Why Cancun?

Why Cancun? Well, that's a very good question.

Originally, Mishka and I were planning on going to the Caribbean. But the more research I did, the more it seemed that the Caribbean was a great place for rest, relaxation, and beach. And, while those were all things I wanted in my honeymoon, I was also interested in just a bit more.

So while checking out a few sister resorts in Mexico, I found a description of the cave snorkeling and Mayan Ruins near Cancun. Immediately, I sensed we had found our honeymoon destination. And when Mishka saw that Le Blanc offered Swimming with the Dolphins he was sold too.

So let's take another picture walk shall we? Through some pictures of some of the sights and activities that are going to make Mishka and my honeymoon absolutely unforgettable.

One of the first places we'll be visiting is Chichen Itza, which was recently voted one of the "New 7 Wonders of the World":

Isn't it magnificent? I can tell you that I'll be climbing those steps all the way to the top of that pyramid (with Mishka trailing and probably complaining behind me ;) ). I can't wait to go exploring and take lots of pictures!

On another day we'll be heading to Tulum which is the ruins of a Mayan Castle. The ruins are located on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea. During this particular excursion we'll spend the first half of the day exploring the ruins, and the second half of the day snorkeling and sea kayaking in the Caribbean Sea. Check it out:

Next, we'll be heading to Holkan National Park. There are two different ways we can explore the park. The first is the traditional horseback ride. There are beaches and forests and it will be a beautiful slow way to see all the sites, though we will probably be saddle sore the next day... and I don't know if I want to spend a portion of my honeymoon unable to sit comfortably.

Our other option is to go ATVing (All-Terrain-Vehicle). I think it would be a LOT of fun, and exciting to boot. We would get dirty and the wind would whip through my hair, but at such high speeds, I wonder if we would really get a sense of the beauty around us. I think it's possible, but it might be easier if we were on horseback. We'll have to see what we feel like, when we get there:

And finally, on to the stuff that we're REALLY looking forward to (not that we weren't super excited about everything that came before this. We'll also be doing Swimming with the Dolphins, which is going to be a dream come true for Mishka and myself. I know I'm excited, but I can't even describe Mishka's feelings. I think he's going to explode when he gets his "dolphin kiss".

And finally, we'll be going to Xcaret, which is an ecological park with underground rivers and cave snorkeling. This is possibly what I'm MOST excited about. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:

I can't wait. In fact, I'm putting in my vacation request for the honeymoon tomorrow. And then in just a few short months... Cancun here we come!!!

So we booked our Honeymoon...

And I am off the WALL excited about it! We're going to Le Blanc Resort in Cancun, Mexico. It's the #1 ranked resort in Cancun according to trip adviser. And let me tell you, the contributors to trip adviser seem to have a very positive opinion about the place. I find myself refreshing the reviews page every few days just to read the latest experiences from people who have been there. 99% of them give rave reviews.

So, while the pictures on the resort website are beautiful and gorgeous and artistic, I think the pictures I've found attached on trip adviser reviews paint a better picture of the "Le Blanc" experience.

So let's take a "picture walk" shall we? (Pardon the teacher jargon, work is rubbing off on me)

We'll be welcomed upon arrival to this:

and this...

We'll be checking in in this gorgeous lobby:

Then we'll have to go up and check out our room:

What is that back there by the windows? Is it a Jacuzzi? Why, yes it is:

The next morning we will wake up to this sunrise:

And then we'll go out and find something to eat. Maybe this?

Or maybe this adorable thing?

And then we'll be on our way to some of the resort's many pools. Maybe this one?

Or this one?

Maybe we'll grab a drink or two and make some new friends :).

But I doubt we'll be able to stay away from this beach for long.

We could relax on the beach with this gorgeous view:

Or swim in these electric blue waters:

I just can't even get over how gorgeous the pictures are. It makes me SO excited for the honeymoon I can't even stand it.

Oh, and it's Adults Only which didn't seem a must to me at first, but now I'm so glad we decided on an A.O. place. Don't get me wrong, I love kids (kind of necessary as a teacher), but when I go on vacation, I don't want to be switching into teacher mode when some kids start running by the pool.

My next post will be a little bit about why we picked Cancun and all the places we plan to go once we're there. It's gonna be SO MUCH FUN!!!!

Dressing Our Flower Girl!

This past weekend held a very special adventure for Mishka and myself. He and I (and a large group of other people) went to Priscilla of Boston to help my flower girl pick out her dress for the big day!

When I was little, I was the flower girl in two of my family's weddings and I really loved the experience. It was so exciting to be a part of my relative's big day. I felt very important (particularly when the DJ announced me during the reception). And as a little thank you, I decided that I would invite their youngest children to be a part of my own wedding party.

And so that is what lead us to Priscilla of Boston with my youngest female cousin, her mother, my grandmother, my mother, my sister, Mishka, and myself. Yes, our group really was that big. Just about 4 times as large as the entourage I brought with me when I bought my dress. You never can tell what's going to happen during an engagement :).

So the day began with a very large group heading to Priscilla of Boston with very little of an idea of what we were going to do for this flower girl dress. The reason for this was, that though people had been telling me for months that it was unconventional to have a 12 year old flower girl. This seemed odd to me so I basically ignored them. However when we started looking up possible dresses for her to try on, we discovered most flower girls are apparently 3-8. And my very tall and super skinny 12 year old cousin might not fit into dresses for girls 4 years younger than her. We decided at this point that if necessary, we could make her a junior bridesmaid.

Undaunted, we made our way to our noon appointment. And we were right about the flower girl dresses being WAY too small. It became less of a search for what we liked, and more of a search for anything sized 12 or 14 just so my flower girl could fit into them. And then MAYBE we could see if there were some styles that we liked.

We only found 2 dresses that would fit on my cousin, but we needn't have worried. The 1st dress she tried on was absolutely perfect. We tried the 2nd one too, and even tried on one of the bridesmaid dresses just to be sure.

Ultimately, I let my flower girl pick her dress, just as I let my bridesmaids pick their dresses. And she picked the 1st dress, which I was ecstatic about, but I didn't want to let her know until afterwards so as not to influence her opinion.

So are you ready to see it? I hope so because here it is:

And the best part? That grey bottom can come in a multitude of colors, one of which is the shade of pink of my bridesmaids dresses!

After we picked out the dress, we went out to lunch to my cousin and my aunt's favorite deli. It was AWESOME!!! I can't wait to take Mishka back there on a date. There are a ton of sandwiches on their menu that I've never encountered before but I can't wait to try!

All in all, an awesome Saturday. I'm so glad that my engagement has been full of these amazing experiences with my super helpful and excited-for-me family :-D.

Engaged Encounter versus Pre Cana

Well no engagement can go completely without hurtles to face. Our first, and perhaps most serious came a few weeks ago when we found out our engaged encounter weekend had been canceled.

I got the message at work and was frantic for the rest of the day, trying to figure out what we were going to do instead. Since we are only 4 months away from the wedding, and most engaged encounter weekends book up months in advance, I was skeptical about being able to find another engaged encounter weekend with openings that was before December 31st.

So our only other option it seemed was Pre Cana, which had both pros and cons. But since we really didn't see any other options I called our officiant to give him the news and ask his opinion and he said gave a suggestion of a good pre cana parish. We registered and I assumed that was that. Crisis handled.

But now I hear that our officiant is having 2nd thoughts. He feels we really should do an engaged encounter. He also seems to have found one before December that may or may not have openings. I suppose we're still open to the idea of going (my father feels strongly that we should do engaged encounter over pre cana-he even suggested we do both just to ensure the engaged encounter happens). But honestly, I don't want to do both, and I find it difficult to put my faith in an engaged encounter that's only a month before the wedding when they've already canceled the weekend on me once. And with only 3 weeks notice. I have to say I was a little put off. Also, I called 3 different people trying to find out about other engaged encounter weekends, but since their work day ends at 2:30 and mine ends at 3:30 (at the earliest) I had to leave messages. And I have yet to hear back from anyone.

So needless to say, I'm not sure how I feel about Engaged Encounter right now, particularly not in this diocese. Our officiant feels so strongly about it because he says we're a "perfect couple" for engaged encounter. I'm not sure what that means, but I suppose he would know.

Anyway, I'll keep you updated on the situation going forward. For now, we're registered for an October Pre Cana and ONLY an October Pre Cana. Whether that will change I can't say.