Puerto Vallarta

We arrived in Puerto Vallarta early one morning and had a very full day.

Started out exploring the pier near the ship. There wasn't too much to do here but the girls enjoyed the bird cage and we didn't have time for too much else before our excursion.

A few pictures with the family.

We had signed up for the children's dolphins excursion. It was really well done and TON of fun. The girls got to be in the water with a dolphin...feeding it, petting it, playing splash and they even had a chance to ride on one. All was going well until the splash game when Avery became a bit scared and decided to leave the pool. The trainers were so good with her though. One trainer took her to the side and even though she wasn't in the water, she still got to interact with the dolphins but rubbing their bellies with her feet, feeding them and working on some commands with them. It was a lot of fun for all of us!

Love this shot of Alexandra hanging out with a dolphin!

Matt and I enjoying some refreshments at the buffet after the dolphin experience.

We took a little boat ride back to the ship. It was a lot of fun riding the waves, feeling the wind, warm air, etc. Fun for everyone except for Avery who hates the wind.

Tonight it was Alexandra's turn to be exhausted, completely, at dinnertime.

Matt' dad, Steve, and Carolyn.

CHEERS to another great day!

Finally...Sunshine

The first couple of days on the ship were pretty cool but finally this day, we enjoyed some sunshine! It was probably my favorite day as we all hung out together up on the deck, enjoyed some beverages, saw schools of dolphins swimming in the sea and the sun...yes, finally the sun!

This is what our room usually looked like. Kinda messy...but enough room too.

Grandma in the hot tub with the ladies!

Matt and his dad playing shuffle board...a surprisingly FUN game.

Warming up after a swim in the pools...which weren't too warm just yet.

Our spot in the sun.

Matt's sister Karina, her son Andre and her boyfriend Dave....relaxing in one of the many hot tubs.

Me, in my happy place. :)

Matt and I on deck - loved the blue blue water!

Avery was obviously WORN out at dinner. Just sat right down and fell asleep. Of course, she woke up after dinner and didn't go to bed until 11pm that night.

Exploring the Ship

We had a lot of fun exploring the ship and enjoying the outdoors, the pool, the kids clubs and the truly FANTASTIC dinners. Good stuff.

More bunk bed fun!

Hugs for grandpa!

Matt and I sitting outside, enjoying the warmth that finally arrived as we headed south.

Fancy dinner wear.

After dinner the girls went to the Kids Club Dance Party. Oh MAN!! They had so much fun. They were learning the chicken dance, the electric slide, etc. It was so stinking cute...and, of course, our video camera ran out of battery power but I'll always remember those two doing the chicken dance...HILARIOUS!

Port of Los Angeles

We were all feeling better by the second day and made the drive to Los Angeles easily. Exploring the cruise ship was way fun! We had an interior cabin but it was plenty of room for us and the girls LOVED the bunks that came down from the ceiling. The bonus was that Matt's parents were right across the hall and had a suite with a huge balcony. We spent lots of time in there enjoying the view and hanging out.

Here we go....

Vacation time! The girls had been not feeling so great for a few days before we departed on our cruise with Matt's dad, Carolyn and his sister and family BUT the day we were actually going to get in the car and start driving to Los Angeles...well, they were horribly sick. Started the day with high fevers and just looking miserable. We weren't scheduled to leave the house until about 1pm as we were only driving as far as Las Vegas so I got them into the doctor quick that morning. Fortunately they checked out okay, a flu of some kind. Then, shortly after we returned from the doctor I quickly took a turn for the worse and couldn't even finish packing. My mother-in-law, Georgene, came over and saved the day by packing up the last of my things as I laid on the floor shivering and nodding my head yes or no. Her and grandpa Barton even took the time to clean out my car (which is always messy) and load it all up so we could hit the road. We did make it to Las Vegas and I have never been more happy for the time change so I could get an extra hour of sleep. Whew!