This year, for our Christmas present to the kids, Matt and I decided to surprise them with a 4 day cruise. We left Friday, December 21 from Idaho Falls and arrived in Hurricane, Utah that night. We stayed there until Sunday morning when we told the kids that we decided to take a road trip to California to visit our cousins, the Razo's, in Chino Hills. We then got up Monday morning and waited for a shuttle to pick up us from their house. All 3 kids were wondering what was going on and trying to figure out what was going to happen. The shuttle picked us up and drove the hour to Long Beach to the ships port. They were super excited when they finally decided what was happening. We got on the ship and immediately went to eat lunch. The food was the best part!! They had a wonderful hamburger place, a buffet, all you can eat ice cream, and a mexican place. Our room was quite small and it was hard to move around in, but we managed.
The first day, Monday, we stayed at the port until 6pm. We were sitting having dinner and we could feel the ship swaying with the waves (Scotlyn didn't like this at all). We stayed out at sea the first full day, Tuesday (Christmas Day), which allowed us to explore the ship. The kids played miniature golf, we had a Dr. Seuss breakfast complete with green eggs & ham, we walked around a lot, played games, relaxed, and swam (it was very cold, but the boys did try).
Wednesday, we went to Catalina Island off the California coast and spent the day. That was a lot of fun. We rented a golf cart and explored the island a little. The kids played on the beach and we shopped. We had to take a boat to and from the cruise ship.
Thursday, we went to Ensenada, Mexico. We decided to do the Blowhole tour which was about an hour van drive from the ship. It was well worth it though. Apparently, there are only 3 of these kind of blowholes in the world with one being in Mexico. We visited a flee market before going to the blowhole and the kids had fun bartering for cheaper items. Scotlyn and Parker held baby lions and tigers at a conservation place. We had yummy tacos, a fresh strawberry pina colada in a pineapple, fresh churros and chips, and baked clams. We all really enjoyed going to Ensenada for the day and seeing a place that was new and foreign.
Each night, the cruise had a show. There was a Christmas show, a family game night show, a Motown night, and a 70's night. We always went early to get good seats and for two nights, we participated. The Motown night, Matt sang "My Girl" to me and for the 70's night, he got up and did the YMCA. He and Scotlyn also danced on stage at the end of the show.
When we got back, we stayed one night in Chino to visit Bilie, Steve, Karl, Jin, and the kids. We ended up taking a quick trip to Downtown Disney for dinner. The whole trip was wonderful and we would do it all again. Everyone agreed that it was a good Christmas.
We stayed in Hurricane for the week after and helped Wendy & Russ organize and pack up things to move to Iowa. We also celebrated New Years there with the kids. During the week, we went out to dinner with Maryann & Russ, Jamie & Julie, and Deann & Jeff.
This year, for our Christmas present to the kids, Matt and I decided to surprise them with a 4 day cruise. We left Friday, December 21 from Idaho Falls and arrived in Hurricane, Utah that night. We stayed there until Sunday morning when we told the kids that we decided to take a road trip to California to visit our cousins, the Razo's, in Chino Hills. We then got up Monday morning and waited for a shuttle to pick up us from their house. All 3 kids were wondering what was going on and trying to figure out what was going to happen. The shuttle picked us up and drove the hour to Long Beach to the ships port. They were super excited when they finally decided what was happening. We got on the ship and immediately went to eat lunch. The food was the best part!! They had a wonderful hamburger place, a buffet, all you can eat ice cream, and a mexican place. Our room was quite small and it was hard to move around in, but we managed.
The first day, Monday, we stayed at the port until 6pm. We were sitting having dinner and we could feel the ship swaying with the waves (Scotlyn didn't like this at all). We stayed out at sea the first full day, Tuesday (Christmas Day), which allowed us to explore the ship. The kids played miniature golf, we had a Dr. Seuss breakfast complete with green eggs & ham, we walked around a lot, played games, relaxed, and swam (it was very cold, but the boys did try).
Wednesday, we went to Catalina Island off the California coast and spent the day. That was a lot of fun. We rented a golf cart and explored the island a little. The kids played on the beach and we shopped. We had to take a boat to and from the cruise ship.
Thursday, we went to Ensenada, Mexico. We decided to do the Blowhole tour which was about an hour van drive from the ship. It was well worth it though. Apparently, there are only 3 of these kind of blowholes in the world with one being in Mexico. We visited a flee market before going to the blowhole and the kids had fun bartering for cheaper items. Scotlyn and Parker held baby lions and tigers at a conservation place. We had yummy tacos, a fresh strawberry pina colada in a pineapple, fresh churros and chips, and baked clams. We all really enjoyed going to Ensenada for the day and seeing a place that was new and foreign.
Each night, the cruise had a show. There was a Christmas show, a family game night show, a Motown night, and a 70's night. We always went early to get good seats and for two nights, we participated. The Motown night, Matt sang "My Girl" to me and for the 70's night, he got up and did the YMCA. He and Scotlyn also danced on stage at the end of the show.
When we got back, we stayed one night in Chino to visit Bilie, Steve, Karl, Jin, and the kids. We ended up taking a quick trip to Downtown Disney for dinner. The whole trip was wonderful and we would do it all again. Everyone agreed that it was a good Christmas.
We stayed in Hurricane for the week after and helped Wendy & Russ organize and pack up things to move to Iowa. We also celebrated New Years there with the kids. During the week, we went out to dinner with Maryann & Russ, Jamie & Julie, and Deann & Jeff.
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