So Cute...

Cruise 2012

For our 10 year anniversary Rory surprised me with a cruise to the Mexican Riviera. He actually told me on Valentines day so I feel like we've been waiting for this cruise forever. It finally arrived and was well worth the wait. It was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Travis and Sandy Rauhala came with us and we had so much fun. We left Sunday morning and flew into Long Beach. From there we took a cab to the port and within an hour we were on the ship eating a delicious meal. After we went to check out our state room. Rory is such a romantic, he surprised me with a dozen red roses with a note that said Happy Anniversary.


We left port about 4:30 and set sail for Mexico. They have so much to do on the ship. There are tons of shows, a casino, pools, karaoke, dancing, outdoor movies, pretty much anything you want to do. After dinner on Sunday we went and watched some Karaoke and just relaxed. Speaking of dinner, they have lots of exotic foods you can try on the ship. Some foods we tried were: Oysters, Duck, Alligator, Shark, Frog Legs, & Escargot (my favorite of all the new things we tried). Rory's favorite thing they had to eat on the shi pwas called Chocolate Melting Lava Cake, it was so yummy.


Monday was what they call "a fun day at sea" and it really was just that. We relaxed, walked around the ship and after dinner that night we went to a comedy show. The comedians on the ship were hilarious. They had 2 comedians the first 2 nights and then got 2 new comedians for the last 2 nights. One night I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. It was so fun!

Tuesday we docked in Cabo San Lucas. It is absolutely beautiful. The beaches and water are gorgeous. There isn't a port there, so we had to get on little boats that took us to shore. Once on shore we decided to look into a jet skiing excursion Rory really wanted to do. They have people up and down the board walk that offer excursions and water taxi's. We found a group that was offering an amazing deal on jet skiing and snorkeling so we decided to try that for the day. We were able to jet ski all over inside the peninsula and over to lover's beach. It was so beautiful and fun. After jet skiing we road a water taxi to lover's beach to go snorkeling. I was too much of a chicken. I'm not a great swimmer and the tide tends to pull you away from the shore, so Travis, Sandy, and I stayed on the beach while Rory snorkeled. He said it was amazing and he saw a ton of fish. After snorkeling we decided to check out the rest of the beach. Rory forgot his flip flops and Travis wore running shoes, so they decided to go bare foot. Bad idea. The sand was scalding hot. They had to run as fast as they could and find shade so they didn't burn their feet. Sandy and I were a little bit smarter and wore flip flops so we got to walk and enjoy the beach. The sand is so white and the water is so blue, it truly is paradise. After checking out the beach we decided to get some lunch and headed to Senor Frogs. The food was so yummo, but we had no idea there was an exchange rate for american dollars so we ended up paying a fortune for lunch. It's a fun place to eat though. Our waiter was awesome and I'll just say the people there are very interesting. I wanted the true Mexico experience so we went to the Flea Market and Travis and Sandy taught us how to barter. It's really fun and we had a couple people tell Rory he bartered so much he was a "white Mexican."



Wednesday Travis and Sandy had booked an excursion through the ship so Rory and I were on our own. Our plan was to hang on the beach and walk along the board walk, but we found a deal on para sailing we couldn't refuse. It was so great, I thought it would be a lot scarier than it was. It was actually very relaxing and up in the air we could see the whole city so it was very beautiful. My only complaint is that your only in the air for about 10 minutes, I guess that's how they make all their money. After para sailing we walked along the beach, the boardwalk, and downtown Cabo. I just love it there. It's really clean and everyone is very friendly. It always felt really safe and we really enjoyed ourselves.







Thursday we spent the day in Puerto Vallarta. It's really pretty, but I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as Cabo. We got there bright and early and took a Taxi to the downtown area along the beach. There are people trying to sell you stuff everywhere! You can't take 2 steps without someone trying to sell you something. There are also people dressed up in all sorts of costumes. If you tip them, you get your picture taken with them. The beach was really neat because they had sand sculptures and this amazing rock art. After we checked out the beach we walked down the street and got bombarded with people trying to sell us stuff. There was a little boy who couldn't have been more than 2 years old coming up to us saying, "pesos?" Of course Sandy and Travis bought something from him because he was so stinkin cute. His parents are probably millionaires. After shopping awhile Rory found a zip lining excursion. Travis and Sandy headed to their excursion and we grabbed some water, hopped on a truck that carried about 20 people, and headed towards the jungle. The place we went zip lining was the same place they filmed an 80's film called Predator. It's in the middle of the jungle and has tiki huts and a beautiful pond right in the middle of it. We strapped up and started hiking. The hiking just about killed me. I realized how out of shape I am and have vowed to take better care of my body. We would hike up, strap onto the zip line and race across the jungle, then repeat the process over and over. We ended up going on a total of 10 different zip lines. I loved it! It was my favorite excursion of the whole trip. That night on the ship they had a real authentic Mariachi band from Puerto Vallarta. I guess they come on once a week when the ship ports and play music and dance. It was really fun to see the Mexican hat dance, La Bumba, their traditional wedding dance, and to hear them sing. They were very talented and even had the custom costumes and sombreros. I was really excited to see a little bit of the Mexican culture and it was one of my favorite shows of the whole trip.







Friday was my 30th Birthday so we ate at the Steakhouse on the ship. You have to book it in advance and it's $30 a plate, but it's a 5 star restaurant and was worth every penny. The food was delicious. I wish I would have taken a picture because it was that good. I had a fabulous day and couldn't have asked for a better birthday.



Saturday we planned to miniature golf and spend the day lounging on the ship, but it was freezing. It was too cold and windy to leave the inside of the ship so we hung out inside, saw some shows, and Sandy and I learned the Thriller dance. That morning I won a trivia contest, the question was "name 10 body parts that only have 3 letters" Rory and I racked our brain and came up with 8, since I was the first caller I won a cruise trophy and medallion. By the way the answer is: arm, leg, jaw, gum, ear, eye, lip, rib, toe, and hip. It was such an amazing trip and I loved spending some much needed time with my husband. I can't wait to plan our next adventure!

Recital & School

Kadence had her final recital of the season last weekend. She did fabulous and I was so excited to see all her dances. I've been trying to teach her the most important thing she can do is smile, she smiled really big and looked so cute. She has decided she doesn't want to dance next year, so who knows if we will ever go to another recital she dances in again. She also had her kindergarten assessment last week. She got a 97%! I am very proud of both my kids. I got their report cards on Thursday, they both did fabulous! They both finished with all 3's (there are 3 levels, 1 is below average, 2 is average, and 3 is above grade level) and all H's (citizenship). They have both worked really hard this year and I can't believe how well they can read. Mrs. Wise wrote a poem for her first graders and I bawled when I read it. Connor kept looking at me like I was crazy, but man they grow up fast!

Connor and his 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Wise, on the last day of school

Country Girl Kadee Jo

Posing with her roses from mom & dad, grandma Debbie, and Nana Kelli

Kinlee had to put on the tutu and pose with Kadee's flowers. Little Miss Kin LOVES to dance and sing.

Last Day of Kindergarten

What?! The last day of Kindergarten?! Are you kidding me?! Where in the world did this year go? It seems like just yesterday Kadence started as a Penry Pirate looking through the school for a hidden treasure (it was in the Principal's office). I went to their end of year celebration and may have cried when they sang their goodbye song. Why can't we just freeze time and keep our kids little for a little bit longer? Anyway, enough sappy stuff. The kids had a water celebration and it was a blast. We threw water balloons, had relay's, and even got to run through the sprinklers. The highlight of the afternoon was when we flooded the 4th grade. Ok, so it really wasn't a highlight, more like a low light, but it was still kind of funny. We had the hose hooked up in an inside bathroom because that was the only valve we could find. Well I guess in all our excitement the spigot flew off and water was shooting everywhere. It was on the ceiling, walls, and even in the hallway. Luckily they got it fixed quickly and I told the kids they could tell everyone they flooded the fourth grade on their last day of school. Here are some pictures from our last day:

MVP

Today was a fabulous day for Con-man. The first grade went on an all expense paid (hehe) field trip to Thanksgiving Point and Jump On It. They got to check out all the awesome animals at Thanksgiving Point and were treated to Ice Cream Cones. Then on they went to Jump On It. Connor's favorite part of the whole trip was Jump On It. When I asked him why he said, "Cuz I got to jump!" Duh, mom! Tonight we played the Helper Mets. Although we didn't win, Connor got the MVP ball. Each game the coaches pick a player who worked extra hard and showed improvement. This game Connor was their choice and he was ecstatic. His whole face lit up when they said his name and he was so proud. He worked really hard and had some really great plays so he really deserved it. One of the coaches told me Connor is the nicest kid in the dugout. He said he is always complimenting his teammates and telling them what a good job they are doing. I guess I'm doing something right. :)

Hey Batter Batter!

My little man is in full swing. It's baseball season and he can't get enough. He practices day and night and can't wait for his next game. Who knew I would have such an athletic kid? Rory was athletic growing up, but me, not so much. I tried some sports here and there but the only thing I loved was volleyball, and I wasn't very good at it. I guess that's probably why I stuck with dance. Anyway, Connor eats, sleeps, breathes baseball. His awesome daddy is his coach and is whipping Connor and those other boys (and girl) into shape. The only thing better than a cute baseball player? My cute baseball player, he is the best! I sure do love him. He gave me my mother's day present today, because like me, he can't wait until the actual present giving day. It was an adorable story called, "If You Give a Mom a Muffin." Super cute and it even came with my own muffin and hot cocoa mix. Here is my little man all decked out in his uniform:

Little Miss Kadee had her Kindergarten Mother's Day Program today. It was so cute and I even got all teary eyed during the slide show. Kadee had 2 speaking parts and did AMAZING. She is seriously the cutest little girl ever. She had lots of family support too. Besides myself, her daddy, grandma Rhea, grandma Debbie, and Nana all came to watch her. My favorite part of the whole program was the song grandma-ma and the portrait Kadee painted of me, it is classic. Her teacher is so awesome, she works so hard for the kids and is truly a picture perfect teacher. I want to be just like her when I grow up. :) Kadee also gave me my mother's day gift. It was a book she made about flowers, a paper flower necklace, and a coupon book redeemable for random things of her choice. My favorite was that she "wont moov my clip." They have to move their clips when they are naughty in class, I don't think she has ever moved her clip. She would be mortified if she ever thought she did something to upset Mrs. Penry. But it was a nice thought and I'm glad she is such a good girl. Here are some pics from her fun day:

What I look like through Kadee's eyes.

Ouch!

This is what happens when you're giving your little sister a piggy back ride on the cement and trip over your own feet:

Luckily no one was too hurt, although I was a little concerned about her knocking out her front tooth. I insisted she see the dentist and luckily he doesn't think any damage was done to the permanent tooth and says it will be making its appearance soon.

Last night was our ward Cinco De Mayo. I bought Rory, the kids, and I sombreros and thought it would be so fun to wear them all night. I thought the kids would think it was fun too, and was so excited to show Connor. I walked up to him, put my sombrero on, and asked him what he thought. He shook his head, covered his eyes, and said, "I am so embarrassed right now." With that he walked away and refused to wear a sombrero. When did he get that old? When did he decided he was too cool for me? It makes me feel old that not only am I a few weeks away from the big 3-0, but now my kids are old enough to be embarrassed by me. Anyways, the party was a big success and the pinatas (which I was in charge of) were the hit of the party. It was really fun to have an out of the ordinary ward party and I am super proud of my hubby for putting it all together.