We're home!

We made it! Quite a shock to come out of our Mexican Summer to Christmas trees and lights and music everywhere.

Yesterday our last day of cruising was full of fog (I guess that was our transition). The boat's foghorn went off every couple of minutes all day. We played a lot of ping pong, and played bingo for the final jackpot. We had a nice dinner one last time with Irene and Melissa, and said our goodbyes before we went to bed. They were leaving early in the morning in the first group off the boat.

We left towards the end, opting to stay on the boat as long as possible. We had a nice breakfast, then played more ping pong, before heading out nextdoor to Pier 39. Andrew took a box of Fruit Loops off the boat and he and Mali fed it to the pigeons, while Susy and I looked around. Then Susy played bag-lady with the luggage and read her book while I bought the kids some fudge, and Mali got a new, cheap watch. We spent several hours at the airport, with Mali announcing the time to us whenever it occured to her, occasionally by-minutely.

Alana the wonderful then picked us up at the airport and now we're home and going to bed. Andrew has finished his homework and his marathon phone call with Carly, we have an explosion of dirty laundry in the hall downstairs, and all of our trinkets and such are out in the kitchen. Hopefully we'll be all recovered by next week!

San Diego Public Library

Free Internet, but no time. Lines for all the computers, I get 5 minutes on this one, so I'll type fast.
All is well. Cabo was great. Susy, Irene, and Melissa went shopping while the kids and I hit the beach. Then the three of us took a glass bottom boat trip around the corner of the Baja peninsula. Saw some yellow-tailed fish, sea lions, and some famous arch.
Mazatlan was okay too. We went to old Mazatlan - Mali was not impressed. My little starlet definitely preferred the 'Gold Zone' touristy area. Andrew discovered filet mignon at dinner the other night.

We're havign a great time! I'll write more later, if I ever get a chance. THe boat's internet has been extremely spotty.

Cruise Participation

Today we're in Mazatlan, with no plans. Everyone is still asleep, and the internet is up, so here I am with your cruise update.

We let the kids drag us to kareoke night on Tuesday. It was fun, some of the folks were truly, astoundingly, amazingly awful, which prompted Andrew to get up there and sing. He and Mali were the only kids there, so there was some surprise to see a kid on stage. He did pretty good, and the crowd loved him. He couldn't compete with the grandma singing Aretha Franklin.

The weather has been very warm down here. Wednesday we were out by the pool waiting for the party games to start. When we learned they were for adults only Andrew was unhappy, but he had no trouble signing Susy and me up for them. They divided us into teams and then poured beer down our throats, set us through synchronized swimming, then watched us stuff fruit in our swimsuits, including melons, pineapples, and a watermelon. Pretty bawdy stuff. Susy is now famous for having a pineapple sticking out of her top. Our team lost at the end in the balloon race, but we won a waterbottle, and a beer and a coke. The kids loved it.
We finally shipped the kids off to the kid activities for a mini-olympics and a movie. Susy and I entered the blackjack tournament. That was a mistake, and it gobbled up $60 before we came to our senses. Happily, Susy won it all back at the regular blackjack tables.

Yesterday was Puerto Vallarta. We took a tour to a tequila hacienda, which was educational and delicious. Andrew got to haggle for a bead lizard and Mali bought a hairclip for her friend.

Thanksgiving dinner was great. I had the traditional Thanksgiving Cod. Susy, Irene, and Melissa all opted for the turkey. EVERY single item on the menu had pumpkin in the description somewhere. I had to try three different desserts: the pie, a pumpkin cream brulee, and an apple and pumpkin struedel. The cream brulee was incredible. The pie was good too, but I let Mali finish mine off after she devoured hers. Then she attacked Susy's also. Andrew went for his second cheesecake of the cruise. I swear I could go for a week without food and be fine.

Cruising!

We are at sea off the coast of California. So far all is well. Tonight is formal night, and Mali is excited and will be getting a haircut in an hour. Right now Susy and kids are painting ceramics. They just went to see Monster-in-law at the theater. Andrew and I played Bingo yesterday morning, which was very fun even though we lost. Mali and I had a workout session in the gym, and she's eager to do that again (strangely enough.) Our rooms are great, though there's no door between the two. We were able to get extra keys so we all have one for each room.
The kids have not yet tried the kid activities, but tonight is a movie, Kicking and Screaming, that Mali has seen and wants to see again and it's aboutsoccer so Andrew's into it. That will be after dinner. Then we are thinking of going to see the Princess Idol competition.
Yesterday's shore expedition on Catalina island was interesting. We walked to the Casino, which had the most fantastic murals all over it. The kids were less than thrilled, but Susy and I loved it. Afterwards we went shopping, then had our bag stolen while we took photos just before heading back to the ship. Very annoying. But we have recovered from the loss, and we're back to having a great time.

Our first traditional dinner did not go well. Irene and Melissa signed up for Free-Choice dining and weren't able to switch. They were stuffed anyway, so opted out of dinner Sunday. We were seated by the kitchen with two families with other kids. They were fine, but it was very noisy, which really bothered me since I'm still fighting off my ear infection. Then we seemed to have really lousy service from our waiters. Then the killer was Andrew didn't get his hamburger until everyone was almost finished with their entrees, and we got our entrees last among the entire dining area. So: we switched to free choice, made reservations, and had a wonderful dinner last night with Irene and Melissa. Tonight is formal night, and it should be great. I'll post more tomorrow, we'll be at sea off the coast of Mexico.

Spokane CC photos

I found the camera buried in a heap of Andrew's unpacked carnage.
Excited Boy, Tired Boy, Happy Boy.

Cross country meet

I had hoped to have pictures, but Andrew brought the camera in and I can't find it. He's sleeping. We have to get up at 4:00 to catch our flight to San Francisco in the morning to start cruising!

The cross country meet in Spokane was cold, as expected. Andrew's team won, and he sprinted at the end to get 33rd place overall, and 6th place on his team. We're planning on being in Rhode Island for the meet December 10th, but we don't have tickets yet.

It's late, and I'm packed except for the camera. Hopefully I'll remember to get it from Andrew in the fog of the early morning.

Cruise Countdown

One more week and we'll be on our way to Mexico! We are ALL counting the days. If not the hours.

Friday night we all went to Nancy's birthday party. Paul made several fondue's, all delicious. We were back by 10:00, but still,
It was maybe not the best lead-up to Andrew's cross-country meet Saturday. He did not have a great run. He started out with a sideache, and never really got going. He is still going to run at regionals in Spokane next Saturday. He and I will be flying all over the place, starting Friday afternoon.
Friday: PDX to Spokane, 1:45 - 2:45
Saturday: Spokane to PDX, 3:10 - 4:15
Sunday: PDX to San Francisco, earrrllllyyy

Pictures!

Finally, I have some photos for you.
Group shot in front of the house,
Mali at Starbucks beneath her apple,
Andrew and Mali notPondering gravity, and
Mary and Amy looking at different things.

Mary and Amy visit

Mary and Amy have come and gone. They got to watch Mali play soccer in a cold, pouring rain. Mary made some awesome chicken and ginger wontons, and we went to Starbucks to see Mali's first art exhibit, pictures to be up here soon. There was also lots of catching up, and Mary helped Andrew with his school project - He's comparing the structures of a cell to those of the Titanic, with a big relief diagram of the big ship.

I played Poker in Kirkland Friday, and Andrew and I played at Paul's with John and Colette (Nancy's mom.) Andrew was the big winner, and walked away with the two Canadian chocolate bars grand prize.

Halloween II - The rain

The other story was the curious incident of the rain -
There wasn't any. It rained all morning, then by nightfall it stopped and was even nice and relatively warm. Today, the clouds are making up for lost time. It is like living beneath the surface of a lake.

Halloween

Mali dressed as a spider princess, and she went out trick-or-treating with her friend Sara, who was also dressed in a spider-related costume. They returned with lots of loot. And were very nice about sharing it.
Andrew did not go out hunting candy. Instead, his friend Carly came over and together they went to Tiana's and watched a scary movie.
Susy and I stayed home and watched Batman Begins. A great movie. I missed it Sunday when Susy and the kids watched it, because I had to work. Work is keeping me busy!