BAJA MEXICO CRUISE!

Every cruise starts the same way ... safety drills!

It's been a BIG week for the Mulitalos ... we're in Southern California for some sightseeing and beach time after spending 5 days on a Carnival Cruise. What a way to prepare for back-to-school next week! Here's the kids at the miniature golf course on the top deck ...

And Rylee looking beautiful on the formal night just outside of the Elation Dining Room:

We sailed from Long Beach on Monday, headed for Catalina Island. Catalina Island was the kids' favorite day, by far. We spent several hours snorkeling in Lover's Cove. Baylee was really freaked out by the giant kelp and had trouble adjusting to her mask, but once she got the hang of it, she didn't want to get out of the water.

This is a cute picture of the girls just before we went snorkeling --

We saw some awesome fish, big and small, orange and blue, and huge schools of opaleye. All of the kids say that this was their favorite thing all week.

OK ... my favorite thing about the cruise ... THE FOOD! We ate at the dining room every night. And I had about 400 ice cream cones! DELICIOUS! It was lobster and tiger shrimp on Wednesday night. Rory was too sick to eat his. We helped him out! He had an upset stomach, but slept it off and was right back to normal (and starving!) the next morning.

The kids swam all day on Wednesday. Baylee got super-sunburned. She wouldn't listen about getting out and sitting in the shade. She's been peeling now for 3 days ... really gross!

Here's Rory on the waterslide ... about 3 hours in to swimming day.

We all got temporary tattoos on Wednesday. Rory got a nice picture of Bob Marley. Rylee got a chinese symbol -- LOVE. Baylee got a chinese symbol for LUCK.

And I, who worship the sun, got a cool sun tattoo!

We got back to Long Beach on Friday morning and headed to Torrance for the hotel. After about an hour of waiting for a rental car, we were finally on our way. We got checked in and relaxed for a bit before heading out sightseeing to the beach. We used the GPS to find a nearby beach called Rat Beach. After driving and driving, we ended up in a residential neighborhood. I guess "Samantha" isn't always right. We ended up at Redondo Beach at sunset. Baylee couldn't wait to get in the water. The rest of us stayed near the shore.

On Saturday, we drove to San Diego. I had been to Kobey's swap meet on a business trip and thought the kids would enjoy it. Traffic was miserable on the way down, but the kids slept most of the way. We got to the swap meet at about noon and spent several hours looking around. The kids love to play dress up ...

It was a great day for Rory. He's been begging for a long board for a long time. He had one custom made for him while we walked around there. He was grinning like crazy and has taken it with him everywhere since then.

Rylee found some glasses and a cool backpack there. Baylee got another set of Russian dolls and some cute shoes. Also a backpack for her.

After the swap meet, we went looking for a beach. We ended up at Dog Beach, where there just happened to be a beach volleyball tournament going on. What luck! We spent the rest of the day at the beach. Baylee never got out of the water once!

We went out for Chinese for dinner before driving home. And a little Mexican food for dessert?! I was craving fish tacos. We got some from a little taco stand. (Pretty good -- still nothing compared to the ones in Boise!)

Sunday has been a lazy day. We all slept in after staying up late to watch some of the Olympic events. We ate lots of leftovers and did some laundry. In the evening, we went shopping for school clothes, then ended the night in the hotel pool. Baylee is a fish!

More to come ....

Payton's Birthday Party!

Payton Martineau turned one this weekend; we got together to celebrate on Saturday, August 2nd. Mom & Dad came down from Idaho for the big event. Other attendees were: Ted & Tami, Julie & Jason, Ryan & Lindsay, Eric, and a number of little cousins. (Rylee, Rory, Baylee, Bridger, Carson, Mitch, Logan, Elle, and Ben!)


Rylee & Ted had a contest to see who could make the toughest "football face". I think Ted one this one. Rylee looks constipated!




Here's a cute one of Jason & Logan. He still thinks I'm pretty cool. I like that.



We had a delicious BBQ, complete with a yummy pasta salad from Lindsay, a potato casserole by Ted and the famous fruit dip by Julie. Mom topped it off with a new dessert treat, an ice cream cake with cruchy goodness on the top and bottom layers. Needless to say, I ate plenty!

The kids played kickball, volleyball and the little ones played in the dirt. Carson was hesitant to share this little toy. But really wanted to show Payton how to dig in the dirt.


Here's another one of Logan posing for a picture:


The kids played in the backyard until it got dark. Just before dusk, it was present opening time. Then came the time-honored tradition of letting the birthday girl play in the cake. Payton was a little timid and didn't seem to enjoy her pink & brown adorable cupcake. But she made a mess anyway!


One of the highlights of the evening was watching Carson learning to jump rope. Here's a video of his attempts ...

The adults sat around visiting. (Well, except for when Tami got in trouble for trying to sneak inside to clean up!) I supplied some great conversation starters with one of my favorite games ... "Would You Rather ..." It's a great laugh!

We had a great time at Craig & Lani's. And Payton was the perfect birthday princess!

July 24th weekend fun ...

Me & the kids spent the long weekend just playing. We went swimming at Deseret Peak on Friday. On Saturday, we went to a movie at the Gateway Center. After the movie, we had lunch at Rumbi Grill ... YUM ... then did some window shopping.

Rory & Baylee LOVE to ride the escalator, especially sitting down?! They probably did this about 50 times ...

One of the greatest things at the Gateway is the huge water fountain. All of us got in the fountain, some more than others! Baylee was completely drenched!

Before they got drenched, I had the kids' caricature done by a local artist at one of the kiosks at the Center. Here's some fun pictures from that:

I think he captured their "essence" ....

After the Gateway, we headed to Murray Park to spend the afternoon playing baseball, having a picnic and just lounging around.

A creek runs through the park and the kids couldn't help themselves. Baylee and Rory swam in the creek and chased the baby ducks for awhile before dinner.

After dinner, things got a little crazy ... we're big fans of "So You Think You Can Dance" ... and Rylee got the idea that she should put together a contemporary number (GO Mia Michaels!) to the music that was playing at our neighbor's picnic table. It was hilarious!

Before the big performaces ... here's Rylee posing in the creek ... BROTHER!

We drove down near Liberty Park at dusk to watch the fireworks, then went home for the night.

On Sunday evening, I took the kids to campus to play for a few hours; it's become a Sunday tradition to go for a ride on the golf cart. This photo is after they've spent several hours using the golf cart to "blanket surf". Such fun!

It was a very fun weekend!