Spring Break 2015 - Part 4 - Puerto Vallarta

We pulled into Puerto Vallarta early Thursday morning. We had booked a zip lining shore excursion through the cruise, and were excited to get on our way!

We hopped on a bus, along with a few other families, and traveled about an hour outside of town into the jungle. Another example of how US driving laws vary from Mexican...the bus should have only held 12 passengers. But they crammed an extra (our boy of course!) in the front seat with Steve, and then Olivia sat on a padded milk crate behind the front passenger seat, facing the rear of the van. The crate was loose, but there was a seat belt bolted to the front seat that kept her from flying through the van as we zipped through the dirt roads!

We got all strapped into our harnesses, fitted with helmets and gloves, then went through a brief orientation by the very entertaining guides.

Over the course of the next two hours, we soared across nine zip lines and rappelled down two giant trees. I must admit, I was just a "little" terrified and screamed with exhilaration as I crossed every single one!

Grant was barely heavy enough to make it across the long lines!

We call this one "Jungle Monkey"!

This was my expression in most of the pictures...
a combination of fear and thrill!

Olivia is a rockstar. Seriously, this girl is so strong, so brave, and
not afraid of anything. She is my hero.

Jack was pretty quiet throughout the day, just taking it all in!

Grant sailed right down the rappelling lines!

Smile for the camera!

It felt like a very loonng way down!

Steve, Jack, and Olivia all climbed up a 200' rope ladder, walked across a tight rope, and then crossed a zip line on a wooden surf board. Grant wasn't quite tall enough to reach the safety line, so he and I hiked up and met the rest of the group at the top. He wasn't too pleased to be left out of that part of the adventure! (I, on the other hand, was a little relieved!)

It was an amazing day, and it is so fun to be at this stage with our family where we can experience adventures together!

Spring Break 2015 - Part 3 - Mazatlan

We docked in Mazatlan early on Wednesday morning. We had decided to just do our own thing, no pre-planned tours or excursions booked. We got off the boat and were greeted by multiple resort guides, offering us a day pass to their resort, with access to beach and pools. We accepted one of the offers, and hopped in a cab to the resort.

We spent the morning on the beach before it got too crazy with tourists and beach vendors. Seriously, if I had a dime for every person that walked by wanting to sell me silver, sunglasses, or braid my hair...

The kids had a ball splashing in the warm ocean waters, and Steve and I enjoyed lounging on chairs watching!

We saw a couple of guys offering parasailing, and asked Olivia if she wanted to give it a try. She hadn't seen anyone do it, but she is adventurous and brave and decided to go for it!

The second she took off, Grant was begging to do it too. I didn't think he was big enough (and was secretly hoping he wasn't!), but he marched right up to the guys and asked if he could do it...and much to my surprise, they said YES!

It was a little sketchy watching him take off...but before long, he too was sailing high above the ocean!

I was grateful to have both kids safely back on solid ground. Here's the guy that made it all happen!

By about noon, the beach was packed and we decided it was time to head on out. There's something about a jam-packed beach that doesn't necessarily scream "rest and relaxation"!

We headed into town to grab a bite, and found some good photo ops along the way.

Yep, we're classy like that!

Cheers to another great day!

We headed back to the ship by way of a golf cart cab. I think it legally should have only held three passengers. But the guy insisted he could fit all five of us, and proceeded to speed through the streets of Mazatlan. Jack held on for dear life, and Steve documented the whole thing. It was hilarious. And for Olivia, who is learning to drive, it was a good lesson on how lucky we are to live in the United States and have actual rules of the road to follow!

We capped off the night with a breathtaking view of the sunset as we sailed out of Mazatlan and continued our journey southward. Next stop. . . Puerto Vallarta!

Spring Break 2015 - Part 2 - Cabo San Lucas

Our first port stop was in Cabo. We had decided to do a ship-endorsed snorkeling excursion in Cabo. We got off the ship, and boarded a catamaran for an hour ride out into the Sea of Cortez. It was pretty windy, but plenty warm and it felt good to feel the cool ocean breeze!

Steve, Olivia, and Grant sat right on the edge for the ride out.

Cheers! Don't forget to hydrate!

Sailing past "Arches"

Jack stayed close to the center of the boat with me.

 This was the kids' first experience with snorkeling. They are all super strong swimmers, but Grant was a little freaked out when the tour guide announced that there had been some jellyfish sightings recently, so to proceed with caution. Grant got all his gear on, then laid down on the boat to practice breathing through the snorkel. It was hard to tell if he was really nervous, or just wanting to appear nervous. He's goofy that way sometimes...

We saw some really cool fish, the water was the perfect temperature, and it was super fun to be out there with the kids. Makes me think that we need to get to the Caribbean or Hawaii in the not too distant future where they can really see what it's like to swim with the fish!

Grant and I got back on the boat sooner than the other three, and enjoyed some cool drinks and snacks in the sunshine. I love this little squirrel of a kid. 

On the ride back to the ship, Grant got a little more adventuresome and "surfed" on the mesh at the front of the boat. We were heading into some pretty good waves, and he and the other kids were loving it! And no one fell overboard!

Our cruise ship in the background

It was windy!

When we got back into Cabo, we still had a few hours before the ship left again. Steve found a restaurant to hook up to wi-fi and check in with work while the kids and I did a little sightseeing.

Homer drinking a Corona. Perfect.

Grant thought this street performer was pretty cool!

This ATM machine cracked me up. "Cashola - Say hello to your money" Seriously...so funny!

We were all tired and a little sunburnt by the time we got back on the ship. We got cleaned up and enjoyed another yummy dinner, and were all ready for bed by the time we turned out the lights. Next stop...Mazatlan!

Spring Break 2015 - Part 1 - Bon Voyage!

For years, I've been wanting to go on a cruise. Steve has always been a bit reluctant, fearing that he wouldn't like being stuck on a boat for a week. As we were looking at options for a family vacation over spring break, I brought up a cruise. To my surprise, Steve agreed! Based on our spring break dates and availability, we opted for a cruise to the Mexican Riviera, on board the Norwegian Star, with stops in Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta.

We flew out early Sunday morning, March 29 to Los Angeles. Just as we were getting ready to taxi to the runway, the pilot came on and said that there was heavy fog at LAX, and there was going to be a delay. We ended up sitting on the plane for another two hours before we were cleared for takeoff. I was watching the moments tick by and beginning to panic that we wouldn't make it to the port on time! When we finally were on the ground in LA, I breathed a sigh of relief. We took a shuttle to the Long Beach cruise terminal. There was a lot of excitement circulating through the kids.

This was Grant as we got on the shuttle. 

This was Grant five minutes later. 

The boys, each on their own electronics, while Olivia and I
waited in line at the port terminal to check in!

We made it to the port right on time, got through the check-in process, and were escorted up to our room to drop off our carry-on bags (the rest of our luggage was delivered to our room later that afternoon), then to a private restaurant exclusively for suite guests. We felt like celebrities!

We each had key cards that were our passes for all onboard activities, food, drinks, and the key to our room. There was also an app for our phones that allowed onboard texting to family members, as well as monitoring of our daily charges. Pretty cool what technology can do!

Our room was on the 12th floor. We opted for a "family suite" instead of two tiny rooms, which gave us a bit more room, and also put us up near most of the activities on the ship!

One whole wall of our room was floor to ceiling windows.
We enjoyed the view of the ocean all week long!

We unpacked and tucked our suitcases away for the week, then went out to the deck and watched as we pulled out of Long Beach and into the wide open sea.

I sure love this guy!

We spent the afternoon exploring and familiarizing ourselves with the ship. The kids were all three so happy and playful, giddy with excitement about the week ahead!

We capped off the night with a carnivorous dinner in the Brazilian steakhouse on board, then were gently rocked to sleep by the rolling waves of the ocean.

On the first morning at sea, Steve and I and the boys all woke up early. Olivia was still sleeping, so we decided to let her rest while we got out of the room. Steve and I hit the gym, while the boys went to shoot hoops and get a donut. We agreed to meet back at the room at a designated time. When Steve and I were done at the gym, we headed back to the room. No boys. I stayed put, while Steve went looking for them.

A few minutes later, he texted me that he'd found them in the arcade. I quickly replied "Were they swiping their cards?" To which Steve responded, "Check the account!"

I logged into the app, and nearly fell over...those two had racked up $250 in arcade charges in less than 30 minutes! Turns out, they were playing the "grabber" game. You know, the one where you get one chance to grab a prize? Well, they were trying to "grab" $1,000 cash...and get this...they wanted to win it to help pay for the trip! We had a stern chat about not swiping their cards without permission, and told them they were banned from the arcade for the rest of the trip!

We spent the rest of Monday chilling out, exploring some more, and taking advantage of the "all you can eat" ice cream bar!

The pool deck was pure craziness.
Live music multiple times each afternoon and evening.
Poolside games and entertainment, tons of kids, and lots of noise!

Steve and I enjoyed poolside cocktails and "mocktails"
nearly every afternoon. Good times!

Fresh fruit and treats were delivered to our room
every afternoon by our "butler" Chris!

Grant is still mastering the ice cream cone licking.
He ended up covered in ice cream every afternoon!

Norwegian Cruise Line is what is known as "freestyle cruising". . . meaning you can choose how dressed up you want to get. Some cruise lines have strict dress requirements for restaurants. Knowing my kids (mainly, my boys), I knew that having to dress up for dinner every night would not go over well. This was about as fancy as they got. Though Grant did actually tuck in his shirt one night!

We enjoyed some great nighttime entertainment throughout the week, including magicians, comedians, amazing acrobatics, and more.