Cupcakery

Well, as we all know, the US gov't prides itself on charitable giving, and what better way to flex the mighty capitalist muscle of the US economy? Duh, BAKE SALE!

Naturally, I had to try to out-do all the other spouses and once again prove my superiority (as I learned in Protocol class)! With a little inspiration from Martha and my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook in hand, I went to work on some high-altitude baking.

Eat THAT other spouses!
Halloween Monster Cupcakes!

A week later, I had a follow-up performance (albeit not as cute) for the office Halloween / Day of the Dead party:

Feliz Dia de Los Muertos!

Pink T-Shirts, Pink Balloons, Pink Ribbons!

Although we were both cursing ourselves for being so nice and charitable on the pitch-black, pre-dawn taxi ride over to Condesa at 6:00am last Saturday, we did have a good time at a Breast Cancer awareness event that we volunteered at. Autumn and I helped run the bag/coat-check which basically involved a lot of sitting around...our favorite volunteer activity!

Much more cheerful after coffee and daybreak!

Phoenix

After our surprise trip to Colville, we had with an 8 hour layover on the flight home, so we ended up visiting Phoenix after all.... And, for all you blog/Autumn fans out there, you know that means....

CACTUS!!!

Welcome to Arizona!

Our first stop with the Desert Botanical Garden.

Chihuly "Yuccas" at the main entrance.

Cact-gasm!

Much like us, the monarch butterflies had a long layover in Phoenix before their journey to south-central Mexico.

A bloomin' good time for all old chaps!

KEEP OUT!

Autumn almost couldn't leave this cactus paradise, but hunger prevailed!

Good ol' American micro-brews & pub grub!

Surprise Visit

Autumn's dad just finished building his house this weekend and was having a big housewarming party, so....we decided to fly up and surprise him. We had originally planned on meeting up with Autumn's mom in Phoenix to go dress shopping for the upcoming Marine Ball, but she convinced us to change our plans and go all the way up to our parents neck of the woods in almost Canada.

We also decided that we would surprise my mom which just about ended up with her in a state of shock when we walked in the door at the Gallea! But in the end it was a fun surprise for all. We got our shopping done in Spokane (thanks 1-day sale at Macy's!) and got to spend time with everyone. As it turned out, my mom was also in the middle of home improvements and was replacing her roof over the weekend. I of course volunteered for cleanup duty and we ended up hauling literally 1.5 TONS of roof crap to the dump. Afterward there was a big poker party, so I got to visit with a bunch of my aunts and uncles too. Jeannie even grabbed a last minute flight from the coast!

Meanwhile, Autumn caught up on TV and dungeoness crab with her mom, and spent Saturday with her dad, roasting a half-pig (that he raised!!) for the big party. The turnout at the party was great, and we got to visit with 1.5 tons of people that we hadn't seen in months! We tried to convince people that we really liked living in Mexico City, but the average reaction was pretty much, "Oh? Really? I've only heard BAD things...so anyway, blah blah blah" ;) Regardless of the fact that no one believed us that one could actualy ENJOY living in Mexico, the part was a smashing success, and I plan on changing my will to include a clause that I wish to buried in a vat of Autumn's uncle Al's BBQ sauce!

Not too many photos from the weekend...I guess we were having too much fun!

Good morning turkeys! Gobble-Gobble...
Just wait 'til Thanksgiving...muhuhuwahwahahahh

Al & Autumn's dad roasting the pig!

Ed & Lynn's new place

The real chef!

Lucha Libre

This evening we headed out with a big group from work to watch a Luche Libre match (Mexican wrestling). It was a pretty wild spectacle. Very choreographed and obviously fake, but it was pretty entertaining. We each got an extra-large-big-gulp sized beer for 100 pesos and enjoyed the show.

Lucha babes and Volador versus La Mascara!

Flipping for fun!

Puerto Birthday-arta!

We celebrated Autumn's birthday with by relaxing on the beach, then a quick lunch with Suzan and Merlin from her office in Seattle followed more beach time. It was so great to see people from home...so if anyone is planning a Mexican getaway, let us know and we'll meet you there!

We capped off Autumn's special day with dinner at the River Cafe. The restaurant was really cool, located on an island in the river and a jungle-like setting. We had another round of mariachi Happy Birthday, and this one included a harpist! The food was awesome and the ambiance couldn't be beat.

Las playas!

Work gossip catch-up hour!

Jungle restaurant!

Happy birthday indeed!

I KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO ANOTHER DISCOUNT BREAKFAST!

Ok, so I forgot to mention that we were literally chased out of the hotel this morning by a crazy woman that worked at the Guest Relations / We ARE going to sell you a timeshare! desk this morning! The second we walked out of the elevator, she assaulted us with questions about what we were doing (going snorkeling), where we were going (to the marina) and what sort of presentation we would be seeing in order to get this fabulous trip for free (none, we paid for it). After politely declining her offer and walking toward the cab, this maniac-in-training resorted to screaming "I KNOW YOU'RE GOING TO ANOTHER DISCOUNT BREAKFAST!!! TELL ME WHERE YOU'RE GOING!?! I KNOW IT'S TO ANOTHER BREAKFAST PRESENTATION!!" Obviously, we noted this incident in our comment card later.

Anyway, back to fun! After snorkeling, we headed down to the old downtown and walked along the boardwalk until we found a wonderful beach bar with buckets of beer for 100 pesos (roughly $8.30)!!! We were overjoyed!

Don't worry, no discount breakfasts were eaten in the taking of this photograph!

Beach boardwalk

How do I get his job?

Coconuts!

I think beer should really only be served by the bucket!

There should really be more mariachis for hire around the world!
Happy Birthday in Spanish for just 60 pesos! It's almost free!

View from our bar table!

That's a big drink umbrella!

Other view from the table

Happy Birthday Eve!

We ended our pre-birthday festivities at Daquiri Dick's for a sunset dinner.

Aaaaahhhhhh!

Finally, a sunset on the right side of the continent!

First star!

Puerto Vallarta!

CAUTION! Your luggage may have shitted during the flight...

Or at least that's what the flight attendant announced as we arrived in Puerto Vallarta on Friday night. After dining on granola bars and the in flight snack of "cracker peanuts" (a peanut encapsulated in a crunchy cracker coating), we were starving and happy to be able to order American chicken strips at the hotel bar.


Welcome to Puerto Vallarta

Misty mountain morning!

View from the room

Saturday morning we got up early for a snorkel trip in the Marietas Islands. After a botched cab ride that ended up with us at the cruise ship terminal, we made it to the boat launch and were on our way. We weren't aware of this before going, but it is not currently tourist season, so we ended up with the boat practically to ourselves! Our boat-mates were two guys heading out for their final scuba certifications, Captain Emilio and guide-of-sorts...Nacho!

Leaving the marina

Waiting while we filled up the boat with gas.
Since Mexico is so well known for their stringent safety regulations, we weren't allowed to sit in the boat while they filled up the gas tank...but life jackets...? Who needs 'em?

PELICANS!

Hola Sr. Pez!

Nacho said that he fed these guys each day, so they would be extra friendly!

Too bad the only snacks that Nacho brought for this little fishy were onion and american cheese sandwiches with extra mayo...needless to say, our first stop afterward was LUNCH!

FISH!

Endangered Species File:
Blue Footed Booby
According to Nacho, that stupid bird that won't let us go on the island!

After we finished looking at the fish, Nacho decided to catch one, but all he got was the prop!

Bird Island!

Snorkling Part II

Schools of fish in the waves