08 - How crazy was that?!

Pretty crazy awesome. For us, '08 turned out to be all about travel:

Mexico: To celebrate Mr. Jones's 4th decade completion, we snuck off to the Mayan Riviera for a week of relaxation and snuggling.

Germany, Italy and Denmark: J1's exchange opened up the world to him.

Newfoundland and Quebec: Mrs. Jones ate cod tongue in St. John's and checked out the Montreal jazz festival during a whirlwind series of back-to-back meetings in Eastern Canada.

Puerto Rico: The location for this year's Gentle Teaching International conference definitely had its

perks, including the sightseeing. We even had a layover in Manhattan, which was on the bucket list. But mostly, it was great to reconnect with friends from all over the world, especially our good friend Charles (Dr. Conant, who was selectively mute until he was 20 years old and now is a renowned behaviorist): MEXICO - again! We wanted to do something special while we were still a full handful living under the same roof. And special it was:

We sailed on a catamaran to Isla Mujeres to snorkel and play with wild dolphins.

We rented a car and drove through army checkpoints to the Tulum ruins and Akumal beach.

We lazed around the pool. J1 and I ate ate a 7-course french dinner that was sooo weird (hence the laughter).

We snorkeled the heck out of Xel-ha and Garrafon, saw sharks and touched manatees, crabs and dolphins.

We saw the most beautiful sunsets. But mostly, we just dug each other for 8 solid days. It was bliss.

We are blessed with true companionship within our family, true friends, and the ability to peek around a few corners of the world now and again.

To all of our friends and loved ones, you are the icing on a delicious cake. Thanks for being part of our lives. May '09 delight you with unexpected joys at every turn.

Take a breath!

Sometimes I find myself sharing oxygen with someone who wastes a lot of time running around telling everyone just how very busy they are. Gotta admit, when that happens, something inside of me just wants to reach out and slap them upside the head. 'Busy' is the new eff word as far as I'm concerned. It makes my skin crawl. Let's just all admit, none of us are sitting around rotating on our thumbs. Okay? Being 'busy' - is that impressive somehow? Bragging about being busy, for those who still think otherwise, is actually pretty lame conversation. It's downright boring. When we get together, let's talk about interesting things, instead of complaining about schedules and daytimers and popcorn for supper. We've all bintheredonethat.