Mexican Riviera Cruise Nov. 2008

This past Thanksgiving, my parents took my entire extended family on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera. For 7 days and 8 nights, we sailed the seas and had an amazing time. Here are a few highlights:

My parents made each of us matching shirts with our Family Name. There were 28 of us in all, so we became a Sea of Yellow. It was fun to have strangers call us by name as they read our shirts.

After waiting in a very long line, we were finally on board! And we were hungry! After the safety drill, we unpacked a few things, then went right up to the dining room. The best thing on the menu for Luke was a spoonful of ice. Luke hadn't napped all day, and Aunt Nat (mother of 6) ingeniously handed him spoonful after spoonful of ice. Luke forgot all about being tired!

Jake and Soren t00k the window seat for their first dinner on board. The kids thought they were dreaming when they heard their parents say things like, "Order anything you want." and "Have dessert too!" This cruise was gonna be great!

The sight of this took a little getting used to. My paranoid mind envisioned the glass breaking and all the kids tumbling into the shark infested waters. I wonder what the kids were thinking...
The kids were up early for their first breakfast at La Playa Grill.
Avery, Breanna, Nicole, Olivia and Luke.

Time to head up to the Lido Deck for a little swim. Jake's pretty sure that since the pool is filled with ocean water that there will be fish in it too. Hence the snorkeling gear.

Jer hangin out with the cousins.

Emily and Luke splashin around.

Zach, Olivia, Troy, Jake and Davin.

Cute Luke and Nicole playing a rousing game of peek-a-boo!

Luke and Jake on top bunk in the cabin.

Luke and Sawyer became sand buddies on the beaches of Acupulco.

Bree and Avers dry off on the shores of Acupulco in the gigantic Carnival beach towel made for two. Now who would have thought that these two little innocent girlies could be up to anything? We caught them riding down the glass elevators sticking their tongues out to an elevator full of boys next to them. Then a few evenings later, I returned to my room to find them there quietly talking. Little Angels. Seconds later, there was a knock at the door and I found myself face to face with Ship's Security. He informed me that there was a complaint about the noise in my cabin and asked if I could keep it down. Mysteriously enough, Breezy and Avers had no idea what he was talking about. Needless to say, Bree and Avery were no longer allowed in our cabin alone. That proved to be a real bummer as they had just been evicted from Avery's cabin by her parents. Something about a knife incident.... Oh well, I guess it's back to chasing boys up and down the glass elevators for these two!
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Our second port was Zihuatenajo/Ixtapa.
We're here on the ship waiting for our number to be called so we can take the ferry over.

Then we hitched a boat ride with some locals to a nearby island for some snorkeling.

Zihuatenajo had the most beautiful water. The kids got to snorkel for the first time and see lots of fish. The guys all got bit by something! OUCH! Here are Mindi, Jeff P., Natalie, and Amber with our ship in the background.

Our final port was Manzanillo. We got to see the city and do some shopping.

Hmmmm could these people be tourists? Getting ready to board the tour bus and head back to sea.

Olivia, Luke and Nicole boogied on the dance floor.

Breanna, Nicole, Avery waiting to eat dinner in the Napoleon Room.

Time for family pictures on the grand staircase.

Every minute of the cruise was fun and games for Luke. Look at what entertainment the ship's tablecloths provided during the formal dinner:

Anyone seen Luke? Who would have thought this tablecloth could be so useful? This game of peek-a-boo lasted the better part of dinner and Luke was laughing his head off the whole time.

The Guys: Jeff B., Dad, Quentin, Jeff P., Jer and Stan

The Girls: Deidre, Mindi, Natalie, Mom, Camie, Erica

Up to Deck 10 for Mini-golf.

Jake took golf lessons this fall, so he was ready to sink a hole in one.

Our last night of cruise...Mindi toasted mom and dad, (it was their anniversary and Thanksgiving)! Then we went out to the dance floor where Luke, Grandpa and Sawyer were tearin' it up. We all joined them and danced as the band played "Who Let the Dogs Out?" ad infinitum. We drew quite a crowd (okay so the crowd just also happened to be waiting to get into 8:00 dinner). Luke, Sawyer, Nicole Olivia, Cooper and Breezy stole the show. Then we put the kids to bed and went up to the Deck 9 for games. A perfect ending to the perfect cruise!! Thanks mom and dad for an amazing trip!!

Merry Christmas!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Spooktacular!

This Halloween season came with many fun happenings. Here are a few highlights:To start the season off, Jake and a few of his friends had a little Halloween get-together.

Breanna and the girls enjoyed a scrumptiously spooky dinner.After dinner we had a friendly competition (you know me) to see if the girls or the boys could make the best mummy....here's what the girls came up with:And now let's check in with the boys:This wasn't remotely close. But I think the boys definitely had more fun with the mummy aftermath. Can you say TP confetti? Boys and girls are SO different!

I do need to mention how incredible the boys were. When they were done shredding every last square inch of TP, I asked them to clean up and they did it right away! Such good kids!!! And they were good sports too seeing how the girls beat them in the Candy Corn Competition as well. We did keep the boys and girls separated for Haunted Twister, Ghosts in the Graveyard and Stick the Wart on the Witch. I'm sure the boys would have dominated in those games though, right?

Next highlight...Pumpkin Carving!!!

The kids dug right in and gutted the pumpkins.

The kids drew the faces and the dads did the carving.And here's the finished product! You can tell from this picture that the kids weren't hyper at all. Mine were like wild animals. I still feel really bad about that. Now wait a second, where could Luke be? Yep, Luke wanted to be by Ava the whole night. She's so cute!

Time for the class parties. I don't mean to complain, but does anyone else lament the fact that the kids don't get to wear their costumes to school? I always enjoyed that so much when I was a kid! Well, they had a great time anyway! Breanna's class made rice crispy jack-o-lanterns, spooky hands and drank a delicious witches brew. And lucky for me, Jake and Breanna's classes are right across the hall from each other, so I got to go back and forth all afternoon! Jake's and his buddies making masks.

The scary part...this is just the beginning of the sugar today!
And finally the moment we've all been waiting for!

Is she not the cutest witch ever? We sprayed her hair black, but it somehow made it's way to her face, which actually gave us the look we were after!

Look out neighborhood...here we come.

Until next year.....

Day At The Museum

Today Luke and I were stowaways on our friends' pre-school field trip to the Children's Museum. The entire ride down, Luke cried in protest for some unknown reason (probably had something to do with the shirt I made him wear). But when we arrived, all that changed. It was so fun! Here are a few pictures of the cute little man.

Is he adorable or what? Future Picasso, taking after Grandpa D. This is his first time ever painting and I must say he loved it! He got paint on his neck in spite of this awesome smock that covered him all the way to his toes.


I was so grateful when Harrison relieved me from my driving duties. Now that was a sight to see.
If this is not the face of complete exhilaration, I don't know what is. Luke needs one of these hanging from his bedroom door.

Now if you're still reading this, below is a clip what this bliss sounds like.

Girlfriends

Michelle was in town this weekend, so a bunch of us got together to see her on Friday at the park. It was so fun to see her again! We have missed their family! Come visit again soon!!

(Now, if you're wondering how I wrote on this picture, you'll have to ask my good friend, Nikki. She is a blogger extraordinaire! Thanks for the cute idea!)

How cool is this?

Just this past weekend, my amazingly talented Dad entered two of his paintings in an art exhibition in San Diego called 'Art Riot'. The painting above won Honorable Mention. Not bad for an amateur, eh? I am hoping to have the walls of my home soon adorned with a masterpiece or two (hint, hint). Way to go Dad!!!

Change

For me, that word always brings one of two things: excitement or dread. This week our family has experienced a few changes. The first we welcomed with complete excitement. Here's a play-by-play:

Saying goodbye to Breanna's pretty yet stinky cast was a fabulous change. (Doesn't her smile say it all?) We hope to never see Dr. McCullah's office again!!

The next change was this:

I know it sounds pathetic, but I have been dreading this day. Nursery day. 18 months. I seriously wish he could stay a baby forever. Not happening. Helloooo toddler!
As my friend so gently put it, I was one of those moms. Following him all over the nursery, snapping pictures of his first day. Luke wouldn't give me the time of day. Too many toys. Too much fun to be had. He ignored me as I sat there trying to coax a smile out of him. I got the feeling I was cramping his style. The other parents in there seemed to silently question my sanity.

So today I'll close the baby chapter of Luke's life (sniff, sniff). But I can't wait for the many years of "little boyhood" that await us!