I should remember this moment before it's gone. So here are the most heard vocabulary words from the almost 2 year old:</p><p>mama or mom = me</p><p>dada = Jay</p><p>daddy = Hazel. If you knew her real name, it kind of makes sense. It's really funny to me that he calls her that</p><p>sha = Peach (again, works with her real name)</p><p>na = Rose</p><p>dat = the Frog (doesn't sound that much like his real name 😆)</p><p>day = Toad</p><p>mo = more and milk</p><p>wah-thisss = watch this - what he says before he's going to show up and will keep repeating until he gets your eye contact</p><p>peeees = please</p><p>cheeeeese = cheese and he always says it if he suspects you might be taking a photo fo him (but only long enough to say it and then he immediately comes close to see the photo)</p><p>hi = hi and he's super friendly and says it whenever I get home or to strangers in the cutest, friendliest way ever.</p><p>bye bye = bye bye and usually comes with a wave</p><p>no = arguably his favorite word and is usually his answer to any question</p><p>bah = ball (he loves them)</p><p>foh = throw (one of his favorite things to do. It gets annoying at meal time)</p><p>bafff = bath (always says this word with a lot of enthusiasm, in kind of an excited whisper)</p><p>'mon = come on</p><p>pie = potty. He loves helping everyone flush</p><p>bay = berry, belly, or bunny. Context is important here.</p><p>ashee = Peach's squishmallow "Ashley" or it can also mean "actually"</p><p>wa wa = water</p><p>die = dinosaur or dice, which comes up a surprising amount of time because he loves getting into The Frog's Dungeons and Dragons dice bag and littering the house with them.</p><p>nay = snake</p><p>woof woof = dog. Anytime we see a dog he emphatically wants to get close to it but as soon as we are, he regrets the decision.</p><p>tootie = cookie (which is what he calls all treats)</p><p>fie = fly- he loves watching his siblings fly drones and really really wished he knew how to do it.</p><p>wone = drone</p><p>push = push. One of his few correct words. He loves pushing in his chest buckle in his car seat and pushing in drawers and chairs</p><p>skish = squishmallow (Peach and Hazel have an obsession right now)</p><p>hep = help</p><p>den = done</p><p>den = again (yeah, confusing)</p><p>This one is hard to describe, but he loves imitating the sound of a squirting bottle while holding a spray bottle or one of his sister's perfume bottles. He is often discovered smelling of perfume too ;)</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-57763523286775499102023-12-01T17:32:00.053-05:002023-12-10T21:17:47.652-05:00Merry Christmas 2023<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9prqe0C-ZkaY6Bd_C0z65zeTChb7nmDmV6UgqfAAJtY2RyXQkWQQW02KOwf9iJJx-I4wfC2jAzF1A37ZPqh9QFAw1iNpDh1rDfB0c6s9HJ59kNknxWVoM4yIbwjo5ZYZHh6Hpi1R0s4iWhbcXNLHWfBq990kaVmZ6CuvudEmBa7K-UdnVseRYMHavb10/s4032/2023%20fall%20family.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9prqe0C-ZkaY6Bd_C0z65zeTChb7nmDmV6UgqfAAJtY2RyXQkWQQW02KOwf9iJJx-I4wfC2jAzF1A37ZPqh9QFAw1iNpDh1rDfB0c6s9HJ59kNknxWVoM4yIbwjo5ZYZHh6Hpi1R0s4iWhbcXNLHWfBq990kaVmZ6CuvudEmBa7K-UdnVseRYMHavb10/w640-h480/2023%20fall%20family.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>The McCarthy's have moved across the country! Welcome to our new home, back in Provo, Utah- would you like to take a tour?</p><p>As you enter, Jay might be reading to the children or himself. Why not sit and listen to the piano for awhile? Or better yet, get up and dance with Rose and Newt?! Grandma loves to spend time there each day when the three oldest aren't vying for practice time and even Jay is taking piano lessons this year!</p><p>Continue through to the dining room where you might find Toad drawing intricate scenes of monsters in caves, or Rose and Newt smooshing paint across the page. On weekends, you might find The Frog acting as Dungeon Master for his local Dungeons and Dragons group.</p><p>In the kitchen you might find Rose helping Jay to a backdrop of Mozart operas. Lately, Jay is most often found shredding steaming, smoked meat, or winging a new delicious way of using up the neighbors' fruit trees' bounty. Or perhaps you might find Hazel baking bread while listening to an audiobook. </p><p>Continue down the hall to the homeschool room, ever full of busy children filling their heads with knowledge, or children trying to <i>look</i> busy. Even little Rose has the bug and likes to get out her bin of preschool things to do. Other than the usual "three Rs", a little science, and history, The Frog is also trying his hand at debate this year and learning a lot at his monthly competitions. Toad spends much time rummaging through the learning bins- making mosaic aliens or tinkering with his snap circuits, when he's done with his "regular school" with Jay. Peach is often found reclined on the sofa, singing along with Taylor Swift while working on her algebra.</p><p>Out back, you might find the family eating on the picnic tables (we now fill two of them) or maybe Toad and Rose making a potion or mud pie in their bush hide-out and Newt toddling along behind them. Lately, Newt loves requesting to ride his "bite" (bike) down the block with Libby- being inspired by his older siblings who are enjoying their newfound freedom being able to bike to friends' houses, seminary, and the local soda shop for a treat. They also love going to the new park nearby, all by themselves. Is that The Frog running back from cross-country practice?</p><p>If we peek in the garage, we might find Libby looking for tools to fix (another) discovered loose end in the house or (still) trying to finish cutting the baseboards to install inside, hoping that soon, room can be made for the cars. Jay might also be lifting weights after running or rucking in the neighborhood.</p><p>If we come back to the front door, turn around to admire the view of the mountains we have enjoyed hiking thus far. The Frog hopes to learn to ski this winter- armed with a season ski pass and an enthusiastic father. As we step back inside, we might see Libby walking Grandma out to the car to go to the Senior Center down the road. Grandma loves spending many days there, keeping busy and socializing with those lovely women there.</p><p>Upstairs, we have the master bedroom with... Oh- avert your eyes! Looks like Hazel is enjoying a luxurious bath, meanwhile Newt is unraveling the toilet paper and telling me that he can "puss" on the flusher. Oh look, Libby seems to have fallen asleep, midday, again. Growing a baby girl is tiring work! There appears to be plenty of room for the crib that will move in at the end of March.</p><p>Next door is the laundry room where you might find Libby collecting cleaning supplies for the latest spill and perhaps Grandma is folding the towels. </p><p>Further down the hall, you'll probably see Peach playing with eyeshadow or Hazel doctoring her newly pierced ears in the bathroom. </p><p>In the kids' room across the hall, Peach and Hazel are often discovered reading in their beds amidst piles of Squishmallows. Shhh, Newt might be napping at the end of the hall so let's sneak back downstairs.</p><p>All the way to the basement we go... </p><p>In the "theater room" you might find The Frog having a Smash tournament with his friends or siblings or the family may be gathered for family movie night. In the wee hours, you might find Jay on the rowing machine and sometimes, even Libby could be cycling next to him as well.</p><p>Across the hall, Jay might be in his office in a virtual meeting or programming and listening to podcasts.</p><p>Next is Libby's craft room/office that lately has been used as a guest room for visitors, more than anything else. Hopefully, <i>you</i> will come stay with us soon as well!</p><p>Down the hall, you'll probably see Libby reading books to Rose on the potty so she can get right back to playing in her little house under the stairs. Rose enjoys bringing out trays of hamburgers or pancakes (with a side of Lego milk) on elaborately draped trays. Having a pink tablecloth definitely makes all pretend food taste better. ;)</p><p>Finally, we end our tour in the playroom where each child has their own space for Legos. You might also find Peach playing board games with friends at the game table. Toad might be building an elaborate car path with his magnetic blocks and The Frog could be helping Newt with some trains.</p><p>Well, we hope you enjoyed this virtual tour! Please come visit in person sometime very soon!</p><p>Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!</p><p> Love,</p><p><span> </span><span> </span><span> Jay (38), Libby (40!), The Frog (15), Peach (13), Hazel (11), Toad (7), Rose (3.5), Newt (19 mo.), & Daisy (-3 mo.)</span><br /></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-83581517059473260492022-12-02T17:21:00.003-05:002023-12-02T17:26:52.120-05:00Merry Christmas 2022<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkSmgtb2FPkxAnSZN5ZJeCaxSuHBOW8-DGCs2mDFFhiEVI27a9f_eEQGgxTy6tLf9-InYIuVTP2QWbGIfFTE_Ko5b5vnofpbObG4QYiG3z1JwFzihaWGpC34QsMKTLGfgunYCE7SljWRAnN9IGaS4WX_tuSH5rbS1Z1WUQSZGFB6riv4F96wcRxLt_tkA/s8192/OCT2022_McCarthy_0666EDIT_%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5464" data-original-width="8192" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkSmgtb2FPkxAnSZN5ZJeCaxSuHBOW8-DGCs2mDFFhiEVI27a9f_eEQGgxTy6tLf9-InYIuVTP2QWbGIfFTE_Ko5b5vnofpbObG4QYiG3z1JwFzihaWGpC34QsMKTLGfgunYCE7SljWRAnN9IGaS4WX_tuSH5rbS1Z1WUQSZGFB6riv4F96wcRxLt_tkA/w640-h426/OCT2022_McCarthy_0666EDIT_%20(1).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Dearest Friends and Family, <br /><br /> As the newest member of the McCarthy clan, I have been assigned to give my report on the happenings as of late. Everyone else is extremely busy, and Mother thought I had the most free time. I think she may underestimate the many accomplishments I have acquired- from the physically taxing task of gliding around on my belly, to eating solid foods (steak being my favorite), and especially spreading cheer wherever I roam. Not to mention all the sleeping I have to do to keep growing as much as I have- I’m the only one who has doubled their weight this year! I even have two teeth now! I am certainly not the only one who weeps from time to time, but I think I’m the best at comforting. I, unfortunately, cannot comment on anything from this year before April 21st, but I’ll do my best for the remaining months.<br /><br /> Princess Rose (2 and a half) has become quite loquacious. She has developed a new found love for Disney princesses. She is highly skilled at putting on her own clothes and shoes, and even better at their removal. When she is not dressed up as royalty, she spends large quantities of time sporting her birthday suit instead. Her adorable smiles are almost as cheering as mine and her giggling prolific. Rose loves doing preschool with Mother or pretending to be a pony riding on the backs of her sibling-owls.<br /><br /> My big brother Toad (6) makes many interesting contraptions out of cardboard, tape, and other detritus. He loves building with blocks and also drawing pictures of monsters and other peculiar creatures I hope never to encounter. Recently, Toad has commenced horse riding lessons and discovered an interest in breakdancing. Watch out when he gets going! He just completed his Kindergarten math book, and is learning to read new words every day with Mother. I love it when he hugs me and he encourages me to ride on his tummy while he scoots around the floor on his back. <br /><br /> Hazel (10) can usually be found inventing, dancing, or reading- in her pajamas. She loves to be cozy, and I love being with her. She has developed a fondness of the piano this year and performs for me frequently throughout the day. She also resumed ballet instruction and stars as Clara at her school’s Nutcracker. She is very good at negotiating with Princess Rose, who can be quite demanding (as princesses often are), and loves constructing and imagining with her siblings and our bursting bins of Legos, which I am not allowed to touch yet… Mother says I may choke.<br /><br /> Peach (12) is my other mother. She plays with me the most and helps Mother by changing my diapers and clothes and readies me for my mini slumbers as well. I love spending time with her and tangling my fingers in her long, silky hair. I marvel at her canorous choral rehearsing and I pine for her when away at volleyball practice, horse riding, or young women’s activities. She allows me sit on her lap while she practices the piano and saves me from my other siblings when their play grows rambunctious.<br /><br /> The Frog (14) is my biggest big brother. I love it when he is flying me like a rocket or lolloping me on his lap. He keeps requesting to hold me, even though I seem to regurgitate on him the most of anyone, and he is the most distressed by it. The Frog is very busy attending early morning seminary and still enjoys his USA Ninja Challenge class. This year he dabbled in volleyball and tennis and also started piano lessons. Indeed our home is one flooded by music. I cannot wait to join in The Frog's Dungeons and Dragons sessions he organizes and to grow enough teeth to ingest pizza with them!<br /><br /> Father is so warm and strong. I have spent many hours napping on him while he programs at his standing desk. It seems all those weights and squats have proved essential! He has the best nose for grabbing and when he jiggles my bum in his somnolent way, I just cannot resist falling asleep. I love receiving his tickley beard when he smothers me with kisses, especially after a refreshing, cold shower. I feel so blessed that he can work from home and I get to see so much of him most days, though he has been traveling all over the world for his company this year.<br /><br /> Mother has an aptitude for releasing my giggles and I love her raspbellies after she changes my diaper. Mother is quite the chef- producing unmatched, gourmet milk for me whenever I require it, and her roasted mushy carrots are divine. She insists that food is best ingested, but I immensely enjoy the feel of mushy eggplant between my fingers. I adore Mother so much, that I wake her up several times every night, just so I can be enveloped by her attentions. She is teaching me to sleep in my crib, which I do not prefer, but I am graciously adjusting.<br /><br /> Grandmother Janet is so sweet and gentle. I love it when she holds me and perambulates so I can observe Mother’s doings in the kitchen and the thieving squirrels in the yard. She also serenades me on our meandering journeys. Grandmother’s melodious piano music wafts through house and she has made it her personal mission to reunite all wayward leaves back into the forest. When our family goes for nature walks, it’s always Mother, Rose, Grandmother and I trailing far behind the others, enjoying the beautiful New England woods. Grandmother’s frequent sweeping prevents me from eating little bits of craft projects, food, and other miscellany on the floor. I love her quiet, peaceful presence.<br /><br /> I am excited to experience my first Christmas this year! It sounds like a wonderful time of year when love and peace abound, and we celebrate another special baby- baby Jesus! I hope your Christmas is full of joy that lasts throughout the year!<br /><br /><br /> Love,<br /><br /> NewtUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-42515443546324186842022-04-26T16:13:00.002-04:002023-12-02T17:27:11.695-05:00Welcome Baby Newt!<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">McCarthy 6.0</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><span style="text-align: left;">Our only baby with dark hair! Born at about 9:30pm on 4/21/22.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioK5_DlUMybUq7S7GqG3p7DzYtnRENJpQYULz5SpIpmw_fGGzpQqcUdz2biqsIRkP8lW15PSlEBm8bH599lIZ9DNr825LfUoAR21_RvnCplmuYFkMbyynhQc4zhh81FR4icviz9GVDp8sbOBGxyWDodker8R-dh2vD_tPY3mVTBBwuW1RXAAblj5Xc1no/s2048/36eb7702-6924-455b-9478-6ab825ac5a40.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioK5_DlUMybUq7S7GqG3p7DzYtnRENJpQYULz5SpIpmw_fGGzpQqcUdz2biqsIRkP8lW15PSlEBm8bH599lIZ9DNr825LfUoAR21_RvnCplmuYFkMbyynhQc4zhh81FR4icviz9GVDp8sbOBGxyWDodker8R-dh2vD_tPY3mVTBBwuW1RXAAblj5Xc1no/w300-h400/36eb7702-6924-455b-9478-6ab825ac5a40.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">7 lbs, 5 oz</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve;">20 inches</span></p><p>If you like birth stories:</p><p> <span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 11pt; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;">Because for this pregnancy I am of “advanced maternal age” (35+) the doctors had all kinds of extra tests they wanted me to do- including weekly non-stress tests at the hospital (which I didn't do). At my last regular checkup, the doctor told me they like to induce at 39 weeks for "old people" because of placental failure being more common in older women. This was really stressful information for me because I like to have natural childbirth and I’ve read a lot of horror stories about how inductions often spiral into C-sections. I also have put a lot of trust in my body to give birth properly to be able to do natural childbirth (it’s as much a mental game as a physical challenge), and this challenges my views. Jay and I decided to do all we could to induce labor naturally- 2 mile walk, spicy food, sex, and it must have worked because I was in labor for about 3 hours the following 2-5am. However, my labor stopped and I went back to sleep. That morning, I was called in for my induction and I told them about my labor and that I’d like to wait another day, to see if I might go into labor naturally. They said ok, but come in for a non-stress test at 10am. Jay was concerned it was a ploy to get me to stay for an induction and so he came with me as my advocate (since I’m such a pushover). The test was fine, but the doctor still came in suggesting an induction. Jay asked many good questions and he sounded convinced that we should just do it. I, honestly, didn’t want to, but I was worried about accidentally having a baby at home, being my 6th, and I did have some more contractions during my test. Because of this weird, spread out, slow labor, I was more afraid of becoming dilated without noticing and let this fear convince me to stay and be induced- but not with pitocin, just with stripping my membranes. I had the doctor check me and I was at 2 cm already. I think if I wasn’t dilated I would have gone home. Since I was strep B positive, I had to have 2 rounds of antibiotics, 4 hours apart, before they would strip my membranes. So, we decided, Jay should go home and situate the kids and get his laptop and come back. I had my first round of antibiotics and sat and read, uneventfully, feeling guilty for not being with the kids instead. I also agreed to take a mild pill that sometimes gets labor going, but it seemed to have no effect. Once Jay came back, we tried walking around to induce labor, but nothing much happened. After my second round of antibiotics, they finally stripped my membranes and the midwife was really surprised by the amount of fluid I had (which is so ironic because one of their worries about advanced maternal age is not having enough fluid). She suspected that all the water and my super stretched out tummy was making Wendell float and not engage well, which is why my labor stopped. Once my labor kicked in, she kept smashing my belly in on every contraction- very uncomfortable, to say the least. It was nice having a midwife guide my labor and help out. I had never had that before. She wasn’t even part of my practice- I think she was just on-call at the hospital.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 11pt; text-size-adjust: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I think labor felt like it took a long time, to me, because my contractions were not as close together as with the others. On the one hand, it allowed me to recover in between and be ready for the next one, but on the other hand, it drew things out more. I usually have about two hours between water breakage and baby time. This pushing is the only one that I feel like I was really present in the moment and aware of my body and that I remember now. It was the hardest one, I thought, which seems strange. Perhaps because I didn’t really bother with kegels? Or much exercise at all? But I kind of felt like he was stuck and it felt like I had to push more than once in a row to get him out, once he crowned. I felt like with the others it was fast- just one big push. Anyway, I for sure remember yelling and straining, but he made it out! I think the aftershock was the worst with Rose and so I was expecting it to be bad, but it wasn’t too bad. I forgot to mention that one of Jay’s professor friends’ wives was the nurse on call- Emily Cimini. That was nice for me to have someone familiar involved, though I know some people might think it was weird to have an acquaintance help out with such an intimate thing. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">A part of me wanted to be induced the next day because 4/22/22 would be cooler 😛.</span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-54337344995865778482021-12-02T17:17:00.001-05:002023-12-02T17:21:10.742-05:00Merry Christmas 2021<div style="font-family: "Avenir Next Condensed"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: "Avenir Next Condensed"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFnyS0yKovawy30A5Kaxfeousz-rS81_mBmQynlbeJzpM_bMW4Kr34aRZAvN2WV75dtbMF1rX1tQdLK2KN4L2iQ3J92XA2wsSI6_h-AI0GPL5llQl_hqJxiOJFhXtaE2qeyklgUc8xHQNXMQMikLPUkSFcI_p0uLYd19KTP6KDNzVPSQyp78qLFxtX948/s4032/IMG_0251.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFnyS0yKovawy30A5Kaxfeousz-rS81_mBmQynlbeJzpM_bMW4Kr34aRZAvN2WV75dtbMF1rX1tQdLK2KN4L2iQ3J92XA2wsSI6_h-AI0GPL5llQl_hqJxiOJFhXtaE2qeyklgUc8xHQNXMQMikLPUkSFcI_p0uLYd19KTP6KDNzVPSQyp78qLFxtX948/w640-h480/IMG_0251.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />M</b></span><span style="font-family: "Avenir Next Condensed"; font-size: 14px;">usical Janet blesses our home daily with some much needed calming piano serenades.<br /></span><span class="s1" style="font-family: "Avenir Next Condensed"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>C</b></span><span style="font-family: "Avenir Next Condensed"; font-size: 14px;">rafty Hazel </span><span class="s2" style="font-family: "Avenir Next Condensed"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 10px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">(9)</span><span style="font-family: "Avenir Next Condensed"; font-size: 14px;"> solemnly swears she is up to no good. (And finally got baptized this year!)<br /></span><span class="s1" style="font-family: "Avenir Next Condensed"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>C</b></span><span style="font-family: "Avenir Next Condensed"; font-size: 14px;">reations by Toad (5) never cease to amaze- whether made from plastic shapes, magnetic blocks or good ol’ masking tape we never know what he’ll come up with next!<br /></span><span class="s1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>A-------- </b></span> (Rose) <span class="s3" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 8px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">(1)</span> continues to be spoiled & adored by all; we love hearing her latest vocabulary achievements and watching her dance. <br /><span class="s1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>R</b></span>each, Jay’s company, is expanding and thriving! He is so busy-<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>teaching, programming, podcasting, getting interviewed, “Zooming”, making breakfast, weightlifting, playing with the kids, watching F-1 races, and reading!<br /><span class="s1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>T</b></span>eenage The Frog (13) got reading glasses, which help him see much better to play Minecraft and finish writing his first fantasy novel.<br /><span class="s1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>H</b></span>orseback riding is Peach's (11) latest new endeavor, when she’s not reading or singing and dancing around the house.<br /><span class="s1" style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>Y</b></span>es- Libby is pregnant again- baby #6 due in April! It’s a boy!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-6536764836402177012020-12-24T15:25:00.001-05:002020-12-24T15:25:00.728-05:00Merry Christmas 2020<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlrhqy31GrDqskKOkCa3w_XvwP2S3y_adga7qsMI4ky7eCGtq7V7daHnflAozmRboI7NCNrodj305P6k4lU8QTEVeq0tEH8nW1PZOEij30ZZIuFX_Dqy9nUO7KIjyEmND-MJcwLu74JeA/s994/2020+Christmas+card.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="994" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlrhqy31GrDqskKOkCa3w_XvwP2S3y_adga7qsMI4ky7eCGtq7V7daHnflAozmRboI7NCNrodj305P6k4lU8QTEVeq0tEH8nW1PZOEij30ZZIuFX_Dqy9nUO7KIjyEmND-MJcwLu74JeA/w592-h376/2020+Christmas+card.png" width="592" /></a></div><br /> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 2020, the McCarthy family has been struck by a severe, chronic illness. It began on March 6, weighing in at 7 lbs even- Rose. We knew she was cute, but we had no idea what effect she would have on the world until everything started shutting down the following Monday. We have had to remain in quarantine, for the Rose Obsessionitis (RO) hits hard and fast and is relentless. You’re lucky that you haven’t yet been affected. It’s symptoms are numerous and differ between hosts.</span><p></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-e3faf679-7fff-41f6-b47f-796e723a6e12"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Toad (4) loses interest in his many LEGO, block ,or paper “creations” once Rose appears, and pridefully shows her his intricate drawings or colorful scrawlings of “Hi”, hidden behind sofa cushions and open doors. Toad is determined to train Rose to walk- schlepping her under the armpits while her toes slide across the floor, between his legs. Despite her uncomfortable, hanging position, her serious look and lack of protests confirm that she is assured it will work. Since contracting RO, Toad never feels he’s had enough time with the baby, or the iPad.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hazel (8) has powers of cheering up the down-hearted but since catching RO, she will even go as far as to share her most precious “Beary”, allowing Rose to gnaw on his nose. Hazel spends time “talking” to Rose on an old cellphone, which she keeps nestled in her purse, right next to her lipstick. She tries to sneak Rose crumbs of her freshly baked cookies (made completely by herself) and has started taking after Rose by wearing only pajamas as often as possible.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Peach (10) can often be found dancing and singing for Rose, and serves as her designated, piggy-back transporter. Indeed, coddling has surpassed reading, writing stories, and singing made-up songs to herself as a new favorite past-time. She has taken up cross-stitch so she can bestow gifts upon Rose, bearing Rose's own name. Much to the chagrin of her siblings, RO has banished Peach ability to speak without her newly acquired “Rose dialect”.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Frog (12) must check on Rose first thing, before working on his novels each morning. He is often overcome by urges to snuggle and nuzzle, despite her ability to disrupt any Hollow or Shovel Knight boss fight with a thoughtless whack of her adorable hands. He doesn’t even get mad when she transforms his comic-strips and ink, stick-figure action scenes into slimy, gray wads. The Frog's self-defense and wrestling lessons have become more intense, now that Rose can crawl.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jay has been unable to leave the house for work, since RO struck. He has become entirely oblivious to Rose's needle nail nose scratches and pinching yanks on his beard. He has been experimenting with sourdough rye baking so at mealtime, she can be in charge of self-feeding something while he sneaks soft veggies past her 8, slicing teeth. He can be found showing her off in the middle of a Zoom faculty meeting or mentioning her during a hiring interview for Reach, which now has 5 full-time employees. Jay appears to have a higher natural immunity to RO than the rest, so he has become the de facto Rose-nap expert: able to quiet her crib screams in mere moments. Jay is especially blessed in this trying time to have the best wife in the world (sorry everyone, it’s not you or your wife, it’s Libby!) who is so totally, ridiculously, and utterly in love with him that she even let him write his own part of the newsletter this year, muhahahahaha, I’m the king of the world! <3 <3 <3!!!!!!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Libby’s RO symptoms include weight loss, sleeplessness, lethargy, and sugar cravings. She is starting to feel persuaded that maybe Rose's practice of mashing and spreading produce all over her body could be the secret to baby-soft skin. Libby spends most of her time feeding, wiping, tossing, and tickling Rose, ridding the floor and Rose's mouth of choking-hazards, or nudging the kids to stay on task. She has enjoyed not being a slave to extracurriculars during the Rose-induced “shut down” and has loved having the family home all the time, especially when she can send them out to play in the snow.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Grandma Janet has been seen breaking into giggles, speaking in a higher pitch, and smiling with glee at all hours of the day. Something has been bothering her about her hips lately and it appears that the only cure is to hold Rose and talk to her about what things were like in the old days. She’s been enjoying being the personal piano accompanist for Rose's nightly serenades as the rest of the kids go to sleep. Janet’s favorite pastimes when Rose wasn’t available for a play date were “puttering” around the yard, reading at the lake house in the summer, teaching the kids the right way to wash the dishes, and being a great influence on everyone in the family. We’re so grateful she’s been able to live with us these last few years.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We have missed being around other people and are doubtful that any vaccine could ever cure Rose Obessionitis, however, we think the symptoms aren’t really that bad and hope to be able to inflict you all soon. May this Christmas Season be a light at the beginning of a wonderful new year. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! </span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-8700672198994429162020-12-13T16:29:00.003-05:002020-12-13T16:29:52.352-05:00Kid Conversation, It's all about perspective<p> The end of the day. Feeling desperate to get the 4-year old in pajamas, I opened the drawer and my innards crumpled in preparation for what was coming. The only ones left were the new firetruck pajamas Toad refuses to even try on. My will for an evening of peace and quiet overcomes me and I pull out the dreaded pjs, trying to distract him with conversation while I sneak them over his head. He notices.</p><p>Toad: Mom! Not these ones!</p><p>me: Why not? You haven't even tried them on yet! And, they're the only ones left!</p><p>Toad: I DON'T LIKE firetrucks!</p><p>me: How can you not like firetrucks? They're basically like water-shooting, robot dragons!</p><p>Toad: (rolling his eyes) No they aren't, they can't even FLY!</p><p>The Frog: Earth dragons can't fly either.</p><p>me: Good point! Land-roving, water-shooting, robot dragon pjs! Yeah!</p><p>Toad: [considering this] ... ok fine...</p><p>yesssssss</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-10909615815136466652020-06-27T19:27:00.000-04:002020-06-27T19:27:05.209-04:00Rose's First Kid Conversation!Jay, feeling quite frustrated, trying to get the kids to quiet down so we could say our nightly family prayer. Our kids all seem to want to have the last word in any conversation and it can be really hard to get them to pause a conversation. Jay, finally decides he has to pull out the big guns:<br />
<br />
Jay: Ok! The next people to talk before we say the prayer will earn a chore until everyone is quiet!<br />
[everyone quiets immediately until...]<br />
Rose: (with gusto) Ahhhhhhhhhh<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-8691807698104224962020-05-11T18:58:00.000-04:002020-05-11T18:58:01.926-04:00Kid conversation, bath fun<span style="font-family: inherit;">Toad: mom, do you know why I like taking baths so much?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Me: why?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Toad: because I get to do (starts counting with his fingers) cannon ball, ultra bomb cannon ball, and mega laser cannon ball.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And now I also know why the walls are dripping and the floor is totally soaked every time he takes a bath… </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-47842420893753719142020-05-11T18:49:00.000-04:002020-06-27T19:23:07.273-04:00Kid Conversation, breast feedingToad is so sweet with his baby sister, Rose, and loves to hold her (though not for very long). He especially loves holding her when she’s crying because then he gets to say, “shhhhh” in her ear. :)<br />
<br />
Toad: mom, can I hold the baby?<br />
Me: no, honey, I need to feed her.<br />
Toad: I can feed her! See? (Lifting up his shirt) I have those too!<br />
Me: Oh, honey, that is so sweet you want to help you’re baby sister! What a nice big brother you are! Unfortunately, you can’t feed her because you don’t have any milk for her. You only have milk in your body if you have a baby.<br />
Toad: Well, I do have a baby!! Look!! She’s right there!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-21559288754801639502020-05-11T18:43:00.000-04:002020-05-11T18:43:19.011-04:00Kid Conversation, bedtime prayersEvery night before the kids go to bed, we have family bedtime prayer. Since we now have 7 people in our family, we have one person for each day of the week! Each day before our prayer, everyone gets to take their turn saying what they are grateful for and one thing they love about the family member whose turn it is. When it’s my day, the kids usually say I’m good at cooking or they like that I made baby Rose. Toad usually has the most things he is grateful for, one of them being that he knows everything. One day, Toad started switching it up...<br />
<br />
Jay: and what are you grateful for, Toad?<br />
Toad: I’m grateful for... that I know everything... about The Frog... that’s creepy.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-43252843901988740362020-03-23T07:36:00.002-04:002020-03-23T07:36:50.197-04:00Kid conversation Me: [to the kids at breakfast after a particularly contentious morning] “I want to live in a house where everyone is kind all the time and I think if you guys gave it a shot, you’d all like it too.”<br />
Toad: “I hate shots!”Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-19038797134822740982020-03-10T21:03:00.000-04:002020-03-11T07:18:52.385-04:00McCarthy 5.0<div style="text-align: center;">
Introducing<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUwh8lZksGoKdaHnFo9zBW3e_Vscyt1PkbONAnVJ74Fg1xibwwYMlluCN30gx8gBLClqwZ3xWRT61WT3RXgGJrlqwUWYmuapgubqRv0QBEWfsUT5VuDsGjz0IQQr_RHijFbUlG_mbJzZ0/s1600/8F83104C-A157-4B9F-A171-AE2407EB563F.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUwh8lZksGoKdaHnFo9zBW3e_Vscyt1PkbONAnVJ74Fg1xibwwYMlluCN30gx8gBLClqwZ3xWRT61WT3RXgGJrlqwUWYmuapgubqRv0QBEWfsUT5VuDsGjz0IQQr_RHijFbUlG_mbJzZ0/s400/8F83104C-A157-4B9F-A171-AE2407EB563F.JPG" width="225" /></a></div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />
<h2>
"Rose" McCarthy</h2>
<br />
born March 6, 2020<br />
7 lbs<br />
20 inches<br />
<br />
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Wow, did she come in a hurry! We weren't expecting her for over 2 more weeks, and as such, I had packed in a whole lot of business that I wanted taken care of before she arrived, that had to be cancelled at the last minute. (I was especially looking forward to my hair appointment later that day...)<br />
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Birth story alert:<br />
<br />
I had been having strong contractions all day the previous day, but they were only every 15 minutes or so and got slightly less frequent as the day went on, so I thought it was just a fluke (especially since, so early!). They were very strong, though, and required a pause to breath through. I slept horribly, because of the contractions, but eventually got a couple hours of sleep in the early morning. Still thinking them to be very strong Braxton Hicks, I carried on with my homeschooling day as usual, anticipating my hair appointment, right after lunch. I literally finished my last bite and my water broke! Luckily, Jay was there with us for lunch! He called his mom to come over and ran upstairs to pack my hospital bag while I shouted things up to him to add. We got to the hospital, I had contractions long enough to get an IV (twice, because they messed up the first time) and 2 pushes and a huddle of nurses later, she was born!<br />
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<span style="text-align: start;">The kids got to come see her a few hours later and it was so fun to see their reactions- the girls are obsessed, Toad had a huge grin on his face when he got to "hold" her and even The Frog let us put her in his lap. He was a good sport at the time, but now, even he begs to hold her. :) </span> </div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-BBAqsBGWi4ce79dB0FH7BDMPV_R05b8pOEOcpdc1Kcj8Io0r-iOeGm12vYyH2Pcfhr3LE_jElKAuETOZWMR9ZRWTcOZl-WGlNloUem1lbGD7DiiHpScgXEWgM0HN1wYFwLaVOBarXaI/s1600/FullSizeRender-6.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-BBAqsBGWi4ce79dB0FH7BDMPV_R05b8pOEOcpdc1Kcj8Io0r-iOeGm12vYyH2Pcfhr3LE_jElKAuETOZWMR9ZRWTcOZl-WGlNloUem1lbGD7DiiHpScgXEWgM0HN1wYFwLaVOBarXaI/s320/FullSizeRender-6.jpeg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9rzun7hRFog66dLXnQG7ogchjkQpWzbbBKqyyqdaRGOqgXdLMDagZiC3sFU4iUT1OqRXB0MRxxwZJfiGwrHPtVk6yyhyphenhyphenTO-0hSY1AxbO_-ajOAWmW0WVUb9DZePuMpiRqOGz96tsPhNc/s1600/FullSizeRender-4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9rzun7hRFog66dLXnQG7ogchjkQpWzbbBKqyyqdaRGOqgXdLMDagZiC3sFU4iUT1OqRXB0MRxxwZJfiGwrHPtVk6yyhyphenhyphenTO-0hSY1AxbO_-ajOAWmW0WVUb9DZePuMpiRqOGz96tsPhNc/s320/FullSizeRender-4.jpeg" width="240" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQdbixAvLS2yXtjmdJyc_ZVzAB46AhWV_JQqsmjafv6e3JpOhbmP7e6jx7hSlp37PwCZwKUzCWQb1wU7Evd_cp6oKqxHFEYaMeY9v02PhJe4cfwL9H6vL8z6MWeHIwurlWXT1M1K51Ves/s1600/FullSizeRender-5.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQdbixAvLS2yXtjmdJyc_ZVzAB46AhWV_JQqsmjafv6e3JpOhbmP7e6jx7hSlp37PwCZwKUzCWQb1wU7Evd_cp6oKqxHFEYaMeY9v02PhJe4cfwL9H6vL8z6MWeHIwurlWXT1M1K51Ves/s320/FullSizeRender-5.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I need to give a shout out to the best. daddy. ever! He is driving everyone everywhere they need to be, getting food ready (including making sure I never had to eat the hospital food...) and keeping the house orderly single-handedly. He also does it without complaint and even a calf massage my way ;) Love that guy so much!</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">It's hard to let her sleep in her crib because everyone wants a turn with Rose.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-eAln5774gLU3rq_fWfzIN8c7fGQFN-zzYYnrJ_rZsn6UywYkPeBgGJfKSy8p3tyDyYCYuxy4WC0ArC7VQANzk9FvKmeQfCpxxLVazrL4c4cYCTSGcoiyTjnTVy5rWcNu37CnCikR1Rk/s1600/IMG_3251.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-eAln5774gLU3rq_fWfzIN8c7fGQFN-zzYYnrJ_rZsn6UywYkPeBgGJfKSy8p3tyDyYCYuxy4WC0ArC7VQANzk9FvKmeQfCpxxLVazrL4c4cYCTSGcoiyTjnTVy5rWcNu37CnCikR1Rk/s320/IMG_3251.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
Welcome to the family!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-56671804720411114672019-11-04T10:29:00.001-05:002019-11-04T10:29:18.975-05:00Waxing PoeticScribble Scribble<br />
On his tummy,<br />
Sprawled out on the floor,<br />
Toad perfects his<br />
Blackened figure-<br />
Was a plane before.<br />
<br />
Green emerges,<br />
Then the blues;<br />
Only he understands.<br />
With great contentment,<br />
His work self-judged:<br />
Masterpiece! by chubby hands.<br />
<br />
PS I'm so pleased to finally have a toddler that loves to draw and color- a quiet, sedentary activity!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-72596588533112061072019-03-02T22:22:00.002-05:002019-03-02T22:22:44.293-05:00Toad latelyI can't believe how much older Toad seems since 6 months ago! He wasn't talking very much until about 20 months old and then exploded with words. He doesn't make any guttural sounds (g, k), replacing most of them with "t" and "d", so it can be challenging to understand him, but he talks on and on like everyone knows what he's saying. It's adorable.<br />
<br />
Binary questions always affirmed with "yesssssss".<br />
<br />
I wanted to be sure and remind my future self how he loves to get himself breakfast while I'm making (2nd) breakfast everyday. For months, he used to pour himself a nice, cold, bowl of frozen peas from our bottom-drawer freezer, but lately he's discovered the frozen "boo-loo-bellies" (blueberries), and now prefers to eat breakfast with the family sporting a purple goatee and hands to match. Toad can also serve himself a nice Babybel cheese wheel- which he can open and undo the circumferencing wax strip, but then rips the whole thing in half, nibbles what is poking out of each red, half-moon, and discards the rest somewhere for me to discover (hopefully before it becomes fossilized). Heaven help me when he gets ahold of the raisins... <br />
<br />
I also love that Toad will often spontaneously sing "Happy birthday to you, for mama" (and that's the only part he knows). He loves loves LOVES music. He always requests "I want CD" in the car, but the only one he wants to listen to is "Beedas" (Beatles). "I want subma-een" The older kids like The Yellow Submarine, and I stupidly let them listen to it on the Yellow Submarine album (which is not their best album, I must say) and now that's the only CD Toad is satisfied to recognize as the Beatles and will allow us to enjoy. I'm pretty sure I've heard that album 50 times last week alone. He loves to dance- especially spins that land him on the floor or wide sways of his adorable, diapered, buns.<br />
<br />
Toad is very interested in toilets right now. He often wants to look in at the mechanisms in the tank when we flush, and must then watch, and flush a few times more. He likes to try and help me wipe too, which is often a struggle, but I usually manage to win that battle. Once flushing (which usually occurs before I'm done, or when there is no need) he often asks "where it go?" And when I tell him "in the pipes under the house" he always responds very knowingly "OOOOOOhhhh." He has even used the toilet himself a few times, much to my extreme amazement, but is not interested in using the potty exclusively. The Toad will never own up when I accuse him of poop in his diaper and seems to always time it perfectly for just after I've put him in the car to leave, especially when we're in a hurry.<br />
<br />
He has already picked up on making sound effects (undoubtedly from The Frog), especially unique ones for his vehicles.<br />
<br />
Toad never really used our Lego Duplos, jumping right to the "Yegos" he sees his older siblings use. He can often be making lop-sided, holey, houses and "panes" (planes). <br />
<br />
Toad really really loves babies. He points them out wherever we go. Anytime I get on my phone he grabs at it so he can "see baby" in Marco Polo videos from my sister and friends. He tucks in dolls for sleep and was really excited when my friend and her 3 boys (one of them just barely walking) came to play and loved to "help" that baby find something to do (until he wanted something Toad was particularly attached to). Oddly, he got very protective of his changing mat when I loaned that out and reminded me of it today.<br />
<br />
I'm sorry to say, I probably have 1/100th as many pictures of his childhood as I do of the others, and I vow to be better about that- especially since he's my most willing photography subject! However, I only get one chance for a good photo with him because as soon as he thinks I've had enough time to snap his posed smile, he totters straight for the camera, arms outstretched, saying "ca-I see?" <br />
<br />
Toad does NOT like to be left behind. Whether I'm walking the kids to the bus or grabbing a can from the basement, if he notices, he will drop what he's doing and urgently ask,<br />
"ca-I come?" <br />
me: "sure"<br />
Toad: "oooh-taaaay!"Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-67599789608845677152018-09-14T08:22:00.000-04:002018-09-14T08:22:14.034-04:00Kid ConversationI was cleaning out my bookshelf yesterday and found this written in an abandoned spiral notepad intended for writing my "personal history" (that I clearly never did....) But here was my first entry from October 15, 2013. (The Frog was just barely 5)<br />
<br />
I love having kids that can now narrate their thoughts. They often have the most interesting perspective.<br />
<br />
I can't remember now what exactly was going on, but I think I was probably quizzing Jack on some simple addition. He still used his fingers to solve these problems and had miscounted. I probably indicated in some vague way, that he should maybe count again. He was dead certain of his answer and so I showed him with my fingers the correct answer. His reply was a moan, "Why are you always right? I can't wait until I'm 6 and I know everything!"Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-17767809586717152482018-06-18T14:19:00.002-04:002018-06-18T14:19:13.334-04:00Hazel loveHazel has lately learned how to "make documents" as she calls it, where she will search for a particular images (princesses, animals, flowers and desserts are her favorite searches) and she'll paste it into a document usually accompanied by "Hazel loves princesses" or whatever image she chose this time. Then she prints them out and either gives them to the person she wrote it for or tapes it to her wall by the bed.<br />
<br />
She is also my girl for writing me love notes. I love them. They all say the same thing- Dear mom. I love you. I love mom. love, Hazel"<br />
<br />
Today, I turned on my computer and found this typed letter (in a fancy font, I might add)<br />
<br />
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px HavingWrit; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px HavingWrit; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 26.0px}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Dear<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Peach<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">I Love<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>You <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>am <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>going <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>to <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>invite <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>you <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>to<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Hogwarts<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">i<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>love <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>you</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">you<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>have<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>to <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>get<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>wand<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>uniform<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Love<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Hazel</span></div>
<br /><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-27022064889360529732018-04-09T14:17:00.000-04:002018-04-09T14:17:05.086-04:00Kid Conversation- Toad's first!Toad had his first kid conversation a couple weeks ago! He doesn't say much, yet, and will very distinctly say something and then never say it again (like he pointed right at some cheese and said, "cheese" very clearly, one time) but this one is a regular and it is so cute!<br />
<br />
So, Toad really likes shoes. He likes to have me put his on. He likes to put on mine. The other day, he slipped on a pair of mine, while already wearing his own!!<br />
<br />
When Toad wants to go outside (which is more often than I do), he brings me my boots. On this particular occasion, though, he not only brought them to me but said,<br />
<br />
"Boop"<br />
<br />
doesn't that just make you want to squish him?! love. that. boy.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-82948150447434277342018-01-29T20:29:00.001-05:002018-01-29T20:29:31.437-05:00Planting AntelopesHazel is getting old enough that she doesn't usually misspeak but today was so cute, I had to write it down. She is often stealing seeds from fruits to save for planting in the spring and today I was cutting up a cantaloupe to have with lunch. She comes by later with a mason jar containing about 5 seeds and says to me, "Look mom! I'm saving these so we can plant some antelopes!"Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-60316257569544688132018-01-25T11:58:00.000-05:002018-01-29T12:02:06.576-05:00Babies Do Funny ThingsI see time slide by at light speed these days and would super like to try an record some of the small moments that will be too fuzzy to miss, if not recorded, such as this:<br />
<br />
Toad tried to eat a ladybug today. <br />
<br />
I managed to get it out before he swallowed, but alas, it didn't survive the trauma. <br />
<br />
My favorite was the shrieks and disturbed reactions from his siblings contrasted by Toad's oblivious surprise at their reaction.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-57055969788940206952017-12-27T22:56:00.002-05:002017-12-27T22:56:49.791-05:00On Driving in New EnglandIt took me awhile to push "Publish" on this one... I'm kind of embarrassed by how long it is and I don't really know why wrote it. I just feel a need to get this off my chest. Sorry.<br />
<br />
Passing:<br />
I had been led to expect that the drivers in Massachusetts would be rude, pushy, speed-demons, cut-you-off-crazy, etc etc. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that people in MA <i>actually observe the rules of the passing lane</i>! Really! It is the coolest thing. EVER. If two people are in the left lane of the highway<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3143966266699329694#treft1" id="reft1" title="highway"><sup><b>1</b></sup></a> and the car behind is driving faster than the car ahead, it is polite and expected that the car in front will temporarily move aside, to the right, let the faster car pass, and then get back into the left-hand lane. And if the car in the left lane gets passed on the right, they will move over into the right lane (with a bit of shame) after being passed. Sometimes, if the front, slower car is not realizing the behind car wants to pass, it is not considered rude for the behind car to quickly flash their lights.<br />
<br />
This whole beautiful scenario would never ever ever happen in UT. People pass in every lane, including the right lane (which IS considered rude here).<br />
<br />
Merging:<br />
Most people in UT cannot merge. For real. I remember being stuck in traffic on I-15 at <i>10:30pm</i> only to find out the hubbub was caused by a 1-lane merge because of construction. ONE LANE people. Merging is not even noticed here. It happens so effortlessly. People just know that you go every other car and everyone gets in as tightly as they can and it's awesome! They go down from 4 lanes to 1 and you hardly notice it's happening!<br />
<br />
Crazy roads:<br />
I think most of the "rudeness" can probably be attributed to the shear craziness of the road layout. The streets look as if a road engineer's toddler dumped a bowl of spaghetti onto the ground and served as the inspiration. Where we live, it's rather rural so there are just a few main roads, but in Lowell and Boston it is out. of. control. insane!<br />
- Have you ever been to a 7-way stop sign? I have.<br />
- Have you ever been using google maps, had it say "turn slight right" and wondered which slight right it was talking about? I have.<br />
- Have you ever looked at the map and wondered why the roads require you drive in such a round about way when if you blazed a trail straight there you would travel one-tenth the distance? I have.<br />
- Have you ever been following phone directions and every other street you pass it says you can turn there and arrive with a similar ETA? I have.<br />
- Have you ever had directions tell you that when the road Ts you should turn left, but if you turn right you'll have a similar ETA? I have.<br />
<br />
In fact, when people meet up at a location, as common as commenting about the weather is to ask which way they took to get there.<br />
<br />
Don't even try using GPS in Boston when you're near a "highway" because it gets really confused and will think you're on when you're not or off when you're on. And then there are the underground highways... just forget about it.<br />
<br />
On the plus side, when you finally know how to get around without a GPS the drive always feels like you're taking the secret back-road way to get somewhere, which makes you feel cool.<br />
<br />
Also, it's a really, really beautiful drive through all the trees. It still takes my breath away. <br />
<br />
Lots of driving:<br />
I remember looking at houses and Jay being excited that we were only a 20 minute commute to work. 20 minutes?!! That sounded horrific to me. Spending 40 minutes in a car? Every. single. day?!<br />
<br />
When we lived in Provo, UT, Jay was a 6 minute drive from work. We had a grocery store, doctor's office, orthodontist, gym, dentist, restaurants, elementary school and high school (and like 7 churches) all within walking distance. I rarely went to Walmart because I knew it would take <i>12 minutes</i> to get there<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3143966266699329694#treft2" id="reft2" title="walmart"><sup><b>2</b></sup></a>. TWELVE! Who has 24 minutes to spend driving to walmart!!<br />
<br />
Now, as I've spoken to more people around, 20 minutes is, in fact, a great commute! (especially since he only goes into work on days he is teaching or has a meeting... working from home is an even better commute!) Jay's dad drives 45 minutes <i>one way</i> AND he leaves at 4AM to avoid the rush-hour<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3143966266699329694#treft3" id="reft3" title="rush-hour"><sup><b>3</b></sup></a> traffic. 45-minutes to an hour is considered completely normal.<br />
<br />
I pretty much assume that if I'm going anywhere outside of our town (which is most of the time, since the only thing inside our town I drive to is the elementary school and the library) it's going to be a minimum 10 minute drive, and usually closer to 20. Luckily, we have discovered audiobooks and the peace in the backseat that comes from listening to them, so I try to think of our commutes as educational experiences.<br />
<br />
Also, the kids are trapped when I feel the need to <strike>lecture</strike> counsel about various family or household concerns. It can be a handy time if you use it wisely ;)<br />
<br />
Freeway on/off ramps:<br />
Whoever planned the ramps that connect two freeways together should be fired (if they haven't been already...) It is very hard to explain to anyone who lives here. They don't get it. How could you do it any other way? I started to feel like I was going crazy until I heard an Oregonian friend complain about the same thing. It will be difficult to explain without a picture, but I'll do my best...<br />
Let's say you are on highway A and you want to get to highway B. So, you take the exit and guess where it spits you out? Right before highway B's exit to get back onto highway A! It's completely insane! So now you have a scramble of cars who have just entered highway B and want to remain there, but they are in a lane that will automatically shove them back onto the highway they just came from. Meanwhile, they are trying to change lanes into a mass of cars who <i>want</i> to be on highway A and so they all have to essentially trade places. It's very stressful and unnecessary and a great cause for traffic during the earlier mentioned rush-hour times.<br />
<br />
Punny/rhyming freeway signs:<br />
On the other hand, MA has some pretty clever freeway signs such as "click-it or ticket", "Don't drink and drive. Arrive alive", "Use yah blinkah", "Designated drivers make the best New Year's Dates", and "Keep calm and drive on".<br />
<br />
Turning left:<br />
Something I strongly dislike about the roads here is they are mostly very narrow and lack a left turning lane. This means that if old Joe in front of you needs to turn left during a busy time, there's going to be a big backup of cars behind him, waiting for him to turn. Making people wait behind me stresses me out to no end. I strongly dislike inconveniencing people. However, I've come to see that it's just the way of life here and I've never been beeped at for not turning when I should have, or heard someone else do it either. (It's probably worse in Boston though).<br />
<br />
Right of way ignored:<br />
Because of the left turning thing I just mentioned, there is a very strange phenomenon that has appeared seemingly out of kindness, but I still find obnoxious at times. On many occasions, when there is a backup of cars behind a timid left-turner, an oncoming car will slow-down to let the left-turner go ahead. (Usually, the slowing car will flash their lights as a sign that they can turn left) There are times when I have been a grateful recipient of such treatment, but there have also been times when people do it unnecessarily and it just causes confusion- such as when the car I decide to turn after ends up being a person that decides to slow down to let me go, but doesn't flash their lights. Now not only are the people behind <i>me</i> being held up, but the people behind the slowed car must stop as well. It's particularly annoying if the car that slows is the last car in a string of cars. They need not have slowed because there was nobody behind them, and actually, now I end up waiting more time to realize they are slowing than if they had just kept up the pace and let me go after them.<br />
<br />
This kind of driving requires mind-reading of strangers and is probably the hardest thing for me to get used to.<br />
<br />
All things being said, I think driving here has made me a much less road-rageous creature and also much more compassionate to the seemingly weirdo driver. Having been lost many times and therefore doing some weird maneuvers on many occasions myself has allowed me to more easily give crazy drivers the benefit of the doubt.<br />
<br />
Closing school:<br />
When I was a kid, I think we were allotted 3 snowdays, which we almost NEVER had to use at the end of the school year. I can only remember a small handful of times when school was cancelled because of the snow, and the picture I have of myself was with the snow depth actually tower above the height of my 4th grade self. I still remember walking to school one time when the wind and the snow were coming down with such force that I couldn't even see my hand when it was completely outstretched in front of my face. School was not cancelled that day.<br />
Here, it is much much more common. The last 3 years we have used almost all of our 5 snow days. I used to laugh and point fingers at these wimpy New Englanders who cancel school when they suspect an all night storm, but now that I've driven around in it, I understand why.<br />
The roads here, as I've mentioned earlier, are very windy and narrow and hilly and all the trees make for poor visibility as well. One time I drove to Jay's parents (who live a 4 minute drive away) during a snow storm and I slid off the road when I was barely driving 5mph around a curve. <br />
Also, the snow here is much much wetter than it is in UT and therefore is much more prone to forming ice on the roads.<br />
My final point about closing schools so easily is every child is picked up in a school bus here. Buses are much less stable in snow than even a front-wheel drive minivan.<br />
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So there you have it. On a whole, I find driving here to be more positive than I expected. If we could just combine the passing/merging habits of MA with the better planning of UT, we might be on to something!<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3143966266699329694#reft1" id="treft1"><b>1.</b></a> New Englanders call them "highways", not "freeways". To me a "highway" has high speeds but <i>may, </i>occasionally have lights whereas a "freeway" would never have lights. They do not use the term "freeway" out here at all.<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3143966266699329694#reft2" id="treft2"><b>2.</b></a> looking back, there were many, many, much better reasons not to shop there...<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3143966266699329694#reft3" id="treft3"><b>3.</b></a>Rush-hour is a misnomer. It's a lot longer than 1 hour. a lot.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-6029595540133115732017-12-17T21:44:00.002-05:002017-12-17T21:44:32.559-05:00Kid ConversationPeach: (to me) Mom, can I use your banjo?<br />
Me: what?! Do you mean my ukulele?<br />
Peach: NO! Your BAN-JO!<br />
Me: I don't have a banjo!<br />
Peach: Well then what is Hazel wearing?<br />
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I look over at Hazel who had stolen my fuzzy sweater <u>poncho</u>.<br />
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Me: That's a poncho<br />
Peach: A banjo?<br />
Me: NO, a PON-CHO<br />
Peach: A pon-jo?<br />
Me: PON-CHO<br />
Peach: Well can I wear your Bancho now? I'm cold.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3143966266699329694.post-24846800974575705802017-12-17T21:39:00.001-05:002017-12-27T20:19:57.676-05:00Kid ConversationThe other day Peach had the realization that if we are all children of God, then I (her mom) would be her sister.<br />
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Peach: (to Hazel) Guess what! Mom is my sister! Because Heavenly Father is both of our fathers!</div>
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Hazel: Yeah, that's Jesus!</div>
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Jay: No, Jesus is our brother too, because he is the <i>son</i> of God.</div>
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Hazel: (with great surprise and a bit of disgust) WHAT?! My brother?! But he has a beard!!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0