Monday, January 18, 2010

We interrupt this blogging break to tell you I have the coolest in-laws...

I've been hearing a lot of people saying in the last weeks that they wish they could do something for the people in Haiti. But McKay's family is doing a few somethings:


My brother-in-law Brady, who is a doctor in the Navy, is being deployed on Tuesday to serve on the U.S.N.S. Comfort (a hospital ship) off the shore of Haiti to help with the thousands who need medical help. He doesn't know how long he could be there (six weeks to six months is all he's been told), but we are so proud to be related to him.



GO BRADY!!



We are also amazed at Brady's wife, Kendy, who will be without a husband indefinitely, who will be with their two children, and who is twelve weeks pregnant right now. These are amazing people!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Cruise!

Well, we're settled in here in Plano, Christmas is over, we're off from the cruise, and I (McKay) am officially in the job hunt. As most of you know, I just graduated from BYU in Advertising, and am now looking for market research or advertising work in Dallas. I would be remiss if I didn't put in a good plug here: IF YOU KNOW ANYONE IN THESE FIELDS IN THE DALLAS AREA, PLEASE LET ME KNOW :-)


Whew! That has been the story of my week, so I'll write about more fun things. We just got back from our cruise to Mexico. Whoo! Went to Progreso and Cozumel for a 5 day cruise in celebration of my graduating last month. Took a lot of pictures- here are some of the highlights.



Katie was afraid of crossing the gangplank.






Bye Galveston!













We did the elegant night, where we met the captain. He was a very odd man.






Managed not to starve.






Went to some great shows. When Katie managed to stay up late (ya know, past 7 or so), she even came with me! A full day on the boat is tiring when you're trying to grow a little baby in your tummy...




Got attacked by towel animals every day. This one kind of scared Katie.






We stopped first in Progreso, where we decided to go to the Mayan ruins of Uxmal. I could have spent all day here. They were just spectacular. We climbed the ruins till we could climb no more (and because the bus was leaving).







Me playing on the Ballcourt. They had to get a 4-9 pound ball into that hoop using only their heads, hips, and shoulders. Good thing I didn't play for real- the losers (or one of them) would be executed.






These guys were all over the place.







I can't say enough about this place or show enough pictures. How well preserved these ruins are and how detailed they are is just amazing. I was suddenly incredibly jealous of the "Book of Mormon Cruise" my parents are on, exploring some more of these sites.



In Cozumel, we rented a little 3 wheel scooter that gave us access to the whole island. Don't we look hot?




First we found a quiet little beach and did some great snorkeling on the coral there.





Then we hit the road to check out some more beaches. The whole back side of the island is just quiet, white sandy beaches.




We found this great spot of "swiss cheese" volcano rock that formed all sorts of caves and coves. The effect was really cool when the waves crash against the rock.









The water was just gorgeous all the way around the island.



Back on the boat, we unfortunately crossed through a cold front the last day approaching Galveston. I couldn't resist capturing some of the waves as we cut through the choppy water. Than goodness for Dramamine!





It was a fun trip. Nice to get away for a little bit, but it was fun to come home to Tyler, who had probably just written us off altogether. BIG thanks to Marie and David and Mom and Dad for taking care of him while we were gone.