Cruisin'

Last month, our family (along with my mom), set off on a 7 day cruise along the Mexican Riviera. For those of you who don't know the back story, our son and his friends won this trip for us last year in the Sound of Music Sing A Long costume contest at the Hollywood Bowl.

He and his friends dressed up as "tea, a drink with jam and bread".
September 2009

Ideally, we would've waited until Bethany was a bit older to take this trip, but the cruise agency had already extended the deadline for us on account of Bethany's recent arrival from Korea, and we couldn't postpone it any longer. The only remaining dates for the cruise was the end of November, so not only did Austin get a week off of school for Thanksgiving, but an additional week immediately after for the cruise. Let's just say Austin was over the moon and had much to be thankful for. :)

Despite our concerns about traveling with a 19 month old, the trip was a success and not nearly as stressful as I thought it would be. Bethany did really well with her naps and bedtime, and Austin had a blast sharing a room with Grandma. Grandma just turned 66 a few days ago, but you wouldn't know it by the way she kept up with Austin. One night, they even stayed up until 3am playing UNO together!

Our family has always enjoyed cruising, but this was the first time we actually had a room with windows, let alone a balcony. Let me just tell you, it was NICE and the view was gorgeous.

Our stateroom balcony.

The view.

Sam took advantage of the balcony and perfect weather knowing full well that unless Austin won us another trip, he wouldn't be doing this anytime soon. :)

Fruit carving demonstration.

Austin spent countless hours at the pool.

Nothing like a ice cold smoothie delivered poolside,

and an all you can eat menu right afterward.

This was the first time Bethany didn't cry in a pool.

Austin and Bethany spent a lot of quality time together.

Daily afternoon tea.

Formal Night Dinner

Dressed to impress!

Highlights from our three ports of call.

Puerto Vallarta

Our tour guide took us to a local taco stand for lunch. It was delicious!

Bethany thought so too!

Mazatlan

After some sight seeing, we girls decided to return to the ship while the boys stayed to have a special afternoon alone.

Cabo San Lucas

Time to say good bye.

It was an amazing trip, but I for one was looking forward to getting back to the comforts of home. :)