Breck weekend

Last weekend one our our family's friends graciously lent us their condo in Breckenridge.  And oh did we have fun!  Between ice skating, sledding, swimming, going out to eat, etc., we had a fun filled and busy weekend!  One of the kid's favorite activities was ice skating.  We were going to go to the outdoor rink, but it was about 5 degrees outsides so we decided to try out the indoor rink.  We had the entire place practically to ourselves and the kids skated for over 2 hours.  They loved it!

 We thought about trying out skiing with Elizabeth but she still gets really cold outside, no matter how many layers we seem to put on her.  The hands are always cold, like her momma.  So instead, we did a bit of after hours sledding behind the condo and had fun.  And with all the deep snow and animal tracks, the kids pretended that they were on a bear hunt and that they were going to catch a big one (just like one of their favorite books) and that kept them entertained.

Inside play days

In the month of February, we've had record snow.  Something like 31 inches.  So needless to say, we've had quite a few inside play days.  About three weekends ago, we just decided to spend the whole day inside due to just about everyone being sick in some way and a couple of feet of snow on the ground.  But the kids managed to make up some fun in one way or another.  Lately, it's been with the giant fire truck that Andrew got for Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa.  A fire truck doubles as a bunch of things to include a cart, storage container and most of all, a buggy to push your sister all over the house.  And of course the honorary fire truck driver is Dumbo (which happens to be both of the kids favorite movie this month).   I remember Dumbo from being a kid but when I watched it for the first time (which equates to the kids watching it about 10 times and I catch pieces here and there), I didn't remember it at all.  It is such a good movie.  Andrew loves it as there is music practically the entire time.

And it would be OK if Andrew would take his finger out of his nose.  He is currently fascinated with his boogies.  Is it a boy thing?  Elizabeth never when through this.

 But oh so cute!  I cannot turn down a sweater vest at the store!

Just like Elizabeth at 2, Andrew has his "Scary face" which he is sporting here with one of his favorite cleaning tools, the vacuum brush.

The Kid's week with Grandma Lois and Grandpa Jan

While we were in Cozumel, Andrew and Elizabeth got to spend the week on their own little mini-vacation with Grandma Lois and Grandpa Jan.  They had a great time and did all kinds of fun things.  Some of the highlights (from what I've been told by Andrew and Elizabeth) were going swimming, to the museum of nature and science, sledding, and shoveling snow.  I sure am glad that Grandpop got Andrew his own shovel and that Andrew likes shoveling as I see that job in his future for the next 16 years.  And a highlight for Elizabeth was getting Spider Man PJ's.  She really likes Spider Man (but just wishes there was a Spider Girl but that's ok).

Dive trip to Cozumel

Each year we try to get away in the winter for a quick dive trip in a tropical setting.  After much debate between destinations - BVI, Belize, Caymans, we ended up deciding on our old favorite - Cozumel MX.

Of course the trip couldn't have come at a worse time for both of us with respect to work - it always seems like breaking away from work for even a quick vacation is like trying to take a piece of meat from an alligator.    After a lot of last minute coordination and hand-offs we were able to comfortably leave work behind pack a few last minute things, give Grandma and Grandpa the update kid-o in-brief, catch about 3 hours of sleep, and then we were on our way to sunny Cozumel.

Once on the ground in Cozumel we checked in to our little oasis right in the heart of downtown, the Casa Mexicana.  Its an incredible value and they put out a fantastic breakfast spread each morning not to mention some great views and its located within walking distance of all of the fun restaurants in town.

This time around we decided to venture out and try some new places to eat.  The first place we found was a couple blocks from the hotel, and was the kind of place that no- one from a cruise ship would ever go to.  You literally had to walk through someones's living room to get to the courtyard in the back where the restaurant was located.  They had a full Mexican menu but when asking the waiter what is best he recommended the fish - so fish it was!  Delicious grouper in a garlic lime sauce that the waiter had just caught.  There is just something about ordering your food in Spanish, drinking a Sol in a tropical garden, and eating freshly caught fish on a nice hot day in the middle of February on a work day that is so gratifying. 

 For our first full day we had a mission - find a nice quiet beach to read a book and take a nap on while listening to the waves.

The Jeep we rented for the day is unquestionably worth further mention.  It was the perfect catalyst to really get into the Caribbean spirit if things.  Yes, indeed, technically speaking, for $50 you can rent a real jeep for 24 hours to drive all over Cozumel.  The thing is, it would never be considered street legal in the US.  For example, there was no rear view mirror, no seat belt for the driver (me, as Kate refuses to learn how to drive a stick), the fuel gauge didn't work, it made a dreadful noise just sitting at idol.  Shifting gears offered a whole other auditory experience putting it nicely - I found skipping 3rd gear helped... The car would start to shake uncontrollably at about 45 mph and i'm not talking about a wheel balance shimmy but a no kidding shake that was so bad it makes one loose control of the car.  There was rust everywhere making me feel better about that tetanus shot I got a few months ago.  An to top it off, literally, we couldn't tell if the old, worn out, and held together by strings rag top was the original worn out top or if maybe it was a moo moo discarded over the side of a passing cruise ship and re-purposed as a convertible rain fly for the jeep.  Fortunately, what it lacked in new-ness it made up for in character and provided us with some good laughs, freedom, and proved to be plenty reliable for the 24 hours we had it.  This being said, If we lived in Cozumel, we wouldn't have to think twice about buying a jeep!

On the way to the beach we decided to do a little cultural enrichment and visit some of the Mayan ruins on Cozumel.  There are several sites on the island but this is the largest.  We took our time exploring around on our own and found some pretty cool iguanas that kept us company on our journey.

The Ruins are in almost the center of the island, several miles from shore making one wonder why they were built there of all places.  It's impressive to think of how much work went into building all of this...

After our cultural enrichment it was time to cool off at the beach, read a book, and take a nap.

The east side of Cozumel is pretty much completely empty aside from the occasional beach bar so finding a quiet beach all to yourself is pretty straight forward.  Drive until you don't see anyone, pull over, and swim! 

Same applies to finding a good shady place for a nap and reading!

The next day the ocean was planned to be our first day of diving however the ocean was closed due to a low pressure system that blew in bringing very heavy seas.  The harbor master closed the port so no one was diving.  We decided to head up to a restaurant we had tried years before called Conchita del Caribe which is a locals seafood place.  Apparently the day we were there was Paella day - a local favorite.  So what the heck, we tried it.  It was good, but a very interesting mix of food in this paella.  There was chicken of course, muscles, shrimp, conch, and octopus.  After that, it started to get interesting.  There were also pork ribs, and a ton of mini  hot dogs!  We should have shared instead of each ordering our own - should have known better.  Next time we will try more fish.  Allegedly this place is home to some of the best ceviche on the island. We aren't big on ceviche but maybe next time we'll give it a try.

Completely full we walked back towards town to do a little shopping and who do we find... 

Its Mr. Carnival himself!

Finally, it was time to get into the water.  The ocean was nice and calm and we got a couple of great dives in in the morning.  This go around we rented a nice camera and strobe and got some pretty good results!

It turns out you get really hungry diving.  We got back to the hotel, showered, and headed out for a late lunch.  We were ravished and headed straight to one of our all time favorite restaurants anywhere in the world.  Casa Denis!

 

Free Margaritas?  Si por favor!

Can't go wrong with the mixed Fajitas - Beef, Shrimp, Chicken - they are simply incredible!  Best I have ever had without question.

After our epic day of diving and Casa Denis we headed back to the hotel for nap.  I work up at 9:00 not knowing what day it was - it was dark - I work Kate up - she just wanted to sleep until morning.  I got her up anyway and yes, we went out to eat.  Another favorite!  El Foco - its generally open late serving tacos that are spectacular.  Think philly cheese steak served on soft tortillas with delicious guac and Mexican beer.  A true locals favorite and we know why.

 

The next day it was back to diving - and we really went for broke.  We did 4 dives, 2 in in the AM and 2 more after a quick lunch on shore.  Each dive was nearly an hour of bottom time with each dive shallower than the one before it.

If you look closely, our dive master has his mask on upside down - funny trick!  I tried it, my nose is too big and doesn't work. 

This was our good old dive boat - Scuba Du II

After a very full day of diving we headed out for a nice dinner.  We went to yet another local place that specialized in seafood and shared the seafood platter for 2 for Valentines Day.  Complete with Lobster, red snapper, conch, and octopus.  It was very possibly one of the best meals we had in Cozumel.  

It was another fantastic trip!  Great people, unbelievable diving, and fantastic food!  We can't wait to do it again!