The Phantom of the Opera is here.....inside my mind

Just so you know, I was/am singing the title of this post as I am typing. I am a sucker for a good musical. Anyways. Last weekend we took a quick trip to Las Vegas. We made a pact to see Phantom before it closes in Sept. and we finally made it happen! We spent the first night with one of my best friends Riann at her place in Henderson. We ate dinner at a fabulous mexican restaurant with an awesome view.

I have also decided that it is one of my life goals to have a craft/sewing room as awesome as this.

We had breakfast at Bread & Butter and loved it! And while I cringe at posting a no makeup picture, it was the only one I took with this lovely lady, so please excuse me.

That day, we checked into our hotel and spent the day at the pool. It was so hot that if you were outside you had to be poolside!

That night was Phantom!  I cannot even tell you how much I loved it. The theater was amazing, the music was haunting and the performance gave me chills on more than one occasion. It was so good! I love love loved it! All the songs are stuck in my head!

After the show we walked around a bit and got some dinner. While walking around the strip I was thinking about how much I loved coming to vegas when I was in college and how much it has changed. Then I realized, vegas hasn't changed, but I have! I much prefer the quiet and relaxed atmosphere of Henderson then the loud, crowded, madness of the strip. I am getting old!

Family Time in the Bay

So after playing in Long Beach for the week, my sister and I drove up to northern california to visit our the rest of our family. It was so much fun.

 First off, we got to see the Mack side of the family at a huge pool party at my aunt & uncle's house. We spent hours swimming, eating bomb bbq, and listening to crazy stories about my dad and his siblings when they were growing up. Wow.

My gorgeous aunt & cousin sneaking in the back...

 Jasper was loving the pool. 

Patting my face means he loves me. :)

 Little brother silliness. 

 All the cousins!

We also got to visit the Martinez side of the family..ie. my Grandma Esther. 

 My 83 year old grandma is an avid walker (she also has free weights she uses at home, yeah she is pretty awesome) and we always take a stroll around her neighborhood when we visit.

 4 generations. 

This was the first time she met her first great grandson. Look at those smiles!

Of course we had to make time to have dinner at our favorite chinese place. 

If you are ever in the teeny tiny town of Pinole, make sure you go to Hunan Villa!

Exhausting and way too short, but such a fun trip!

Family Time in Long Beach

This summer has been full of fun! My sister and my nephew came for a visit from CT.  Anytime we were at the house, baby Jasper always had a shadow. These pups had so much fun with him!

 Taking Gus Gus for a walk.

 Drawing with sidewalk chalk in the backyard. I especially like the chalky handprint on Gus' nose. 

 Driving to the dog beach. 

Long Beach dog beach. 

Car show in our neighborhood. 

 Jess & the most delicious waffle/ice cream dessert. 

 Jasper playing in the bed of Mason's truck. 

Apparently dog crates are really fun. 

And dog beds.

Sharing his toys with Jax. 

Enjoying some thrifty ice cream. 

 The OC Fair!!

I love their faces in this pic. They are watching the hypnotist work his magic on a group of people on the stage, but it seems to have worked on them a little. 

Independence Day!

The 4th of July. One of my favorite holidays for so many reasons. # 1 is that I truly love our country and feel so blessed to live here. I also happen to love fireworks, barbecues and warm summer nights so I look forward to this day every year. We were barely back from our trip so we had a very mellow day but it was so much fun.

We were invited by a good friend to a block party here in Long Beach and it was a blast. Delicious food, a great fireworks show, family & friends. Couldn't ask for anything more.

Baby Gus and Dog Gus were troopers. Neither one of them were even scared of all the noise from the fireworks.

And can we just take a minute to talk about this double chin action happening in this photo. I mean are you kidding me with how cute this kid is!

A Well Deserved Break

Last week the hubby and I took our first real vacation since our honey moon (lame, I know but better late then never). We spent a week on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship with no cell phones, no work, no responsibilities. It was amazing!!!

We slept in late, ordered room service, laid by the pool and basically were just waited on hand and foot by some of the nicest people on the planet. It was divine.

I have never seen anything like this ship before. It had a promenade, a boardwalk, a central park, rock climbing walls, tons of pools, a 3D movie theater, I mean the list goes on and on. Needless to say, it was very easy to find things to do on the days we were sailing. Mason even tried is hand at the flowrider, yes the ship had a flowrider (well, actually two of them).

Our stops were in Haiti, Jamaica, and Mexico and I did an awful job of bringing a camera anywhere and remembering to take pictures, so here is the best I got. 

First stop was Labadee, Haiti.  The cruise line leases part of the island, so you just stay in that area and don't really venture inland which made this just a lounge at the beach day. The beach was beautiful and the water was crystal clear.  

Falmouth, Jamaica was my personal favorite. We had a wonderful tour guide named Shorty who took us around the island. My favorite part of the day was our hike up Dunn's River Falls. You literally hike up the waterfall. Not along side it, actually up against the current through the middle of the falls. It is so much fun. We had a great guide to take us up and show us where to go. Because you get totally drenched I don't have a single picture from that activity.  These pics are from here and here.

We also stopped at the port where Christopher Columbus first entered Jamaica, a very short stop, but I learned a thing or two. 

 After our hike we stopped for lunch at a local place (recommended by our tour guide) for some authentic jamaican cuisine. I have to say I quite enjoyed it.

 The boys joking around with their dad.

I also loved Jamaica because the people we encountered were so nice, and that accent is seriously the best. I mean you can't help but smile when someone's response is "Yeah mon" while Bob Marley is playing in the background. Good times.

The last stop was Cozumel, Mexico. We spent the day snorkeling which was really fun and then headed to land for some lunch. 

I am pretty sure that as a group we demolished about 60 tacos, but man they were good! I was reminded of how delicious soda tastes when it comes out of a glass bottle. The perfect combo.

We were a little concerned about the weather when we showed up on Florida the first day and it was pouring rain, but the weather was beautiful the entire time. Sunny, hot & humid. Very humid. I  do not spend much time in humid weather and I almost forget how my hair has a mind of its own when it comes to humidity. By the second day I let go of trying to fight it and just let the beach hair take over.

 I couldn't help but think of a friend who has the same issue........ : ) Gotta love it!