MEXICO 2009

Two days after the Chris completed the Bar Exam we hoped on a plane with the Spiker family & went to Mexico! A much needed vacation, after a very stressful and busy summer.

We stayed in Playa Del Carmen, just outside of Cancun. I love the resort we stay at because it's not on the strip of hotels where it's crowded & crazy. I like the quiet & open feel of it. When we arrived in Mexico, we met up with more Spikers, my parents, & my brother and his wife. We had an awesome time! I loved having members from both of our families there at the same time! The weather was warm, not too hot--the right kind of hot if you know what I mean...the kind that you want to sit & soak up. We kept busy but fit in plenty of beach time as well. For myself & Chris, this is our #2 favorite spot (right behind Kauai).

We went to the ancient Mayan ruins, Chichen Itza, which are now one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. The city was enormous! Building after building, and we were able to witness even more excavation! They haven't even completed digging it all out! I gained a new appreciation for how advanced they were for their time after seeing what they built. We were all glad we spent this day here, it was a definite highlight of our week.

Steve was constantly harassed by locals selling handmade items...I guess they could spot a 'softie' pretty easily

some of the actual coloring they used was still preserved

sorta creepy..

My dad

(look at that white sand & gorgeous water!)

One night there was an incredible lightning storm over the ocean, so we went to the beach to get front row seats

My brother PJ & Chris

there was a lot of volleyball played

we took catamaran's out on the water by our hotel, the water was beautiful! there really is nothing like it.

steve wanted to be an ancient indian too....or a little kid again, I am not really sure which

Luke learned that wrestling on the sand has it's side effects, the rest of us learned that Luke likes to lick people when he wrestles them..

Chris & his granny Rita

Sister-in-Laws

i feel like a freakishly tall human being in this photo

Chris & I are strange individuals

he was trying to make me ..dance? not quite sure, but his crazy wet hair is cracking me up

our big Spiker clan

my sweet parents

at every meal we had authentic guitar music played for us

my mom & I rode a ferry across to Isla Mujeres, the water was incredible

On Isla Mujeres we met up with the rest of the family. We rented golf carts & toured the island.

we went to an aquarium and saw baby turtles & sea horses! cute!

look how tiny!

we also saw a shark in the ocean- don't let this photo fool you, it was about 8ft long

we sailed the ocean blue on a big white sail boat

Pat being ...Pat

the men driving the sailboat tried to spice up our ride, they came out with loud dance music & "soda shots" since none of us drink, it was hilarious to watch them try to get us all excited--here I am with my shot

Here is a video of part of the lightning storm we watched from the beach. It was at night, so the black is literally what we saw--until the lightning would hit. It was really cool to watch...