We arrive in Mexico and begin the week by exploring Puerto Aventuras.  From the beach to the local market where fresh vegetables and seafood can be purchased to the experience of the grocery story across the highway.  An afternoon at the pool at the beach club was in order, but The water is what we love to share with everyone.  The rock jetty is a great place to see the entire coastline of PA and watch the boats go in and out of the inlet.  This area is also the perfect spot to enter the water and see what is below.  Mike and Karen had never snorkeled so this was a new experience for them both.
We like to take Shelby on an evening canal cruise and enjoyed sharing more of the community from the water.  And we each tried to learn how to work our GoPros.  The evenings just sitting and talking can bring about some interesting conversations like what is that on the wall and is it moving.  I needed to know so I went in to film and discover the sea peanut worm but some might argue it was a sea cucumber slowly moving along the rock wall behind Journey.  We had a few good laughs over this.  What do you think it is?
The fun continued enjoying boat life and the great weather provided the opportunity to move Journey over to The Hole and anchor for the night.  The beautiful blue water, good friends, and a perfect evening as the sun went down.  The best part about watching the sun go down is knowing while at anchor you can watch is rise.  This was a beautiful sunrise over the Caribbean waters of Mexico and I will let the pictures speak for themselves.
Once the morning had broken we are off to enjoy the blue waters of the Caribbean Sea and try to catch some fish.  Sadly, Karen was only able to snag a bonito to reel in but at least we got something on the hook.
Sadly the time comes too quickly to a close and we had our last tour around Pa and a nice dinner at Don Cafeto which became one of their favorite places.  Thanks for sharing an experience with us Mike and Karen.

December is just around the corner and after receiving some cute Christmas pics of our granddaughter, we can’t wait to get back and see her in person.  Dec. 1st we found ourselves in Alexandria, VA to kick off the holiday season as Jesse is ready to purchase her first new car.  After much exploring with Dee, she decided on a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe. We are super excited for her.  While in Alexandria, we attended National Community church, the Christmas tree lighting in the Del Ray community, and went down to the Potomac to watch the Christmas Boat Parade from the banks.  It was quite the holiday event. 

Next, as we head to North Carolina, we stop to get our first squeeze of  Lilia.  Here are some more Christmas pictures of our little sunshine.  We had to of course make cookies.  New Christmas Traditions are being created while a few old ones stay tack like the mouse calendar.
Lilia made a visit to Mooresville before Christmas while we were staying with my parents to see Nana and Papa and meet Cousin Carson, they seemed to hit it off together.  Dee and I enjoyed catching up with lots of friends as well while we were home, but the cold weather was something we could pass on, and missed the warm sun of Mexico.
Christmas Day brought Lilia back for a visit and we were ready with a mini waffle iron and we started another new tradition for Christmas with Lilia.  She helped us prepare and ate her waffle like a pro!  We love all this time we are getting with her.  She stayed across the weekend with us and we just could not get enough of her smile, laugh, gestures, and snuggles.  Sorry this is serious Lilia overload.

Just a little more Lilia to share.  The Last weekend before leaving Hannah met us at a Brewery so we could get our last time with her before boarding a plane back to Mexico with the Pharrs in tow.  We will see all their fun next time.