Mexican Spectacular

 So this is still Tuesday....

but the afternoon on Tuesday.

In Xcaret there is a big Colosseum

and they put on a "Mexican spectacular"

On the way to this spectacular we walked along the resorts river system.

As we were walking a man with a toucan stopped us.

We got a picture.

 

After a slight mishap with my folks.

(we had some issues with people getting lost this day)

we met at the place.

it was hot.

Like really hot

gut churning temperatures.

but 

it was so worth it.

(there is a few pictures of it but I seriously took hundreds)

 

At the beginning you light a candle and then

there is some dudes blowing into conch shells.

We then get taken back into Mayan time....

 

Fire hockey.

The greatest sport ever.

I thought Canada was pretty amazing

but

Aztecs

really knew how to play.

 

The Mayan culture meets the Spanish

 

And then comes Christianity

Then they showed a merge of cultures and ended the first half of the program.

 

The second half started with tons of music.

 

Everyone getting in to it

 

 

In the second half there was tons of music

and dancing and the above guys were 

CRAZY

good.

They did some form of stomp dancing.

They were dressed up like old guys

but then at the end

they removed their masks

and

they were actually 

really

really

old

CRAZY

 

Penny thought her dad needed

a suit like this for church.

haha

 

and then they paid tribute to the influence of the horse.

and then they ended with streamers and confetti.

like I said

totally worth the heat.

Mexico- First day in Xcaret

 We started out day 3 on an adventure to Xcaret.

 It was so fantastic. 

So much to see and do.

 The whole family.

 Little family after swimming in the underground rivers and tunnels.

 First swim in the ocean.

And this picture is the entire reason Dusty and I got invited to go on the trip.

Mexico- full day #1

I am starting this adventure on the first full day in Mexico.

I am choosing to repress my memories of 

1) the really early morning

2) the REALLLLLLY long flight down

(even though Andy did pretty darn good on the plane)

3) the choas of the airport in Cancun

4) the smelly bus ride to the hotel

5) the arranging of rooms

6) my melt down 

7) late night Pacos Tacos....

So after a good sleep we were all in a much better place to begin our great adventure.

First things first- breakfast and then a short swim and a walking adventure.

This is Lucy and Penny headed back to our room after checking out the "private" pool. This was the first incounter with the lizzards. None of them were huge fans... shocking.

We then took a walk around the resort (Occidental). It was HUGE. They said it was about 40 acres and most of it was jungle. The different areas of the hotel were really spread out. We were staying in the royal club area and it had its own resteraunt and pool. It was gated and had a seperate "beach area". So we wanted to see what the rest of the place looked like.

We found ourselves at the main lobby and they had some macaws. The girls loved them. They were so so so noisy though!

On our way back to the RC we spotted this little creature scurrying across the path.

Apparently they are the equivilant to our racoons....

We spent the rest of the afternoon swimming and exploring.

The heat was a welcomed relief from the cold and the humidity was lovely.

This is just entering the hot season there and we were kind of worried we would be too hot but all of us were happy to trade our jackets and boots for sandles and shorts.

Pretty Girls

Bob

We have this thing.

It's icecream in a slurpee

It's called a snowbob

They are summer

And 

That is how we celebrated today.

And a little ride 

But not at the same time

That's dangerous.

Spring

Our little family has been busy.

Life takes us in many directions. 

Ellie and Lucy are both in basketball camp.

 Penny is busy being Penny and dragging us to costco for poutine....

 I don't see Dusty anymore. I have lost him to the great outdoors or barn or shed.

 Andy is growing. We got put on a two hour feeding regime.... 

It's time consuming.... 

Life consuming....

I got back at lessons this week. I am excited for this spring set. I have a new plan. More fun. They went pretty well. It helps that Andy usually loves his car seat. So hopefully he continues with that trend and we'll be set!

Helping me pack.

Ellie hanging out with Rockster. Lucy reeking havok in the background.

My little bossy babushka

Lucy taking selfies with my iPad. She deleted them off the iPad too bad she hasn't figured out iCloud! Mwhahaha!

My baby's favourite place to hang out.

Life is really just pretty awesome in this neck of the woods!

With a Smile and a Song

Andy is three months old.

There have been lots of little changes with him.

He is turning from a very serious scowler into a happy smiley baby.

We even got a good belly laugh from him last night.

We had a family meeting last night. Nothing major. We try to do one every once in a while just to see what's going on.

We started with Lucy. She wants allowance. She also wants it without doing any work! Haha yah right kid!!!

Then Ellie... There was nothing wrong or right.

And then it was Penny's turn. That kid can talk.... And sing. She kept creating little dramas or things so that her turn wouldn't end. What a kid!!

Superior Species...

Today Andy has cried a lot.

He is hungry and angry

My lambs are cute

And fat

And frolicy

They jump on the ewes

They steal their grain

And eat their hay.

Andy lays 

He cries.

And I go to him.

I change him

I find him so he can eat.

He is completely and utterly dependant.

It's actually a miracle we were never wiped out...

That was my thought for this lovely Friday.

Gluten free Dairy free Egg free Corn bread

Corn bread

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup rice flour

3/4 cup margarine

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup almond milk

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 Tablespoons chia seeds soaked in 4Tbs of warm water

Mix wet together. Mix dry together. Combine stirring the least amount of times possible. Put in greased 8x8 pan and bake at 350 for 20+ minutes.

The taste and texture were great. It was a bit crumbly.

Gluten free- diary free- egg free- sugar free Banana Walnut Muffins

I browse through pinterest daily for some sort of light bulb moment or hope that I find something that looks like what I want.

Last night I found a banana muffin that looked like it could pass

www.gluten-free-vegan-girl.com/2014/01/gluten-free-vegan-chocolate-chip-banana-muffins.html

You can check out her recipe.

It has buckwheat in it.

Not my favorite...

So I swapped it for Sorghum

There were a few more trades made...

Banana Walnut Muffins

1 heaping cup sorghum flour

1 scant cup of tapioca starch

2 heaping teaspoons of baking powder

1 cup of walnuts smashed

Put above in bowl

Get out food processor.

1/2 cup almond milk

3 bananas

1 tsp vanilla 

1 cup of dates (soaked in hot water for 10 minutes)

Process.

Add dry.

Scoop into greased muffin tins until full.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes

Penny ate hers with homemade chocolate sauce.