Mexican Riviera Cruise

 

This year as a reward for my Summer Sales Program going...well, my company decided to allow me to accompany them on a 7 day Mexican Riviera Cruise!  They allowed me to bring one companion, and Kaicyn.  Mike used up all of his vacation time when Kaicyn was born (and who can blame him?)  So I decided to bring my Mom.  I thought this might help her relax, but I totally forgot that she had all the sewing to do for the wedding... WHOOPS, needless to say she is playing catch up now!

We flew out to Long Beach, CA on Sunday December 7th.  From there we took a Shuttle bus to the Cruise Harbor where our boat was docked... Talk about hectic!  We had to check in at the Queen Mary.  This was really cool to see.  This boat was built around the same era as the Titanic.  It was HUGE!  They always have it docked there in the harbor, and actually use it as a hotel now!  Once we checked in, Mom and I set out in our search for the coveted Dr. Pepper (Our cruise ship didn't have this 'nector of the gods' on it, so we had to stock up!)  We ended up boarding the ship with 3-20 oz bottles and 2-12 oz cans... for 2 people for 1 week... EEK!  We had to wait a while to board the ship, so Kaicyn was getting hungry.  I made him a bottle and about the time I start feeding him, we start moving.  So I am pushing him in his stroller, bent over feeding him... NICE!  Once we finally got on the ship, there was food a plenty!  Literally 24/7 there is food!

We spent 2 whole days out to sea.  To kill time, we walked around the boat, ate, shopped, and even took Kaicyn swimming.  The pool was really cold, so we only did that once.

Puerto Vallarta: We got into Puerto Vallarta early Wednesday morning.  To me, it was the typical stereotype of Mexico.  It was hot, muggy, and dirty.  We walked around the shops close to the pier, held the parrots that were close, and shared a taxi down town to downtown to hit the 'recommended stores'.  Word of advice, DON'T TAKE A TAXI IN MEXICO!!  That was the adventure of the cruise!

Mazatlan: We got into Mazatlan on Thursday morning.  Mazatlan was definitely an upgrade to Puerto Vallarta!  We took a van ride around the city and got to see a lot more than we did on the previous port.  We shared the van with a really nice couple that bought 'The Little Guy' a cute souvenir shirt.  

Cabo San Lucas: I LOVED CABO!  There was a huge boardwalk, lined with shop after shop!  The people were really friendly, and Cabo was very clean!  Even the water was crystal!  You could look into the water and see all these tropical fish just swimming around!  We found a beach and let Kaicyn put his feet in the water... Let's just say it wasn't his favorite thing he has done in his little life. It has been over 15 years since I was on a true beach! Wow!  The water was so warm!  I would love to go back to Cabo!

Thanks to my Mom for all of her help with Kaicyn, I could not have done it without her!  I am so glad that she got to come!  We got to know our waiter really well while we were on the ship!  It is amazing to speak to someone from a different country, and a not so wealthy one at that!  He was from Indonesia, and had a wife and 2 kids.  He works on the ship for 7 months straight, and gets 2 months off!  Can you imagine being away from you family for that amount of time?!?!  What was amazing about this is that he was extremely grateful for the opportunity.  He said that working that job has made a world of difference for his family...  Just makes you think.  I have decided that we are going to put $100 in an Indonesian bank... (in Indonesia, $100 USD is equal to over $1,000,000 there!) That way we can say we are MILLIONAIRES!

Thanksgiving 2008

The Baron Family always goes up to our cabin in Island Park, Idaho every year the week before Thanksgiving. This is really nice for us married kids as it gives us the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with our in laws! This year was so fun!

My Mom got us tickets to go see The Forgotten Carols while we were up there. We saw them in Idaho Falls, in a theater that is attached to my Mom's high school! Kristy and I had fun teasing her that she was back in high school, thank goodness the paint changed- although the chairs were still orange- he he he! The play was everything that I remembered from when I was a child, and so much more. This was Mike's first time seeing it! I love it so much! I read the book and have played the music for him, we have even watched the DVD together, but seeing it with him was so much better! Thank you MOM!~ While we were watching the play, Kaicyn got to spend some quality time with his Grandparents (Montague) and His "GREAT" aunt Valerie! He seemed to just have a blast! He played so hard that when we came to pick him up, he was crashed-and I mean CRASHED- out on Great Grandma's Lap! SO CUTE!!

We went tree hunting with the Baron's and of course Mom got a tree that was a good 30' tall! What are we going to do with her?!?! We had our Thanksgiving and visited with the family! It was so great.

I got to stay up there for an extra week, and Mike and I held a Thanksgiving dinner for his side of the family. His brother Chuck and Mom came up. (No one else could make it, but it was fun none-the-less) Thanksgiving morning we went to get a tree for Vickie to put up in her home! We took the dogs, and ATV's with us! Her tree is absolutely gorgeous! N'kaio, Bessy, and George had a blast running around the mountains being wilderness dogs! (okay so Bessy and George already were, but N'kaio is just a city slicker!!)

Kaicyn got all dressed up for his ride on the 4 wheelers! He thought they were so fun! He kept trying to lean forward enough to get the handlebars and drive... he just kept face planting into the bike, but he kept on trying.

Once we got back to the cabin, I cooked (yes I know, don't die of shock, I, Emily, COOKED) a Thanksgiving dinner! The most amazing part of this is that I made rolls and they didn't even taste like Hockey Pucks! YAY me! I am actually getting pretty good at cooking the Thanksgiving basics. This is my 3rd year doing it now!

On our way home on Friday we stopped by Mike's dad's home and had a Thanksgiving dinner with Him and Myong! Her cooking is amazing! There is always such good food whenever we come to eat! Thank you so much for you hospitality!

Thank you to everyone who made it up to spend time with us! We love being able to spend time with each and every one of you! We are so thankful to have everyone in our lives and be able to share each other's triumphs, joys, and exciting moments.

We love you!