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Monday, November 30, 2009

Zoo lights

I figured since I have been blogging pretty much all afternoon, I may as well get right up to date. So here is what we did last night. We did watch some of the Grey Cup but it was such a mild night that we thought we'd take the girls to Zoo lights. It was really fun! We had a Christmas kind of day yesterday, we went out to Bass Pro shops and saw Santa, made a decoration, decorated a cookie in the mall and then did some shopping it was a really fun day!

This was Paige talking to Santa on the jumbo screen, it was sooo cute, she was chatting away and is pretty funny. She asked for a Polly Pocket (like we don't have enough of those!). She really didn't want to see Santa earlier in the day but then she did and said "Santa is a good guy". Elyse of course had no fear and could not wait to tell Santa she wanted a Princess Barbie Doll (again like we don't have enough Barbies).


We had a really fun weekend. We spent Friday night playing Scrabble with Mom and Dad because the roads were SOOO bad. It took us 2 hours to get from Sunridge mall to my parents and it is normally a 15 min drive! We decided to wait out the traffic with them and it was a really fun night!



Our Cruise - The Carnival Spirit Nov 11 -19

There are a lot pictures I know, but on an 8 day Mexican Riviera cruise there are a lot of photo ops. We had a good time, it was tiring and a long trip, 12 day in total but we really enjoyed all being together. It was really fun to have Bruce, Alida and the boys as well as Mom and Dave and Crystal and Colin all with us. Unfortunately my Dad couldn't get away from work, we missed him!
The girls were pretty excited about the bunkbeds in our stateroom. Bon Voyage! Leaving San Diego.

Exploring the ship, this was the "jungle".

The girls loved that at dinner, their Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches were served with chips and cookies.
Long Day!
Our first day at Sea, it was a bit chilly for the pool but the kids didn't care.
Chris trying out the waterslide.
Playing some mini-golf on the ship. We dropped the kids off at kids club (Camp Carnival) which they loved and it gave us a few hours to enjoy some grown-up time.
The kids loved to have Auntie Crystal and Uncle Colin on the cruise with us, they are so much fun and were so great with the kids, thanks guys, it wouldn't have been the same without you!
Elyse in the dining room on formal night, she loved to get all dressed up. We were lucky the girls for the most part were really good for dinner and it was along time to sit, all those courses took about 2 hours each dinner time!
Sometime though, it would be all too long for Paige, my little thumbsucker.
Lunch time by the pool. It was so fun to grab lunch by the pool and watch the ocean go by. We saw a few dolphins and a whale!
Auntie Crystal was soooo good at keeping Paige entertained at dinner time. It was so fun getting the girls all dressed up each night, it is way more fun that getting yourself ready!
I love this picture of Paige she is getting to be such a kid, she looks so big!
A girl could get used to having dessert served to her each night!
Our first stop was Acapulco. This is a little market we stopped at.
I don't really have any great picture from this stop. It was by far my least favorite and I don't think I would ever go back. It is a huge city over 2 million people, it was dirty and busy and the people were so aggressive. The boys (Chris, Bruce and Colin) went on a 6 hour deep sea fishing trip and we (Alida, Mom, Crystal, Dave and I) decided to take a cab to the beach with the kids. The vendors on the beach would NOT leave us alone, it was literally ever minute that someone was trying to sell you something! The waves were big and the undertow was really strong so the kids could not go near the water as we learn when they all got knocked over as soon as we got on the beach. But at least it was warm - I would say about 34 degrees.
Laura, Crystal and Alida. I think we were all excited to get back on the boat. Oh and as for the boys, they were really bored on their fishing trip and no-one caught a thing!
Next stop Zihuataneio. This was my favorite stop! The beaches were amazing, there were no vendors and the water was calm and warm.
This is Chris and Elyse with our ship in the background.

Crystal and Chris decided to go para sailing to celebrate Chris' 34th birthday, they really enjoyed it. The girls and I got to watch from the boat.
There were lots of cool things on the beach, like the dead blow fish above and the starfish that Daddy caught in his feet. Uncle Bruce had to miss this day because he was quarantined because he was feeling ill. The girls really enjoyed playing in the water here. Paige got so brave and wanted to go in the water all the time as long as you held her the whole time. My girls love the sand and surf.

And finally Manzanillo. This stop was interesting, the closest beach was a 45min taxi ride away. The sand was more like mud, but regardless, the kids still loved to play in it.
The other good thing about this beach was all the shells. It is one of Elyse favorite things to do, look for shells, as you can tell by her collection on her towel.
Back on the boat for dinner. We did anytime dining which was a great option with the kids.
Our last formal night, we managed to have dinner in the dining room each night which was nice, the food was much better there than at the buffet.
This is one of Elyse's new things, she loves to pretend she is a statue. And she is really good at it.

We covered a lot of ground and saw and did a ton this trip. The kids enjoyed the beaches, the kids club was great for the days we were at sea. Of course the staff was great, the girls loved that the "magician" would leave a different towel animal in our room each night. It was nice to enjoy some good weather and spend time with family.

San Diego

After the cruise, we spent a day in San Diego. I would definitely go back. You have to love the weather there, it is so temperate. We stayed by Mission beach, it is beautiful, there is miles of beach but the water was pretty chilly.
We found this really cool place right on the beach to have lunch. They had these wave machines so people could practice their surfing and tricks, it was really neat to watch. The table were in the sand so the kids good dig and play while we had lunch and watch the surfers. The crazy thing though was the pigeons, they staged an attack on us! One landed right on my plate and then about 10 joined in, we were hitting them and the kids were screaming and it was chaos but the birds would not leave until the server ran over with a spray bottle! If my kids have a fear of birds this will be why :)

What is better than a park on the beach? I would love to live somewhere with a beach and nice weather instead it is snowing like crazy outside as I look out my window now!

Sea World

On our way to San Diego. Our kids are such good fliers, it helps that they love the cartoons that are on the flights.
Elyse and I in San Diego, having some dinner.

Sea world! We really enjoyed our day here, the weather was perfect and there were so many neat things to see and do.
I love dolphins and these ones were so playful. When I went to take a picture of Elyse, three of them came over to "pose", it was pretty cute. They'd also toss their balls out of the water for people to throw them back to them.
Shamu!! The show was really good, we all really enjoyed it.
The kids loved the rides at the Sesame Street part.

This is the Journey to Atlantis. We are mean parents and convinced Elyse to go on with Chris, it was scarier than we thought it was going to be. That is Chris and Elyse in the very front.
She was proud of herself that she went on it but she did not want to go again. She also got soaked but she was a good sport about it.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Halloween

Elyse was Snow White this year for her Pre-School Halloween Party

Paige was an Indian Princess but when you asked her she said she was "Belle" (from Beauty and the Beast)

Elyse and I made some pumpkin shaped cakes and she was excited to decorate them. Like we needed more treats!!
Ready to hit the mall.
Paige wouldn't nap because she didn't want to miss "getting treats too!".

We met up with Bruce and Alida at Northland mall for some daylight trick-or-treating. The kids had a great time and it actually wasn't too busy.
I bought Chris this shirt in Great Falls for Halloween, I thought it was fun to get in the spirit of things. The kids are already into the candy!
Caitlin brought the girls over to trick-or-treat around the neighbourhood with us. It was really fun. The little girls lasted for about 3 blocks and then Chris took them back to the house to give out candy.
Brooklyn and Elyse however, were not easily stopped. Caitlin and were both shocked at how big they seemed running from door to door to get more and more candy. After Brooklyn was done, Elyse wanted to go back out so Chris took her and Paige for another block, they loved it this year! It was so great to have another mild night for Halloween, that really helps in the enjoyment for everyone.
Digging into the treats! We have SOOOO much candy, what to do with it all??? The girls are constantly asking for just one more treat, what can I say, they take after their mom with their sweet-tooth's!