Vacation Part II

 We might have been surrounded by sand and water, but we spent very little time at the beach. The water was a little murky due to the hurricane that was out to sea, so it wasn't very enjoyable to get in. Max did enjoy playing in the sand when he wasn't on the waterslides at Atlantis.

Here is the beach we hung out on for one day. There was a lot of seaweed that washed ashore on the second day that I wanted to hang out on the beach so we opted for the pool but did the very short walk to the sand for Max to play.

Each kid took a turn getting buried in the sand.




This is another beach close to the pool where our lounge chairs were.


I did lay in the hammock a few times to enjoy the breeze and the sounds of the waves crashing.


We didn't get much time at the beach but we did have plenty of water slide and pool time. Max did get to make sand sea turtles, bury himself and make a sandcastle with a moat so he was happy. 

Vacation Part I

 I haven't blogged in a while because we have been out of town in the Bahamas for 10 days for our framily vacation with the Campbell family. We stayed on Paradise Island at Harborside which is next door to Atlantis. 

Paradise Island is huge and there was a lot of walking, so I got more than enough steps in each day. Here is Max the first night where we walked around Atlantis to check it out.

We arrived on September 26th and the first thing we did was check out the aquarium at Atlantis and that was really cool to see.

We spent a lot of time at the pool during our 10-day stay. There is just so much to do with the many water slides and pools. 

There was one water slide where you rode on a tube and you ended up floating through a clear tube through the shark tank. Max loved this because he loves sharks. 

My favorite water slide was called The Drop. You basically dropped from a very tall building on your tube. Here is the view from the top of the building. 

At the end of every day, if the kids were well behaved they earned ice cream from the Chocotini place on our way out. The kids were very well behaved all week and they earned their ice cream daily.

September Update

 It's been a relaxing and low-key month so far. That's good though since August was so crazy busy. We have been swimming, since it's still over 100 degrees here, and just hanging out. 

Max had a birthday party for a friend of his at a local bowling alley. This was the first birthday party where I dropped him off at. Normally I have stayed but he's at that age now where it's not cool to stay and hang out. Plus, I know this family and felt comfortable doing that. Before I left I watched him get two spares in a row and he was pretty happy about that.

Max also baked homemade whoopie pies with me. They turned out great, and are gluten-free. It was Max's first time having a whoopie pie and he didn't really like them.

Max got a stomach bug this week so that was a lot of fun. Andy got a nasty cold too. They both took COVID tests and they came back negative. I am not sure how I have managed to escape both Max's stomach bug and Andy's nasty cold, but hopefully, I can stay healthy. The dogs have kept both of them company this week. 

Adult Weekend

 To add to our crazy busy August, Andy and I went to Las Vegas with our friends to see the Guns N Roses concert. This was Andy's idea and I wasn't a fan at first, but then thought it would be fun to see them in concert because I really did like their music when I was in Junior High and High School. I have never really been a concertgoer and this just reminded me of that. Unless it's NKOTB I am really not into concerts. It's really just not my thing. It's so not my thing that I brought earplugs to the concert. Eeeek! That made me feel a little old. Even though it was a reminder of how old I am and that I am really not into concerts it was still a good time just hanging out with each other and our friends.

On Saturday we hung out at the pool all day and then went to Fremont Street for a nice dinner at Oscar's and some adult shenanigans. 

Meanwhile, Max stayed home with Grandpa J and Grandma V. They drove from WI to hang out with Max all weekend. They got to pick Max up from school on Friday and they did some bowling at a local bowling alley. Max had a great time with his grandparents while they were in town. He was sad to see them leave and can't wait for them to come back. 

Max the Chef

 Everyone knows that Max is a little foodie and he's been like that for a long time. He critiques food all the time and he's never ordered off the kid's menu because he doesn't think it's good. He's tried it before but said it's just processed food so he's not interested. We definitely have a crazy foodie on our hands, but he's always been that way so we are used to him ordering the adult salmon or the crab legs at dinner. 

He loves to watch the Food Network and his favorite shows are Chopped and Top Chef. He's also been into watching Kids baking shows on YouTube. With that said, he's shown an interest in becoming a chef and so my friend, Kelli, got him a kid's cookbook for his birthday. He was pretty excited about it and immediately picked out what he was going to make first. Of course, it was the sweet and tangy salmon with rice and a side of sauteed green beans. He also made strawberry shortcakes for dessert but he quickly learned that he doesn't like strawberry shortcakes. He also made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner on another night. He has been making it all by himself and we are just assisting with the really hot pans/pots. It's been really cute seeing his excitement as he cooks dinner for the family. Who knows, he could be a Top Chef one day!

I know my posts lately keep showing him just in his underwear, but I swear, I cannot get clothes on this kid. He only wants to wear his underwear when he's home. So, until he gets over this phase there will be quite a few posts of just him in his underwear. 

Tahoe Adventure

 We went to Tahoe for Ryan and Emily's wedding. There was a lot of smoke from the fires in California, but we still had a lot of fun celebrating the happy couple.

On Thursday Andy golfed with the boys so Max and I went to South Tahoe to explore. We took a gondola ride all the way to ALMOST the top of the mountain where we rode a roller coaster, Max mined for rocks and we had lunch together. 

We then took a ski lift to the very top of the mountain. It was cold but very scenic. 

After our time together we headed back to the resort where Max got some swimming in and spend a little time with his grandmas. 

Friday morning we did a ropes course at TreeTop Adventure Park. This place was really cool. They got us strapped in and gave instructions and then set us free to do whatever course we wanted. It was not guided at all and each course was color-coded for height and then again for difficulty. 

We did one course that was the tallest course and Max certainly faced his fear of heights. We were so high up that we could see the lake. It was crazy high to zipline from tree to tree, but it was a lot of fun and I am very proud of Max for making it all the way through without an anxiety attack. 

We had a lot of fun in the woods going from tree to tree, but we had to get back and get ready for the wedding celebration.

We had family pictures taken outside. Shortly before the pictures, the wind shifted and pushed the smoke to North Tahoe and it was so bad you couldn't even see the mountains. I felt bad because Ryan and Emily's pictures do not include the beautiful backdrop of the lake and mountains. It's brown smoke. Either way, it was fun to celebrate the bride and groom and everybody had fun. Max made a friend with Emily's nephew, Andy did an excellent job with his speech, and Max and I got to dance together on the dance floor. He showed off his fancy moves. By the way, Max picked out his own wedding outfit. He was adamant that he wear a tie to the wedding celebration. He looked so handsome in his outfit.

On Saturday the happy couple had a beach party scheduled, but the wind was so bad at the beach that it was moved down the road to a park. There were plenty of games, food, and beverages for everyone. Max and I learned how to play a new game with Mark and Mackenzie.

On Sunday we headed to the airport only to learn that many flights were canceled or delayed many hours due to the smoke in the area. Just like planes can't land in dense fog, they can't land in heavy smoke. By this time it was so bad in the area you couldn't see much from the airport. Andy made the executive decision to rent a car and drive 11.5 miles home to Phoenix. So, that's what we did and we took Mark and Mackenzie with us so they could guarantee they would get home in the morning from Phoenix. 

It was a fantastic wedding celebration and now I know why Ryan and Emily love Tahoe so much. It's very beautiful (despite the haze from the fires) and I look forward to going back in the winter sometime and learn to ski.