March Random

After waiting for our car to come for just over a year we got our new car. It wasn't what we had anticipated. We ordered one with the entertainment package but was told it would be another year if we wanted to wait for that so we took this one. Then they increased the price and told us to take it or leave it because other people were waiting in line for the same car. So although we didn't like how we got here we really do love our new car

Emy's USA flag report

Enjoying the sun in his shades while there's still snow outside

Emy's 3rd grade puppet play

We went over to shovel some of our neighbors driveway since they'd been out of town and Liam helped himself to eating icicles off their bush

Earaches and reading in the reading nook

And she's out

Always building and some type of car in hand

Still lots of snow

Always with the candle lighting

Playing on his bed

Sickness and Herpes

 About a week after we got home from our Mexico cruise  Liam got a weird rash blister thing on his finger. Our pediatrician was out of the office so we say a different one. She of coarse asked if we'd been out of the country so I told her about our trip and all that we had done. She decided she though Liam could have rabies from one of the animals at the zoo that we went to in Ensenada. She reached out to the CDC and told me some scenarios that none of them were good. She had me completely panicked. Matt was able to reach out to the zoo and our tour guide to find out that all the animals at the zoo were vaccinated and healthy. As we waited for answers it felt like months to get that info. But as the panic sat and I continued to watch Liam it looked like herpes to me. I took him to see Dr Tanner and he agreed so I called the pediatricians office and sent picture and we were able to pivoted and changed to an antiviral that covered the herpes. Shortly after he turned the corner and was feeling more and more like himself. Its so hard to see your kids sick and when Drs dont help its even worse. I will never take my kids to see that Dr again. 

Emy Hives

 Upon return from our Mexico trip Emy had a hard time and seemed to get hives almost every time we went outside. They were always on her arms and legs but we couldn't seem to pin them down so the pediatrician sent us to the allergist and they gave us a histamine cocktail but no real answers. I was pretty frustrated because she had to be off all medications for 7 days before the appt for testing and was miserable and they did no testing! We will continue to work thru it and see what we need to do but I wish more healthcare was to dig and get to the root of the issue. Until then we'll see what we can do. It does get better with oatmeal baths, ice packs, and if needed anti-histamines

Disney Cruise Day 4-At Sea

 Now that we made both stops it was time to turn around and head back to Cali. We decided to try to swim again but still the weather refused to get warm so we could enjoy it but we still tried.

Some of us stayed in sweatshirts and ate ice cream

The hot tub was a ship favorite so it made it crowded. At one point they actually had everyone get out of the pool because the water was sloshing so much they were afraid someone would get hurt

Then dinner one of the coolest parts of the trip was the dining experience. Our waiters were the same all week. The kids sat at one table and the adults at the other the waiter even cut up the kids food so we could just enjoy our meal. The last night we were in the animation restaurant and got to draw characters and that we fun to. We got to order off a small menu. I do wish they would've had  better gluten free options but at least they had something.

kid table

Adults + Gray & Liam

The kids couldn't wait to see what kind of animals their bath towels were folded in after dinner

And a nap well earned on the flight home. We loved our time with family and hope to do it again

Disney Cruise Day 3-Ensenada Mexico

The weather has been a little wild and has made the ocean anything but calm. The ship seem s to handle it well but it's for sure moving

Video games in the teen club after breakfast 

We decided to venture out to Ensenada. Nic and Kyle came with us but Kim and Ez stayed back. We were dropped off in what seemed like a sketchy neighborhood and Nic and Kyle decided to head back to the boat but Matt and I found a tour for the day and off we went. We didn't realize they only took cash and had to find an ATM to pay for it but it was worth it. There was a bridge in the center of the tour place and all the kids wanted to have their picture taken on. They also were selling souvenirs and some were doing hair braiding.

We drove for about 45 minutes on a small tour bus. The drive was beautiful as most of it was farm land. The tour guide did a great job explaining and telling us all about what we were seeing and its history and future. After the drive we arrived at a flea market of sorts that sat on the edge of a cliff. The views were amazing and the fresh air off the ocean was just as amazing as it sounds. The kids had a budget and we wandered looking for treasures that they would ultimately decide on. 

Within the flea market there was a "zoo" of sorts that allowed you to interact and play with the animals. This is Gracie with a baby black panther. During the orientation they warned us that some of the animals were more aggressive than others so only the older kids could do some of the animals for that reason.

Then lemurs were fun as we got to feed them some fresh apples. All the kids loved that

The white tiger was also pretty aggressively playful but I think Matt enjoyed him the most

He tried to eat my ankle so we weren't friends

They had the coolest rickety slide that we all tried of coarse

The beautiful view form the market

The kids had never been somewhere that you have to pay to use the bathroom. What was also terrible about this is there was no running water and no toilet paper. I think we got ripped off but what can you do?

Before we left we grabbed some of the most amazing tacos, churros, and Mexican candy that we wanted to try. We ate so much on our way back to the boat. The churros were the favorite

Liam picked this fire truck that makes sound and has lights

Emy chose this accordion despite both Matt and I telling her it wasn't a good idea. Luckily for all the kids Matt speaks Spanish and was able to get them a good deal on their prizes.

They had this cool sign just outside of the boat so we snagged a picture

And just before we got back on the boat they took all the remainder of our churros and candy....sad day. We ate as much as we could and then thru the rest away

They had a pirate night and we all got some fun accessories to wear. There was lots of music and dancing. Hallie got called up to be a participant. Not sure where the picture of that is

Then off to bed