We set sail on the Carnival Elation from San Diego, California on Monday, June 23rd after a trip to the bookstore and a pedicure for the ladies....(this is where
Koryn introduced me to the Twilight Saga--little did I know I would spend the next six weeks enthralled in the four book series!!!)
Mike & Jeremy lounging on the deck chairs. It was actually very cool on the days we were at sea so we looked like four old retired people with our noses in a book and using towels as blankets out on the rear deck.
Our first port day was in
Cabo San Lucas. We headed out on a huge catamaran for a snorkel adventure. This is a photo of "Lovers Beach" that is well known just by the place where we dropped anchor and were ferried in on "tender" boats since there is no actual port for the ships to pull up to there.
Koryn and Jeremy - hard to believe we have eight kids between the our two families! Well - were were just happily married, kid-free friends for a mere five days. So relaxing!!!
Mike, Me,
Koryn & Jeremy. We feel so blessed to have stayed in touch despite the 1400 mile distance between our current homes.
I thought this was a cool shot with the ship between the rock formations....
Jer &
Koryn
Koryn, Mike and Jeremy in their snorkel gear. I went out for about 30 minutes but I don't love snorkeling - just the thought of having all those creatures so close just freaks me out and I can't slow my breathing enough to breath through the snorkel mask thing so I went back on the boat and took the photos and had fun with the bartender attempting to get creative making me anything WITHOUT alcohol in it.
Mike LOVES snorkeling - he was the last one back on the boat!....as usual : )
When we were heading back to the pier we were surrounded by a bunch of dolphins swimming right next to and around the boat. I wish I had my camera ready - this was all I could catch by the time I found it....we felt like we could have reached out and touched them - and there were bunches of them! Another day when we were playing Hand & Foot in the card room on board we saw a ton of whales out in the water - that was cool too but they were much farther away and we didn't ever take photos of playing cards even though we spent more time in the card room than anything else - maybe except for eating!!! Okay, we never took photos of that, either.
This dolphin was literally just over the edge of the boat but was going so fast that the photo was a bit blurry.
On the pier getting ready to tender back to the ship. This is our famous self photo - good thing we have long arms!
Koryn & Jeremy....I highly recommend going on a cruise with fabulous friends - we'd cruised twice before but it wasn't nearly as much fun as this trip --we hope to do it again!
Formal night.
What a beautiful woman! Thanks for being such a great friend,
Koryn!...and Jeremy, too !
This is
Ensenada in the distance from the deck of the ship after breakfast. We just walked around, had a snack and did a bit of shopping at this port.
A street vendor made these bracelets for our kids - I really thought they'd like them better but haven't worn them since the day we gave them to them...oh well, it was cool to watch them being made!
Of course the typical photo with the huge sombreros (is that how you spell it?)
I was so grateful that my hair has grown enough to pull back in a clip - it was very humid!
I sure miss that bright smile,
Koryn -- we'll have to
Skype more often so I can get my fill!
On Carnival Cruises, every night when your room steward does the turn down service, they leave you a fun friend called "towel pals" - it's always fun to go back after being out for dinner and a show and see what friend has been created on your bed.
Mike was a part of the show one night when he volunteered to be hypnotized and did some crazy funny things.
Koryn, Jeremy and I were laughing so hard we could barely breathe! Maybe I can get some photos from
Koryn to post at a later date!
It was such a fabulous trip - wish it could have been longer....I highly recommend cruises - we just love them!!! And no, we aren't made of money, just like everything else, I am quite the bargain shopper! Mike just says I find too many bargains...ha ha...love you,
hun!
The entire water park called "Raging Waves" had an Aussie theme. The attraction of the day was called "The Boomerang". On the outside it looked like this:
Mitchell with friends coming off the Boomerang.
Maggie and Maguire came for the first 2 hours but it was actually a pretty cold day - only got to 75 degrees and was slightly windy. Mike worked from home that day and came to pick them up before lunch (the park is only 15 minutes from our house) so they could eat at home and have a nap. Thanks to Felicia for watching them after nap time so Mike could join us for a couple hours before the park closed. For the first time in almost 2 1/2 years - I didn't take a single photo of Maggie this day....she mostly spent her time wrapped up in a towel although I did go down a kiddie slide with her a few times. Maguire isn't so adventurous.
The had a great wavepool with a zero depth entrance so the twins and I played there for a while, too.
Raging Waves in Yorkville really is a great fun place but for our family budget will only be a place for special occasions. Turning 12 was a big deal and we hadn't gone to any fun parks all summer.
It was fun to see the boys interact with each other throughout the day....We had a great time! Thanks to Kellin, Spencer, Steven, Tom and Conner for helping celebrate with us!
Mason and Matthew certainly weren't complaining that they got to come along, too. With the boys all getting older and Maggie and Maguire home with Mike it was so nice to have some quiet time by myself. I actually fell asleep in a lounge chair for an hour or so in between the boys checking in with me periodically. 
Just Maguire all dressed and ready for Dad to pick him up.
I hope you enjoyed your birthday, Mitchell. We are very proud of you and the young man you are becoming! We love you!
