We did make it to Xcaret - we actually went the day before going to Isla Mujeres. It is an incredible place - lots to do and amazing stuff to see - animals, swimming, maya village, butterfly garden. We don't have pictures of this but we all snorkeled in an underground river. It was kind of cold and a little awkward for the boys, but Bekah did an incredible job with her snorkel gear. I was impressed. Another highlight is the show they put on in the evening - really a first class presentation of Maya culture, Mexican culture, and traditional dances. Sadly, our batteries died out during the performance, but we enjoyed a ball game - Maya style (you know with the hoop on the wall like you see in Chichen Itza), tradiational dances from different regions in Mexico (one called Viajitos or in other words, "senor citizens" where all the male dancers wear masks depicting old men - then at the end they reveal that they actually
are in the elders category!), and men hanging from ropes at the top of a huge pole and spinning. Ok, I'm done, I'm not doing the show justice, but you can see some professional shots
here.
There wasn't nearly enough time to see and do everything - going with a group kind of lent itself to that, but we really enjoyed what we were able to experience right down to the buffet dinner "included" in our ticket price ;-)
The place costs and arm and a leg, but if we ever save up to go there again . . . we'll get there when the doors open and stay til they kick us out. Enjoy the few shots we did manage to take on the slideshow or check out the photos on this
website.
Back to work now . . .
Do you remember your first day of school? I'm having trouble remembering mine, but getting the opportunity to relive it through my kids (at least a little). Yesterday marked Day 1 for Bekah and Joseph and, oh, was it eventful! We drive our kids to school here, about a 5-10 minute drive, depending on traffic. Besides Joseph not really wanting to go or get ready the morning of, all arrived and entered without too much trouble. Now, Jonathan, on the other hand, was losing his siblings on this "horrible" day, so Dave made it extra special for him by making him some hot chocolate from his espresso maker (yes, I said hot, here in Mérida!). That seemed to make it all ok. 
But the fun started after school when we were informed that Rebekah had fallen at recess and hurt her knee. So, as she came limping out of the school doorway, we were a little more than concerned. We had planned to eat out because it was the kids' first day of school, but we knew that immediately afterwards we would be heading to the hospital for a consultation. She was still hopping around. What we found out was that, basically, she sprained her ankle and would need to rest it for a few days . . . poor thing. We are thankful for medical insurance and the ease of getting care here. There was no waiting to speak of and we received the results very quickly. 
She is home now with her foot all bandaged up, working on her school assignment from yesterday. Not wanting Rebekah to get all the attention, the boys posed to show that they, too, needed to receive a medical opinion on their condition - little brother syndrome, I think that's what it's called. Well, today Joseph had to "go it alone", braving the new school on his own. It isn't easy for him anyway, so we'll see what the outcome is this afternoon. Maybe going solo was a good thing . . .
