MEXICO!!

I am really proud of Ian. He works hard and is so talented, and this month, he was rewarded for it. Because he surpassed his goals at work, he not only got a promotion, but he earned a place in "President's Club." Every year, members of President's Club get a trip to some fun location. So, this year, his company paid for them to go to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Can I brag on him a little more? He was the top manager in his company last year, and did so well, that his company paid for me to go too.

(I would've gone anyway, but it was nice not to have to pay for it!)

We decided to go 5 days early (got a smokin' deal, of course!) and really make the most of our time there.

So, we dropped the kids off at Russ and Carrie's house for 9 of the most relaxing, glorious days we have ever known! Here is just a sampling of the 100+ pictures we took. Every single day was the most fun it could possibly be, and we loved every second of it!

Here was the view from our first room. It was gorgeous! We'd open the window and listed to the waves crashing on the rocks. We saw whales out this window - Ian even saw one jump out of the water! We saw whales every day right from the hotel- it was so cool!

It was like we took 2 different vacations. The first half was like being the only two people in the world. Our amazing resort had 4 huge pools and 4 hot tubs, a spa, a gym with panoramic views of the Sea - which is usually where we spotted the whales each morning, a private beach, fire pit, beach cabanas, 3 restaurants with fantastic food, live music every night, the #1 Jack Nicklaus designed golf course in Latin America (which we actually couldn't care less about!), palm trees, hammocks, and anything else you can possibly think of that would make it paradise!

We found this hot tub just a few steps down from our room that was totally our own for the majority of the time!

Downtown Cabo was fun.

(Notice the name of the restaurant.)

(This one's for Larry & Loretta! wink)

Glass bottom boat tour of Land's End, the famous Arch, the Sea Lion Colony (stinky!), and Lover's Beach.

Lover's Beach was so fun. It was so relaxing. It is a small stretch of beach that cuts between the rock formations that separate the Pacific Ocean and the sea of Cortez.

Here is the Pacific Ocean in the background. People would stand in the water and the beach sloped up a little. So, when the waves would crash on the beach, they crashed HARD, and would drop anyone that was standing there. It was fun to watch!

Another secluded location at the resort where we had breakfast.

Chillin' on the beach.

There were times every day that we would just go and lay in the sun and relax.

We went about an hour north of Cabo into the mountains and rode a 12 line zip line course. We were harnessed in and our right hand was the 'brake'. We had to pull down hard to stop! The lines were a couple of hundred feet above the canyon floor.

It was a blast! We got a little crazy!

We went upside down!

(That yellow truck on the canyon floor was our ride into the canyon. It gives some perspective as to how high we were. This was the 2nd line from where we started. They got way higher.)

The guide with me spun me around, swung me side to side, and bounced me up and down the whole way across. It was fun! No Fear!

Then, there was the Tarzan Swing, which was a bungee cord. You would step off a ledge and fall and then swing like a pendulum. Crazy fun!

Sunset Dinner Cruise with live music and entertainment. This was such a good time!

Parasailing!

This actually was really peaceful. Great views too!

Then, we come to the 'second' vacation - which is when all the people from Ian's work showed up. We changed hotel rooms and there was more of a party atmosphere. It was different from before, but still tons of fun.

Here's the view from our second room.

We were able to hang out a lot with our good friends, Daniel and Julie Allison, which was a blast. Daniel and Ian grew up together, and Daniel is actually the one who helped Ian get this job. We feel so grateful to them, and will be indebted to them for the rest of our lives.

We drove an hour north along the coast with them to a beach called Los Cerritos outside of a town called Todos Santos. Ian tried to learn how to surf and I tried to learn how to body board. We both got hammered by waves, but had a lot of fun!

We had lunch in Todos Santos. The food was delicious. (All the food on our trip was amazing! Ian laughed at me because I even took pictures of our food. It was just SO GOOD!)

Notice the skull on the wall behind us bedazzled with gold glitter around the nose and the Virgin Mary on the forehead - Classic!

We went to a formal awards dinner - here's what I wore. There isn't one of Ian and I because it took so long for me to get ready (hey, after body boarding, I needed a shower), that we didn't have time to take one. So, here's one he took of me after the dinner.

We also went to a beach close to our hotel on Chileno Bay with Daniel and Julie. We loved that it was all locals there. We went snorkeling for the first time and were amazed by the new world we found.

We had such a great time. It was so relaxing to let go of every worry, every responsibility, every care in the world. We've caught the vacation bug now and are planning where we want to go next!

(We should've taken the above picture on a day that wasn't overcast. The water and the sky were such beautiful shades of blue most days. Here they're just grey. Can you blame them? We were going home...we felt a little like that on the inside ourselves!)

We were excited to get home to our kids.

A HUGE Thank You to Russ and Carrie for watching them while we were gone.

Now it's your turn!