Whaley!

To celebrate Bampa's and Kennedy's birthdays, we took a whale watching trip one bright sunny morning.



The boat had professional photographers on board. That was handy...see, there I am! I really DO go on vacation with the family!



The bay is always so beautiful, and I never tire of looking at El Arco, the Arch...


And check it out! We saw some whales, too!! We weren't too far from shore and one surfaced and blew from her blow hole.



Sometimes they'd come right up beside us...


Awwww, look at the little baby one!

I learned a little something by looking at this picture closely. It's not so much a blow hole as it is blow holes...two of them it appears. Go figure, I never knew!

And here was a funny thing. We were on a nice WIDE, STURDY boat. Wide and sturdy, while doesn't look so great in a pair of jeans, is mighty comforting while traveling on the ocean looking for gigantic whales.

...

Apparently not everyone has comfort, safety and Mimosas on their mind when booking a whale watching tour. There were half a dozen small boats that would zip over to wherever a whale surfaced. It would have been comical if it hadn't been so annoying because they would cause all this commotion getting over to the whales, who would then dive under.

...

But, tell me, does THIS look like the boat you'd want to be in five feet from a WHALE?


The guys on board kept calling for "Willy!" (as in Free Willy), but their accents made it sound like "Whaley!" and that's what Brooke thought they were saying.

Looks like Whaley is waving goodbye to us!

This was an awesome experience, our first in all the years we've been going there!

Dear Steve & Tracy

Dear Steve and Tracy,

I do realize that the decision was difficult to make...the one in which you decided to NOT come to Cabo this year.

I recommend that you do not do that again.

For one...we missed you.

For two...we saw whales. That may be old hat to you Alaskans, but it knocked the socks off us Californians. (Or knocked the flip flops off of us...I don't think we actually wore socks all week...)

For three...the children dug a ginormous hole and it was funny. We could have fit either of your children in there, whole.



But we had no toddlers to torture, so Sophie hopped in and became quite the tourist attraction.



Oh, and also...we shared the beach, the pool, our very SIDEWALK to Perlita 9 with the legendary Paul Rogers (Steve, you go ahead and take a minute to explain this to Tracy now). He was staying in Perlita 5, right across the way.

We have no pictures because we California people are ultra sensitive to the famous folk, you know. Okay, that's not really the story. We only THOUGHT it was him for three days, then found out the morning we left that it WAS him, but then we didn't see him after that so we didn't ask him for a picture. Or even take one on the sly, which would have been the more likely scenario. Anywho, turns out he's a family friend of the Canadian family we hang with, so perhaps there will be another chance. :)

But...and this is a big but...the most important reason you should not have skipped Cabo 2009...Brooke is trying to tell you something...LOOK!

DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE???

CAN IT BE???

AFTER ALL THESE YEARS????????????

Oh yeah. There it is. Right near the Hard Rock Cafe on the way to the Super Mercado.

Starbucks. A for real one. The mermaid lady on the circular sign spoke to me...she said, "Where the heck is Tracy?" and I replied, "Alas, she could not come this year", and the mermaid lady said, "Ah, that is a shame, for surely you must miss her and her family."

"Yes", I replied, "we most certainly do."

We are BACK!

Yes, we are back! And it was spectacular.

I never, ever tire of this view. I could sit here all day.

We had a lovely time. The most important parts were spent with family.

The girls spent much time with their friends...girls they see once a year, but when they lay eyes on one another...giggling ensues.

The time spent with friends afforded August & I time alone...to take walks, read on the beach. It was spectacular. We took a walk WAY down the beach...a lone guy was also walking and took our picture.


This girl got her hair braided.

This girl parasailed (no photos).

We also went whale watching...and saw a momma whale and her baby. More on that later...another post just for the pictures taken by the professionals on board.


But we did miss our doggie, Samoa. I found this in the sand one day by our beach chairs.

There is so much more to share, but for now...we are back!

Cabo Countdown...51 weeks to go. Sigh.

Cabo Countdown - we are OUTTA here!!!

Cabo Countdown - one week to go!!

ONE WEEK TO GO...

We feel very lucky indeed.

This weekend we'll be shopping and packing and making arrangements for the dog...counting down the days and hours instead of weeks. Cabo, here we come!!!

Cabo Countdown - 2 weeks to go!

Yikes! Two weeks! Time is a-flying, I tell ya.

Just last year, Brooke had a friend in Cabo. A real-life friend from the states kind of friend! Seems that a boy from her kindergarten class was ALSO visiting Cabo the very same week that we were, and for half the time they were in the resort RIGHT NEXT DOOR.

Just recently, her first grade class had to write sentences about a "journey". This is her submission:

Yes, she did and my goodness were they cute on the beach. This photo below got put into the yearbook because I work on the yearbook which gives me great power.

We know of no one from class going to Cabo this year, but our 2009 journey is much-anticipated and will be full of adventure without a doubt!!

Two weeks to go...14 days...we are almost there....

Cabo Countdown - 3 weeks to go!

3 weeks to go?? Can it be? I had to double-check the calendar, and yes, indeed, three weeks from now we will be on our way to Cabo.

We have many traditions. Many must-do's.

After we check in (and have a welcome margarita or two), we always, always walk straight down to the beach and take in the view of the bay. Our happy spot.

{check out Brooke's diaper in the picture above...priceless}

Kennedy's stance here says it all...she is soaking it in. Happy to be here at last.

I always like to take little girl pictures in front of the pink flowery bushes.

Playing in the sand with borrowed sand toys...

Painting pottery on the beach is a must. They each get to pick one thing to paint per visit. Plus Nana commissions them to paint something for her that she hangs on her fence. Then they usually sucker us out of one more thing to paint "for someone's birthday".

One special activity is chosen. Sometimes it is parasailing. Sometimes horseback riding. Sometimes a glass bottom boat tour to the arch. Last year Kennedy tried jet-skiing {the jet ski died, they had to be towed back, she was not impressed}. It's always fun when family is around to share in the experience, like the time Aunt Tracy went horseback riding with Kennedy & Rebecca.

Hairbraiding...

And birthdays! Bampa's is on March 19, and Kennedy's is on the 21st. We celebrate them each and every year.

The best part of all, hands-down, is spending time with family.

This year we will be the only "kids"...it will be Nana and Bampa and us. We will surely miss having aunts and uncles and cousins, but we will relish the time to relax with Nana and Bampa for a week! Three weeks to go...and counting....

Cabo Countdown - 4 weeks to go!

Dear Nana & Bampa,

I know I have said it out loud many times, but it's true... Cabo is our happy place. And I want to thank you for this...this happiness that you offered up so many years ago, and have selflessly offered up again and again, year after year.

A place for us to go and be with family. To visit with you. To enjoy time together.

The memories you've granted your grandchildren are many, and are almost beyond words to describe.

Thank you for opening this world to us.

Thank you for providing us a place where our children play in the surf with complete abandon.

And at least one of them really gets down with the sand...

Thank you for this wonderful place where sometimes the most magical of opportunities awaits.

Thank you for the most important memories...the ones revolving around family. Cousins that we do not see enough of sometimes come and when we are together again, it's as if we see them everyday. Your grown children are close, it makes sense that their children, even with miles separating them, will feel close to each other as a result.

And new cousins, newly hatched...we get to hold them and play with them while they are still babies. So special.

Thank you for making each birthday since Kennedy's very first one a memorable occasion. Memorable because we have to find cakes in Mexican bakeries, memorable because she gets to blow out candles with the sound of the surf crashing nearby, with the smell of salt in the air, with rows of braids and beads in her hair, her face sun-kissed and bright.

Memorable because she gets to share the birthday spotlight with Bampa.

Thank you for our happy spot, where we go year after year and see the same nice families, and see the children of these families grow...just as our children are growing. Friendships have been formed, even though they see each other only 7 days out of 365. The magic of this place is not lost on these girls, I know that they feel it too.

Thank you for all the rounds of two for one, dos por uno, pina coladas. (Er, those would be VIRGIN pina coladas below...for the record and all.)

And with that parting shot, because what could sum up our time here any better, I will close.

And be thankful, ever so thankful, that we only have four weeks to go...