We had an Adults only party to attend up in LA on Friday Night.
Luke was in a baseball tournament Saturday AND Sunday
Sydney was invited to a *girls party* on Saturday afternoon.
We had family returning from a cruise Sun AM- we offered and they accepted to pick them up from the terminal and drive them home.
Sunday night was a family dinner to see old friends visiting from Australia.
Thursday night I was up late, trying to plan for being at three places at once AND IT STARTED RAINING. Things sorta fell into place.
* The rain continued to fall through Friday, cancelling the weekend of baseball.
* My Mom is awesome and came to stay with the kids.
* We drove up early to LA and checked into a hotel...
It was a quaint little place on Sunset. There was a fireplace and everything.
The rooftop-view was beautiful... especially on a rainy night.
The party that night was fabulous - we had a great time! It was at the House of Blues in West Hollywood - crazy place. This is me with my friend Susan, the only picture we took all night...
* * * * *
Instead of rushing off to a baseball tournament on Saturday morning we slept. We called-in room service and enjoyed breakfast in bed. Alone. Until 11am.
Check-in was a breeze and we were jumping on the beds in no time.
The secret to enjoying a getaway with the kids... go for the big room
The kids had their own beds and TV in a separate room. We all went bowling, ate lots of food, slept in and went to see Planet 51. Finally, it was time to venture into town - to see The Las Vegas Strip.
We were both hesitant to remove our car from valet, she was so safe and cozy.
YOU SEE... On our last trip to Vegas we went to the mall at lunch time. We were there for about 2 hours, shopping. While we shopped our car was being stolen. That really sucked.
3 long days later,
she was found.
We picked her up that night and brought her back home...
Anyway, I know these types of things happen everywhere but you can understand our hesitation. We decided to drive but as we stepped outside, a bus passed. Perfect.
Have you ever ridden the bus in Vegas? Me neither.
Would you like to join us? I thought so.
... Follow us
You can take a seat right up there next to me, upper deck front row.
Should be fun...
Pretty exciting huh.
The next day we started our ride home through no-mans-land
You say you're tired of looking at the pancake breakfast post?
Alright already.
So we went on vacation:
JUST THE TWO OF US
{ Well, not exactly... we had friends with us! }
We have had this planned for like 6 months.
Why I waited until that morning to pack is beyond me.
Probably due to all the prep of leaving behind children with busy schedules...
True to form, there were checklists, printouts of directions, time-lines and planned outfits laid out for the kids. My Mother (the only reason we EVER get away) stayed at our house. I can't explain what a treat it is to know that your kids are in good hands and truly wanted. In fact, she called a few days before we were leaving to tell us how excited she is and looking forward to her week with them... THANK YOU MOM!!
We packed in a mad rush and the six of us met up on the ship...
SPLENDOR: the newest and largest of the Carnival cruise ships
By sunset we were cruising down south. We walked around and got lost acquainted with the ship. After setting up our rooms we dined late seating in the Black Pearl.
We capped the night off with a little Karaoke....
Chris stole the show with a little diddy by the Beastie Boys
By morning we were in Ensenada.
Honestly, there is no reason to get off the ship. If you've been to Mexico anywhere you will understand. But, my man wanted to get tacos in town- so I agreed.
Soon our friends gave in and went with us.
Total. Madness.
We did make it back on the ship, in one piece and on time.
No small task.
Our next day we sat poolside, soaking it in. A rare treat while kid-less. We even went to the 'Adults Only' pool. You better believe at the very glimpse of a toddler near the jacuzzi one of us would summon security.
Chris: (once again) stealing the show - this time for Formal Night
Our next day was spent in Cabo. The weather was perfect!
We tender into the Marina from the ship. Lots of vendors selling their lovely goods for next to nothing...
There are beautiful shops, HUGE yachts and tons of waterfront bars and restaurants to choose from...
This was our view during lunch:
This time we were about 45 minutes late to the ship, but they waited.
Obviously.
The rest of the cruise we ate, relaxed, laughed and enjoyed the company of friends.
Here are a few more pictures from the dining room.
Admittedly- there is another reason this is a tad delayed. The amount of pictures I take, goodness, even I think its ridiculous sometimes. Anyhow I've made my way thru them and here ya go...
You ready? Go ahead, grab a drink, settle in, enjoy-
Let's begin with the itinerary- Mexican Riviera out of Long Beach.
( Just a 20 min. drive and we are on the boat! )
Once we're on - we checked out the ship, had lunch and walked the deck. It's port is next to the Queen Mary and the Spruce Goose... like, seriously right next it.
We both agreed that this was a great couples vacation! Sydney was IN LOVE with Camp Carnival! There were back-to-back activities planned and she begged to stay - a first!! One night I told her she was coming to dinner with us and she started crying, 'but they are going to have a be-esta'.
Luke was all manly. Being in the 9-11yr group = the privilege to sign yourself in and out before 10pm. He was so cute too, getting ready really fast in the morning and being like 'oh, look, I'm ready. Maybe I should just walk down now and check in? '.
We did manage to get in lots of fun family time too- a perfect balance...
Our first few days we were at sea... we lucked out in the weather department, nice and warm, thank goodness!
(( The weather was showing a hurricane and a tropical storm during that time but it came in early. The cruise prior to us had to skip Mazatlan with an extra day at sea and then divert the storm by going to Ensenada instead of Cabo... NO comparison. ))
There was lots to do... the kids LOVED the pool, it was about 90* each day.
First port = Puerto Vallarta
Al's brother sent a text that morning. He has a time share that is 2 miles from port at a fabulous beach front resort. We jumped at the chance knowing that the kids would have a blast!
THANK YOU - We had the BEST time there!!
We looked at a few little shops that line the dock. It's Mexico - same old same old ... I joked that everything would say HECHO AQUI instead of the typical hecho en Mexico.
Next stop = MAZATLAN
The kids stayed on board so it was just the 2 of us. We shared a seat on the tram with a young honeymooning couple. The new husband was as white as they come but spoke fluent Spanish, it was awesome. We all shared a cab to the locals market to browse.
( It was interesting to say the least... not your typical souvenir stalls )
Last stop = CABO SAN LUCAS
It was beautiful! We pulled into the marina there since we had to tender into the harbor. Lots of BIG yachts, sportfishing boats and even a few pirate ships...
( Hey look - it's Captain Morgan )
When we would leave a port it was always fun to be up on deck to watch us sail off. I will openly admit that I am a freak paranoid when we are on deck. Imagining always the worst, a sudden gust of wind, anything. I play over the fateful fall into the deep ocean in my mind over and over again. NOW- when my innocent fearless children are next to me it's worse, way worse. I tell myself 'nothing is going to happen Jade, stop already!' (yes I do talk to myself).
Knowing this, you can see why I nearly had a heart-attack and died from hyperventillation right here:
Camp Carnival puts on a little talent show before the trip is over. Sydney got to meet FUN SHIP Freddy. All the kids were buying the stuffed toy for him to sign...
I said... 'no way' = Obvious disappointment
She got over it. The 2-5yr group belted out the old classic... ABC's
and for your viewing pleasure...
( cause I knew you were all sad to miss it - exciting right ? - not so much )
I know, I know... there's more - I told you this was a long one.
We did get all dressed up a few times- these 3 nights were memorable for completely different reasons.
Night #1:
She took her Daddy's by the hand...
and they shared a dance... loving every minute.
Night #2
Sydney LOVES these shoes. I do not. I bought them under duress at a moment of weakness on a previous trip to Target. The only redeeming quality of these shoes is that she will wear anything I say, sit patiently for her hair and get dressed the second I ask if - she can wear those shoes.
One problem.
She can barely walk in those shoes. Like any girl will tell you, we endure the torture of sore feet as a trade off for style. It was worth it to her. Until... she fell down the stairs. Not just a little trip either. A full-on down 3 stairs coming to a stop in a pile at the landing - crying. Daddy to the rescue as he scooped her up along with her pride and those awful shoes. She was fine- not even a scratch. It served as a good reminder for the rest of trip though ... 'Stop running down the halls, thru the dining room and around the pool... you'll fall, remember last time??!!'
And no, there are no pictures of the fall... I'm not that bad, jeesh.
Night #3
Sydney was so proud of herself... She put this awesome tattoo of a big'ol FREDDY smack dab on the top of her hand right before formal night. At least it wasn't on her cheek? Still, we bought none of the portraits.
All-in-all it was a GREAT trip- thanks for sharing it with us!
How does... sleeping in with your hubby and kids, ordering room service daily, eating breakfast in bed, lounging by the pool, watching the sunset together, catching a mid-day nap, enjoying a 4-course sit down meal without a single dish to wash, cozying up in a big down comforter and watching a movie until we doze off... DAY after DAY make me tired?
Perhaps we just got a little spoiled.
I'm adjusting back to that posh kick back life of a 'stay-at-home-mom' (yes...that is steaming with sarcasm). There is still laundry to do, lots of makeup homework and not to mention my house is filthy from those darn Santa Ana winds while we were gone!
A more appropriate update and of course photos once I catch up a bit.
It's like groundhogs day around here this summer! Each weekend it's either a baseball tournament or back to the river and the last 2 weeks were no exception...
August 9/10:
The boys are warming up EARLY in the morning - we played at Yankee Stadium all weekend! The irony here is that the Angels were playing in NY this same weekend with the same game times...
(I know I said I was going to videotape this weekend and I did but I couldn't resist taking a few hundred pictures.)
August 16/17:
All ready for another beautiful day! Lots of sun, swimming, jumping off the boat and relaxing. Thanks for joining us Maddy, we loved having you with us!!
We decide to make our way to the channel at Moabi to find a nice beach spot and eat lunch. First we drive through the protected nature preserve and red rock canyon- one of my all time favorite spots.
Finally we pass Topock-Gorge... we're getting close-
Here are 'the boys' riding up front as we speed under the railroad tracks -
and here we are driving next to those tracks on our way home...
as we leave Arizona and return back to California!
We are HOME this weekend as we prepare for next week and the return to school- YAY!!
So we made a quick 'kid-less' repeat trip to the river. I remembered my camera this time but it rarely made an appearence. It was a chance to truly *relax*... this was our point of view:
We stared at the clouds...
Enjoyed a few drinks here...
Floating our cares away...
and watched the sunset...
We spent our last night at the Avi Resort. It's on the river with a beach, an awesome kids club, Movie theater, fun pool that's open until 11pm, I have a feeling we'll be back here with the little ones!
This was the view from our room at about 8pm...
Finally- the sunrise just before 6am as we start our day and make our way home...
