GO CARDS!!

In honor of the Cardinals participating in the Super Bowl this weekend I'd like to post this little picture...
This is Erik with Deuce Lutui. He's a Guard for the Cardinal's & he was in the Easter Pageant in 2007. He was so nice to take this picture. I asked if he would mind taking a picture with Erik & he said,"No - can I take MY picture with this guy? Check out this costume." I'd love to see the Cardinals win if it was just for his sake because he seems like such a nice guy! GO CARDS!!!

Bell Cruise Part 2

It's a known fact that I'm not always the brightest person on the planet! Upon looking at a friends post I realized I could add more pictures to a post if I make them smaller. Which means you're in for another round of pics from our trip. I'm going to do mostly group photos this time..... (Allyson - I hope you don't mind but I stole the large group photo from your blog. :) )

ACAPULCO...



FORMAL NIGHT & DANCING...



MANZANILLO...



DINNER, CANCER WALK, AIRPORT GOING HOME...



I also forgot to give a HUGE thank you to Mimi & Papa as well as Jackson & Allison for watching our rugrats while we were gone. We never could have done it without you! MMWAH!! Allison even took vacation days from work to watch our kids. WOW!! She's the best! Our girls had a lot of fun. Only a few melt downs from what I'm told. I think Kylie was a little sad it was already over. I feel her on that one. The week went by fast. I'm glad to be home, but sad as well. Not having to cook, clean & just play for a week! That's the life!

Bell Photo Cruise 2009

Every 2 years we get spoiled by Erik's work & get the priviledge of going on a cruise with the Bell Photo family. The first time we got to go was in 2007. This was our second time & we had a blast! It was fun to see all the wives again of the salesman & catch up on the past 2 years. Here's a few pictures & stories of our travels. Keep in mind - it was tough to narrow this down to the 5 pictures Blogger allows you. Especially when I ended up taking 388 pictures. YIKES!! (I know, I know - I could do a slide show & have a bunch more, but I HATE those things. If you want to see more look up my facebook account.)

We took off from San Diego & spent the first 2 days at sea. The second night was the first formal night...

After dinner that night we attended the show. (They have a different show every night after dinner that they claim are as good as anything you would see in Vegas. Right!) We laughed really hard & I'm not so sure it was suppose to be a comedy. It showcased the singers & dancers. The dancers made me giggle the whole time. Seriously, sickled feet & horrible technique at that level? It was sad.

Our first stop was Acapulco. We had quite the group - 52 in all - so, we waited to get off the boat to book anything. We found some vans to drive our crew around for the day. We went to this awesome resort to look around & walk out to their private beach - BEAUTIFUL!! Hit up some local little shops & then went to watch the cliff divers. They were scary to watch, but it was almost scarier to watch them climb the mountain to jump off of. They took the theatrics a little far before jumping doing their Hail Mary's & stuff. But, still cool.

The next day we stopped at Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo. We took a water taxi to a beach across the docking area & just spent the day their. Erik did some snorkeling & I was happy to rent a raft & float in the ocean. The following picture is a view of our boat from the beach we played at.

Our last stop was Manzanillo. We were docked in an industrial area & not the prettiest. We waited around for awhile waiting to find out what the plan was. While waiting we watched the Inauguration in the lounge. Pretty cool to say I watched that piece of history on a boat in Mexico. Finally we found some vans to take us around. We went shopping first in the downtown area. We then were taken to an iguana preserve where Erik & I held a huge iguana. WEIRD!! Then, it was off to the beach! Erik did some body surfing here & he didn't come out of the water for a long time. He could live in the ocean if it was possible.

After the stops we spent another 2 days at sea before returning home to san Diego. Erik got sick the last couple of days which was not fun. But, I'm happy to say I didn't gain any weight. The captain at one point said the average weight gain on a cruise that long was 7 pounds. I actually ate better & worked out more. It's been harder for me being home to work out & eat good. The very last day at sea they had a cancer walk for Breast Cancer. It was fun to be involved with that!

Some more fun little tidbits are:

** Going dancing - you haven't seen anything until you've seen Eric Bateman get the asian crowd involved in dancing & even body slamming one of the little old guys. Hilarious!!

**Playing lots of cards & dice with the crew on those long days at sea.

**Meeting one of the cutest girls ever - Kylee.

**Watching Chad Waldron ham up the Black Jack tournament.

**Playing musical chairs at dinner every night & never knowing who you will end up sitting next to.

**Erik bought a wedding ring (his has been lost for years) in Ixtapa & then lost it in the ocean in Manzanillo - NICE!

**Seeing lots of dolphins & even whales. Erik & I even saw a sea turtle. We just happened to look out the right window at the right time.

**Seeing good old Nate with an earing in & suspenders. Quite the sight! :)

**Getting rained on when arriving back to San Diego & standing in it waiting for our ride to the airport. Does wonders for the hair!!

I'm sure I'm missing quite a bit. I didn't take notes this time on what we did everyday like I did last time. All in all, it was fun. We actually enjoyed the last one a little better - the stops were nicer & we did more "stuff". But, we can't complain. Cruising's the way to go. We're up for that anytime!

HOME

Today is Tuesday & I am at home instead of spending a day sitting at the dance studio. Again, it comes with mixed emotions. As for right now though - I'M LOVING IT!!! It's nice to be home. We even had FHE last night & I cooked dinner! I even plan on cooking again tonight! That's unheard of at my house. I'm usually always running. I even have plans (I guess the key word here would be "plans".) of getting the laundry all caught up today. Although I will miss the girls - I'm ok with this for now. I have been teaching for 16 years! Within that 16 years I've only had 1 year that I didn't teach. That's when we lived in St. George & I was pregnant with Kylie. Other than that, I've always been teaching. I welcome this change for now....

**P.S. - if you happen to know anyone who would like to buy some mirrors let me know. We are trying to sell the mirrors from the studio!! (I know - shameless! :) )