Camino Real Mexico

Enjoying all the flowers around the hotel.
Chillin in the Blue Room.

These pictures were all taken around our hotel. It was a very modern hotel, very interesting art everywhere. What a fun trip! Thank You to everyone who helped with our kids while we were gone: Haley, Jeff, Grandma Kathy, Grandpa Murray, and Torie. The kids had a wonderful week in Utah-thank you so much!

Restaurante La Gruta

Justin above the Restaurant

Charly was so excited to take us to dinner at La Gruta after we hiked the pyramids, he made reservations and got us best seats in the cave. La Gruta is the only restaurant in a cave, it has been around since 1906.

A view of the Restaurant

The best part of the dinner was the amazing show we got to see. The dancers performed 4 different types of traditional dances. The performance was amazing, they switched costumes for each dance, it was so much fun. After a long day of hiking this was a fun way to cool off, and enjoy the evening.

Teotihuacan Pyramids

Our favorite day - Saturday- we hiked the Pyramids. This was an amazing experience, it was so beautiful on top of the pyramids, very breathtaking. As we sat on top of El Sol "the sun" pyramid Justin made the comment how amazing it was to actually be sitting there, and couldn't believe believe just last year we were in Berlin touching what stands of the Berlin Wall. We are very thankful for the opportunities we've had. Amazing!
After we hike Piramide del Sol getting ready to hike Piramide del Luna. (Sun & Moon Pyramids) None of the pictures really show how steep the hike really was.

On top of the Sun looking at the Moon.

We made it!

What an amazing day!

Museo De Sitio Teotihuacan

Before climbing the Pyramids Charly took us on a tour to a little village. This is a dog in the village, it is a hairless dog and they eat them. Yuck!

It was fun to tour this museum before we hiked the pyramids so we could learn more about them.

El Zocalo Capitalino - Mexico City Main Square

This is a pyramid they discovered-we were able to walk around it and go to the museum that contains all the ruins they found inside of it.

Dancers inside of Mexico City's main square.

Mexico City Cathedral

We were able to go to several museums during our trip-it was awesome to learn more about the history of Mexico.

During our trip I tried a lot of new things. One thing I tried was Sushi, we had a delicous dinner at a Japanese restaurant. The chef cooked our meal in front of us, it was really good. For our appetizer Alejandra ordered sushi, I know most of you have tried it -but it was new to me. I didn't love it or hate it. I don't care for sea weed, but the inside stuff was ok, it had cavier on top and I did not care for it. Justin knew he wouldn't like it so didn't try it. I had one sushi and Alejandra enjoyed the rest.

Our last evening on the trade mission we were treated to a VERY nice dinner. We ate at MIKO's and the Master Chef prepared the meal for us. We had several courses with some very exotic food. They would explain each course as they brought it out to us, Justin and I had them quit translating because it all was delicous and sometimes its better not knowing what you are eating. As they brought out each course they would serve a different wine with it that complimented the dish, well coca cola light complimented everything nicely. I also had a killer virgin Pina Colada there. It was a really nice/fun evening.

Mexico City Cathedral

One afternoon after our meetings our taxi driver - Charly took us to the Cathedral downtown. WUSTA the association that arranged this trade mission hired all our taxi drivers. When we were done with meetings we hired Charly to go see the sights of Mexico City. I would NEVER EVER drive there, the driving is insane, no rules, no speed limits, no blinkers, just work your way in and out of traffic. We developed a friendship with Charly and he took really good care of us. Charly is a religous man and he took us to the cathedral, they were having mass and we got to observe and listen to a little bit of it. There was some sort of celebration going on and all the little children were dressed in traditional clothing.

We hiked over a mile over these stairs into a really beautiful area of the plaza. This is where we first noticed the elevation affecting us, up until then it didn't bother us. It was a truly beautiful view over the city. The sculptures and architecture is truly amazing. The details in the cathedrals could leave you looking at the walls for hours.

The Central Market in Mexico City & Monterrey

We went to the Markets in both Monterrey and Mexico City--very amazing places. I've never seen so much fruits and vegetables in my life. The Central Market in Mexico City was huge--hard to describe miles and miles of produce. We went during "rush hour" you have to move fast, be alert, and stay out of their way. If you are too slow you will get hit by their carts, they whistle to warn you they are approching. Justin said he thought going to the market was one of his favorite visits.

Miles of Onions-We had a meeting in one of the onion rows, before we got to his office, my eyes were watering out of control. It was hard looking at the owner, Justin was tough and his eyes didn't water, but everyone elses did.

Pretty amazing place!

Monterrey, Mexico

A view of all the homes on the Mountain
La Fuente de la Vida y Museo de Historia Mexicana

El Cerro de la Silla

Our first couple days of the business trip were spent in Monterrey. It was very, very, hot. I now understand humidity, you kinda felt like you were melting. To begin our trade mission in Monterrey we toured a bunch of different grocery chains to see how they display produce, and of course check out their spuds. They sale white potatoes in Mexico, they have never really been introuduced to the Burbank, to them it looks dirty. After visiting a variety of grocery chains we met with the USDA located in Monterrey, he explained to us about the Import/Export situation in Mexico--very interesting. Between our appointments we took a boat ride around a canal in Monterrey, it was a really pretty area of the city.

Our hotel had the most delicous Orange Juice EVER! I had tons of it! I drank more OJ than Coke a Cola Light believe it or not. I alreay miss it. For breakfeast we had a big plate of fruit, and of course our OJ. The participants from the Trade Mission all had dinner at the Hotel Monday evening. We were able to meet a lot of awesome people. Jerry from Boise USDA kept us laughing and entertained, and he brought his good friend LuLu. LuLu is considered the Martha Stewart of Mexico, she was great! LuLu got me to try a soup with fungus, they scrap the fungus off of corn to make this soup. It looked absolutely horrible/disgusting! I had a hard time not laughing when attempting to eat it. It was delicous and I would have it again.

Trip to Mexico - Safi Royal Luxury Hotel

What a beautiful Hotel we were able to stay in. The entire atmosphere was awesome, the smell of fresh flowers and fruit, the sound of the grand piano playing in the lobby, it was truly beautiful and a fun experience. Our trip to Mexico was truly and educational experience, the pictures don't really describe this trip to me. I wish I could've captured the sounds and the smells also. Justin was part of a Trade Mission in Mexico, and was able to conduct business with a variety of businesses, what a fun and unique opportunity.

Grandma Glenda's 80th Birthday!

Mom, Grandma Glenda, and Me
Me and Joyce (good friend/my dad's cousin) Love Joyce!

Grandma Glenda and the Girls

Grandma Glenda and the Boys

Kids Table with Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Murray

What a fun birthday celebration for Grandma Glenda. She is truly a remarkable woman worth celebrating. We had a good time visiting with our family - her kids, grandkids, and great grandkids all love Grandma Glenda and she has and continues to touch each of our lives. What a great way to spend the day! Thank you to everyone who put so much work into this party!

Scout Krupp Hollow

We had a great day at Krupp Hollow Day Camp. Justin, Brayden, and I all were able to go together. This was Bray's first day camp we moved last year when the ward went. We had a day full of adventure and fun! The boys were all well behaved and we all had a good time. It had been raining all week and while we were at day camp -- no rain --just nice, cool, and relaxing! I am glad we were able to attend this fun experience with Brayden! Scouting is a lot of fun, one of the funnest callings I've had. Justin is now in the Elders Quorum Presidency but he is awesome and took the day off to spend it with us at day camp.

Summer Pack Meeting

Brayden and Ryan folding the flag.

We had a family barbeque and learned all about the flag during June's pack meeting. The boys all rotated around to different flag stations, Justin and I were in charge of folding the flag. We had a nice hot dog roast and a lot of fun.