Puerto Vallarta, part two

After we got back from the excursion (which I am told, made us rather smelly. Sea Lion poop?) the girls and Cris and my dad had just finished with their naps. We cleaned up and wandered off of the boat to see the city. Most of the attractions were a decent cab ride away, and after our Mazatlan experience we decided to just hoof it near the port. This city was much cleaner, modern and very nice. Heck, there was even a Wal-mart and Sams club next to our ship!

A view of our ship, the Norwegian Star

After all of McKenzies pirate talk all week, when I saw a guy dressed like one, I begged him to take a photo with us. You can't really see it, but he had the creepiest contacts in!

All tuckered out after a long day

Vacation Day Five: Puerto Vallarta, Part One

In Puerto Vallarta, my mom, brother, and I wanted to book an excursion to Las Caletas. It's a private cove that you can only get to by boat - no roads. This is a picture of the small boat we road on, with our cruise ship in the background.




There were trained parrots flying everywhere (one nearly scalping me!) and I even got to hold a squirrell monkey! The beaches were beautiful. There were paved pathways, canopys, hammocks, bridges all over the mountainside. I can't begin to describe how beautiful and peaceful it was! I have a million pictures I'd love to post, but am losing patience uploading so many.

We tried snorkeling. I am very cluastrophobic, so breathing through a tube made me panic a bit, but after a few minutes, I got the hang of it. The water was very merky that day, so it was hard to see too much. But, we did get to see a few fish, like a puffer fish. I tried to dive down to get a closer look at a fish, and in the exitement, forgot to hold my breath. Big mistake. I think I filled my lungs with a few gallons of sea water! I coughed and sputtered and gagged for 20 minutes!

Then, we had the chance to kyack, explore, or hang out on the beach before the main event:
We got to swim with sea lions!!!! For some reason I thought they'd be smooth like a dolphin, but they were furry! And friendly! We got to pet them, watch them jump and play, and even got to ride them!!

I got a few kisses, too!

I wish I could have taken the girls with me to enjoy the beach there. We were under a huge rainforest canopy, so sun wouldn't be a big problem. There were crabs to chase, iguanas sunning on the rocks, tons of birds and fish. I absolutely loved it! My new wish: spend at least a week at Las Calentas. This was by far my favorite stop of the trip!

Vacation Day Four: Mazatlan

The parts of Mazatlan we saw were not so nice. It was a really run down, dingy place. Maybe we didn't see the nice areas though, I'm not sure.

We booked a van to take us to the "golden zone" which was supposed to be the main beach and shopping area. I think it was the scariest ride of my life! Our van sped through narrow, congested roads, squoze between the smallest of spaces, and drove as though he expected everyone else to get out of his way. Luckily they did and we survived. Although, one golf cart full of people was almost not so lucky!



We walked down to the beach, which was quite nice. The girls loved it! McKenzies first reaction was anger at the sand in her shoes, but once we got them off, she was in heaven. She dug, and rolled and played in the sand (her dream was to build a sandcastle, ever since we started planning this vacation) And we had lots of fun in the water, too. Allison did her best to squirm off of the beach towel we had her on, and somehome managed to ingest large quantities of sand, no matter what we did to stop it.



There were jet ski rentals, banana boats, all sorts of peddlers, and people offering to take tourists parasailing. My grandma and sister went parasailing when they visited Matt and Sara in Florida, and it's been something I had wanted to try ever since. Cris had no interest in going, but my mom was game! We saddled up and went flying over the ocean - SO COOL! I was surprised it was such a smooth easy ride. I was a little afraid they'd drag me along the beach before take off, but I only had to take two steps before I started flying. And the landing was smooth and easy.

That's me sailing over the sail boats!

At the end of the day, we had sand everywhere. I washed our swimsuits in the sink at least 20 times, and still dont think I got all of the sand out! LOL! And washing a baby in the shower was an experience - very slippery! One thing I'm glad to have now that we're back is a bath tub for the kids. But, look at this picture, so worht it!

Vacation Day Three: Cabo San Lucas

Day three was our first port day. My parents and Cris wanted to try deep sea fishing. We tried to see if they'd let the girls go with us, but Allison wasn't allowed and they charged a huge fee for McKenzie. Not wanting to brave another country alone with two small children, I stayed on the boat. However, the view was still spectacular! I took a hundred photos of the famous rocks surrounding Cabo. The beaches were beautiful and the water was a bright blue. The girls and I spent the day in the pool. Oh so nice!

Meanwhile, the deep sea fishing boat caught a marlin that weighed 150lbs! And Cris reeled in a nice mahi mahi. My mom has the pictures, so I'll post those later.


Bob booked surfing lessons and had a ball giving that a try. He came back with a few nice scrapes he earned in a tangle with some rocks, but I don't think that dampened his spirits! See, he's even smiling in a picture! Will wonders never cease!

As the girls and I played in the sun, I was surprised how much McKenzie enjoyed the warmth. She climbed right up on a deck chair and layed out like a pro. I remember when she was done, she looked up me and told me "sometimes I like the sun. It makes my tummy warm." It think she may have been cooped up in the house too long this winter!

This is one of my favorite shots of Allison. I took it as we were getting ready to head to the pool. What a doll!

Vacation Day Two: At Sea

The second day on the boat, we continued to explore. It was a little difficult to figure out how to get from place to place because you couldn't walk from the front to the back of the boat on one floor. So, if you were at the front of deck 8 and wanted to get to the back, you had to go down to deck 7, walk to the back of the boat, and then go up to 8. It only took us a few days to figure that one out! LOL!

While we walked around the decks and played shuffleboard, we saw whales!!! There were several of them playing in the water - jumping, splashing and blowing water! It was SO cool! I tried to take some pictures, but you can't really make anything out in them. My dad also saw a sea turtle, something I was bummed to miss.

Cris and McKenzie had a ball playing in the kids pool. At first McKenzie only went down the little slide, but soon, she was a pro and could go down the big kids slides. It was wonderful because none of the water was over 2 feet deep! We had to keep an eye on her of course, but she had the freedom to pretty much do as she wanted!
Oh the food! There were barbeques by the pool, buffets, cafes, fancy restaurants and free 24 hour room service. That night we tried one of the nice restaurants and had the best lobster I've ever had. Yum!

Uncle Bob at one of the buffets

We made it!

Yes, we did end up going on vacation! The flight to LA was cancelled, so we ended up booking with another airline. The flights cost a few hundred extra dollars, and left earlier in the morning, but we made it there! Whew!


As I had mentioned before, it was the first flight for both girls. I was a little nervous about the logistics of it all, but it ended up going quite well. Allison didn't make a peep the entire flight, and McKenzie was well behaved as well. (Although, when we were getting ready to land, she did start yelling "We're going to crash! We're going to crash!" We explained that the airplane would land just like the ones we watched at the airport earlier, so she changed her tune to "We're going to crash softly! At the airport!") Luckily the flight wasn't full, and we were able to sit in the back and have several rows to ourselves!

Because of the earlier flight, we did have to wait quite a while at the port before we were able to get on the boat. Once we finally got on, we went to a buffet on one of the top floors. McKenzie wasn't too hungry, but loved to watch out the big window at the ocean and the small boats going by. It really surprised me how much it interested her. But, after a minute, she quietly reached up to the table and grabbed a butter knife. She worked it into the belt loop on her pants and when I asked her what she was doing, she told me she was getting ready for the pirates!!! Where was my video camera when I needed it!

McKenzie eating ice cream. She usually only nibbles at food, but on the trip, she ate SO much! If only I had a buffet line in my dining room!

Cris at the life boat drill

McKenzie checking out the kids play area

AHHHHHHH!!!!!

I just got a call from Jet Blue. Our flight has been cancelled.

We need to be on the boat in Los Angeles by 2:00 tomorrow.

Not good.

Blah, blah, blah. Something about bad weather in the Northeast. Planes can't get here. But what about the planes that can't get there. Send them to LA!

Looking at other flights.... they're all an extra $200. Oh happy day! I didn't want to use that money for anything fun on my vacation!

It only takes 11 hours to drive there. Who knows, maybe we'll hop in the car and start a road trip!

Assessment

McKenzie had her assessment today. The speech test was good for her. They asked her to talk about some pictures and asked her the perfect questions to get her to say the sounds she struggles with. Watching the therapist write down some of her words, it made me realize that there were more sounds than I had been aware of, sounds I had overlooked because I knew her intentions. I felt okay after the speech test.

But, after the behavior test, I was a little bothered. She tested with high levels of hyperactivity, aggression, a low attention span, and a low adjustment tolerance. I knew that these were problems, that's why I had scheduled the tests. But, it hurt to hear them said.

About my child.

I feel.... I don't know. I guess there is some guilt. Wondering what I could do/can do differently.

At the same time, I know she's just a kid. She's three. Kids are hyper, play rough, and don't always follow directions. I feel a little protective, not wanting to go to far in the program. I worry what to do. And the crazy things is, I don't even know what my options are. They'll call in a few weeks with more thorough results and let me know if she even qualifies for the program.

Why is wanting the best thing for your child such a complicated thing?!

We're still here!

My sister and I were talking the other day and she gave me a little grief for not updating my blog. Yes, the very same sister who updates her blogs quarterly. I explained that I had been reading through my past blog entries and realized that nearly all of my posts contain the description of some kind of bodily fluid, bodily function, or a big raving complaint. Not the best kind of reading material, eh? In an effort to expand my posting horizons, I have completely ran out of material! LOL!

There are a few things going on in our house, but none seem quite worthy of an entire post, so how bout a little update?

We are getting things ready to leave on our family cruise this weekend. I've been spending the last few days shopping for new summer clothes for the family, packing hordes of crap we'll probably not even touch, and getting primped. I got my hair cut, eyebrows waxed, and a pedicure (thanks for the gift certificate, Terri!). This will be our first real vacation as a family since... forever. We'll be dragging along 3 large suitcases, a carry on, a diaper bag, a great big stroller and two carseats. It should make for some great entertainment and some frazzled tempers by the time we actually reach check in. And since we have an early flight, we may be taking along a few cases of bed head and drowsy kids. (Hopefully not the tempers to match?) However, I can't describe how excited I am to see McKenzie experience her first plane ride, and all of the fun the boat has to offer.

Tomorrow I am taking McKenzie in for a speech test. And I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. She's made huge advancements lately, and has an amazing vocabulary. However, unless you are versed in the delicate language of Menzie, you can't understand what she is saying. If she needs help I will get it for her, but am I just being a worry wart with my first child? Or am I going to label her forever by enrolling her in a special needs program? I don't want to put her in a program that won't challenge her in other areas either. Right now she can recite her alphabet, her days of the week and can count to 20. I don't want her learning to stagnate. SO, I think we'll just have to have the assessment, see what they recommend, and make a decision from there. Anyone with experience with the Early Learning Center?

Cris and I have stayed good on our challenge to give up soda and sweets. I'm surprised it's gone on this far! Since I was already depriving myself, I decided to overhaul all of my eating habits and I'm finally starting to shed some baby weight! I can put on my pre-pregnancy pants - not that they are pretty yet. But a few more pounds will make me feel a whole lot better! And hopefully a few more after that!

My mom has had a problem with her upper eyelids covering most of her eye, to the point where it blocked a lot of her vision. She decided to have them fixed, and the doctors office suggested that she have them done before our trip because it was such a minor surgery. When she had it done on Tuesday, they couldn't get her numb. They used more numbing solution than usual, and had to continue with the surgery anyway. She said the cauterization was horrible - felt like a shock behind her eyeball. Because of the problems, her entire face is swollen, and can't open her eyes a lot of the time. She's a nice purple color too. Looks like she went a few rounds with Mike Tyson. I feel bad she's not going to be feeling the best on our trip.

In other news, Allison will be 6 months old tomorrow. I can't believe its been half a year! I'll dedicate an entire post to her half birthday... eventually. All I can say is, I can't imagine life without her.

I might update more tomorrow, but I make no promises! See you guys later!