Take Me Away

It's been one month. I want to go back to Cancun. I came home after work on Friday to find water in our basement AGAIN. One of the joints in the pipe that funnels the groundwater back outside had broken apart and the sump pump was spewing water everywhere. After two inches of rain on Thursday, we were already leery of the sump pump (the fear of what happened four months ago still fresh in our minds) and had been checking it often. In fact, Mike had checked it at 3:30 on Friday afternoon. Amazing what kind of damage can occur in less than two hours. We learned the hard way that a Homeowner's Insurance deductible does not work like a Health Insurance deductible. You pay the deductible PER CLAIM, not per year. Just what we wanted to spend $2,000 on this year.

I worked from home today due to the revolving front door - ServiceMaster technicians, the insurance adjuster and the plumber all paying me a visit. The plumber was 85 years old and I felt bad for the number of times he had to go up and down the stairs. The ServiceMaster guys remembered me and were all curious to hear how my back recovery was coming along. For as often as I've seen these guys this year, they'll probably be added to my Christmas correspondence list.

Since I miss Cancun so much, I figured I would post some more pictures. One of which is the Magician that looked much like a Vampire (check out his teeth). Another is of a waiter that looked like Danny DeVito's clone. Ahhhh, it was such a fun trip!!!!!

Ann's 30th Birthday Celebration - Cancun Style

My lovely sister Ann turned the big 3-0 on August 26th. Since we weren't able to celebrate with her in Minnesota, and because her actual birthday fell on a weekday night (Ann needs to be in bed by 10:00), we decided it would be wise to have a "celebrate Ann's 30th Birthday" theme night in Cancun, especially since Addeson and Hadley were in the good care of Grandma Nancy and Papa Ron, so Ann was guaranteed a full night's sleep after a few glasses of wine.

The selected restaurant was "Maria's". The three-man band providing musical entertainment at Maria's even serenaded Ann with the Mexican version of the Happy Birthday song. Ann also received a tasty dessert treat with "Happy 30th Birthday" written in gel frosting around the edge of the plate. She even shared a bite with all of us, while we toasted her with some champagne. So much fun!!! Probably my favorite night in Cancun!

Unbelievable Surprise!!!!!!

In late July, when Mike asked if I thought I might be ready to accompany him on a work trip at the end of September that would require travel by airplane, I wasn't so sure. At that time, I was still on crutches and disappointed with the slowness of my post-surgery recovery. But, trying to think positively, I agreed. His only stipulation was that I NOT know the destination. His only hint - "Think Warm". About two weeks later, I sat down in front of the laptop to check my email. I noticed there was an active internet session, but it was minimized on the screen. Instead of opening up a new session, I thought I would just use the existing one because, of course, I figured Mike just forgot to close out an ESPN website or something. When I pulled up the browser window, I discovered a magical picture of a hotel on a beach - not just any beach, but on Coronado Island in San Diego. Ah-ha! I had figured out the secret without even trying! I figured Mike would be really disappointed to find out that he accidentally spilled the beans, so I pretended not to know. What I wasn't aware of is that my sneaky husband "planted" the internet site and he knew that I would think that I found a pot of gold. What I didn't know is that there was nothing "work-related" about this trip and California was not the destination. I realized Cancun, Mexico, was the destination when we arrived at the airport on Thursday morning. Though I thought nothing could top that surprise, I turned around at the gate in the Dallas airport (where we had a layover) to see my sister and brother-in-law coming my way. Absolutely, incredibly, unbelievable. I was stunned beyond belief. I made Mike pinch me to make sure I hadn't drifted to sleep and come up with a crazy dream. So, so, so awesome!!! My wonderful husband (and everyone else that knew) pulled off the surprise of all surprises. I had NO idea. We had a great time in Cancun - which I will share in some future posts (too many pictures to post all at once). For now, here's a video of my reaction to seeing my sister at the airport... P.S. I thought Mike was just video taping random footage - had no idea what was about to happen.