Warning

Read all these posts from the bottom up. They will make a lot more sense. Sorry, lots of catch up in one night.

The Cruise-the end

Of course we had to buy treats on the beach from the traveling treat vendor guy.

Our purchase was these chili limon chicharrones. Yummy!

Ellie made friends with Alana the minute we got on the boat and they spent every possible moment together, even proposing a sleep-over on the ship (didn't happen, but cute idea anyway). They just got along like bosom buddies and even performed in the Camp Carnival talent show together with their rendition of "Down By the Bay". Here's the weird part. . .she's from Elk Grove, CA and lived less than a mile from our house, but they were in a different school boundary. It's a small world. . .again!

Finally our trip came to an end and we were actually pretty tired and ready. No more 24 hour food, someone to make your bed everyday, swimming, playing, karaokeing, etc. Reality sets in once more. Goodbye, cruise life, until we meet again.

Found and Lost

Everyone got their hair braided. I didn't really want to go crazy with the braids so they just got a few each.

Richard's souvenir was this hat. He liked it, but lost it in the limo on the way home. :(

Lauren found lots of shells and this perfect sand dollar. It was quite a treasure until she unwisely decided to take it into the hot tub filled with about 20 kids where it got bumped out of her hand and was lost for good. I got in and searached around for about 30 min. to no avail. We live and learn. Another :(

The Cruise-Ensenada

This was a fun day. We hired a driver to take us to the blowhole (La Bufadora) which was a longer trip than I had at first anticipated, but it was also kinda cool because we were able to see quite a bit of the area on our drive.

Everyone got a little souvenir here. You have to walk through a long flee market to get to the blow hole. My kids were a little disturbed by the agressive salesmen. It's all part of the experience though.

The Cruise-Formal night

Catalina pics

The Cruise-Catalina

Catalina was fun. We rented a 6 seater golf cart and drove up into the hills where we could see lots of the island and explore a bit. We drove up to where they do the zip-line. It looked fun, but $$$$$. Totally not worth it for a 13 second ride. Maybe another day. We purchased a few souvenirs and tried some local desserts (because there weren't enough on the boat).

The Limo

The promise of a limo ride that Richard has been making for years has finally come to pass. We took a limo from our hotel in Ontario to the Long Beach pier. It was about a 45 min. ride. Not only was this a first for the kids, it was also a first for me. I'd never been in a limo before. It turned out to be the same price as a Super Shuttle, so why not. I'd much rather be sipping a cool drink in a comfy limo than bumping around in a beat-up, old van.
We were also able to make a good deal on the ride to the airport later in the week. So, two limo trips in one week. I felt like a celebrity or something--thus, the shades.

Richard and his Girls

The Wedding

Ryan and Brian are married. The wedding was beautiful. Ryan has been planning it for a year and clearly it took that long. She obviously has Richard's knack for organizing events because every detail was thought through and taken care of. I have never seen a more perfectly pulled-off wedding with so many components. It all ran very smoothly. Here are some of the cool things I can remember.
When we got to our hotel room there was a welcome package she had put together with snacks, maps, and instructions for our part of the wedding ie. picture taking time slot, what we needed to do, rehearsal dinner time and location, etc.
At the rehearsal dinner she had gift baskets made for everyone in the wedding party with fun gifts like blankets, picture frames, jewelry, sweat suits for getting ready in the next day, etc. Ellie got a dress for her American Girl-Just Like Me doll that matched her flower girl dress. Amazing and adorable!
A photo booth at the wedding with a table full of plastic frames so you could take your pictures home. (My girls had a heyday with this.)
The guest sign-in book was a hard cover book with "baby-book"-thick pages full of photo shoot pictures of them. They are as beautiful as models, so why not act like them. It was pretty cool.
The reception was a fully catered dinner buffet and the food was fabulous with something for everyone including plenty of fruit and veggie items for the calorie conscious.
Cake was beautiful and delicious. One layer was german chocolate cake and another was strawberry cheesecake. Sorry, no picture.
Everyone knew where to sit thanks to the poster sized seating schedule by the door to the reception hall. Just find your name and go to that table.
She made the table cloths and center pieces which were so beautiful that the owners of the reception hall asked to buy them from her.
And this doesn't even scratch the surface of all the amazing attention to detail that was put into this. Way to go Ryan!

All of Richard's kids were there and looking great. The weather was perfect. Truly a perfect day.

And now for the bad news. I sometimes get edema (swelling from the knees down) when I travel. And this lovely trip was no exception. So here I was trying to stuff my Miss Piggy feet into my fabulous new shoes. I really wasn't thinking swollen feet when I purchased them and I was really struggling. Pregnancy memories. . . Aaaaaahhhhhhgggg! THE PAIN.
Also, I think I was the only one trying to make due with my own hair and lashes. A new haircut and color just doesn't have the same appeal when you're standing next to a sea of women who have a new cut, color, weave, and lash extensions. Inferiority complex strikes again!
And worst of all, I put my chair down on Lauren's toe and smashed it. I thought it was broken. She was in so much pain. Luckily the swelling went down and she was able to walk on it the next day. I felt so bad. Poor thing. It seems like she is always the recipient of accident and injury. But all's well that ends well. So. . .all's well!

The Family

Our recent trip to So. Cal. started out in the best way possible because we were able to hook up with Ronda, Rebecca, Eric and Heather and all of Ronda's grandkids. They are all completely adorable. It's always fun to hang out with Ronda and fam because they are all laid back, easy-going and fun. (Except when it comes to washing fruit. haha--jk Eric. I know, it's really important and it really does make the fruit taste better. ;) ) We loved the Coca Cola themed lake house. What a great place to spend a day. Let's do it again.

On a completely different subject-- as I look at this picture I realize that I look really tan. Guess what? I am. MmmmHmmm. For the first time in my life I am tan furrr realll. It was my Valentines gift (a bit unconventional, but way low cal. and it's what I really wanted). It's been a journey, but I'm very happy with the results. Thank you Tan Co. and the very helpful people there who have guided my way through this uncharted territory for me.