Too much fun

Just as we left for Cuba, I started coughing. No stuffy nose or anything, just a sore throat and cough. The whole time we were there, I would cough at night, but be fine in the morning. (Thank goodness for NyQuil!!!) Once we got home though, the cough got worse and worse until I felt wiped right out every time I coughed. The sore throat was still there too and I could hardly talk. After 3 weeks, I decided to go to the doctor. I had kept telling myself that it was just a virus and to suck it up. Well, it turns out I have pneumonia. No wonder I didn't get better by myself. I have been at home for 3.5 days doing nothing but sleep, read books and watch movies in bed. I'm finally starting to get some energy back and not coughing quite so much. I felt like I wasn't healing as fast as I should, so I finally asked for a Priesthood blessing. I should have done that much sooner! I started feeling better much quicker after that. Thank goodness for the Priesthood and Heavenly Father just waiting for us to ask so he can bless us! Hopefully I'm up to working again tomorrow!

I love breakfast!

About a month ago, Devin and I went to Cora's for breakfast. They sucked us in with one of those "Get a beverage for free" coupons in the mail. Well, it was fantastic! Everything comes with a mountain of fruit and it was totally delicious. Best breakfast I've had in awhile.

Realizations

As we drove from the airport to the hotel and back, and saw the poverty, it made me realize how blessed we are to have all that we do. The buildings are from 1500 and on and do not get maintained...they are just repainted bright colors. The cars that drive around are 1930-50s and those are the lucky people. Most people hitchhike or drive horse buggy things. The cows are skin and bone. But the people are so happy and friendly. It made me realize just how good we have it. And still sometimes we think we have it so rough. I feel so blessed to have the gospel in my life as well as to live in a free country and have all the technology that we do. The internet was non-existent and there was no cell service (which was actually fantastic! It was sad to come back to instant messaging, facebook etc).

And the propaganda! There were signs and messages from Fidel all over the place!

Dolphinarium and Snorkelling

One day we went on a Catamaran ride out in the ocean and then we went snorkeling. The water was perfect that day. We had fun swimming around looking at fish and the reef. We saw lots of fish and even an eel.

After snorkelling we went to a secluded little sand bar/beach and explored. We found some really cool shells there. Devin tried to dig up clams, but they evaded him.

The other super awesome thing about the day was swimming with the dolphins! We got to go down into their aquarium (which was right in the ocean) and they would swim back and forth and we could touch them. They jumped and sang and kissed our cheeks. It was so fun! Devin even picked the dolphin up!

Cuba!

For Easter break this year, Devin and I decided to hightail it out of Canada and off to somewhere warm. After much research and deal hunting, Devin found us the perfect vacation. We ended up going to Hotel Gaviota on Cayo Santa Maria. It is a little key off of the mainland and connected by a 48 km causeway through the ocean.

When we arrived, we were exhausted since we flew overnight. Devin was surprised at how small the airport was. It was definitely no Toronto International! We were greeted with a fantastic blast of HOT and humid air as we stepped off the plane onto the tarmac. It was awesome!

When we got to the hotel, there was no information package about the hotel or anything like that. We felt really lost. We eventually found our room and figured out how to get the AC and lights working...and then we had to wander around to try and find the buffet. Once we found the food and the pool and the beach, we were set!

Our days were mostly composed of getting up in time for the buffet breakfast (having omelettes, my friend) and then sitting by the pool reading, suntanning and jumping in the pool. We had a fantastic time. We were so relaxed and recuperated by the time the week was over.

The beach was amazing! The sand was like icing sugar it was so soft and fine. The water was really warm and we had a great time floating around in the ocean. The one day there were big waves and Devin really liked that, but I didn't like it so much. I liked the calm, bathtub like ocean. It was just so beautiful, it was hard to believe that it was real!