HE WILL MAYBE KILL ME, BUT...

...Not really, cuz secretly, inwardly, Mart loves to be on stage....so for the pleasure of our viewers, this is what he was doing that last night of our cruise.

And just so you don't miss the funniest parts, my favorites are at
1:13
1:26 and
1:58
I almost peed my pants I was laughing so hard.
(Remember while you watch this that the ship didn't tell him anything
that the dancers were doing - it was all improv.)
My Mart is officially hysterical.
Enjoy.

THE CRUISE SHIP

The world's best best best waiter (we miss him every day!)...
Mario.

Yeah - this is towels - every day we came into our room and there was a new "animal" towel waiting for us - this was my favorite one.

Cass really bonded with Mario. He was so sweet to her -
he would have her fruit and nuggets waiting for her every day when
we came into the dining room - and would pour her a big cup of
chocolate milk - and ask her which color of crayon she wanted that
day and then, pull from his sleeve whichever color she requested.
He was great - and it broke my heart when he told us about the three
kids he has back home (in Guatemala)- that he sees for only 4 weeks every six months!!
We were lucky to have him and hope to keep in touch with him.

Here's a video of Josh and Darien doing karaoke one night - so great!

And one more video of Cass and Macy
dancing with Mario in the dining room - they did
this every night. We love it!

PUERTO VALLARTA

Puerto Vallarta ROCKED...Mart and I were especially excited to
hit this stop because this is where we honeymooned, so we have great
memories here. This time, we took Josh and headed in for the
"Extreme Outdoor Canopy" adventure. Wow - if you ever have a chance
to do this or any excursion with CaboAdventures or VallartaAdventures
don't hesitate - it's worth every penny.
First off, we headed across the bay in a motor boat.

Next, we were loaded into one of THESE trucks and
driven across miles of tropical forest - BEAUTIFUL!!

Look at the mountains behind us!! Sheesh - could it be more beautiful???

Then came the awesome mule ride to the tippy top of the Sierra Madres.

...where we finally began our descent...

...in a number of different ways

SO SOOOO much fun!!!

After the excursion, we grabbed the girls and headed back into town. We just HAD to take them on one of the rickety old buses through town - what an experience!
Also, Mart and I wanted to revisit our honeymoon hotel - and the AWESOME Mexican food joint across the street - where we enjoyed some great food.

Then we headed to the hotel beach for an amazing Puerto Vallarta sunset.

Gorgeous!! We love Puerto Vallarta -
it will always be a special place for Mart and I,
and now for the kids too!!

MAZATLAN

Mazatlan was definitely not our favorite stop. I don't know if there are nice things to see or not - but we sure didn't find them. We had planned to shop but after about 1/2 hour we realized there was nothing there for us - so we headed to the beach to try to make something of the day.

We decided everyone would go parasailing!!
We weren't prepared for the beach - so this is how Cass ended up after about 10 minutes.

And this is how the rest of us ended up:

Even Ani got to go - though she had to go with one of the guys.

Mart got some nice shots. It even looks like a nice town from WAY far away!!

Bye Bye Mazatlan!

CABO

This is the very point of where the Pacific Ocean meets the Gulf of California -
AWESOME!! It's where we spent our entire day - and what an awesome one!

A closer look - on this side of the beach is the Gulf - on the other side is the Pacific Ocean -
Josh spent some time over there - body surfing (without a life vest!!) -
He didn't bother to tell me that until AFTER....of course.

This is the exact beach where we spent our entire day (we chose it for the shade from that rock in the morning) and we had amazing weather.
Somewhere on that beach are the sandals which Josh left behind.
RIP Josh sandals.

We started out the day with a little boat tour of the area - wow -
these rocks are so much more amazing in person -

It was nice of our ship to hang out and wait for us don't you think?
This is called "Lover's Cave" - according to the natives - they say two people go in, and three come out, therefore - Mart and I avoided it like the plague. :)

This is called "Window" to the ocean - you can see why.

After the tour - came the fun - beach beach beach - Here is where she landed -
and here is where she was ALL DAY.... SHE LOVES THE WATER AND BEACH

And I love me some baby butt cheek!!

I love this shot - it shows exactly how she was all day.

This is Amber and Curtis - our friends that went with us on this trip.

My Ash - she's so cute!

Somewhere out there among the snorkels is my Ani - and her friend Mal - and underneath them were like thousands of crazy awesome beautiful fish - wow. SO FUN!!

Last but not least - Mart. His first snorkel.

Ahhhhhh....

I guess a day in the sun leads to pink cheeks and watermelon. So, SO great.

RECIPE FOR A PERFECT SIXTEENTH

Ingredients needed:

One amazing kid - seasoned and marinated (for sixteen years) in a mixture of: good times, the occassional "tough" time, 3 sisters, a mom, a dad, lots of family and great friends, tons of love, laughter, tears, and joy:

One creative sister - if you're lucky you'll find the kind who knows lots about decorating (houses and cakes! - Thanks CINDY LOU WHO):

One awesomely decorated cake:

TONS of delicious food:

Don't forget AT LEAST 30 Sobe's!! - (HUGE HIT)

A pinch of great decor! (Thanks again Cindy)

About 25 wild and crazy friends(Give a teenager a broken pinata and a whistle from inside- and see what he makes of it)One over-zealous mother, and one "good sport" dad...

Mix all the above together, and shake, with a little bit of loud music, and......Success!!We love ya Josh.

Oh yeah, and just in case you need a little extra boost, see the


Optional ingredients below: