We Needed That

There's not much to say except that we had an incredible weekend in Playa del Carmen. We were down for our dear friend Jacob's wedding and then it occurred to us....we couldn't believe how much time had past since we had seen some of our friends! Almost 6 years! We hadn't even actually met Sonya yet (the bride)!

I don't care how selfish I am...I won't even begin to feel guilty about taking a mini-vacation 10 days before school's out. This weekend was so needed. If not for me (who can make it another 6 days), then for Mitch who hasn't seen the light of day since we went to Fayetteville last September! I promise you we are still counting down til he's actually going to be off for week in July.

What's better than an all-inclusive, worry free resort with no children? Not much as far as I'm concerned. Most people have taken some sort of vacay of the sort, so no need to go into detail. Typical resort restaurants (mostly delicious), endless drinks/ing by the pool or on the beach. What makes a getaway like this even better?? GREAT Friends old and new!!!  I'll let the pics do the talking...

How to get a girl outta bed and to the airport...
Give her Starbucks and tell her she'll be on the beach in 4 hours

Beach bags for the guests...came in super handy

A view of the resort...this is just one section...it's kinda huge

Here's how the rest went down...

I drank a lot of champagne...
I can't help it...it's my favorite!

We did a lot of this...
Nothing

While doing nothing...
we watched parasailers...

...and I harassed the wildlife for photo ops...what's new.

If we weren't on the beach...we were poolside with the gang...
Day 3 of Caribbean Sun = t-shirts on in the pool
Sunburns unwanted!

...and we loved every minute of it!

Occasionally we got out of suits (the bathing ones) to eat dinner...I forgot to pack Mitch close-toed shoes, so he trekked over to the Mexican Super Wal-Mart (for real) for a pair that could get him through the night...then we saw a few guys in flip-flops at dinner...WTF...our friends were turned away the night before for not having the right shoes on.

Mexican food was yum...but so was every other meal we had

I took some randoms here and there...

We did actually go for a wedding...

Us and Jacob (groomy)

The Beautiful Bride...

...and the Gorgeous skirt to her dress...kinda in love with it

The best part to any wedding though is the obvious...Reception on the beach with unlimited amounts of laughter and dancing! We all look kinda crazy in most of the pics, so I can only offer a little glimpse...

post wedding cocktail hour with of course...champagne

followed by a beachside reception

one relaxed, happy dude

Going out in style on our last night in Playa

some of the guys 

some of the Michiganders

It was sad to go so quickly, but we had a perfectly fun and relaxing time. 

last day :(

Did ya see a theme?

It was purple...I had NO IDEA that their wedding would be full of purple...and I showed up with a purple swimsuit and a purple dress for the wedding...probably the only two purple things I own. I also packed for like a week and a half and wore about 2 days worth of stuff because we were in the pool or on the beach the whole time. Oh well...had I packed light, I would've needed more clothes. Better be safe than sorry.

As for moi...

6 Days of School left for the 2010-2011 School Year!!!!

There went my...

"I'll be on the Beach in Mexico next Week Diet."

In-N-Out Burger comes to Texas
First locations - Frisco & Allen
Bad thing about it - 5 minutes from my house

Thank you In-N-Out Burger for coming to Texas...I've felt like I've had a rock in my stomach all day. Looking back...it's been two years and two months since my last Double Double in Vegas. I won't go on their website to find out nutrition info on a Double Double Animal Style with a small fry and a strawberry shake. I'm guessing 3 days worth of calories? It induced a 3 hour nap immediately following as well - or maybe that was just "End of School Year" exhaustion talking. I swore up and down that I wouldn't go for at least a couple of months so the newness could die down, but I didn't. We got up this morning at 9 and headed out the door half an hour later. Wait time including receiving our food - 30 minutes. Not bad. Yesterday we drove by and asked how long the wait was...they told us 2 hours. YIKES! Hence the reason for "Brunch Burgers" today. Is it worth it? Decide for yourself. The only problem I had was that Mitch and I got the same thing and mine had WAY too much sauce...his was perfect.

mmmm

In-N-Out has invaded the Metroplex
many locations to come

This week I'll get myself in check with leafy greens for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I might throw in a few grapes for hunger pangs.

Mexico - 1 week!

*and Hawaii might have just turned into Italy. My guess is that people plan vacations well in advance. Us on the other hand...We're going somewhere(?) in July and we still can't decide!

Amalfi Coast & Rome vs Big Island & Oahu- how does one decide?

~Ciao/Aloha

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all moms. Had a blast this weekend with my mom and Mitch in Austin. It was a quick trip, but we packed in some fun while we were there.

Katie deployed with the Red Cross this past week to deal with the Mississippi crisis...record tornado destruction, now flooding...She'll be there for a couple of weeks, so she couldn't make it this weekend. Hoping a permanent job comes from all of her hard work with them.

Mom wanted to go Zip-lining for Mother's Day...Cypress Valley Canopy Tours. It was a beautiful day zipping through 150 year old Bald Cypress Trees! Thank goodness for the shade and breeze because it was a hot one. I think summer is here Texas!

No...there aren't any shots of me zipping through trees. Plenty were taken, but I'm saving your sight...no one needs to see me all strapped into harnesses.

Patio, drinks and the perfect breeze in spring are always a good thing on my list.

Love this Lady!

Happy Mother's Day!

Our last weekend activity before returning to reality...Pecan Street Festival. Thank you Austin for the spectacular array of craziness, music, and strollers. Three parking garages later, we finally found one...7th floor, stairs only (or so we thought), ripped my jeans (that I shouldn't have been wearing in the first place) on the way back up...they were on their last leg and I knew it. It's like Main Street Arts Festival in Fort Worth, but times a million sweaty people! Didn't find anything I couldn't live without.

This explains how hot it was...Thank goodness they can't
cry and scream like the million children that were...Poor Beau.

catching what little shade there was

We didn't abuse our babies with the heat...
They got a water and shade stop about every 50 feet.
And they were exhausted for the trip back!
You have no idea how good that makes a road trip with dogs!

I was almost right there with him.
Had I known we were going to go down there,
I would've packed a dress or shorts!

Here's some other recent stuff...

I wish I could post the pics from our post TAKS field trip to the park. I let the kids have my camera and they took all the pics. It's some of the best stuff I've seen! These two are not examples of their fine work...they're just an example of there "ok" work.

my teaching partner in crime & I keeping an eye on the kids who
lost their recess privileges because they can't  play nice

Super flattering right?! Silly Mrs. Williams!

and Easter at the Janssen's...

T-minus 13 days until we're on the beach relaxing in Mexico and seeing our wonderful friends get married. 

And the countdown has been on for school to get out...19 days - the 2 I'll be in Mexico = 17 days until SUMMER BREAK!!!! And you think the kids are excited!

Summer Plans: Relax like it's my job...oh wait...it is my job (during the summer), go to Hawaii, spend a long weekend on the coast, sleep, sun, sleep, and find a new place to live...Dallas bound in August.