Our first cruise

For my mom's 60th birthday we wanted to take her to do something she's never done before.  We thought a cruise would be perfect!  The people that ended up being able to come were my Aunt Wendy Hyder, her daughter Hannah, my sister Briana, Doug and I, and of course my mom.  We did the 5 day cruise to Catalina Island and Ensenada which was a good amount of time for me.  I've never been away from my kids that long and I was ready to see them by Friday morning.

Meals were so fun (especially for Doug!) and no meal was complete without topping it off with a chocolate lava cake.  Oh. Boy.  Delicious.

Catalina Island

We rented a golf cart and toured around the island.  We ate at yummy Mexican restaurant for lunch and had some ice cream before we got back on the boat.  It was a nice relaxing day.

Our "formal" night on the boat.  Doug was thinking "formal" meant jeans with tennis shoes and when he found out he wouldn't be allowed in the dining room with that on we had to shop.  Luckily we were on Catalina Island that day and were able to find some pants and shoes that would work.  Unfortunately it cost us $1,000,000 for those things.  Lesson learned. 

We went to Ensenada the next day and I must say that it was a pretty gross place.  We chose the "resort" excursion which was a bus ride through the ghetto to some hotel that was pretty sketchy to lay out by their pool and have an authentic Mexican lunch.  Doug and I hit the shopping district to buy some gifts for the kids and I'm grateful Doug speaks Spanish.  It was kind of a scary place and was very grateful to get back on the boat1

Ensenada during the day (above) and at night (below).  A lot prettier at night, for sure!

Our last day was a sea day where we pretty much stayed in one calm spot on the ocean for the day.  We layed out, napped, read books, watch the hairy chest contest, and danced the night away (ok, maybe until like 11:30).  

The last night our waiters brought out a birthday cake for my mom and sang "Happy Birthday" (at least that's what I think they were singing since they had thick accents).

That was such a great week with my family where we created many fun memories.  I'm hoping to go on another cruise with Doug in the next couple years.  Is it too much to hope for a Caribbean cruise??