How could we pass up a sunset cruise, with an all-you-can-eat fajita buffet? The downside was that the advertisements blazoned an open bar, and since we don’t drink, we thought it might be a little risque. But we talked to some people, and they said that it would be just fine. So we bought our tickets and hoped it would be fun.

It turned out NOT to be fun, but it had nothing to do with the open bar.

The boat sat at the dock for half an hour before embarking, and it was difficult to keep the kids entertained until we left. We should’ve taken that as a foreshadowing of how the rest of the trip would go. The boat finally left, and we drove around the famous arch until the sun began to set.

However, the motion of the boat was not our friend. Noah was standing on a bench, slipped, and hit his head very hard on the table. (It’s been one accident after another for him, poor guy!) Heather and J started feeling seasick soon after. This was only halfway into the trip, so there we were, stuck in the middle of the bay with several people who decidedly did not want to be there. Then J threw up on Tom’s shoulder, so they were both covered in puke and we were still stuck in the middle of the bay. On the plus side, she felt better after that and started acting like her usual happy self. And one of the boat employees rinsed out their shirts and gave her a blanket to wrap up in so she wouldn’t be cold.

I think we were all happy when the ride was over. I guess it was one of those things that makes a better memory than an actual experience! But we did get a few nice pictures out of it…

When I am drinking a can of pop (soda?) on a hot day, I tend to get a little paranoid. If I set the can down and pick it up after a few minutes, I always think that a bee MUST have flown into my can and is waiting to sting me when I take a sip. Tom makes fun of me every time.

Sunday it happened.

(Ok, well, kind of.)

We had walked to a little restaurant and were enjoying our tacos and quesadillas. The restaurant was in a building but partly open to the outdoors. (J kept exclaiming, “We’re eating OUTSIDE!!”) The bee was hovering around my Coke can, trying to decide if it should crawl in and ignore my attempts to shoo it away. Finally it took the plunge and hopped in. (You can see it in the picture if you look hard enough.)

Due to my paranoia I was watching the whole thing and didn’t take a sip at that inopportune moment, but I *could* have. I’d like to use that to make a point to my husband next time he laughs at me for checking the inside of my pop can on a hot day.

We got up early Saturday morning to fly to Mexico for vacation. Three airplanes later, here we are! We are staying at a resort that our friend’s relatives co-own, so we have the opportunity to take an amazing trip for not a lot of money. It’s definitely something we wouldn’t have done otherwise and so wonderful!

The resort we’re staying at is right on the beach and has several pools and hot tubs on site, which we have been enjoying so far. We walked down the dusty streets to find a restaurant for lunch yesterday, and that was fun. JJ even had her first taste of ice cream! I figured that it was vacation, so she might as well.

The kids were amazing on the trip down, which was the part I was the most worried about. We had to get them up at 5 to be at the airport on time, and J hopped out of bed as soon as Tom touched her, exclaiming, “We’re going to the airport!” She has been looking forward to this for months.

I had wondered how it would be to travel with two young kids, especially going to a different country. We’ve only been here for a few days, but I am so proud of them. They are such good sports about everything – trying new food, walking around, changing time zones, sleeping in the same room as us – and everything. They have their moments, of course, but overall they are great. (JJ even decided to crawl yesterday. Finally!) J is just loving all of the fun things we are doing, like swimming in the pool, walking on the beach, and playing with her friend N. I love enjoying everything with her; it makes it so much more fun!

I hope that we can go on many more vacations with our little girls as the years go on.