Vacation Madness

Wow. I can’t believe it has been a month since I last posted. October was nuts. We basically fit a summer of vacations into one month. Insane but so fun.

Again, loooong post. Sorry folks.

First was Cabo San Lucas. This was our first REAL trip without kids since Jane was born (we’ve done weekends here and there but never for this long). We went for 7 days (we had planned to be gone 6 days but as you will find out later, it turned out to be 7). Needless to say, I wasn’t sure how I would hold up being gone from our little stinkers that long. First day, pretty hard. Second day, still hard. Third day, kids? What kids? We have kids?

It was wonderful. We stayed at an all inclusive resort which was a new thing for us and decided it was a great deal (or mostly a great deal…it is a fabulous deal if you drink lots of alcohol..and most people did…A LOT). The resort was beautiful, right on the beach and we had meals or snacks whenever we wanted them. We especially enjoyed ordering virgin drinks by the pool and we were often entertained by the reactions we got from the servers. Pina Coladas and daiquiris were okay, but one time we tried to order something called a California Orange and when we asked for it virgin, the guy looked at us with disgust and said “but then it’s just juice!” Umm…yep..it sure is. That’s kinda the point. Can we have one?

Here are some quick highlights:

-If the phrase "breast pump" makes you feel uncomfortable, skip this one. Actually, it makes me feel funny writing it so I will from now on refer to it as "the BP". So I am still nursing Allison and I wanted to continue nursing her when I got home, so I brought a big electric BP with me. We get to the hotel and I go to use it, plug it in, and….it doesn’t work. That’s a problem. We tried several things and finally decided that maybe we needed some kind of converter for the plug. Maybe it was the wrong voltage or something? We go into town and search desperately with no luck. Electronic stores are not too popular in Cabo. Bars are though. In tears, I spot a pharmacy. We go in and after a lot of R-rated sign language, the lady behind the counter figures out what I need. So, I am now the proud owner of this. Bicycle horn? Clown horn? No, no..it IS a BP. I kept asking the lady where the milk is supposed to go and she keeps pointing to the little red rubber ball. Uh huh. Right. Well, let’s give that a shot shall we? Back at the hotel, I tried it out and let’s just say a bicycle horn would have felt better…or maybe a turkey baster. I went back to my electric BP and kept playing with the wires, turning it on and off. Finally, I give up, say a little prayer, turn it on and it WORKS! Talk about a good lesson for me, especially in humility.

-One night I went up to one of the hoppin’ bars in my pajamas and ordered a chocolate milk. The bartender later asked if I wanted another chocolate margarita. Good times.

-They had moths there the size of sparrows. My mom’s idea of hell.

-We played pool volleyball, got sunburns, ate sushi, turned down some weed from a beach vendor, and played “count the tankinies”. I won with my guess of 1. Mine.

-We went snorkeling and sea kayaking with a guide named Juan Carlos (haven’t you always wanted to meet a strapping man named Juan Carlos?) and a funny family from Wisconsin. At the end of the trip, after it had taken many tries to finally get the mom of the family into a kayak she proudly exclaimed, “that was the most adventurous thing I’ve done in my life!”

-We played tennis, boogie boarded in the ocean and sat on the beach at night. One night Jevan was telling me about a co-worker that goes to a beach house in CA every year and they build giant detailed buildings out of sand. We then started talking about sand building contests and how some people can sculpt famous people out of sand. We decided that if we were to ever learn that art, we would sculpt famous people that would probably not ever get picked for the oh-so-glamorous-let’s-sculpt-them-sometime team. Here’s our line-up: Janet Reno, Shiva the Destroyer, John Stamos and Charles Dikkens, the well-known Dutch author. We were thinking we could maybe start some kind of religion with them too, like the people who worship the Giant Flying Spaghetti Monster. Did you know that is really a religious cult? I’m serious. Google it.

-We did a zip line tour across a series of canyons which also included some rappelling. The company even included a tequila factory tour, with complementary tasting. I had no idea tequila was made from a cactus. I thought the taste came from the fermented worm in the bottom of the bottle. Silly me.

-Flying on Mexican airlines is not always the best idea. Our flight from Cabo was late, making us miss our connecting Delta flight to SL. We had to spend a lot of time running around the airport in Mexico City, trying to figure out what to do until finally we were sent to Phoenix and had to stay the night there (compliments of Aeromexico) and fly home in the morning. That is pure torture to a mom who just wants to get home and see her kids.

That’s Cabo.

We were home for a week and then I left Jevan at home and took off for Disneyland with the kids. We went with my mom, sister, sister-in-laws and all their kids. We were 15 strong and a force to be reckoned with. First off, getting through airport security with a baby and toddler and all the STUFF they have is a sight to behold. So funny. After Jevan said goodbye at the airport, he secretly snuck up to the next floor of the airport and watched us go through security. He got a good laugh at our little circus.

Disneyland was fun. I think it was a lot of fun for Jane, albeit completely over stimulating and by the end of the trip she was blitzed beyond belief. It is crazy to see what sleep deprivation can do to toddler. She was like a frantic little bug that just keeps flying itself into the window over and over. She loved riding the rides and being with her cousins. Allison was a real trooper and really complained only once. That was Halloween night, when I put her in her Dumbo costume and we went to California Adventure to their Halloween event with trick-or-treating and a parade. She was not happy that night. She looked SO cute though. Jane was pirate princess and had a great time getting candy and dancing the Monster Mash in the parade. All in all it was a fabulous time and it would have never been possible without the help of my mother. Thanks Mom!

So there’s October. Hopefully November will be a little less insane and I can write smaller posts for crying out loud.

Here are some pictures:











































Cabo on Flickr

Disneyland on Flickr