MEXICO!

This post turned out way longer than I expected. . . so be prepared. We came back to a really busy week so it's taken me a little bit to get this posted but our trip was a ton of fun! Everything went really smoothly and it was a great break from everything. The kids did great and had fun too. I'm sold on the cruising idea, those cruise lines know how to do things up right! Here are some pics from our trip.




Me, Adam, and Max at one of the formal dinners on the ship. The food was excellent and it was fun to get dressed up. There was a ton of stuff to do on the ship to stay busy so we spread it out and tried something new almost every night.

Grampy and Max hanging out by the pool and the ice cream stand.

Swimming on the cruise ship. Max liked the water and we couldn't get Grace out of the pool.

Puerta Vallerta- Aaarghh Me Mattey!

We went on a Pirate Ship adventure in Puerta Vallerta. It was hilariouse and something totally different than we've done before. It was a lot of fun. Chloe, Floyd, and Grace with the pirate crew on the ship.

The Pirates did a whole singing dancing show on the ship as they sailed us to the private island. It was really funny and a whole lot of jokes about American culture. Who knew pirates could bust out the moves. The kids were really entertained too.

This is a private beach the Pirate ship took us to. We took little boats from the pirate ship to the beach, so the other picture is the Pirate ship in the distance. There were a ton of little jellyfish in the water between the Pirate ship and the beach- snorkeling. . .no thanks. We just hung out in the sun. Adam and I did take a sea kayak out for a spin and it was awesome.

Grace's first sandcastle, she was excited to build one. These rocks were just behind where Grace's sandcastle was and there was a big iguana hanging out. We saw a few iguanas just cruising around like they own the place.

MAZATLAN!

The beach in Mazatlan.

Grace (or maybe Grace's mom) had a lady put braids in her hair on the beach. She even sat still to let her do it. It was so cute but by that night Grace was pulling them out, but she looked so adorable while it lasted.

You can't see it but there is a big lighthouse behind Jessica and I in this picture. I know. . . nobody has ever accused us of being professional photographers before and getting everything that needs to be gotten in a picture. Max was packed around Mexico in this backpack and he loved it. I loved it because I didn't have to pack him, Adam may not be feeling the love.

I've been to Mazatlan 2 times before, so instead of taking guided tour we did our own thing- hired a guy to take us to the shopping! We visited a cathedral and a Mexican market too. I should have taken more pics but I wasn't thinking about it at the time since I had seen it before. We also ate at a really good and authentic restraunt 'Panama Bakery' and it was delicioiuse! We also got to jump in the ocean for a few minutes but we had already wasted most of the day shopping so we had to hurry back to the ship before it left!

You can get silver jewelry for a great price in Mexico so we made a haul. My dad bought all of us something- Grace: bracelet with pink coral in it (of course it was pink) Max: rattle Me: a bracelet with red Mexican coral circles and squares. Adam got me a pair of earings to math the bracelet too. It's always fun to check out the jewelry. I still have the ring my dad bought me on our first trip when I was in 6th grade.

CABO SAN LUCAS- A Few Hours at the Beach.

Jessica and I took the kids on a boat out to a beach for a little bit while Adam and my dad went sailing. It was a sweet beach and perfect for us. We were totally taken by all the vendors. We apparently looked like easy targets, because in a matter of minutes we spent all of our cash on junk (beach dresses for all the girls, rip-off brand sunglasses, whistles and jewelry for the kids, you name it, we bought it). I did get Max a crochet bucket hat that is pretty cute, too bad it was our last day in Mexico because I could have used it all week!

A picture of the cruise ship from us on the beach. The water in Cabo was really blue and it was a really cool beach stop. It was beautiful and there was a lot we didn't get to see. This guy was a vendor on the beach selling mangos on a stick. Although we love to eat, we didn't want to risk it in the fruit department especially because we had 2 days at sea ahead :).

It was a great relaxing trip and the kids loved it too. I have to say, it's easy to get used to being waited on hand and foot and being in the sun and warm weather. Good times and as always, they go WAY too fast.

IN OTHER NEWS. . .

Max got his first tooth last Monday, 2 days after we got home. He turned 8 months on March 8th which was crazy and I forgot how sharp those little baby teeth are. . .ouch (and I'm not even nursing- yikes). I was so glad that tooth finally came through and at the same time, so sad that my baby is growing up.