Mexico!

First of all - NO - Eric and I do not have the swine flu.

Eric and I decided to celebrate our 5 year anniversary a few month early. We chose to go away on a trip, since the last time we went away by ourselves it was our honeymoon. With the raving reviews by Bridget and Jake we chose to go to the Riveria Maya, an hour below Cancun to an all-inclusive resort called, "El Dorado Seaside Suites"

We went for 5 nights over my spring break. Here are some pictures from our trip and stories about what we did:

The Resort

The lobby

Our first room:

This is our first room because we had to switch rooms.  The first night we tried to go to sleep and the live music that was 50 feet away was shaking all the wall in the room.  Once we finally fell asleep we awoke between 6am and 8am to the sound of refill/replacement carts driving past our room.  Needless to say - we needed to switch rooms.  

Entrance

Back porch

Thursday we switched rooms and enjoyed the beach:

Our second room

Inside

Outside the building

The view from the porch

THE BEACH!!!!

(Ahhhhh!!!)

Yes, there are beds and chairs for us to use at any time! - Amazing!

Friday we went on an excursion called the Mayan Extreme. We went swimming in the underground rivers called, "Cenotes" Zip lined down three lines and repelling. Then we spent the rest of the day at the beach.

Entrance to the Cenote

Picture of the inside of the cenote - you can see the area we swam in the distance.

After a few hours of swimming.  

Posing before we went on the three zip lines.  For those who can't read the sign, they are 578 ft, 726 ft, and 1220 ft. 

It was so much fun!

Even though he didn't want to Eric loved it.  

I was the first female in our group to let go of my hands!  It was amazing!

I loved the zipline!

Eric was nervous about repelling, but look at how much fun he is having and how high we were.

This is his scared face!

See the town in the distance?  That is how high I am right now and how high we were - higher than the ziplines.

This picture is the part where I walk backwards off the ledge until my feet are higher than my head!  Scary!

Once I was hanging it was fun.  

The guy taking pictures told me make a sexy pose.  Heck no!  There was no way I was letting go with either hand of the rope, so I stuck my leg out!

This was the sign for the men's bathroom at the excursion.  I thought it was hysterical!  The girl's sign was boring.

Eric and I both had a blast on the excursion and were glad we did it.  The only down side was that my ridiculously sensitive face reacted with the mineral water from the cenote and the helmet.  I looked like I have burn marks across my cheek.  It burned so bad to wash my face.

Lovely, isn't it?

The rest of the day was at the beach:

We hung out on this bed for the first few days.  Look at the view!

There is Eric.  

This is the view of the other side of the beach.

The rest of our week - Saturday and Sunday - we spent our time eating, drinking, swimming and relaxing:
Here are some pictures from our two days:

We loved walking out on this pier to look over the beach and the water.

The beautiful water

Pelicans were always flying overhead.

I love this shot

The beds on the beach - on the ground (standing or swinging) or up in the tree.

We spent most of the week on these beds:

The beautiful resort:

We loved it!

Fun picture

I am learning how to relax!

Our favorite beach treat

Eric relaxing at lunch

Our favorite place to eat breakfast and lunch.

Our Last day!

Our Last night!

Easter = New Puppy

Over Easter Eric and I went home to York, PA to visit my family. both of my sisters were going to be home. The entire ride home my sister and I were planning our weekend of puppy shopping.

For those of you who are in shock and think that we should not even consider looking at puppies so soon you need to understand something. My parents have been looking at puppies for a while. My dad goes to the SPCA or Humane society at least once a week. (He says he needs a puppy fix) Both my parents have been complaining about how quiet and lonely the house is. The worst part is that my dad has been carrying the cat out to get the paper every morning. THE CAT! If you know my dad you know that he is not a cat person. He needs his dog. He borrows Nika, Laura's dog as much as he can, but she live 30min away.

So Friday mom and I made many calls and found a few litters near lancaster. We were careful not to even consider the puppy mills. We found one woman, named Rose, who had the mom and dad on the property. Saturday, after everyone arrived we all (mom, dad, Kelli, Laura, Tim-Laura's fiance, Eric and I ) took a road trip. We stopped at Rose's house and played with her 5 puppies. While we were there she introduced us to her other dogs. The mother of the puppies was Angle and the father was HARLEY! After my dad heard that he was sold. They decided to buy, who we later named TUCKER!

Tucker is not the smartest puppy, but he is adorable, laid back and it was the one my dad wanted! Here are some cute pictures of Tucker:

Tucker's first picture


After his visit to the vet


He slowly learned to love his crate







He loves being outside





His first Bath


He loves his cousin Nika.  

A Sad Day In the Phillips Household

Today, Harley, our 10 year old golden retriever, lost his battle with cancer. About 2-3 weeks ago Harley had trouble seeing so we took him to the vet. The vet told us he had cancer in his lymph-nods. The vet predicted that he would live at least 2 months. Harley did well for two weeks. He was perky and had energy. Then yesterday, Tuesday, he could hardly move, even lift his head. He did eat, drink, or go to the bathroom. Harley was a great dog! I know this entire situation is going to be hard on all of us, but especially hard on my mom, dad and Kelli. My mom has been home for the past month due to her foot surgery, so she has been with Harley the entire time. My dad is the person that takes care of Harley the most, so it is going to be very difficult for him. When we got Harley Kelli was only 10 years old, so she has grown up with Harley. IT is hitting her hard. Kelli actually came home from school last night so she could see Harley. For those of you who are dog lovers even just pet lover you understand how difficult this situation came be. It is going to be hard the next few week. Thank you for your prayers.

Here are a few fun pictures of Harley:
This was one of Harley's last pictures. He was up at the Adirondacks with Dad, Laura, Kelli, Uncle Vince and Nika. He loved to vacation at the lake, both in the winter and summer!


This is Harley's sleeping position!


At Christmas we give Harley a huge bone to occupy him.  He will eat the presents if we don't. He was so excited about the bone that he jumped for it!  (At 10 years old)


He and his buddy Nika both had bones.  They played outside all Christmas.

Jacob came to visit

Last weekend a friend from York came to visit, Jacob McKinley. He drove up Thursday and stayed with us through Sunday. We had so much fun showing him New England.

Friday we locked him in the apt with the cats for most of the day due to the fact that we both had to work, but we made it up to him. That night we drove him around the area. We stopped by the Book Barn, went out to dinner at Mystic Pizza and took him to Mohegun Sun Casino. It was the first time he had ever been in a casino. HE was fascinated, but also heart broken for those who should not be there.

Saturday we took Jake to Flanders Bakery (best bakery / donut shop ever). Then we made our way to Gillette Castle. The Castle itself was closed, but we were able to walk around the grounds. The view of the CT river is wonderful. After exploring and taking pictures we made out way to Devil's Hopyard to see the waterfall. Then we headed back home for a quick lunch before going to Jonathan Edward's Vineyard. Jake likes red wine, but had never been to a wine tasting. After the wine tasting we went to dinner at Margaritas. Then we went back home to unwind before church the next day.

Sunday, after church, we had lunch and then Jake was on his way home. It seemed like a quick visit, but it was great to show him New England.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

At the Book Barn:


At Devil's Hopyard:

Jonathan Edward's Vineyard:





Jacob loves cats.  He said he really liked Mystique, but he didn't think Mystique liked him (she is shy.) But Tanzi, on the other hand, Jacob had so much fun with her.  


She is such a flirt!

Scrap-booking weekend

After Eric and I got back from California we spent the weekend with his parents. Eric and his dad had a bonding weekend while Mrs. Frett and I bonded in a much different way! We scrap-booked! Eric's mom, Nana and I went to Lancaster for the weekend and worked on our scrapbooks! It was a lot of fun. I was able to start Eric's and my first year of marriage (I got through 6 months).

Here are some pictures from this weekend:

The Group:


The Store:


The Room: 


Our Table:


Mom and I working:


My work area: