With the impending changes due next year, we decided to get some travel in before it becomes extra "fun" to go anywhere with an infant/toddler for the next few years.
In November Jeff and I had a weekend away in Vegas without the kids, so for Christmas we asked the girls how they would feel about going on a cruise with us in December for their big Christmas gift from us. They were thrilled at the idea so we planned for an 8 day trip.
It came so quickly and before we knew it, we were getting on the ship. The girls loved all the big staircases (I only let them take the elevator once- because of my selfish desire to burn the extra calories climbing the stairs), having their meals served (without having to set the table before or do dishes after), deserts every night, someone making their bed every morning, the turn down service at night and of course---THE WATERSLIDE!!
Once we were further south the weather was nice and warm, but closer to San Diego, it was a bit too chilly for us adults with the 70-ish weather plus the chill from the wind caused by a sailing ship. However, it didn't deter them one bit.
Before making it to our first port, the ship had to make 2 unscheduled stops. The first actually took 4 hours as the ship had to turn around and go back to San Diego for someone with a medical emergency. The second morning we woke up to find they had stopped again for another medical emergency in Cabo San Lucas. (Yikes! There must have been some real sickies on this ship).
We made it to Acapulco (only an hour later than planned) and it was off to explore the city--the girls first experience out of the country. We took them to an outdoor market so they could shop. They were so fun to watch bargain with the shopkeepers there. Both girls had divided up their money for the 3 ports we were going to stop and had given themselves budgets for what they wanted to spend at each. Of course the wheeling and dealing was customary with the salespeople but the girls were so good about sticking to their budget. They walked away from many a souvenir before each deciding on a pair of earrings (thank goodness they didn't fall in love with some crappy magnet, tacky shirt or any of the other thousand cheesy trinkets that I'd have to look at forever :) After they had made their purchases, we decided it was time to head back to the ship and wanted to walk since it was only a few blocks. The girls experienced a taste of Mexico traffic (sans any traffic signals), the lovely sidewalks filled with trash and the other delights of the big city :).
The next morning we were in Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa. This was my favorite port of the three we visited. It was a smaller town and we had to be tendered to the dock, but I liked the smaller feel. We hired a driver to show us around and take us to see the Ixtapa resort before dropping us off at a beautiful beach. Jeff and the girls played in the waves for hours and I loved just relaxing on the beach. We took a water taxi back to the dock and did a little shopping before going back to the ship.
Our final port was Manzanillo. We took a bus into town and did some shopping. We had an interesting experience with one of the shopkeepers who had trouble with some basic math. It ended up being a good teaching moment for Cara and Natie. The town was definitely small and I didn't find it as charming as Zihuatanejo had been so we headed back to the ship after a few hours and had some fun in the water.
The final two days at sea flew by. We spent lots of time relaxing, playing with the kids and just enjoying the downtime. The girls were such a joy to bring and the trip was just what we all needed. They didn't even complain when it was back to school on Monday. I'm sure it didn't hurt that they had a week of Christmas programs and parties to look forward to.
It was a nice hour just relaxing with Cara listening to her tell me about her day. As I was sitting there with her I realized how long it had been since we actually had some fun time with just the two of us. With me feeling lousy for the last two months, and all the running from one activity to the next and just trying to keep up some days, it had been a while. I love the little moments like this. 
