part 3, Guatemala

Alas, the Belize pictures come to an end.  This last roll of pics come from our day trip to Guatemala where we visited the Mayan ruins in Tikal.  These were some amazing ruins.  I have seen some ruins before in Mexico but these definitely outdid those. Huge temple after huge temple, Tikal is quite a site to see.  If you ever get the chance, GO.

(so I felt like I had to do these pictures extra large as to try and show the magnitude and magnificence of the ruins)

this tree was suuuuuper tall. and don't you think it looks a bit "suess-ical" 

the first ruin we saw.

trying to spell "tikal" at the top. not sure what the person in the middle of "I" and "K" is doing..

we are far above all the greenery and jungle. If you look in the distance you can see a couple of ruins, plus some mounds that are more temples and buildings that just haven't been uncovered

the whole gang on top of one of the temples- trust me, we're up real high.

Harold is all that is left of the human pyramid we made ourselves in front of this. hence the reason he is on all fours.
the foundation.

taking a break from all the ruin hiking (and all those steps)

Harold and his little guatemalan buddy. He served his mission here and loved being with the people again

more ruins

try and notice how big this temple is and how small the people at the top are.

amazing.

more ruins hidden in the jungle (this was taken on top of a temple)

Jaguar Temple (the sand part to the left that you can see half of is where they did the sacrifices, for some reason I always thought they did it at the tops of the temple but I guess not.)

These were rooms- often wear royalty and nobles lived (Adam and JEss sitting on the steps)

more ruins surrounding the temple, where the royalty/wealthy lived

On our way home we passed this amazing lake in Guatemala that is supposedly their "cleanest" lake, not sure if that actually means much, but it was enough to convince us so we all jumped in and after watched sunset on the dock.

Harold and I

Annie and Alex. such a precious picture.

the whole crew plus another couple that was on the tour too. A great day to end such a great trip.

cheers to a great trip, great people, great food, great weather, and great memories. (I think we need to make this a tradition, eh guys?)

The End.

part 2.

As promised, here are more pictures from my trip to Belize..

Harold and I drank a lot of this on the trip. I heart fanta. don't ya wanta?

our hotel made this awesome floral arrangement while we were away..I thought it was such a clever tropical creation- especially with the conk shell being used.  

our hotel had canoes you could take out and it's own little private dock.

the boys

the gals

 Harold and Celisa admiring "supper" - fresh lobster

One night we went to a reggae club and we were the first ones there and had the whole dance floor to ourselves.  It was hilarious and we had a great time dancing the night away with a fluorescent pole..

  

Turns out Trent is quite flexible 

 

pole dancers.. kidding! it was just fun and games, guys

a couple of the places that we went to had swings for chairs- including the reggae place.  Such a fun idea I thought.

Celisa got some braids thinking it was only 5 belize dollars (like $2), turns out it was $5 USD

The rest of us joined, although we could have easily done 2 french braids ourselves for free ninety-nine. oh well. the ladies were nice and fun to talk to.

Annie opted out for the french braids and got what is called "around the world" braid.  I think there was a miscommunication because I don't think this is what Annie was planning on. Regardless this hairstyle was hilarious and out of her face- not to mention she got her 5 US dollars worth, win-win.

We left the island and went inland Belize to San Ignacio. We got a local tip from one of our braiders about a cool natural waterfall/pool hangout that the locals go to that is free.  We jumped on the idea and landed in this beautiful oasis:

Investigating the water depth (it's also a bit higher from the water than you think)

Harold may look unsure here but he jumped in too

I feel like we look photoshopped into this background- but no joke guys, it's real.

the falls were located outside of town so we got dropped off by a guy and was told to meet him back in an hour or so along side the main road. some were a bit worried he wouldn't come get us but he most definitely did. great guy!

best buds

our view in San Ignacio at our hotel. take me back.

Well that's a wrap, folks.  Only one more batch of pictures left and that is of our little excursion to see the ruins in Tikal, Guatemala.. stay tuned!

~intermission~

I had to hold a quick intermission before next batch of Belize pictures.

why?

Because jimmer is my hero and last night's game was AMAZING. #9 BYU beat #4 San Diego Aztecs.

It was an insane game. the cheers were deafening. the crowd was insane. every. single. person. was on their feet. with good reason if you saw Jimmer score FORTY-THREE points.

Well lucky for us, Harold and I were able to go witness where amazing happened (thanks Mary Martha).

..and see the Aztecs get Jimmered.

the fans rushed the court and of course Harold and I couldn't resist

Jimmer is somewhere in that mess trying to get to the locker room. Notice harold in the top right corner- he was able to touch Jimmer and tell him he loved him. I think everyone felt that way last night.

happy cougar fans!

flash makes you look tanner. cool.

so proud to be a cougar right now.

the unbelizeable trip, part 1

I belize it's about time I posted some of my Belize pictures.  Being that there are a lot I think I may have to do a couple posts as to not overwhelm you.  The trip was great- I mean it's a no brainer when you have warm weather, a beach, great company, and good food. But from here on out I'll let the pictures (and my captions) do the talking.

on the plane, ready to ditch the cold in Utah and get to the warm sun in Belize!

Waiting to take the boat to Caye Caulker- the island we stayed on.

the guy has some great dance moves.

- Now to introduce our group: -

Alex & Annie

Adam & Jess

Celisa ... and ... Trent

(and of course Harold and I but I didn't get a shot of us on the roof since I was taking the pics)

Seriously though, this group was the bomb. After the trip I missed waking up with all these people and being them all day everday. and I am pretty sure the sentiments are returned.

anyways.. moving forward

just walking around the island. caye caulker is just a tiny little island that is about 4 miles long and a half mile wide. No cars are allowed here, just golf carts and bikes- like this rando is doing in the pic. I loved that you could get everywhere on foot- such a fun little beach town!

Once we arrived on the island I don't think Al wore shoes once. or a shirt. the guy knows how to do a vacation right.

Harold makes friends with this random local who turned out to be quite the gem. Probably a bit drunk but he gave us quite a laugh.  Anytime you said something like "love" "appreciation" "thank you" he would say, "hey, how'd you know my name?"  We all thought it was hilarious.  (maybe you had to be there?)

"appreciation" and Alex dancing

We told "love" it was our friend Jess' birthday so he said he was going to make a birthday crown for her.  So he got some leaves and sticks and some how fashioned this lovely hat for jess.

Jess fashioning the birthday hat with "thank you"

buddies

the gang.. but how about that scenery?

just two buddies just enjoying a nice sunset on the beach.. 

nothing like ending a fun day with a fabulous lobster dinner (I even tried it and liked it)

these guys really bonded on this trip.. true friends rub ocean potion on each other.

-bored yet? good, let's keep going-

this picture is for mary martha. 

all the girls. again, wouldya look at that scenery???

 celisa thought we should have a pic of just us 3. a bit silly since we are all friends, but the three of us have been friends since elementary school. 

Trent found this star fish and we had some fun with it..

annie's first encounter with a starfish.

so silly

Celisa tried to make it stick to her.. but to no avail

Sorry to make such an abrupt ending to these pics but I got to run.  Hope this first dose leaves you wanting more and coming back to part 2 of this trip.

p.s. go cougars tonight! team jimmer baby!