The Rosas-Standring Family

Wow- things have been so crazy busy. It has been wonderful. We have had so many birthdays and parties and family in town and so on and so on. All of the wonderful parts of a Christmas were here. It is easier to do this with pictures...


We went to the fair with a mariposa fairy and Spider Man and uncle Cesar. It was really fun and we got my favorite carnival treat- The corn on the cob with mayo-cheese and chili. YUMMY!!!!

Then I made my wine bottle chandelier- but it has evolved into a wine bottle wind chime and sits in the middle of the new arbor that Ruben made me for my bougainvillea. I really like it. As it grows it will make a cute little shady spot.

Went to the fair again- this time with Ruben and once again... Spider man and mariposa fairy. These costumes are WAY too small but they insist on wearing them all the time.


My step dad's sisters came to visit and that was wonderful. We had such a great time. They were fantastic. We had wonderful dinners and fun talks and they were rock stars on the tour. They came to my work and did all of the activities. It was awesome. Laura asked my friend why his nickname was El Diablo.... she found out.




We had so much fun. We ate, we talked we drank wine, It was so much fun. And it was really cool to get to know a whole new side of my step dad Neal which I love. I cannot wait to see them again.

Okay... so this gets us to Christmas day. last Christmas was spent with my mom and Neal at a resort here in Tulum. It was the nice dinner followed by a santa surprise in the morning. You can read about it here.

This year was amazing. Christmas eve I made some spaghetti with chorizo meat sauce. (a fav of my step dads from last year!) and we had the kids running around the street, neighbors flowing in and out. We got a pinata and it was HUGE!!!! the kids went to town on that. I even got to take a few swings. But eventually I ended up doing what most of us do- reaching in and throwing the candy! It was great.


Christmas morning we woke up and the kids got to open their present. The only bad news... Santa did not have any tape so he thought glue would work- yeah not only was it not dry- it made all the paper stick really well so there was no big open and reveal. Oh well- lesson for santa.
Each of the kids got 1 present from Santa. Akilean got a race track for cars and Lena got a collection of Barbies of Disney Princess. And the real barbies- not the ones from Mexico that always has the legs falling off. She was really excited. My mom and Neal also sent some movies up. That was great. And Laura and Karen got them each a puzzle. Ruben went and got tacos at my favorite taco place and tamales for the kids. We spent the next few hours putting together the race track. :) Later on we met up for a quiet dinner. It was really wonderful. Christmas day was great.

Later in the afternoon we met up with Laura and Karen and went to Casa Cenote. This is one of our favorite cenotes. It is right next to the beach and is great for snorkeling. We all hopped in the cenote and swam deep into the mangroves for about 45 minutes to an hour. It was great. Afterwards we went over to Casa Cenote restaurant and had some drinks and some food. It was great!





Charlies and had dinner at one of my favorite places in Tulum. Neri di Sole. This is a great place on Tulum Ave! It was a wonderful dinner.

Then it was back to work and get ready for New Years. New Years is always special for me because it is Ruben's birthday on the 1st. So when the clock hits midnight- that is his birthday. This year was very special because it was a blue moon. That is when there are 2 full moons in 1 month. It was amazing. There was one point when there was the most striking ring around the moon. It was beautiful.




We stated out just before midnight at a bar called Moloko. It is on the 2nd floor- open and a very nice little spot. After that we headed over to the beach. It was great. Some of our friends were headed to another beach party but we headed back to town to start to wrap up the night- well my now mid morning. We got to bed early enough that the next day when the kids woke us up - we all had a wonderful breakfast in bed sort of day. It was great.

2010 is off to a great start. I am so excited about my job and I love Ruben's schedule. It is great. I am learning how to manage my time now that I am working again and a big part of that has been why I have not blogged. But I guess that is good. I have been so busy having a GREAT time that I have not even turned on my computer.

We went out one night with our friends and it was a great time. We found this
really cool buss with a very cool design on the side. When we took pictures in front of it- the reflection of the flash made a really cool effect. It was a lot of fun. I feel really good about things right now. It is a really nice feeling.



Ruben and I are doing better then ever. After 9 years together it stills feels so amazing. There have been some rough spots and trying times but that is just life. Things are going really well and I am really looking forward to this year.

I hope that everyone is having a great start to 2010. I hope that everyone had a fun and safe holiday and I wish you all the very very best in the year 2010!!! Love- peace happiness!!!



Hey Smile you will live longer!!!!!