Zippin' Along

Day 3: While in Tikal, Dallin and I (my parents decided to sit this one out) decided to zip line through the jungle. I was terrified when we were climbing up the first tower to get all harnessed up. In fact, I was pretty much terrified the entire time... up until the very end. But it was really neat to go through the jungle this way. We were so high up that we got to see a bunch of howler monkeys up close and I think we would both do it again in a heart beat. Afterwards, we just relaxed and walked around our lodges to look at all of the cool birds, animals, and flowers until it was time to fly back to Guatemala City and head towards Antigua.

Here, Dallin is showing off and hanging on the zip line upside down!

I have NO idea what animal this is. All I know is that there were about 30 of them walking right behind our cabin.

Me and my mom just hanging out until check out time.

Welcome to the Jungle

We spent our first evening in Guatemala in a little town called Flores. After arriving there by plane, we went out and caught some dinner locally and then headed out early the next morning to Tikal. Below are 2 pictures of us in front of the quaint hotel we stayed in that overlooked Lake Peten Itza.

Days 2: Touring Tikal

Tikal is located in a thick, tropical jungle in the northeastern part of Guatemala. The ruins are still being excavated but archaeologists have found at least 3,000 structures. We hired a tour guide to lead us around Tikal and explain some of the history of the ancient city and the mayans that inhabited it.

Before we even began the tour, I was completely obsessed with the flowers, trees and shrubbery in this area. Being from Nevada, we just don't get to see this too often. First up is the ceiba tree which is an absolutely HUGE tree with enormous roots, followed by a picture of the most beautiful flower I've EVER seen...

Touring Tikal is somewhat exhausting because you walk for about 3-4 hours and end up climbing A LOT of stairs to the tops of some of the temples. But you are rewarded with breathtaking views of the rainforest, while viewing the peaks of the other temples around the ruins. I was so impressed with how advanced the mayans were back then with their architecture and building. It's impressive considering how limited their tools were back then, but they were able to build amazing structures that have stood the test of time.

Considering how tall some of these temples were, I was seriously impressed at how my parents were able make it all the way up the temples. My knees and joints were hurting after all of the climbing, but they didn't complain at all and kept up with us the entire time. After we finished our tour of Tikal, all I wanted to do was lay in bed, read a book, and let my aching legs rest up a bit. But Dallin and my Dad decided to go back into the park before nightfall to see if they could catch a glimpse of the moon from the top of one of the highest temples there. Unfortunately, it was pretty cloudy outside so they didn't get to see much but they had a fun time making it back to the lodges in the pitch dark!

Guatemala Bound

Dallin and I recently enjoyed a marvellous 10-day trip to Guatemala where we travelled at warp speed with my parents, and left our kids at home with my in-laws. The trip was great because Dallin got to experience and learn about our hispanic culture, we got to see relatives who I haven't seen in about 20 years, and we got to tour some absolutely beautiful parts of the country on our own schedule. I came home very appreciative of what we have here in the states: clean drinking water, a government system that works (although that point could be debated today considering our economy), and the lack of poverty that is so prevalent throughout the entire country of Guatemala.

Since this is a blog and my journal, I will include all of the details of our trip. But for those of you not interested in hearing EVERY detail, you can simply skim down and just look at the pictures. And since I can't write about our entire trip in one sitting, you will be stuck reading about it over the next several posts. So, enjoy!

Day 1: Getting There

We left Reno in the afternoon and as a totally random side not, we unexpectedly ran into my older brother at the airport in SLC. I had no idea he was travelling and while we were walking to our gate, I see him sitting at a restaurant with his laptop. We got to catch up with him briefly before his flight, which was a real treat for me since I haven't seen him in a while.

Anyway, continuing on, we arrived in Guatemala City early the next morning where my parents were waiting at the airport to pick us up. My father was born in Guatemala and lived there through his adolescence, so he and my mom agreed to tour the country with us. For those of you who have never travelled to Central America, driving in Guatemala is not for the faint of heart. There are laws, however most people, especially the bus drivers it seems, have little regard for others' lives and their own for that matter. People constantly swerve in and out of lanes, motorcyclists seems to appear out of nowhere, and crammed red school buses (nicknamed "killer tomates) that have people literally hanging out of them seem to own the roads there. So you can see why I wasn't about to let Dallin take the wheel there. So, my dad did all of the driving on our trip.

After getting picked up, we did a quick drive through the city and ended up visiting the LDS temple in Guatemala City, which was really neat.

After walking around the temple and a quick brunch, we headed to my great uncle's house, who I haven't seen in years. He was recently called as a member of the Seventy in our church and it was really neat hearing about how he received the call.

Afterwards, we caught lunch back in the city at a great place called Casa Chapina, where they serve typical Guatemalan fare while you listen to a live band that serenades you and you can learn how to make tortillas there too. The fried plantains were my absolute favorite while we were in Guatemala. We ate these all the time growing up and I can eat them for every meal and NOT get sick of them. They were sooooo good there!

Then we had to head back to the airport because we were flying to Peten, which is where the great Mayan ruins known as Tikal are. Below is a picture of Guatemala city that I took from a lookout point along the road.

BUSTED

I read this article this evening and was sincerely disappointed. Every day I either read the papers or watch the news and am saddened by what I see: Wallstreet Ponzi schemes and scam artists, war and destruction in other parts of the world, people here at home being tried for murders and other terrible, TERRIBLE crimes, the list goes on and on. So, one can see why when someone "good" comes along, the American public clings to them. It's always inspirational to have a role model to cheer for and look up to.

So, like I said, I was saddened to read this article about Michael Phelps. I cheered for him like everyone else in the U.S. during the Olympics and I guess I do hold him to a higher standard. He should know better. He should know that he is now in the public eye and should "behave." He should know that kids all over the country look up to him as a role model. Come on, Phelps. You just won 8 Olympic gold medals... find something better to do with your time!

Phelps admits 'bad judgment' after marijuana-pipe photo

(CNN) -- Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps admitted to "regrettable" behavior Sunday and vowed it wouldn't happen again after a British newspaper published a photograph of the swimmer smoking a marijuana pipe.

"I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way," swimmer Michael Phelps said in a statement released Sunday.

"I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment," the record-setting American athlete said in a statement issued Sunday.

"I'm 23 years old, and despite the successes I have had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner that people have come to expect from me," Phelps said. "For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public -- it will not happen again."

Phelps won a record eight gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, four years after he won six gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. He has received numerous corporate endorsements totaling millions of dollars.

His statement was also posted on his Facebook page, followed by comments of both support and admonishment from fans.

In a separate statement, the U.S. Olympic Committee said it was "disappointed in the behavior recently exhibited by Michael Phelps."

"Michael is a role model, and he is well aware of the responsibilities and accountability that come with setting a positive example for others, particularly young people," the committee said. "In this instance, regrettably, he failed to fulfill those responsibilities."

However, it added, "Michael has acknowledged that he made a mistake and apologized for his actions. We are confident that, going forward, Michael will consistently set the type of example we all expect from a great Olympic champion."

The picture, billed as an exclusive by the tabloid News of the World, showed Phelps using a water pipe during what it said was a November party at the University of South Carolina. In 2004, Phelps was arrested on charges of driving under the influence in Salisbury, Maryland. Phelps pleaded guilty and received 18 months probation in that incident, issuing an apology afterward.

"Getting into a car with anything to drink is wrong. It's dangerous and it's unacceptable. I'm 19, but was taught that no matter how old you are, you take responsibility for actions, which I do," Phelps told ESPN.

The Olympic swimmer is one of 12 Olympic athletes that have pledged to "My Victory," an initiative launched last year by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to keep competitive sports clean of cheating and drug use.

Back to 1

So, Aubrey started preschool at the beginning of the month. I can hardly believe she is old enough. She is attending the same preschool that Jacob went to, and on her first day, she went right into her class without even looking back. No tears, hardly even a wave back to mom and dad. However, the last couple of times, she's been a little whiny about it, so I'm hoping she'll get more used to it over the next few weeks. Even though my daughter is really such a joy to be around, I absolutely love having only 1 child with me in the mornings a couple of times a week. What to do with myself, you ask? Can you say, "Costco, here I come!!"

Aubrey in front of her cubby

At the end of preschool her first day

My two little ones

BBBAAAADDDDD Week!

So, as the title infers, this has been a BAD week. My two little ones have been hit hard with a bad flu. It's been a combination of vomiting, high fevers, and diarrhea for the last week and it's still going strong. Evan even broke out in a weird rash that covers his whole body and Aubrey broke out in it today too. So I've been holding sick, crying babies for a week, doing endless loads of laundry and all kinds of clean up this week... yuck!!

I escaped this morning to do brunch with a girlfriend to take a "breather" from our house, which we've aptly nicknamed "the den of death" due to all the illnesses floating around there. And it was nice, however when I returned the babysitter let me know that Aubrey had thrown up again. So, we're back to square one.

And Jacob came home early today from school with a fever and Dallin had one this morning too. So I am the only healthy one in this group of sickies. How many days do you think it will be before I start too? I'm guessing 2... max!

On a much lighter note, since I use my blog as my journal, I wanted to write about Jacob's piano lessons. Jacob has been taking piano lessons for just a few months now and it's hard to really tell what they are learning at this stage, if anything. But last week, I heard him play his first duet with his teacher and it sounded really good. I wish I would have caught it on tape... seriously so cute!

Christmas Day At Last

The kids woke up about 7 a.m. and came upstairs. The first thing they did, of course, is come upstairs to see if Santa came. We set a broom out every year to see if Santa comes. If it's knocked over in the morning, that means he came. If it's still standing, then that's bad news. Fortunately, it was knocked over.

Then we had to take one more picture of them in their cute pajamas, while prolonging their agony. They were dying to see what was in the living room.

We try to keep Christmas pretty low key in our home so that we focus on the true meaning of christmas. My kids know that Santa really only brings 1 big gift, and they also only really get 1 gift from mom and dad, plus PJs on christmas eve and an ornament. It doesn't sound like a lot, but by the time you add in all of the gifts from the cousins on both sides of the family, gifts from grandparents, and the ones from local friends, neighbors and teachers, it already seems like too much. This way, they don't have "too many" presents and actually enjoy opening all of their presents. Before we started doing Christmas this way, my kids didn't even want to open ALL of their presents. We practically had to force them, so this seems to be working for us for now. Below are pictures of some of the favorite presents this year:

Jacob got his first official pair of skis and broke them in the day after Christmas!

Aubrey got her first dollhouse!

And I think everyone's favorite toy (especially Evan's favorite) was this toy Elmo. It is amazing. It moves its arms and mouth when it talks, it stands up and sits down, dances, sings, tells jokes, tells stories, it laughs when you tickle it, and more. It's pretty cool and Evan almost died of excitement when he saw it.

Like I mentioned above, the rest of Christmas Day, we played with toys, went sledding outside with the neighbors, ate great food and relaxed. The rest of our Christmas vacation was spent doing pretty much the same, with a few occasional outings with local friends to restaurants and movies. It was pretty relaxing, which I thoroughly enjoyed!

All about the Christmas food

After putting the kids down to bed, Dallin and I got cooking. If you knowDallin or I, you know that holidays and travel (for us) are ALL about the food. Since I'm Hispanic, we always celebrated Christmas Eve with a traditional dinner that included Guatamalan tamales, sweet bread, and hot chocolate. So over the years, Dallin and I have combined our traditions and this is what the Christmas Eve meal has turned into. First, we always have lobster tails for dinner. We have a fantastic recipe and Dallin cooks them on the grill. They seriously are the best lobster I've ever had.



Next we cook up fire-roasted artichokes out on the grill as well. This is a recipe that we've perfected over the years. We had these at a restaurant years ago and spent several years trying to imitate the recipe at home. And we finally did it (although I think our artichokes are actually better now!) The pictures don't do them justice, but trust me, these are dee-lish!

And lastly, we spend the last couple of weeks before Christmas trying to track down some good Guatamalan tamales. Last year, I ordered them from a lady Dallin knew but I was not impressed with them. This year, we found a little Guatamalan restaurant here in Reno and ordered a few for Christmas. They were pretty good -- not as good as the ones I ate growing up, but they were up there. For those of you who don't know, Guatamalan tamales are made of up of a soft maize filled with pork, olives and red peppers and wrapped in banana leaves. Christmas, for me, just would not be the same without them. And for dessert, we had a peppermint pie that is a DeMordaunt family tradition.

Christmas morning always includes family recipes as well, including the Christmas kringle which seriously is to die for. It's a dough ring filled with raisins soaked in an almond filling, with icing on top. We make two rings and they're gone in a blink of an eye! Okay, I think my next post, I will finally blog about Christmas day!!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

Christmas 2008 was wonderful! This is the 2nd or third year (I honestly can't remember) that we've stayed in Reno for the holidays, and I absolutely love it. We don't have to deal with long lines at airports or long drives. We can just stay home, relax and spend time with our family.

We've got some neat Christmas traditions underway and I'm sure they'll only get better and better over the years as our kids get older. First of all, the pre-Christmas season was full of the usual: decorating gingerbread houses and putting up all of our decorations, and of course trimming the tree. We totally scored on our christmas tree this year. We actually got it pretty late this year (b/c it was just a hectic time of year for us), so I was convinced we'd come home with an ugly "Charlie Brown" tree. But not so! I think this was the prettiest tree we've ever had. It was perfectly symmetrical and nice and tall. And the kids had so much fun decorating it. Every year Dallin and I exchange ornaments that are symbolic of something that happened that year. And we also give similar ornaments to our kids. So over the years we've started accumulating some really nice, sentimental ornaments, which I absolutely love.

My kids showing off their very best behavior for Santa

This year, we also lucked out with some great snow before and during Christmas. I can't remember the last time I've had a truly "white" Christmas, but this year, it was just that. The kids had fun making snowmen, we had fun sledding, and everyone had fun running through the mounds of snow behind our house. The first day it snowed, I felt like such a kid. I spent HOURS outside with the kids pulling them on the sled, trying to shovel the driveway and having snowball fights with them. It honestly was so much fun.

Jacob ready to pummel his mama with a snowball

The cutest snow bunny -- I adore my Aubrey!!

On Christmas Eve, we made cookies for Santa and his reindeer and then re-enacted the nativity. This year's program went a lot better than last year. Last year, everyone was crying throughout the whole thing. This year, there were no tears and everyone seemed to get along... even inside the manger. As you'll see by the picture below, none of my kids like to have things on their heads, so the best we could do was to lay kitchen towels on their heads to make them look more like Mary, Joseph and a shepherd.

After the nativity, we took pictures in front of the tree and let them open their one present of the evening which is always pajamas.

This post is starting to get lengthy so I will continue the rest of the christmas festivities later this week. Enjoy the pictures!

My "Sistas"

So, I am finally getting some more pictures from our recent trip to California for Adeline's baby blessing. And I'm not quite ready to start blogging about all of our Christmas projects this year yet. So I will stick to everything else for the moment and do a massive blog about Christmas in a few days.

I just have to say that I am very lucky.... I have 2 great older brothers and 2 REALLY great little sisters. My sisters and I are very close. We talk all the time and in general are very similar to one another -- in looks and personality. While I was in CA with them, I realized how much I miss them and wish I could be near them especially now that they're married and having babies. I'm not much of a phone talker, but get me on the phone with one of my sisters, and I can't shut up!

Also, while we were in Cali, one of Becky's friends took some great pictures of my family, which I am including below. So this post is filled with lots of fun pictures. Enjoy!

This mosiac was made by my sister Ligia, but I stole it from her blog and posted it on mine too!

This was taken right after Adeline's baby blessing

Our cute girl

Family shot at the beach

Playing Catch Up

So I'm a little behind on my blogging. First off, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving here in Reno with my brother-in-law and his family. They have the CUTEST little boy you've ever seen named Lucas and my sister-in-law Melissa is (I'm convinced) one of the most beautiful people I've ever met. (I know she is probably ready to kill me after reading this!!) And she is funny (you should see her dance)! And smart (she and a friend started their own company which they run out of their homes). Anyway, we had a great time making Thanksgiving dinner, the kids had a great time playing on the golf course behind the house, we drove around parts of Tahoe, and we even squeezed in some skiing for the husbands and boys and massages for the ladies! The morning they left to go back home, my son Jacob woke up crying because he didn't get a chance to say goodbye to his cousin Luc. I think we ALL missed them once they left. (We especially miss "the goggle." -- Melissa, this joke is for you!! :) )

As a side note, I don't think I have EVER seen Dallin so happy as when he came home from skiing with Jacob. I think Dallin has been waiting his entire life to go skiing with his kids so the fact that Jacob has loved skiing so far and has been pretty good at it has made Dallin's year.

Jake and Luc on the slopes

Now I'm going to fast forward to recent events. We just got back today from my niece's baby blessing this weekend. My little sister Becky had a baby girl about 2 months ago (my niece looks JUST like Becky and is SOOOO cute!) so my parents, sisters and I went out for the blessing. We had so much fun seeing Becky and her family and seeing my parents and my sister Ligia with her daughter, who is also the cutest and most happy baby I've ever seen. We went to a local petting farm with the kids, ate yummy food and just spent time together. We were only there for the weekend so the trip went by much too fast.

On the drive home, we got a flat tire. It was late at night on Sunday so EVERYTHING was closed. And practically NOBODY (I'm talking taxis and cabs) wanted to come and pick us up because of where we broke down. Anyway, after several calls to AAA, a local hotel and a towing service, we were finally able to get out of there safely. We had to get all of our tires replaced and we weren't able to come home until this afternoon. But like I said, we made it home safe and sound so I guess we should be grateful for that.

Including some fun, family pictures below....

Garrett with baby Adeleine
The happiest baby on the planet!

Aubrey and Evan enjoying a swing at the beach

Jacob and his "Papa"