Last week, Kevin and I went on a cruise! It was a week-long cruise and took us to three ports in Mexico: Ensenada, Cabo San Lucas, and Mazatlan. We went with my mom and dad! It was beautiful! It was relaxing! It was fun! In the ports, we shopped and saw the sights and talked to the people. On board, we ate amazing food, talked to each other, watched the ocean flow by, and went to some great shows. Our ship had a small ice rink and we went to the figure skating show twice! Mostly I really loved spending so much time with my mom and dad.

Ensenada:

Cabo:

Mazatlan:

Boat pictures:

We were gone for eight days. Savannah did a great job supporting Beth and Ben when she was home between 3 and 9. She drove to concerts and helped dinner to happen. She couldn't be there in the mornings because she had to work and this turned out to be hard on Beth and Ben. Beth's health was particularly bad while we were gone and she couldn't get herself up for school. Megan came over and helped a couple of days and that was wonderful. Ben missed seminary on Monday because he was trying to get ready for his race afterschool. Then, after school, he ended up crashing his bike that he had brought because he was late for school in the morning, and then he didn't get to race at all. Yes, I blame myself for all these things. Perhaps I need to help them develop more independence (is this an oxymoron?). Perhaps I should feel good that they still need me. Perhaps I should feel guilty for leaving them when they do still need me. I should still do things for myself, but was my need greater than theirs? I don't know the answer to these questions. But I'm still glad I went. My kids survived with impact, true, but impact they can handle. We all learned things. We will use our knowledge to get better at all the things. And I really love being with them. So, it is not a sacrifice to stay close to home and keep helping them in all the ways that I can. Plus, in full confession, Ben missed two things we paid for this week--his Chinese tutor and his tennis lesson--and the tennis lesson he missed even though it was on Saturday and we were home. Sigh. Things just go wrong sometimes and we have to keep trying to get better! And look at these cute pictures from their choir concerts!