We were able to go and visit my parents in Mexico for 15 days! We had a good time.
I recommend visiting Mexico City, as long as you don't mind having diarrhea for a week or 2, or 4. *Almost* everyone I know who visits gets it, so just plan on it. At least we still had appetites and energy, and good hosts.
Check out all the fun things we did while we were there!
We arrived on a Friday, and my parents' apartment complex was having trick or treating that night. The kids dressed up as a Princess and a little Red-head-Mexican:
The next day we drove about an hour and a half from my parents' place to see some ruins. Teotihuacan was a major political and religious center from 200 BC until about 600 AD, they're estimating. It's a large area with many pyramids and buildings. The pyramids are huge, and we were able to climb this one behind us. Lulu liked trekking all the way up, and decided to refer to herself afterward as The Pyramid Girl. It was quite chilly when we first got there that morning:
After our pyramid excursion we dined at a nearby restaurant in a cave. It was awesome. There were lights all around and Marigolds to celebrate the Day of the Dead which was just around the corner:
We were able to enjoy my parents' pools quite a few times. The kids loved it! The weather was in the 70's, but the pools are heated so it was perfect. Here are the kids and Grandma swimming with our friends who let us borrow a portable crib while we were there. Super nice people:
We had to watch Nacho Libre while we were there. Had to. And the boys had to wear wrestler masks while they were watching. Good times:
Ollie and I took a day trip down to the Anthropology Museum while the kids stayed home and played with Grandma. Worked out good. The Museum is huge, and it is just full of interesting artifacts from all over Mexico. Here is an altar for the rain god that has a cavern in it. The people would put human hearts and blood in there to appease the rain god. I guess he needed blood in order to make rain:
On Wednesday we left for Acapulco. It's about a 4 hour drive, more or less. We stayed in a beautiful hotel with a private beach on a bay just next to Acapulco. We had a great time in the pools and at the beach.
We also explored a cool museum in a fort and the Acapulco city center:
Then we hiked up the hill to watch the famous Acapulco cliff divers. It was soooo hot, but pretty cool to see the death-defying jumps into the narrow water:
One day we took a boat ride around our little bay:
and ended up on a nearby beach that had softer sand. We bought fresh shrimp from this lady's boat right on the beach. It was good, and I'm not even a shrimp lover:
A fountain in our pretty hotel:
On the way home on Saturday we stopped at some more pyramid ruins called Xochicalco. The peak of power for this complex was at the time of Teotihuacan's fall. It was cool to see it too:
We went to church twice in Mexico, and relaxed both Sundays.
Monday we drove down to a place called Xochimilco, not to be confused with the pyramids of Xochicalco. Yeah, almost the same name. Anyway, Xochimilco is an area with a canal where you take a boat ride past people's houses. The kids wanted to sit in the front rather than on the chairs in the middle:
Boats come by selling blankets or jewelery, or corn on a stick. We didn't buy any. But my mom did buy us some songs from the Mariachi boat, and the marimba boat. That was the best part of the ride, except that the Mariachi trumpets were blaring right into our ears. Here are two videos of the marimbas. One to hear and see the men playing, and one to see Lulu dancing:
Another day Ollie, Lulu and I took a taxi downtown. We couldn't make it all the way down because the traffic was so horrendous. The taxi driver decided it would be better if we just parked and took the metro in. She bought us our tickets and rode with us to make sure we got where we were going. It was a cultural experience. There were people selling gum and markers and cd's on the train. And it was crowded, but our taxi friend told us it was nothing compared to rush hour.
We made it down to where the Aztec capital was, right in the heart of the city. The pyramid of Tenochtitlan was demolished and the conquerors built houses and a cathedral right on top. Years later they discovered the ruins and a lot of artifacts that we saw at this museum:
We ate at McDonalds just asross the street because it looked safe. Ollie and I both got the burger meal of the day, which was the Dorito guacamole burger. Interesting, and not very good:
This is inside the main cathedral downtown. It was crazy how much gold was in there. It was very big too, with tons of little chapels along both sides. This is just one section of the church:
While we were in Mexico City we went with my mom and her friend to help at an orphanage. We bought pajamas with the money our friends and family donated to us. We also bought some diapers and formula for a tiny baby that just arrived. Mostly they have older children at this place though.
One day we read books with them, and another day we taught them about butterflies and then made some out of coffee filters, markers, water, and a clothes pin.
Here are the little kids we did crafts with:
And here is one of the older kids happy about Ollie's approval on his butterfly project:
One evening we went to the mall for dinner and to show Lulu the princess store. She just loved trying on the fancy dresses, and Grandma even spoiled her by buying her tinkerbell shoes:
And still another day we took an excursion to a park called Chapultepec. Just outside the park are these angel wings that make the perfect photo op:
Inside the huge park is a free zoo:
lots of people selling food and trinkets, and balloons:
and a castle where the Spanish Governor and the Mexican presidents used to live. I like seeing it all!:
Across the street are some Men dressed in native dress who climb up this big pole and then swing around upside down as they slowly lower to the ground. Interesting:
On our last Friday, Ollie and I went to the orphanage, then we went swimming and put the kids to bed, and then our taxi friend drove us to a park called Desierto de los Leones. There is a really old Monastery there. It was built in the 1700's, and it is basically falling apart now. The whole second floor is gone, but you can walk around the main floor and the grounds:
and the dark tunnels underneath, that we do not know what they used it for. Some think they may have put bodies down there:
and you can also see what a typical room looked like:
I thought it was really cool, especially because you could hear this while you were exploring:
We had a great visit. My babies loved all the attention from Grandma and Grandpa:
Saturday was the day we left,but we had time to squeeze two more things in. Shopping for souvenirs:
and visiting the outside of the LDS temple:
It was beautiful, especially because they were planting all these poinsettias around for Christmas time:
The kids did great on the plane ride home, and we were so happy that it was just one direct flight!
Thanks Mom and Dad for the great trip!
2. I got stocking number 3 designed, but not finished.
4. I started, but obviously didn't finish, a new tree skirt. It took just about forever to cut out all the trees' triangles, sew them together, and sew on a million sequins. I still need to cut out the felt ornaments (12 days of Christmas), sew them on, and figure out a way to tie all the trees together. I'm just making this one up totally out of my head. I hope it will look cute when it's done.
