Feb 8 -? Playa Del Carmen, MX

Mi Familia!

Everyone who does the FaceBook scene probably knows where I am right now, and how it's going... but Mom, Pauline, & my family & friends who haven't jumped on the FB wagon:
I am in Playa Del Carmen, MX. Today is Day 5... but here are a few short clips of what I've been posting:

This is Day 1 ladies & gentleman... and I'll admit - a bit hard. I'm in an internet cafe, and bouncing between homesick-tears, & awe. First day of class starts tomorrow @ 8AM, and so far I've made one friend... Alejandro, the Security Guard. I'm excited for the 14 days ahead of me. LOVING My Man, The Monkeys, My Family, & My good, good Friends. Thanks for such an extra-ordinary B-Day all of you! SO many surprises!Oh - and I think I'll go with 'awe' vs. the 'homesick-tears'!

My School.

My dorm.

My closet... all settled in!
Day 2 (which was really Day 1 for school) was really pretty rough... but overall (and of course, in hindsight), a great day! Thankfully, I have a good, good man - who keeps me on course when I'm frustrated & want to come home! I have no pictures from today (school lasted forEVER) - but above is a picture (Mi Familia) of how I was introduced to my Mexican adventure... Surprise #1 was to walk into my house - full of my ENTIRE family. They were sporting sombreros & tape-on mustaches - and were totally rocking to the Mexicano music station! Check them out. Surprise #2 was a trip to Playa del Carmen, MX - enrolled in a language school (something I've really wanted). And, we'll have to cover Surprise #3 (a restaurant full of my bestest friends) when I get back!

Costa Rica - December 8-15, 2008

2008's Road Trip: Cramer/Small style

Jim & I planned this trip - with the idea that it would be a bit different from our usual beachy/resort/lazy vaca's... and that it was. We spent two days on mountain bikes, one on surf boards, and SEVERAL days wandering (mostly purposefully) in our 4x4 rental car accross the country-side.

Road- Trippin’ at its’ best...

After 4 hours on the road – I’ll whip out the camera, just to mix things up a bit… and really, I must say – these hours were some of the trips’ best!

Me & my friend. Me & my man.

Costa Ricans celebrate Christmas too!?

Ha! Just kidding... I mean, I'm kidding NOW -because now I know that 90% of Costa Rican's are catholic - and celebrate Christmas similar to us USAn's.

But for those of you (like me) who are clueless to many parts of the world... Yes, Costa Ricans celebrate Christmas too.

Ha! Maybe I'm the only one.

You can't really tell - but this nativity was close to life-size & outside the front doors of our

La Fortuna Hotel. It made me think of my mom. I loved it.

Feliz Navidad.

Donald, Me, & Jimbo. Holy Moly... a little bit of Heaven - a little bit of Hell - THAT was an 8 hour ride! But check out what we saw along the way...

Oh gosh, it's so painful to pose for a picture. I swear I live with a bunch of babies!

Bo does the same thing! Never-the-less...

We watched a group of monkeys - tree-traveling. Leaping 8-10 feet from one tree to the next. There were two Momma monkeys, each with a baby clinging to their backs... you could see they were more cautious than the others, protecting precious cargo. They'd take 5 steps back from a branch to get a good running start, go full speed ahead - and then stop just before the plunge. After several brave attempts, they both made it accross, babes-in-hand.

Little bit o' bike trouble. A LOT of rain!

We climbed all morning -to get to a high spot for lunch. The restaurant had an amazing view of the active volcano (Arenal), which stayed relentlessly hidden our entire stay in La Fortuna.

Maybe next time!

The roads in Costa Rica are not like anything in The States (unless you count private farm roads). We traveled 40 miles in 4 hours - through pot-holes, mud, and quiet, barefoot neighborhoods.
Below is a picture of a little Geo Tracker, driven by a friendly local kid who drove up on the same washed-out bridge we did. When we saw the bridge was washed out - Jim & I literally had no idea where to go. But young Costa-boy turns his tracker around, pulls up to the side of our car and says, 'Sigame este camino' which basically means - 'Follow me down this road.' We followed him through mud to the town of Monteverde. I don't know how else we would have found it. I love that boy!
Jim's smarter than me - and brought to life my appreciation for these windmills & their amazing ability to produce energy. Of course, this energy source is not a novel idea at this point - especially for us American's. But somehow, it was easier to find sincerity in the Costa Rican people. I believe they're producing energy to support themselves, vs. producing energy to prove their political stance, or to earn their 'Go Green' bumper sticker. Simple & Sweet. These people are resourceful.

Check out the grip I have on Jim's head! One of us likes taking self-portraits... one of us is CRAZY!

More biking...

And then we head to The Beach; Manuel Antonio.
In another life – I’d be a surfer girl, and this would be my very typical Wednesday morning. In this life – I’m just a poser, and this picture lets me pretend.

Headed for Home Sweet Home... we took one last self-portrait from our room in

Manuel Antonio.

Omaha, NE - Denver, CO - October 1-6, 2008

Trains, Planes, & Automobiles

So WAY back in March 2008 - I stewed up my yearly attempt to surprise Jim with SOMEthing for his June Birthday - anything! I nailed down 4 Broncos Tickets, and roped-in R. Blatny & his wife, Darcy to conspire. However, Rick (ex-college football star) had his contingencies. Back in the day Rick played for The Nebraska Huskers. And since then, has remained an Allstar Fan! The deal was... if we could come to The Huskers' Saturday Night game in Lincoln - He and Darcy would tag with us to the Sunday Afternoon game in Denver. Hmmmm... and how might that happen Ricky Bobby? Try... a private flight to Lincoln; A midnight train after the Husker game - to Denver (AKA Hell); A commercial flight back to Omaha; a drive to Lincoln, and back on the private plane to SLC. Holy Moly.

Phase 1: Chuck Liddell

Much to our surprise, Darcy & I found ourselves at Chuck Liddells' private party... who is Chuck Liddell you ask? I still don't know. Sweet picture guys - now you're famous!

Phase 2: Go Huskers!

Who looks better in the corn-head?

Does anyone look good in the corn-head??

Rick is a Doctor by trade... but based on his photo-ops, I'm thinking most of the world would mistake him for a frat-boy-clown. And THAT, my friends - is what is extraordinary about Rick Blatny... He's sincere, super smart, and an exceptional MD - but he also knows how to play!

Phase 3: Here comes the train.

The delay from midnight - to 2AM started the night (or should we say morning) off with a kicker.

The nap from 12-2 sent us racing to catch the departure; and once aboard, I realized I was missing my purse. There was a FURIOUS passenger aboard who wanted to fight Jim & Rick for waking her, and our 'suites' turned out to be closets. Mmmmmm... the train is awesome!

Phase 4: Denver Broncos

There was Sunshine - and OH, there was rain. Broncos win!

We stayed at a great downtown-hotel in Denver - and went for sushi after the game. Rick & Darcy are hillarious and fun, AND - they love eachother - that's why we love them!