My WONDERFUL husband surprised me (sort of) with an amazing vacation. Our eleven year anniversary was this month. We have not been a a real vacation since our honeymoon so it was much overdue. I was originally told we were going to Las Vegas of a couple of days but as it got closer I knew something fishy was up.

A sweet neighbor slept over on the Friday before we left because we had to be up and on the road to Sea-Tac at 1:30 for a 6am flight. It wasn't until about 3am that day did I found out that we were flying to LA. My mom flew into Yakima that afternoon and stayed for the whole week to tend the kids.

(this picture of Tim is in Maztlan)

Our ship was called the Sapphire Princess. It was ridiculously beautiful. We left LA on Saturday, then were at sea until Tuesday. Our first stop was Puerto Vallarta. The weather was perfect. We walked at least 5 miles that day.

(this picture of me is on Lovers Beach in Cabo San Lucas)

Our second stop on Wednesday was in Mazatlan. We walked around for a while then went on a 4 wheeler tour. It was really fun and really dusty. We went way north on the beach and rode all over in the sand. Then we had lunch at the Shrimp Factory.

(this picture is the Cabo arch on the southern most tip of the Baja Peninsula)
p.s. I took all these pictures myself with my own camera


Our ship was truly amazing. I took this picture of the Atrium. I don't think I knew my way around until the last day.



This is Lovers Beach in Cabo (technically its divorce beach on the pacific side but that is depressing) We had to take a crazy water taxi to get to the beach. You can see the front of our ship in the background.

this was on our ATV tour in Mazatlan

This is our ship in port in Puerto Vallarta.
The whole trip was wonderfully surreal. When we got home I broke down in tears when I saw my kids. I missed them so much. I was so glad that they were wonderfully happy with grandma and that she was willing to do that for us. I think my sea legs are just starting to go away. The house has been wobbling since we got home. What a blast! Thank you my wonderful husband!!

Birthday and a BIG surprise

Lauren turned the big 8 on April 11th. We had a whole birthday weekend that started with cupcakes at school on Friday. She still loves bugs so the decor is fitting. Then on Saturday we went to the mini put-put and the arcade. We stopped at Dairy Queen after for an early dinner and a Blizzard. Yum. Then on Sunday after church we made a cake. Tim decorated the whole thing. Lauren came in at the end and helped put the candy things on. She used the part that said "happy birthday" and wrote "by my dad" on the side of the cake. SO clever, She turned some of the p's upside down and broke a couple of letters to make the M. It was so sweet. Lauren Loved her birthday and we love her. She will be getting baptized in May. I can hardly believe that.







The big surprise is that Tim is surprising me with a vacation for our anniversary (which was last week.) All I know is my mom is flying up to tend the kids and I need to pack a swimsuit. I thought we we going to Vegas but now I think that I have no idea what we are doing or how long we are going for. That is pretty mind boggling for me because I like to be organized and have lists. It's my version of OCD. I am so excited though. Tim and I have not been on a real vacation since our honeymoon, 11 years ago. So, when I get back I can tell ya'll where we went!!