Dia de Los Muertos in Xcaret, was probably the “touristy” way to do it. But it was still pretty cool. The show they put on celebrating the culture and history of Mexico was incredible. Truly a must-see if you’re ever in the area. Hopefully we can come back to Mayan country and experience it the more traditional way.
-Tevya

I’ve been working too much. Worked myself sick, actually. But I’m well again and we were overdue for an adventure. We went to Tulum. First some excellent tacos and panuchos for lunch. Then we explored the ruins. Next a boat ride to the reef where Jill and Colter went snorkeling. Finally, fun and chilling on the beach. It’s a truly gorgeous beach. We’ll be going back there. We got hammered by a rainstorm right at the end of the boat ride, but it passed quickly and meant there was hardly anyone on the beach. Days like this are really special. -Tev

In case you are getting the wrong idea, most days are pretty normal around here. They include things like raisin math problems and other school work, laundry, dishes, naptimes, computer game time, grocery shopping, poopy diaper blowouts, driving to pick kids up from Spanish immersion school, insisting on showers at least twice a week, taco Tuesday (ok taco everyday for one of the meals), wrestling and fighting, hugging and cuddling.
But it’s the family adventure days that make this place different than suburban life in the US, and that’s the part I love. It’s the dependence on each other that makes the hard things feel worth it. The trick is finding what you love about your current life and letting it take center stage in your mind. -Jill

Feliz dos meses en Mexico! ?? Happy two months in Mexico!

We enjoyed Akumal beach yesterday. We saw lots of fish and got our legs tickled by some, saw a couple of stingrays, Ezzy chased the birds, and the kids worked together on digging and building a castle and pool. The morning had been rainy, so the beach was fairly bare and relaxing. ?️

Colter has been doing tennis lessons twice a week. It really wears him out, he gets a dose of Spanglish, and he’s getting some great skills! ?

The girls love their weekly swim lessons, and so do I! They have significant progress with every lesson. Thanks @swimwithsuz ??‍♀️ #worldschool

Advantages of off-season, weekday adventures: you get a Cenote all to yourself. We were the only ones at Cenote Choo-Ha. So we weren’t embarrassed by the girls screaming about fish nibbling their toes, and the sound reverberating around inside the cave. ?
The contrast of heat and heights was interesting. We went from dripping sweat on the top of the tallest ruins in the Yucatan, to deep breaths of surprise at the coldness of the water, 3-4 stories underground. It wasn’t that cold, especially compared to rivers and lakes in ID. But contrasted with the heat of hiking around Cobá and up it’s pyramid, it was somewhat shocking to the kids. – Tevya

Today was an adventure day, and we visited Coba Ruins and a cenote. It was one of those days that was alllll the things: constant dripping sweat and cool things all around, whining and giggles, wonder & awe. Then we got to the cenote and stepped down the spiral staircase to dark and chilly water, whining and giggles, wonder and awe. The drive out there we were scratching our heads wondering what the heck we were doing (compliments of the back seat), the ride home we were all patting ourselves on the back for having a great day together. Beyond the cultural things, we are learning so much about ourselves and our family down here. -Jill

Think I found my new favorite place to eat. When a back-road taco kitchen is full of locals & sun-worn expats at 2 in the afternoon, you know it’s gotta be good.
Must be a family business. Abuelo sat 4ft away shredding chicken with his bare hands the whole time I ate. #tacos ??? I’ve been MIA lately, super busy catching up on work after a lot of playing all summer. Didn’t help that I thought of and launched a new project in the last few weeks as well. I’m almost caught back up! -Tevya