Truck Repair Video

Okay!  So I have the video on youtube, let's see if I can upload it here now!

Well I don't want to upload to my google, so I embedded it.  I am slowly getting better at this whole internet / blog thing!

If you want to hear what exactly Hayden  had to do, listen to Matt's explanation in the video.  And you can see how dark it actually was outside.  The flash on the camera made the pictures appear much brighter.

A Common Sight at the Ranch

... is a broken down car or truck.  My favorite experience (not) was receiving an email from my husband (he went down a week early) saying, "I am here, the truck is being held together by duct tape, but still running."  What the heck is a wife supposed to think about that?  Needless to say, before I arrived I found out that he was fine and the being held together was mostly cosmetic stuff (like the window latches in the back wont work so he had to tape them shut).   But I did find the truck on the side of the road on day 1, his response - well it died so I had to switch vehicles in the middle of feeding the animals.  Now I'm still not sure if  "it" was the quad (which had a habit of dieing) or the truck, but I'm hopin it was the quad. 

Another likely issues with vehicles down there -- flat tires.  People do not clean their worksites properly and leave nails on the ground, which have a sneaky habit of getting stuck in tires.  That and the whole 9 mile unpaved, rocky dirt road that you have to travel may have something to do with it...  Anywho, we got a flat on Caity & Hayden's first night.  It was about 8 pm and really dark.  Caity was still in a swimsuit, I was sick, and the tools for changing the tire - with a random guy that Matt had been nice to (in the states) and loaned them and never returned them.  We used the jack for my car to jack up the truck. 

That's really cold Caity wrapped up in a blanket as Hayden takes off the lugnuts and Matt adjusts the jack. 

The boys are hard at work and Caity is shining a light so they can see what they are doing... I have a video taken at some point during this adventure, I just need to figure out how to post it to the blog!

This is when Hayden finally got the seal of approval to date Caity (because really, this was just a rouse to test out his manliness) haha  He managed to get the spare tire out with a nail punch.  See, you need special tools to take the tire off of a Tundra, they are up under the bed.  He and I were under the truck (I was holding the maglight, of course) and he had to figure out a way to maneuver around and get it out.  Major props to him.  And Caity is wearing my beach coverup as a scarf.  (I hada already changed because of the sick thing, I ran into a bathroom -- and changed while I tried not to hurl, I expected everyone else to change while I was, but they were being nice and waiting to see if I was okay).

This was our last night in Mexico, talk about going out with a bang, right? haha

Hot Springs

Remember when we tried to find those Hot Springs awhile back?  Well we finally found them!  We actually went twice during our month in Mexico.  Okay,  I went twice, Matt only went once.  The first time we went to the beach it was miserably hot at the Ranch and we needed to get to cooler weather.  Sarah Lee too Jen & I, so that we could see the actual existence of the hot springs. We spent fun times playing in the waves first, about 40 yards away from dolphins!

I digress.  The whole point of this beach expedition was to find the hot springs and see if they really do exist.  Sarah Lee showed Jen & I where they were on Wednesday and we went back on Friday and found them again with no problems!  The key is to dig nearer to the water (we dug way up high before).  Some of the water is so hot that you cannot touch it.  Seriously.  It's crazy.  After checking out La Bufadora (those were yesterdays pics), we headed over to this beach to find the springs. 

My sis with a very Megan expression (or is it a Caity expression??)

Our hot tub was heart shaped -- for awhile!

The boys did some digging too -- see how moist the sand is?

There you have it, photographic evidence that the hot springs do exist!  We had a wonderful time soaking up the hot water and enjoying each other's company.  Thanks to Sarah Lee for showing us where they were, and to the random Romanian Baptist student pastor from Fresno who first told us about their existence!

More of our August Trip to Mexico

Before too many more months go by, here are some pictures of the rest of our time in Mexico.  We spent a lot of time puttering around the Ranch.  Well, Matt spent a lot of time doing repairs and working hard, while I spent a lot of time seeking the Lord and what his plan was for me.  IT was not the easiest of times, but I did learn a lot.  I also got pretty sick during our last week, I think Satan was trying to keep my spirits down.  It was wonderful, however, to spend time with Jen and for our sister Caity & her boyfriend Hayden and our good friend Darren to join us for the last weekend that we were there.  We were sad to leave a little earlier than them, but apparently Matt had been told to get me home on Saturday so I had a day to recuperate. 

Enjoying some delicious tacos after church on Sunday

One of the meals at the Ranch, I leftover something that we turned into enchiladas.

Matt's guitar and music book on the Dining Hall porch

Cute little animal cubs at la Bufadora 

Hayden & Matt checking out the Buf (first timers)

Gorgeous sister Caity -- we were missing Lisa!

There you have it, a few more pictures from our time in Mexico.  I have more to share, so hopefully I will get them up tomorrow!