Mexico Blog 2

July 6, 2011

Another beautiful day in paradise!

This morning we slept in again…still trying to catch up on sleep. We can’t believe how tired we are still! Once we woke up and had breakfast, we decided that a couple days of lying around the pool and beach were enough and it was time to set up some excursions.

First of all, we recommend Gray Line for all of your traveling needs. They are very friendly, accommodating, and work hard to find an activity to suit your needs and what you can afford. Tomorrow, we are going horseback riding on the beach at sunset. We get picked up from the hotel and will be taken to a kind of wildlife preserve (sounds kind of like an estuary type of place) where we meet our horses. We will drive through San Jose del Cabo, so we can decide then if we want to book a shuttle later in the trip to explore that city more. We also booked a shuttle into Cabo San Lucas for Saturday. We will only be there for 2 and a half hours or so, but we figure that will be enough time to decide if we want to come back and explore more and for a longer period of time.

Obviously we have accessed the internet. It is so expensive! $12 USD per hour! It is hard to justify paying that amount, but job searching must be done and we are enjoying updating everyone on our adventures!

Before lunch today, Sam went swimming off of the beach in the Sea of Cortez. The waves were massive, and it was crazy watching everyone ride them in and out. A young girl got pummeled by a wave and got scraped up pretty bad by the sand. Sam came out unscathed and had a blast. Due to her limited swimming experience, Heather decided to stay on land and take pictures and video! Her only injury was a sunburn. It appears that 50 spf sunscreen and a cover-up will do her no good on this trip! Shade umbrellas it will be! That being said, we are both very happy that the sun finally came out today…the water was such a beautiful, rich, deep blue, as was the sky. After months of rain, we were slightly disappointed yesterday by the cloudy sky, but today made up for it!

The rest of the afternoon was spent pool-side again, will intervals of reading, napping, and swimming. At about 4 pm we went back to our wonderfully cool room and took a nap for a couple of hours. When we woke up, we took showers, got all dolled up, and went to the reservation only restaurant here on the hotel property. The food was good, but we decided that the buffet where we eat regularly is more delectable! The atmosphere, though, was quite delightful. The couple behind us had a spectacular evening as well…the man proposed to his soon-to-be-wife…and since we have recently experienced getting married, we couldn’t be happier for them and ourselves! We had a beautiful walk after dinner and enjoyed looking at the stars and watching the satellites.

Now we are off to bed…hopefully after tonight we will be all caught up on sleep! Buenos noches!

July 7, 2011

Continuing our everlasting quest to catch up on sleep, we again slept in a little. We are starting to think that the incredible heat and humidity just wears us down through the day. We have not been very active, so we don’t have a ton of energy. It was another day at the resort. This place really has it all. If we weren’t bent on seeing the sights, this place would satisfy us for the entire trip. The ocean is just a short walk away and there is a fantastic beach. The food is fantastic and the drinks are free! Everything we could ever want.

Again, we spent some time around the pool. It is so nice just to sit around and have nothing to do. We read quite a bit, relax, and sleep whenever we feel the urge to do so.

Around 5PM, we sun-screened our bodies and got on a bus to get over to a small ranch-like area just past San Jose Del Cabo, to the East. Going through the town (or what we supposed to be the outskirts of it), we saw a wide variety of things. One block might be a bunch of run-down shacks, and then a nice little town with fun little shops or eateries. This made us look forward to getting into Cabo San Lucas later in the week. We wound through these towns and ended up on a dirt road that seemed like was headed toward a pretty seedy place. Heather and I are always pretty observant as to what is going on, as we don’t want to be the next ransom for the U.S. and the drug trade. Anyway, we ended up at a little shack that had a couple horses tied to it. It was here that we jumped on the horses and hit the trail. It was just Heather and I with a guide that seemed nice, although tired of riding with an endless line of dumb Americans, who seem to not ride very well; he looked bored. I noticed every time I turned around, he was talking on his phone. He was very nice though and took our camera so that he could take pictures for us while we rode. We started our trail ride a couple hours before sunset, so we were treated to some very romantic evening sights right on the beautiful beach. Heather’s horse seemed to have to poop a lot: every time I turned around, her horse was either peeing or pooping. After the horse finished his business, he always caught her back up to the group. Always looking for a new house, we couldn’t help but notice the amazing mansions we were riding by. One was on sale, but after discussing our financial situation and our small desire to stake a claim outside of the U.S., we decided the 3.2 million dollar home was not quite to our liking and that we would have to pass. Our horses seemed to have a business oriented attitude, albeit, from a business man who had been around for years and couldn’t wait to retire. They lacked any spark. For us, who are not the best riders, this was probably good. However, I couldn’t get my horse to go any faster than a slow trot. We rode about a mile and a half down the beach and turned back about 45 minutes before the sun set. Overall, it was a fantastic experience. We both agreed that this was worth having on our bucket list.

We eventually made it back to the hotel, where we ate dinner and kicked back. Each night, the hotel has some little party going on in the lounge that they personally invite us to. Yesterday was karaoke, tonight was a “lounge party.” We dropped by and had a drink. The “party” was very kid oriented, interestingly enough. We paid attention because they were playing some great games with the kids that we could easily transfer to our classrooms. Yes, at a bar, we picked up some great school-oriented games. Having had enough “excitement,” we retreated to our room. The bed is horribly firm so we have a hard time sleeping. But, after these hot days, we do alright. When we came back to our room, the covers were turned down and the hotel staff had left mints and bookmarks on our pillows, as well as soft music playing on the television. Yay for being on our honeymoon!

Till next time!

July 8, 2011

Today has been another day of relaxation! We have finally determined that our tiredness during the day is due in part to the bed. We have “baby bear” syndrome…our bed at home is a bit too soft, this bed at the hotel is a bit too firm…maybe one day we will find the perfect mattress!

The morning was spent down at the pool again, but until after we watched the final space shuttle launch. We were very glad that we did not miss it! Both of us are enjoying our books a great deal, along with the occasional nap. Sam wants to swim in the ocean some more, but is currently banned because he seems to have a bad case of swimmers ear. With no rubbing alcohol in sight, the ocean shall have to wait!

After a few days of wonderful relaxation, we are ready for some activity. Tomorrow we will take a short jaunt into Cabo San Lucas to determine what the city holds for our entertainment. We are using the hotel shuttle so as to become a little bit more familiar with the city before braving the public bus system.

This afternoon we braved the pool again, only to find that we think we might be getting too much sun! As much as we craved the vitamin D, Heather is now burnt (it appears that no amount of sunscreen or hat, or cover up will help her down here), both of us are drained, and we generally feel lethargic when we go outside of our air conditioned room. After we ate dinner we went back to our room, and watched Fox News and read for awhile before crashing pretty early. The staff had turned down the bed sheets and left a chocolate again! We already feel better and will try to stay indoors more tomorrow before heading into the city!

July 4th and 5th in Mexico

July 4^th, 2011

Greetings from the Melia Cabo Real in Cabo San Lucas Mexico! W

e have arrived and are doing most splendidly!

Yester

day (the 4^th) started our adventure…with a mix up at the airport! The computer system would not let us check in! As it would turn out, Cheap Tickets did not inform us of some flight changes, and we had missed our flight leaving Spokane. After making SURE to tell the ticket counter guy that we were leaving for our honeymoon, he found us a different flight path, got us booked for exit rows (2^nd best to first class – more leg room!), Mom and Dad fixed our shuttle to the hotel, and we were on our way.

The first flight was from Spokane to Portland, and it was very empty. The pilot told us about all the places we were flying over, including Mt. Baker, Mt. Adams, and the Cascade range. Then, the pilot announced that he requested a special, up close flyby of Mt. Hood and that it would be on the left side of the plane. Then he did a wing tip to the left and there it was! We could have touched the mountain…it was so beautiful and definitely a treat!

On our way from Portland to San Francisco, we flew over the Sierra Nevada mountains and saw Mt. Shasta. Both of us were on the lookout for Eagle lake, but none of the lakes we saw looked to be the right shape or big enough.

When we arrived in Mexico and stepped off of the plane, we were hit in the face with massive amounts of humidity and heat. Everything was automatically sticky! Papers do not stay crisp…they are always damp! We made it through customs without incident, pushed our way through the most obnoxious time share people in the world, and our shuttle driver greeted us by name without prompting. More like rescued us…those time share people are everywhere in the airport and it is so easy to become confused. Anyhow, we got on the shuttle and after 20 minutes of INSANE driving, made it to our hotel.

At the hotel, after announcing that we were on our honeymoon, we were upgraded to an ocean view room, our bags were carried everywhere for us, and we had champagne and air conditioning waiting in our ro

om. AC never felt so good! Both of us were so exhausted from being up for some 28 hours, so we just hung around for a bit, unpacked, and…hung up four American Flags so that we could privately celebrate the 4^th of July!

Eventually we went to dinner, where they were serving BBQ. We are wondering if it was the hotel’s tribute to the Americans that are staying here. Whatever the case, the food was delicious! We were not at all disappointed. After dinner we explored the resort a bit more and when it got dark (much earlier than in Washington), we walked on the beach a little bit. We were all alone…the hotel is surprisingly not crowded, nor is the beach. Must be the crazy humidity! Out of nowhere, the Hilton, which is right next door, put on a beautiful fireworks display for the Americans staying there…right over our heads! It was absolutely magical! So, even though we are in Mexico, we celebrated our country as much as possible! As we are writing this…we have FOX News playing on our television…which is also very American and quite exciting for us. We will be watching the shuttle launch on Friday for sure!

So far, we are lovi

ng our honeymoon. The people here are very friendly, and we are trying to pick up on some of the more simple Spanish. The service is amazing and the place is beautiful. Our only disappointment has been the clouds! There are some storms off shore somewhere that are causing it to be very cloudy here. Hopefully it will clear up soon and we will see the sun!

Right now, we are getting ready to head downstairs to the activities director to see what our options are while we are here. We saw a horseback ride on the beach yesterday and are pretty sold on finding a stable and we want to go for a sailboat ride around the peninsula.

We hope everyone had an amazing 4^th of July and we would like to wish Joshua, Heather’s brother, a very Happy 20^th Birthday today! We will update again when we can. For now…adios!

July 5, 2011

In an effort to become acclimated to Cabo, we have made it a point to sleep in everyday. Today was no exception, as we rolled out of bed around 8AM. We had a crazy night last night, and went to bed around 930PM. I know, some of you are thinking that we should take it easy, but our ability to party cannot be matched, so we must take advantage of this skill! In all seriousness though, we are pooped. We’ve still not really caught up on our sleep so we are trying to do that in these first few days.

The food here continues to be amazing. We haven’t had a bad meal yet, and are always looking forward to the next one. They serve real eggs! That by itself is awesome. The rest of the food is divine and is just “frosting on the cake.”

This morning, we ventured out of the confines of the hotel and walked down the beach about a half mile.

The waves are huge and it is no wonder to us why swimming is not advised. You would be pulled out in j

ust a couple

of waves. On our way, we saw a dead crab, and a dead pelican. Heather did not appreciate the former. As we walk on the beach, you can see all these pin holes where crabs dig in overnight. Once in a while we come across a big one, so I am continually on the lookout for the biggest one.

After we got back, we relaxed by the pool for a couple hours and read (Margaritas are generally in hand while pool time is happening). We both enjoy all of the down time. We are planning on heading out to Cabo San Lucas in the next couple days and do some activities like snorkeling, sailing, and horseback riding on the beach, although there are no solid plans to do these at the present.

We ate a delicious dinner at a hotel restaurant where they had Mexican cuisine; it is apparent that they know how to make this food! While there, they had a family playing a marimba that looked to be home-made. The resonators were a little rough, but other than that, it sounded excellent. The dad generally played the melody, which was usually pretty fast, and the 5-7 year old daughter and son were using double mallet technique to accompany him, with little effort but amazing results! For a few songs, the kids just played, which was a blast to watch. After dinner, we watched some piñata activity, and then called it a night. Great day!

Welcome and Thank you!

Hello to all who are new to this blog! We hope you enjoy reading our updates, especially in the coming days!

Yesterday, we celebrated one of the most sacred sacraments in the Catholic Church: Marriage. And we couldn't be happier!!! What a wonderful day we had! Thank you to everyone who traveled both near and far to join us on our special day! Especially thank you to our parents, who filled in the gaps and helped us make the day happen!

Tomorrow (or rather in just a couple of hours!), we leave for our honeymoon! We are going to Cabo San Lucas on the Baja Peninsula of Mexico and are so excited! Check back often for updates on our adventure! We hope to post pictures here and there, too!

Thank you all again and we look forward to sharing many more memories with all of you!!!

~Mr. and Mrs. Schlaich ;)

One Week!

This time next Saturday, Sam and I will have left our reception and headed to an undisclosed location for the evening (so that no one pulls silly pranks on us ;) )!

Back up a little...we are ONE WEEK away from our wedding!!! Time has flown and I am sure this week will be no different. Katie gets here tomorrow, with Amanda, Rachael, Jessica, and Jamie soon to follow! Sam and I are so excited to share this special time with everyone!

Just an FYI...this blog will be used on occasion while we are on our honeymoon in order to share pictures and our adventures with everyone from Cabo. Stay tuned!!!

to do lists and other things

We have made it! One year of teaching down! I've been out of school for a week and have barely had time to soak it all in. It is a relief, but it has not really hit me yet. For the last 10+ years, I have not had a summer off, and now that I do, I don't know what to do with the extra time. Obviously, there is the wedding, but we have taken care of everything there is to take care of for now. In a week, it will be airport runs, entertaining guests, and putting the finishing touches on everything. It will be here and gone before we know it!

It will be incredible to have all the people that we have known for some time to spend our wedding day with us. These are the people that have had significant impacts in many different aspects of our lives; people we've grown up with, people we have grown with. It is an incredibly exciting time for us and we cannot wait to share the day with everyone.

After the wedding, Heather and I will be heading south to spend some one-on-one time together and reflect on everything in our lives that has led up to our marriage, as well as look ahead into the future and really start laying the foundations for the rest of our lives together! We're planners, so it will be fun! We're also music people, so we know how to deal when things don't go as expected...we certainly "planning" on the latter:)

As for the rest of the summer, Heather and I love camping and hiking, so we'll get some of that in. Depending on the money situation, we will try to take up some other activities. I would love to get a bike and start doing more of that, both road and downhill/trail riding. Other than that, we have some time to explore new things. It will be great!

Sam

The Final Countdown

Well, here we are...the final few weeks and days until Sam and I will be married in front of our friends, families, and God! We are so excited, but I still do not know that it has truly hit us that we ONLY have 18 days left. In just 11 days, our friends and family begin to arrive! Usually at this point, for just a normal visit from a friend, I would be SO completely impatient and the time could not pass fast enough. I am sure that as we prep our house for the 5 girls that will be staying here, time will begin to fly, but for now, we are just kind of coasting along now that Sam is out of school.

The weather has been horrible so we can't get outside, the details are all worked out, and there is no stress! I always pictured myself being the stressed-out, tense, detail oriented bride. Instead I am sitting here wondering why everyone BUT Sam and I seem stressed. I believe my mom even expressed concern that I wasn't. I suppose it is because I am at peace with the fact that no matter what else happens on July 2nd, the most important thing is that Sam and I show up at the church and exchange vows. Anything else is just the fun, "fluff" for the day. Don't get me wrong, I am REALLY excited for all of that, too, but if it doesn't go exactly as planned, I am okay with it.

And after that day, we go to Mexico for 10 days, to relax and escape the daily grind, and to just enjoy the new chapter we created. An maybe take a cooking class, kayak, snorkel, zip line, sail a boat...you know...the other little things :).

~Heather

Life Changes...

One would think that getting married was a big enough life change for any one year period. I certainly did. But, in true "Heather" style, I had to add to the list! With less than two months to go until our wedding, I decided that I could not stay in my position at the school I was working at any longer. The Vice Principal and I...we just could not agree. And he could not agree to disagree. Here is the back story:

The Vice Principal at the school I was working at was the past band director, and is in his first year as an administrator (all the while, I am in my first year of teaching). He had a VERY difficult time letting go and letting me make my own decisions on how to teach. I thought I was doing a very good job, and I was learning a lot (I will be the first to admit that I make mistakes...AND I AM a first year teacher after all...)! I was getting big time results from the students and had received compliments from other educators and administrators that I was doing a fabulous job with the students and that the groups sounded better than they ever had before! Then I got called into the office for three days and told that I was a horrible teacher, had no curriculum and was going to have an incident report placed in my file. Luckily I had the weekend to review the report. It was very poorly written. Terrible grammar, VERY generalized...no specific complaints. In fact, he used, word for word almost, my GLOWING fall evaluation and just spun the words around so that it would sound negative. I had no opportunity to defend myself or ask him to come in and watch me teach. I simply had to sign it and accept that I would be 'micromanaged' for the rest of the year. I don't think my blood pressure has been so high since Mr. Kenyon's class in high school. I didn't eat for a week, I couldn't sleep. My health was suffering, and Sam was suffering, too.

Since I had the weekend to mull over this "report," I called several mentors and fellow to teachers to discuss my options. My middle school band director asked me to describe how I ran my class, what music we were playing, and the situation in the office with the VP. She told me I was being bullied and harassed, that my teaching methods were right on, and I should get out as soon as possible so that the "report" would not hurt my career in the future. Then I met with our student teaching supervisor and his wife (he is the past president of MENC and she is a principal), and they said to get out on MONDAY. Sam and I talked a lot with each other, with these mentors, and with our parents. It was a very hard and big decision, but before I had to sign anything, I resigned first thing that Monday morning. I felt horrible for leaving the kids without saying goodbye or giving a reason. My phone rang off the hook for almost two days. But, my reputation as a teacher is intact, Sam and I are much healthier and happier, and there are a couple of possible...maybe...job prospects for the fall.

BIG life change! Unexpected, but so far, God has continued to provide for us in miraculous ways. And I am learning to be that dutiful housewife! ;-)

So, with now 45 days to go until Sam and I get married, we can focus on the more beautiful things in life, rather than on the stress that was unnecessary and unhealthy. I know that I am a good teacher, and that I have a lot of support, from other professionals, our families, from Sam, and from God.

Cheers to life!