Cruisin' the Mexican Riviera

This is what was left of Eric after 8 days at sea.

We enjoyed an 8 day cruise to the Mexican Riviera January 15 - 23rd with stops in Acapulco, Zihutanejo, and Manzanillo. This picture is from our final formal evening. One of the women in our group that had just met us commented on how good looking Eric was for a big guy. I would definitely have to agree.

Enjoying the piano bar and Eric holding an iguana - one of hundreds at this refugee.

The bathroom at the iguana refugee and Eric and I ready to go jet skiing. Do you think Eric's life jacket is going to save him? Unfortunately we didn't get to jet skiing because the deal fell through. Surprise, Surprise.

This woman sold us a chenille blanket. She was the nicest lady. She sat and visited with us for a bit. The other picture is a view of Zihuatanejo from our balcony on the ship.

Mariachi band singing a love song to Eric's wife (per his request). And Nate and Michele with us on Zihuatanejo with the ship in the background. I was so proud of Michele - she learned to float on her back, snorkel, and boogy board.

Eric singing a Garth Brooks song with his back-up dancers, Nate & Michele and Steven and Charla. He actually won a karaoke contest where he was picked to be Elvis in the finale show with a live orchestra. He decided it was too much with a costume fitting and rehearsals so he passed on making his big debut. The other picture is of us in Acapulco on Princess beach.

On a hill top with Nate & Michele and our group of 52 people. Eric and I tagged along with the Bell Photography company and made lots of new friends and caught up with old friends.

The city of Acapulco and Eric with a spider monkey on his head.

These are cliff divers that jumped off crazy cliffs at night time. They're really not my type but I thought for my posterity, this picture would be fitting. The other picture is of Michele thoroughly enjoying her yogurt. They have really yummy "grainy" yogurt available any time of the day. We didn't do as much eating as we had anticipated. We were told we wouldn't eat because we were hungry, we'd eat because we could. We found ourselves skipping meals because we just didn't have room. I made Eric take the stairs, we tried out a Pilate's class, and Eric danced his little heart out so I think we got more exercise than we do at home.

First formal night. I loved having a reason to dress up. Eric couldn't wait to go change.

Ashley and Launa at Olive Garden the evening we came home. Ashley handled everything with a grain of salt and we are very grateful to her for taking on the challenge. She said she turned into the Wicked Witch of the West after a few days but it was out of necessity. Somebody went out to the the van on Saturday and left the door open so when Sunday rolled along, the car wouldn't start. No church and it wasn't until Monday afternoon that Ashley decided to get some help jumping it. She is so laid back. Jackson told her she needed to buy Launa some new clothes because she wore her Dora jammies every day. Jackson also asked her how she handled all of Launa's crying because it was driving him CRAZY!

Little Launa didn't like sharing her mom and was so exhausted on the way to the airport that she fell asleep. Thank you for taking care of the kids for 8 days and living to tell about it Ashley.

Randoms

Jackson lost one of his front teeth and the lonely one left sticks out. We call him "Mator." He loves to show off his new look.

Kennedy and our next door neighbor, Hannah, had a lemonade/cookie/ornament w/Polaroid picture stand over the holiday break and decided to donate all their proceeds to the missionary fund. Their intentions were very pure. They were outside for about 4 hours and even the frosting was freezing over. I even purchased the Polaroid film for them. What a push over I am!

This is Jackson & Leighton sleeping together. I know it looks light but it's only because the room was dark and the flash did its job. I posted about this a while back but didn't have a picture to prove it. Now I do.

New Year's Eve at midnight we celebrated with a trip to In-n-Out. I couldn't believe we were all really awake at this time let alone eating greasy hamburgers and french fries. Well, the eating I can believe.

This is what I came home to when Kennedy was in charge of watching the kids. It looks like they have more fun when I'm not around to tell them no. I probably need to lighten up a bit. By taking this picture, I think I am.

This is our dear friend, James Hannum. The boys adore him. He coached their t-ball team last spring and he didn't even have a kid on the team. They just about took him down. It's a good thing he has such good balance.

Kennedy's Birthday Party

I was really brave this year and had a birthday party at the house for Kennedy. There were 13 little girls to entertain for 2 hours. We played Bunco, ate appetizers, danced, and played at the park. I think they were still a little young to really enjoy Bunco. All they really wanted to do was act like monkeys and dance around and climb trees. Seriously!

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

The Good - the itch is gone.
The Bad - I was sitting at the computer the other night listening to Jackson and Leighton making noise. This is normal so I didn't pay much attention. It went on for awhile so I finally looked back to see them on my bed with Jackson laying on his stomach and Leighton standing over him, spanking his behind with a belt . I asked him what he was doing and he said, "trying to get the itch out." Jackson was encouraging the spanking and said it made things feel better.
The Ugly - "Maybe he has termites," was Leighton's assumption.

**Disclaimer - We don't use belts to punish our children.**

10 Years Ago . . .

Kennedy Tyler Bateman was born. We were in Orem, Utah (baby capital of the world) and had to wait for a bed. I was hoping to receive the "first baby of the year award" and get free gifts, but no such luck. January 1, 1999, seems like just yesterday yet so much has happened since then. You came into the world easy and calm but hit the ground running and haven't stopped since. In the above picture you are 1 1/2 sitting on the porch at Grandpa and Grandma Jenks' house in Washington. You told us today that of all the places there are to live, you'd prefer Washington. Maybe someday.

This past November at Lake Las Vegas during family photos, you came up with all the greatest poses and tricks. You love the camera. At 10 years old, you seem much more mature. You've become our best kid sitter (aside from falling asleep on the job) but you're always up for helping us out. We love you dearly and look forward to all that life has to offer you . . . or you for it. Happy 10th Birthday!