Cruising with great company!

This year we spoiled ourselves and went on a cruise with some of our besties! It was a much needed break and there was never a dull moment. How could you not love:

-Eating as much food as you wanted! I loved our midnight pizza and ice cream runs (every single night), and our fancy steak house dinner, and getting together with the girls to get all dolled up for dinner, and just hanging our with our dinner servers, they we a lot of fun....Oh no and I can't forget their chicken nuggets, fries and cheese sauce for lunch! Best part was we never had to clean up one dish, pure heaven!

-Playing mini golf, bean bag toss, volleyball and basketball all day. Ok I didn't love doing this all day, but the guys sure did! I am pretty sure the 12 year old boys were pretty creeped out when Julie and I asked if we could challenge them to a game of 2 on 2. We had fun making some friends while playing some bump.

-Exploring beautiful destinations and going on some cool excursions.  Our first stop was Grande Turk, it had the most beautiful beach, with the finest sand. We went power snorkelling and saw a barracuda, they are creepy. We also got a tour of the island, apparently there is absolutely no crime. 

Next stop was San Juan my favorite place. The castles, the cobblestone roads, the building were all amazing. We rented electronic bikes explored the city and cruised along the beach, it was so much fun.

St. Maarten's was next and boy was that an adventure. We decided to go to one of the main tourist attractions Airport Beach. (If you have never heard of it look it up on YouTube) The planes drive right above your head, or they blast the crap out of you when they take off. It was crazy and we sure got rocked. Melvin and I made it out ok, but friends lost moola, a camera, an Iphone, and sunglasses. We were picking sand out of our scalps for days.

St. Thomas was our last stop where we took a catamaran to a small island where Kenny Chesney has his vacation home. We did some snorkelling and played in the sand. The island was a little crazy, it is illegal to drive without a shirt, but ok to drive with a beer in your hand. Groceries and the cost of living is outrageous there, but cigars and alcohol is dirt cheap. Pretty backwards to me.

-Seeing fabulous dancers, magicians, and comedians. The entertainment was awesome!

-Not worrying once about your kids because you are pretty sure they were better taken care of by Nancy and Megan then they are at home! Seriously how awesome is it that my sisters took care of my kids for 10 days? I am pretty sure Bennett was starting to drive everyone crazy with his whining, but my sisters are that cool that they didn't even complain once. Love them!

The cruise was so fun, we made so many great memories with our friends, but I was sure excited to get back and kiss my cute kids. I already have the urge to go again though, ughgh I need another vacation; better start saving my pennies!

Girl's Trip 2012

Every year the boys go on their big golf trip, us girls got a little jealous and decided we needed a girl's trip too! Last year we went down to Glen Lake and had a fabulous time. This year we headed to the mountains to run a race. Canmore was beautiful, and I had so much fun. We got to stay at Christa's uncle's condo which was up by the golf course; it had an amazing view of the mountains, and the condo was quite the hit too.We went walking around all the shops, ate out at some delicious restaurants, and hot tubbed.We played charades, pinball, sardines in the dark, dutch blitz and danced to music; I felt like I was fourteen all over again... I almost forgot about the whole reason we went there, the big race, now let me tell you I am not a runner, I don't even enjoy it, but I am glad I did it, just so I could spend time with the girls. I ran the 10k in 62 minutes, next time (if there is a next time) I hope to do it under an hour. Well ladies I had an amazing time and look forward to Girl's Trip 2013, where ever it may be.

I just love these gals!

He's three!

Bennett was so excited for his McQueen birthday this year! Every morning he would wake up and ask if it was his birthday yet. This year we had over some friends and family and had a fun time. I took the easy way out and ordered some pasta pantry (sure glad I did), added a big caesar salad and cooked up some chicken kabobs on the BBQ; nice and easy! The worst part about birthdays is the dang cake and how long it takes to decorate, and this year was no different. Someday I will get better at it or give in and take a cake decorating class at Michael's. In the end it was all worth it to see Bennett's excitement as his family and friends sang happy birthday to him, although I am sure he out sang all of you; it is his favorite song. He sure got spoiled with presents, thanks for coming guys.

A few fun facts about Bennett right now are:
-he comes home from church and randomly sings a new primary song, right now his favorite is, Follow the Prophet
-his favorite fruit is a kiwi
-he really likes Diego
-he asks everyday if it is snowing, so he can build the ice rink in the backyard
-he loves to body check Andie, she hates it
-he calls everyone "My" My Mommy, My Daddy, My Melissa, My Uncle CoCo, My Miller, apparently everyone is his!
-he always wants macaroni for lunch
-he loves hide and seek and is really good at it, one time I looked for 10 minutes and couldn't find him
-he is in to using the "poop" word or calls Andie a "poo-poo head" he gets a timeout every time
-he still loves his Roarbert and sleeps with him every night
-he thinks Avery Heavenor is his girlfriend
-he has a lisp on his "s" words it is pretty cute
-when he dances he looks like his Grandpa Bennett
-he could eat a whole bag of chips himself, he tries to hoard them; he steals the bag runs and hides
-he loves to be outside
-he is a very affectionate boy, he loves to give out hugs and kisses
Bennett we love you so much, you are perfect for our family!

Echo 2012

Echo is probably the event I look forward to most all year, and sure enough this year did not disappoint. The kids love to be with their cousin's and grandparents, be in the boat and snack on junk food all day! This year we did the annual bowling party, my favorite part about this is watching all of my mom's victory dances after her strikes or spares. She was really good this year, so this may have been the best bowling extravaganza yet; chaotic but fun! I can tell I am starting to age because I can count the amount of times I went behind the boat on one hand, sad day. Each year gets more and more exciting because my nieces and nephews are starting to do more water sports behind the boat, this year they surfed and were good at it too. In the evenings the adults enjoyed playing poker for service minutes (hilarious), playing cover your butt, Loot, and liars dice. Unfortunately each year I get worse at taking pictures and didn't even have a picture of everyone this year, sorry guys! Thanks for a fun year at Echo Bennett family!