Mystery Solved.

1. Barbados - 1993 - 1994
2. Grand Cayman - 1994 - 1995
3. Costa Rica - 1995 - 1996
4. Kuaii, Hawaii - 1996 - 1997
5. Playa del Carmen, Mexico - 1997 - 1998
6. Habitat Curacao, Curacao - 1998 - 1999
-- Y2K -- (we didn't go anywhere this year for fear of end of the world!)
7. Kansas City, MO - 2000 - 2001
8. San Antonio, TX - 2001 - 2002
9. St. Croix - 2002 - 2003
10. New Orleans, LA - 2003 - 2004
11. Moon Palace, Cancun, Mexico - 2004 - 2005
12. Bahaia Principe, Tuluum, Mexico - 2005 - 2006
13. Point Village, Negril, Jamaica - 2006 – 2007
14. Road Trip (St. Augustine & Orlando, FL & Biloxi, MS) – 2007 – 2008

drum roll, please...

15. Villa del Palmar, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – 2008 – 2009

I really can't describe how unforgettable this year's trip was. It was so fun to relax and play with the kids. No hassles, no laundry, no dishes, no sporting events, no schedule. I loved it.

So as not to bore you with my 421 pictures for the week, I will just include a few favorites. You are MORE than welcome to come over and peek at the rest, but I know that only my mom would want to do that. I will spare you! Trust me, my new camera is well-loved and well-used.

What do you get when you cross...

...a horned frog, robot hand and bass fishing? A family vacation, of course!

Summer would not be complete until we hit the road. This year we decided to do an extended road trip starting in Ft. Worth and ending in Hot Springs. We loaded up the family and set off for maximum togetherness. Some was good...some was not. Here are the highlights complete with pictures and embarrassing moments. Our family trip would not be the same without some major humiliation (but you will have to wait until the end, folks!)

First stop, Ft. Worth. Skip and I lived in Texas for 5 years (not long enough to qualify saying "ya'll", but long enough for us.) We graduated from TCU and thought it would be fun to show the kids our alma mater. Hindsight is 20/20 in this case. They did not appreciate the froggie tour. In fact, it was awful! The kids had a hard time understanding how important this was to Skip and I. They didn't care to see where we slept, ate or played tag football ten plus years ago. They only cared about food, shade, water, gum, swimming, drinks, snacks, TV, mud, etc. We did manage to get a few pictures here and there.

Here is Loulabelle in front of the famous Horned Frog. The TCU tradition is to rub his nose before a test for good luck. I have many a hand print on that ugly thing! If you are wondering where Z is for this picture...he was getting "talked to" by daddy. One of many that day, until we found this tree.

Finally, a smile-ish. If you are wondering where Loulabelle is for this picture...she was crying as a result of a "talking to" from daddy. Can you see a pattern here? After our horrific trip down memory lane we ate at Uncle Julio's. The kids had a blast watching the homemade tortilla machine while Skip and I drowned our sorrows with chips and queso. It was like manna from Heaven. Speaking of manna, the next day we ate at La Madeleine's. Our raw nerves were soothed with some of the finest food ever made. Even the kids loved it! Most of our raw nerves came from our hotel room. When using Priceline..."you get what you get and you try not to throw a fit." Picture the 4 of us sleeping on a FULL sized bed. I felt like a sweaty hot dog in the package. So, we were anxious to get started the second morning and head to the Ft. Worth Museum of Science and History for the Star Wars exhibit.

Any one that knows us knows my boys are Star Wars fanatics. FANATICS! Skip was so excited to take Z to this exhibit. Let's suffice it to say that his expectations were set a tad too high.

The exhibit contained the real props and costumes from the most famous movie series ever. What we didn't expect was that Z would be completely overwhelmed with how the museum could get the "real" stuff. Poor thing. This was too much for him to process. We saw the real costumes that the characters wore. He couldn't believe it because in most cases the characters died so how could we be looking at the real outfit, or light saber? This picture is of Luke's robot hand. Z stared at this hand and started to yell that it wasn't the real hand from the movie. He was angry at this point. I think we may have ruined some of the "magic" for him. Once Skip and I understood his confusion and anger, we made a readjustment. We stopped telling him that it was the "real" object and started saying it looks like the real one. Then we started to have fun! It is amazing how letting go of expectations can turn into a real blessing.

Next stop, Hot Springs. The real reason for the trip. My step-dad (aka, PA) is a professional bass fisherman. This week was the FLW tournament with the pot of $2 million dollars. Now that is a reason to start fishing! The tournament was a four day event with 81 of the best anglers in the US. Two days, all 81 anglers compete. Then they narrow the field down to just the top 10. Pretty tough competition.

After day 1, Pa had 7lbs worth of bass. Not bad, but is it enough to keep going?

The PA-parazzi.


My kids are crazy in love with their Pa. I think it goes both ways. Unfortunately, he did not catch enough in 2 days to compete on Saturday and Sunday. He finished in 42nd place and we are so proud! Fishing is harder than it looks. I certainly couldn't wake up at 4:00am and fish in the HOT sun for 10 hours only to catch 5 fish. Not a chance! Pa makes it look easy and the cool thing is that he is teaching Z how to fish.

Our accommodations in Hot Springs couldn't be better. We rented a 2 bedroom condo so we have LOTS of room to run around. No sleeping in one bed here! Our days have been filled with major relaxation and family fun. We sleep in, play games, watch movies, take naps and blog. It is perfect! Most days we get out of the condo and go play in this fun town. One day we went back to the FLW tournament trade show where they have a "Family Fun Zone." Z had been wanting to climb a 40 foot rock wall sponsored by the National Guard. Being the fun mom that I am, I decided to climb with him. YEAH, RIGHT! I was FORCED by a Guardsman. As he was putting the harness on me, he laughed. It was pure evil! What I wouldn't do for some Mommy Love. I almost made it to the top...it hurt so bad!

Warning: Objects in picture are really smaller ( I hope) than they appear!

Quick Vacation Survey

One of my most favorite things about a road trip is stopping at the gas station for snacks. I debate far too long on gum or candy, soda or slushy, water or juice. The choices abound. I love it.

My all-time favorite roady snacks are:

--Starbucks Frappuchino's Vanilla or Caramel
--Hot Tamales (or for Pam...HOT TAMALE!...scream when you say it...very fun!)
--Twizzlers
--M&M's
--Chili Cheese Fritos
--Pepsi...with lots of ice
--Hubba Bubba strawberry...it's pop-a-licious

I am curious. What are your favorite travel snacks? For you, not the kids!

Thursday 13...vacation edition

We made our list, checked it twice. Washed, ironed and packed our clothes. Remembered every toiletry item possible. Negotiated which stuffed animals to pack and which to stay home. Recharged every battery and made sure to have every cable/cord. The snack bag is reminiscent of our Y2K stash. We have more gear than one family needs, but the thought of leaving it at home sends chills down my spine.

Along with our daily "essentials", we also packed an armory of parental one-liners. You know what I am talking about. They are the ones your parents used on you. But this is not the 70's, we have revamped some of the classics.

Here are 13 of our most repetitive parenting phrases. And by repetitive, I mean this is all we have managed to say in 4 days. Over and over and over....

1. Please be patient.

2. DON'T fight with your brother/sister.

3. What does 'cooperation' mean to you?

4. Say what you want to say in a nicer way.

5. Do you ever get what you want when you talk like that?

6. Do I need to take that away from you?

7. When you are ready to talk like a big boy/girl, I will be ready to listen.

8. Please share...24 crayons should be plenty.

9. I said...BE PATIENT.

10. NO means no. You don't have to ask 100 times. The answer is still NO.

11. S.H.A.R.E!!!!

12. Have a happy heart.

13. Good manners show you care about people.

And when 1-13 fails...

"Because I said so!"

Summer Vacation

Soakin up summer.

Be back later!

P.S. Hoping air conditioner gets fixed before we get home!