Mexico Part 1!!!

I promised you all a post today about my trip to Mexico and here it is, well here is part one anyways. I figured I would break this up into two or three posts since there are so many pictures and so many things to tell you about. I also realize that this post is going to post with a date of Thursday instead of Wednesday like I promised. However, I started posting the pictures at 11:00 on Wednesday night so that should count for something...right? ;)

Okay, onto Mexico.....a little background for you first: When Shawn died a year and a half ago there were three other younger ladies in my town who also lost their husbands unexpectedly. All of our husbands died within three weeks of each other, and we all used the same funeral home. Two of our husbands died the same week in the middle of August, and two of our husbands died the first week of September. We didn't know it at the time, but we two of us at a time were at the funeral home for our husband's funerals without even knowing it. Then around Christmas time last year we all received a letter from one of the ladies. We all decided to start meeting since there is very little support out there for "young widows". At that time we had no clue, but we all became very fast and wonderful friends.

Two of these great ladies I went to Mexico with and our friendship got even stronger during our trip. We shared many special moments while in Mexico. The three of us decided to name our trip "Widows Gone Wild 2010" Each of the other ladies brought there children with them, so in all there was seven of us in our "family". At the start of our trip we were all joking about the seven of us being a family and many of the teenagers rolled their eyes at us, however at the end of our trip there was no joking about it...the seven of us had bonded and had become a family. I was the only one on the trip without a "family member" so in a sense I was all alone on this trip, at first I was a little worried about this. That worry faded away almost as quickly as it entered my mind. The trip was TOTALLY FANTASTIC!!!! I can't begin to even tell you all the fun the seven of us had. Patty, Shirley and I also had many special and wonderful moments that the three of us will always remember and this trip bonded us in such an awesome way! Each of us has said that last week was hands down the best week of our lives since our husbands have died. It was so wonderful to get away and not "think" about anything and just relax. For the first time since Shawn has been gone, my mind actually turned off and I was able to totally chill out and enjoy life without the constant thinking and constant "what if's" and future thinking that I tend to do. It was a week I will never forget and we are already planning Widows Gone Wild 2011!!! With that little bit of background are you ready to see my trip to Mexico in pictures? Hang on there are lots of them....and this is only part 1!!! Please stay tuned over the next few days, I promise lots more exciting pictures that you won't want to miss....

Here is Patty, Shirley and I in the limo heading to the airport. Yeah, we decided to arrive and depart in style and got a limo instead of making the two hour drive to the airport ourselves. We left at 4:00 a.m...I think the three of us look pretty darn good for only a few hours sleep and for it being 4:00 in the morning.


Me trying to sleep on the plane. Man it's hard sleeping in an aisle seat.

The view of one of the pools from Shirley's hotel room.

Myself, Patty, and Shirley our first afternoon on the beach. Our plane landed at 12:30 p.m and we were on the beach by 1:30, it was GREAT!!!

The three of us again

Chilling out on our blue beach chairs. It was kind of funny because every morning before we would go to breakfast we would run out to the beach and "reserve" the same seven beach chairs...like they belonged to us or something.

Patty, myself and Shirley at dinner our first night there. Once again, I can not begin to describe to you the food and the drinks that we consumed during this week. I have never eaten such wonderful food or drank such wonderful drinks in my entire life. All week we were either eating our drinking, many times we were doing both. No wonder I gained seven pounds during the trip. Yes, you read that right....seven pounds. Luckily I've already lost three!

This is Nicole and I. Nicole is 17 and is Patty's daughter. Her and I have talked since the very beginning, but during this trip her and I got much much closer. I shared a room with her and Patty so at night the three of us would stay up talk, and giggle all night. I tease Nicole that I'm the big sister that she never wanted. After not seeing me for three days this week she sent me a text saying that she missed me

The two of us posing for pictures once again.

One of the nights we took a little trip to a town a few blocks over and we thought this would be a good photo opportunity for the four of us.

The moon looking totally amazing one night at dinner.

A few days before we left the three of us were at dinner, this is when we decided to name our trip Widows Gone Wild 2010. We then got the awesome idea to have T-shirts made with our logo on it.
Here we are in our Widow's Gone Wild T-shirts. Aren't they about the greatest things ever?!! Nobody on the beach said anything to us, but you should have seen the looks the three of us got...they were priceless.

On the beach with our drinks in hand. Once again, so many wonderful drinks. I think I had about 20 Pina Colada's, 30 Mudslides, 10 Mia Ties, a few daiquiri's, and god only knows how many glasses of coconut rum and diet cokes. (which happened to be my favorite drink of the entire trip) I may or may not have purchased my own bottle of coconut rum my first day back from the trip.

One of the biggest things that the three of us did on this trip was go para-sailing!!!! For the first two days the three of us all just talked about going, but then just as quick as we said we would go we would change our minds and chicken out. Finally on about day three I got sick of talking about it and decided to "man-up" and bite the bullet and go for it. I knew nobody back home would ever think I would, or could do this type of thing. So I wanted to prove it to myself and to them that yes I could. So, I drank the rest of my drink, finished the rest of Patty's and decided to go for it!

As the guy is strapping me in he is giving me directions and telling me what I need to do. After listening to the directions this was the conversation I had with him."Really, am I really going to do this. Are you sure it's safe? Are you sure I won't fall backwards? Are you sure I won't fall into the ocean and get eaten alive by sharks? I swear to you all are lying to me and I fall, I swear I will hurt you." With that the guy laughed in my face and told me I would be totally fine and to enjoy the ride. Yeah, buddy easy for you to say, your ass won't be strapped in a sling dangling 350 feet into the air!!

Getting strapped in.

Take of.......

HOLY COW!!!! This was the point where I started freaking the hell out! I HATE heights, and didn't really realize how high 350 feet was until my little ole body was dangling up in the air. After I calmed myself down it was a rather enjoyable ride, it was beautiful being that high up in the air and looking at all that surrounded me. I'm so glad that I did this, and it is now something I can say I did. However, I don't know if it is something I would do again.

Neither Patty or Shirley wanted to go, but after I landed they both decided that if I could do it and lived to tell how it was then they would do it too. This is something that the three of us were all scared out of our minds to do. We were all there to support each other and of course take pictures as well. One of the neatest things was that all four of the kids cheered us on as well. (the kids on the trip with us were 24, 18, and two 17 year olds) After the three of us got done they all told us how proud they were of us. Once the three of us were done with our "rides" we all hugged each other on the beach. We couldn't believe that we had actually just gone para-sailing. We were all so proud of each other and of our selves! It was truly an amazing experience that I'm so happy I got to share with them.



Shirley and I together just before she was to go up for her ride. I love this picture of the two of us!

Well, I think I'm going to wrap it up here for this post. Please stay tuned for the next installment of Widows Gone Wild 2010. I still have tons of pictures to share, plus a great story about tequila shots on the beach, swimming with the dolphins, me getting asked out on a date by our waiter and awesome pictures of our last night! I will probably post again in a few days.