Maddie and Ruben's Wedding (Cancun)

 

A cuzzies wedding in Cancun?!  Sign us up!  Maddie and Ruben hosted a destination wedding in Mexico and as we do, the Murphy family showed up!  There were over 80 of us there to celebrate them and cheers them into their new life together.  

We planned to travel Wednesday to Monday with the wedding on Saturday evening.  Most of the group came on Thursday so we had a full day with the 7 of us to explore.  I convinced everyone that we should book a private tour to Chichen Itza - a Mayan ruin that is one of the seven wonders of the world and I'm so glad we planned it.  It might have been my favorite part of the whole trip.

We connected with a private driver that Dan knew and he helped me set up a great day!  The drive from our resort to Chichen Itza was about 2.5 hours so it was definitely a commitment but it was totally worth it.  We headed out early to miss the crowds and the heat and it was 100% the right move.   Our guide shared all sort of history and interesting facts about the ruins.   

We learned all sorts of interesting things.  We learned that the Mayan's rebuilt the city every 53 years.  We learned about their architectural advancements, their sacrifices, their religious and ceremonial beliefs.  We learned about the Day of the Dead and the three tiered alters they built.  We learned about how large the city was and how expansive the population was.  We learned about the ball court and the rules of the game - and the consequences of loosing the game (the captain of the losing team is killed!).

Our guide did a great job of showing many of the parts of the city that people rarely see or learn about.  The majority of our tour didn't even center around the big pyramid like structure we all identify as the ruin but of course we learned about that as well.  We learned about the animals the Mayan's celebrated (the snake specifically) .  We learned about the architectural features of the pyramid that there's no way we'd have known had we not had a guide.  He told us about the snake shadows that are visible only during the the equinox's and how it was built to perfectly align to create those shadows in celebration of the snake.  We learned about the echo noise that sounds like a bird if you stand in the right spot and clap your hands.  We learned about how the Mayan's used onyx stones to view the sun and about the sacrifices they'd make to please the Gods. 

After touring Chichen Itza we were all getting pretty warm and ready to get out of that area as it had started to get super crowded - we'd arrived just as things were starting for the day.  The majority of the vendors were just starting to pull out their wares and there were very few people around.  By the time we left - around 2 hours later it was getting packed and HOT and we were ready to move on to the next adventure.

Mario took us to Ik Kil - a cenotes located just a few minutes down the road from Chichen Itza.  I was honestly not sure what to expect with the cenotes and I really downplayed this part of the trip with the group and it turned out to be the coolest thing!  It was so perfectly planned to visit there after Chichen, we were hot and needed a refresh and a quick dip in the cenotes was the perfect next activity.  

Like the ruins, we got there before the crowds and were already headed back to the van when the crowds started to arrive.  We had the nicest time!  Our day Thursday ended with lunch at a beautiful restaurant in Valladolid.  We had the best meal of the entire trip and hands down the best margaritas of the entire trip!  Mario did a great job of planning the perfect tour of us and I'm so glad we went the route of the private tour.  It was slightly more work for me to coordinate it all, and we had to go through the trouble of changing money to pesos for the day, but it was really totally worth it and I'd recommend both the trip, and planning a private tour to anyone who is visiting this area.  

The rest of the trip was pretty much wash, rinse, repeat with hanging out pool/ocean side with friends.  We laughed, we drank 12 million gin and tonics, we moved from sitting in chairs by the pool to chairs by the ocean to a dip in the pool/ocean and back again all day long.  It was great!

I think I spent less than an hour total reading (boo), and we played exactly zero games of Yahtzee, but we had all the conversations, laughed all the laughs and made lots and lots of memories!  There were over 80 people at the wedding - both families showed up, big time.  But, the majority of the trip our core group was the mid-tier oldies.  LOLOL!!  Erin/Nate, Chris/Julie, Sarah/Dan and then Ryan and I stuck pretty close together for the majority of the trip.  We'd hang with the mid-tier youngsters, but we're clearly the oldies in that age range (well, not Ryan, he's always the last one at the party and the last one to bed!).

There was all types of wildlife at the resort - we saw peacocks, flamingos, cats (yes, cats..), strange rat/dogs called Agouti and lemur like animals called Coati.  They had huge turtles at the resort and wild monkeys.  They had domesticated parrots in the lobby and Ryan nearly pooped his pants when he almost stepped on an Iguana.  It was pretty cool to see some new animals we'd not heard of before and the amount of wildlife that was just living in and around the resort was really quite cool.  It didn't feel like the animals were disruptive at all!

And, most importantly, the main event for the trip was the WEDDING!  The ceremony was on Saturday night and they hosted the ceremony in the jungle area of the resort.  The hope was that the shade would keep everyone cool (vs. being out in the hot sun won the beach) and the setting was beautiful.  The fun part of hosting it in the jungle was that they could lean into more tropical flowers and wedding colors vs the traditional beach wedding.  But!  They got the best of both worlds!  The hosted the dinner and dancing portion of the wedding down by the ocean and even though it was sunny down there, the breeze was amazing.

Maddie was beautiful, Ruben had an amazing suit and shoes (which he wore the ENTIRE night...like...all the way through the after party they hosted in their room!).  The flowers were beautiful and the bridesmaid dresses were so eclectic and pretty.   The food was good, and we danced late into the night but the best part of the entire wedding was the vows that Maddie and Ruben wrote for each other.  They both wrote custom vows and they did an amazing job delivering them.  They are an adorable couple and I can't wait to see how they grown together and build their family.  

Who is ready to go back?  Or, better yet...who is ready to plan the next Cuzzies All Inclusive!?  

1 Family x 12 (April-ish)

 

First camping trip of the year is in the books and it was a great one!  I'm calling this our April family photo because we really were just a few days late.  

Backbone camping

 

Spring "figure out what's broken" camping trip is officially in the books and we've kicked off Camping season!  With three flying trips in our future this year we don't have as much camping planned as we usually do, but I'm guessing we'll still spend 30+ nights in our camper this year.

We had a nice big group - Jamie/Joey and Mom/Dad so our group total 14 in total.  The weather was cool and pretty windy but we had a great time.  When the sun came out and we were hiking we all warmed up and by Saturday evening the clouds had cleared and the sun came out and everything started to warm up.

The girls were in heaven with all of their favorite kid friends in one place.  The six of them were a pack just roaming the campground together - thick as thieves.  It's exactly why we camp!

We hiked the Backbone trail as a big group, all 14 of us.  And then a big group of us did a second hike later in the day (mostly to fill the time and to keep warm).  We saw a cave and an old fish hatchery that is no longer functioning - we told the kids it was from aliens and they believed us for awhile.  

I think I walked over 20k steps that day and even grabbed a solo hike for an hour Saturday morning where I listened to my audio book and just enjoyed the quiet.  We love these early spring trips - the weather is always questionable but the campgrounds are usually pretty quiet and the kids are always so excited because we haven't been in the camper in 6+ months.  

A pic stitch Mom made of the kids reenacting a photo we took maybe 6 or 7 years ago!  I can't believe we convinced them to all jam back in there.

Abby's Spring Concert (7th Grade)

A month or two ago Abby came home with a huge grin on her face telling me "I have something to tell you" - she'd tried out for a solo in choir and was selected to perform during the spring concert.  I couldn't believe she tried out for it and I'm so proud of her for taking the chance and going for it.

Abby invited EVERYONE to the concert and boy did the show up!  We had a huge group of supporters - all there embarrassing her with every cheer and wave and grandiose gesture to show our love and how proud we were of her.  

Photos like this just warm my heart!  Everyone there to cheer for her and show her how loved she is.  I'm so thankful for all of these humans and the time and effort they made to make the day special for Abby.

The school also does an art show as part of the Spring concert and I couldn't believe the work the girls did!  Abby had three entries and Hazel had one.  Somehow we missed the third entry Abby had so I just have photos of two, but fear not!  These made it into the kids memory bins so they can sort through them when they are in their 30s and we unload these boxes onto the kids (lololo!)

(Hazel's entry)

Easter

 

Well, it seems  like we collectively did a poor job of taking photos of Easter this year, but I've got a handful and we can't let the holiday go undocumented.  We hosted Easter at our house this year so Erin and Nate and Dan were all there too!  Joey and Andy decided to stay local and spend the holiday with Andy's family so it was less driving for the collective group to host it at our house.  

Mom made this cute little cheese/meat try and Mom also provided the fancy cocktail for the day.  We made our traditional Easter meal - a smoked ham and au gratin potatoes.  

The Easter Bunny did things a little differently too!  This year he brought baskets for Abby/Hazel and one for Ryan and I and then he left me some fun presents for the kids that I turned into a fun egg/scavenger hunt.  The girls loved it!  (And we ended up with way less candy this year!).

The girls also created a GREAT set of games and activities for the adults.  They worked for days on coming up with all sorts of games for us to play and tickets to buy drinks.  Hazel even made a full set of cards similar to Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza but renamed to be Egg Basket Carrot Flowers Ham.  It was adorable and she worked very hard to make all the cards, color them in.  I didn't play because I was deep in meal prep at that point in the agenda but the adults that played said it was VERY fun.  

Abby helped with table setting and was in charge of the napkins - she's been doing them for us now for years.  This year she went with rabbits and of course we pulled up the good dishes from my friend Jennifer.   We had a great meal and lots of laughs!

I got a tattoo!

 

Forty two years and I decided I was ready to get a tattoo.  I'd been considering one for a long time - maybe since my early 20s but nothing quite felt right.  I didn't have an idea of something that I'd want on my body forever and ever and ever. 

I'd decided on a sand castle.  Why that?  Well, a few years back when I was doing that LGMC leadership program they asked us to do an activity where we had to pick from a pile of little shapes/trinkets that looked like little Monopoly game pieces in all types of shapes.  They tossed them on the table and told us to pick one that represented us and be ready to tell why.  In a way that is very unlike me, I knew almost immediately which piece I was going to pick and why.  

I quickly plucked up the sand castle and when it was my turn to explain why it represented me I asked the group what a sand castle was made of.  Of course everyone responded sand but what very few people said was "water".  See, a sand castle is made up of both.  One, the sand, is very visible, it's the front of the show, the thing everyone sees.  But, its the water that's holding it all together.  The water that is doing the hard work of pulling all the tiny pieces together and making into something beautiful. 

I see myself as the water in much of my life.  Both professionally and personally, I feel like the water, the one behind the scenes (and happy to be behind the scenes) that is pulling everything together.  The one who send the save the dates and plans the parties.  The one who plans the meals and who pulls together the hotel contract to get everyone together.  I don't want to be the one on the front of the stage and I'm not likely the center of attention at the party but I do love to pull it all together and events need both types of people.  The sand people and the water people.  

I got this the day after my 42nd birthday.  Ryan was out of town for work so my bestie Erin came out and helped support.  It only took about 15 minutes of actual tattooing - it was pretty fast.  That's good, because it didn't actually feel all that great.  I don't know that I'd want it to last much longer than what it did.  But, in the end, it wasn't too bad and I'm really glad I did it. 

I chose a pretty visible spot, right on my left wrist.  A place that I will see it often.  I love telling people the story of why this and I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.  I love the tiny dots used to make it look like sand and I love the little shovel and shell we added.  Everyone keeps asking me what I'm going to get next and while I'm not quite sure that I'll get another one, I'm also not ruling it out.  I do see how it can be a little addicting!