Daffodil babies

Anneke is five and Ben is two! And now that Ben is two he will tell you this himself!

This is the first year we did not take Official Birthday Portraits.  We've just been so busy! That's not going to get better, is it? But here they are on the beach, just a few days shy of their birthdays.  Dave will photoshop the chocolate crumb off of Ben's face.  It's from the chocolate mouse we bought at the crazy Mexican supermarket. Then again, I almost want to leave it on--good memories.

Doesn't she look like a big girl? Almost a month later she's still wearing her entry bracelet to the snorkeling lagoon we visited.

Now that she's five, this will be the last of this type of photo we'll publish. I'm not sure I won't go ahead and  take it down. It's just so cute! Opinions? Be honest. I'm asking.

We did document the making of the chocolate ribbons for the amazing chocolate cake Dave makes.

I think the tradition for Ben is that I make his, or that we experiment with different cakes.  Last year it was a Caramel Cake, which was good.  This year I made a Tres Leches cake, and Dios mio! Que rico!

Trip Report/Someone please teach this lady how to make a slideshow

Pictures from Akumal! In no particular order because, after five years, I remain mystified by Blogger.

Our friend Anna-Lisa joined us a few days into the trip, and we had such a great time. Anneke has a new friend in my old friend.  She is such a seasoned traveler that we had no problem meshing our distinctly different travel styles.  Her style involves naps.  Our style involves a toddler.

The blob of sunscreen on the lens turned this mermaid castle into a mermaid smoking volcano.  Artful, no?

Naty's loncheria in the pueblo had the best bbq chicken I have ever eaten, served for here or to go with a side of rice, beans, and salsa for $10. 

Meanwhile, the place we stayed has a swanky restaurant on the first floor.  Swanky but casual.

Here was our view. The snorkeling was amazing. The layout meant a perfect flow from pool-palapa-ocean (cold beer/mango nectar juice box), then repeat.

Must include the inside of the grocery store we love, which has tres leches cake in bulk and this crazy merry-go-round.  are you taking notes, Fred Meyer?

Spent an afternoon at a beach club on Xpu-ha beach with the buckets of beers, ceviche, palapas, etc.

Spent that same morning swimming in Cenote Azul with these guys. 

Spent our last afternoon eating Texas bbq at Casa Cenote.  Said Cenote empties out at this beach, and, if you want, you can scuba from the cenote through the opening out in to the ocean.

We were not scuba diving.  We were drinking blue margaritas and virgin daiquiris.

                              But Anneke and I did paddle around in a kayak in the cenote.

Very happy dorks

We went to Mexico! I can't wait to post more pics, plus more pics from the kids' March double-fantasy-madness birthdays. But we haven't really finished unpacking, and we got back a week ago. So it's gonna take a while. Here we are on Xpu-ha beach in the so-called Mayan Riviera. We had a fantastic time. Photo courtesy of our travel buddy, The Ferocious Reader, also known as Tia Margarita.