Cruisin' the Mexican Riviera

We finally went on our first cruise! It was a blast and now I'm hooked. We took Emily and Sam. Ben stayed with my mom (thanks a million!). It was a great way to travel with kids. No stress about when/where to eat, what to do, how to get there, etc.

We went over Spring Break and with our friends Steve, Tobie and their kids. We traveled out of Long Beach, CA and visited Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas. But first we visited Brad's Aunt Elinor and Uncle Steve in Huntington Beach and spent the day at Knott's Berry Farm with Brad's cousin John and his wife, Carolyn. It was busy but a fun day. For the first time ever, I actually got sick on a ride. I think my stomach was too empty because I'm not letting that happen again.In Puerto Vallarta we spent time on the beach in the morning and later that afternoon we walked around the old downtown beach front area. My favorite experience on the whole cruise was para-sailing! It was amazing. Here comes Brad in for a landing. Now It's my turn.The kids loved the beach. Sam especially loved the sand. Isn't he cute? Later we took a taxi to a different part of the city. Here's Brad and the kids looking at some amazing sand sculptures.Emily insisted on taking our picture on the beach. The next day we visited Mazatlan. We hired a driver for the day. Here we are in front of the "poo poo rocks". We just watched a diver dive right into the water among jagged rocks. Amazing!A group shot. (Back L-R: Brad, Jenni, Tobie, Steve, Whitney, Kevin; Front: Sean, Sam, Mikey, and Emily)In Cabo San Lucas we had to tender to the port. Here we are ready to head to our most beautiful port of call.We took a glass bottom water taxi for a tour of the gorgeous rocks and a glimpse of the sea life. The kids were fascinated with the fish we saw and there were sea lions everywhere.The beach was fabulous! The water was warm, crystal clear, and tranquil. Unfortunately, it was also a short day and we had to be back on the boat by 2:30. It wasn't long enough.

Emily let the boys bury her in the sand. Life on the boat was great for me! No meals to prepare! No cleaning! No carpooling! Nothing but just focusing on spending time with my family and having a great time. Oh I really miss having breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the dining room!

Brad suffered from sea sickness despite patches and pills etc. but he was a good sport. Here is one last shot of our family. It was a wonderful vacation. We missed Ben but it was truly more enjoyable without him. We are already looking into booking another cruise. Want to come?

Didn't Want to Forget This One!

Sam, Ben and I were at Wal-Mart the other day wandering up and down the Christmas candy aisle when Ben looked up and said, "Mommy, there's Christmas Daddy." I had no idea what he meant until I turned around and looked up to see a 4 foot cut-out of Santa Claus hanging from the ceiling. I immediately burst out laughing and told Sam that Ben just called Santa Claus Christmas Daddy. Sam proceeded to laugh hysterically. Ben realized he just said something humorous and began chanting "Christmas Daddy! Christmas Daddy" over and over while giggling and giggling.

Sam and I still laughed about it later that night. Christmas Daddy-can you believe it. I'm still chuckling.

Benny

Ben is an absolute delight! Here are a few funny things about him.

• Ben says the sweetest things. He is currently sitting on my lap saying, "you're a nice mommy" and giving me kisses on my arm.
• He loves to say what is his favorite (which is anything he likes at the moment). "Going to the store is my FAVORITE! This train is my FAVORITE! These scissors are my FAVORITE (an actual quote)!"
• Ben LOVES apples. I find him with a whole apple a couple of times a day and most of the time he eats the whole apple right down to the seeds. Other days I find several apples with a few bites taken out of them (that is not so cute!).
• Ben refers to himself as Big Boy. He does not like any references to being my baby. He says B-E-N spells Big Boy. He is not my little boy either. It is Big Boy!
• Ben is a TALKER! He talks and talks and talks all day long. He is also a screamer! If he does not like something or is unhappy about, the entire neighborhood knows.
• Ben LOVES his grandpas! He talks about Grandpa Zee and Grandpa Thomas all the time. It is quite adorable.

Well, those are a few things about my Big Boy. He is currently begging to watch himself and Cookie Monster (an old post) so I must sign off before he yells any louder.

Thanks everyone!

Wow! I'm amazed at how many people still check my blog. Thank you so much! It makes me feel so loved. It give me motivation to keep posting.

Thanks again!

Two Ovens

Okay, I know, I know I have not posted since April. But I decided I would jump in with a random post.

One of the many things I love about my new house is the fact that I have two ovens. I have always wanted two and now I know why.

Yesterday and today has been cold and rainy. It seems like the only time I ever feel like cooking anything is when it is cold and rainy. I had two Papa Murphy's pizza's (since everyone in my family likes different pizza) and I didn't have to choose which one to cook first. I cooked them at the same time! You would be surprised at how much peace that brings to me and my household. Everyone's pizza was ready at the same time!

This morning I decided to make pumpkin chocolate chip muffins-yummy! I doubled the batch since Emily wanted to give some away. I was able to use all the batter and cook them at the same time! This makes cooking so much more enjoyable since I don't have to wait around for the oven to be free to cook the extra batches.

So there. Now I have posted again. I wonder if anyone ever checks it any more.

I'm Off to Boston!

I'll be leaving tomorrow for my trip to Boston. Angela, one of my dearest friends, will be running in the Boston Marathon and I'll be there to cheer her on.

We are so excited to see each other again and spend some time having fun in a new city. I'm looking forward to chatting, sightseeing, shopping, and eating some great food. But mostly, I'm looking forward to having some time without children. As much as I love and adore my children, I'm looking forward to a trip just for me. Whoopee!

See you next week!

PS I promise I'll post some before and after pictures of our new house when I get back. It should be just about ready to move in when I come back. It has under gone an amazing transformation. I can hardly wait to move in!

Ben and His New Friends