...we had a family blog. And it was updated. I'm going to give it a go... So much has gone on since I last posted (duh, it's been like 6 or 7 months) and these pictures have been waiting patiently to be posted since about August! We took a HUGE, long trip in July. Seriously. It was A LOT of driving, but also TONS of fun. It started out with me and the kids heading down from Salt Lake to Las Vegas (about 6 hours of driving) to meet up with our cousins (my sister's kids) and my Uncle Brian and Aunty Debbie.
In their hotel room.
After a couple of days in Vegas, we (my parents, the cousins and me and my kiddos) headed up to the Bay Area (8-9 hours of MORE driving) to reunite my sister and her kids. They had taken a vacation with Grandma and Grandpa so my sister could have this little beauty- We all got to love on her!
Dan flew in and we all got to go to the beach...
...and explore little caves...
...and dig Lucy-size holes...
Dan and I then drove down to Long Beach (ANOTHER 6 hours) so we could go on our first cruise! My parents were kind enough to take the kids for the week so that we were able to go alone.
We had an evening to relax before our cruise, so we went and enjoyed a fancy meal and the beautiful beach.
And the next morning we were off on our next adventure- the cruise! It was a 4 day cruise down to Catalina Island and then to Mexico. So much fun! We definitely see cruising in our future!
Boarding
They always fold the towels in fun shapes!
Our first stop was Catalina Island. Cute place to visit!
On the little boat to take us to the island.
We rented a tandem bike to ride around the island- It. Was. AWESOME. I highly recommend it! It was also a great conversation starter with other cruisers!
Us, with the cruise ship in the background after getting all sweaty...
One of our formal dinner nights
Mexico.
We visited this little swap meet.
It also had an attraction called "La Bufadora" or "The Blowhole" I think they said it was one of 3 or 4 naturally occurring ones in the world. The next two pictures are of the exact same spot- one when it's "blowing". Very neat.
We made sure to participate in lots of activities on the boat. Dan won this trophy for his "amazing" hula hoop skills!
Midnight party with lots of food and crazy cool sculptures made from watermelon.
Whacked out buffet dining room.
You better believe we put in some major time doing karaoke. These were our karaoke buddies! So much fun making new friends!
A great cruise, but by the end, I was missing my babies! So we hopped back in the car and headed up to meet my parents and our kids in Reno (that's another 8 hours). We got to love on our kids and head up to our FAVORITE beach at Lake Tahoe. That is the thing I miss most about Reno- living so close to Tahoe... and family of course!
Love these kids!
That Sunday our kids had to wear their new outfits from Mexico!
Seriously cute!
And then it was back to Salt Lake from Reno. If you are keeping track, that's about 37 hours of driving that I went through in about two weeks! Whew! I was so glad to be home! Oh, and Jason got to ride front-facing on the way home for the first time. Yay, big boy! The kids were great for the driving. They are such good travelers! I think we'll attempt a big trip again sometime!
Stay tuned, I'll be updating... REALLY!
