Completion.

This is the picture I hadn't taken yet from Tucson:


Then we left Tucson for San Diego. We stopped to unload most of our stuff at the Jimenez house where it would remain for the week so that we wouldn't have to worry about it while we were on the boat.

The ones with the pooh bear are a special shout out for Alena.

Then we headed for the shelter of a great hotel near the beaches to wait out the weekend:

This is the view from the loft area where Jason and I slept. My mom and Al had a private room below us. Alisabeth spent the first night on a makeshift bed and the next one in a crib. She didn't enjoy that part :) The best part about the hotel was that it had a full kitchen, barely visible in the above picture. So Sunday we were able to cook a frozen lasagna and ate a great homemade meal while we were over 1000 miles from home :)

San Diego also boasted quite a few nice beaches. They were Alisabeth's first experience with the ocean. She loved it. She was apprehensive at first, but after about five minutes she was all about the incoming waves. We built a little fort to "protect" us from the water and had a blast. . . Notice I'm wearing a new shirt. . . why? . . . I have no idea.

We decided to enjoy the trip. We spent a little too much, but we just couldn't pass up the cartride across the street from the parking to the ship, or the $15 coconut cup.

I tried to get a complete shot of the ship so you could see it all, but I messed up a bit. You should be able to put it all together at least.

The ship was gorgeous. We had a private balcony, a wonderful woman who would make sure that our room was straightened three times a day, and all of the comforts of a luxury hotel plus a lot more. Everyone loved Alisabeth. We were known as "with Alisabeth" whenever we went anywhere. (Like being seated in the dining room).

The first stop was Catalina Island where Alisabeth again got to play on the beaches and we got to walk around the tourist trap and admire the price tags. We got there by boat. . . from our boat. . .


If you wonder why she's wearing a lifevest it's not because we were near deep water. . . it's because Jason felt we should. . . since we had taken the time to bring it along. . . wierdo.

The next stop was Ensenada. It was a very cute town. We were again led to the tourist trap and were again left to admire the price tags, however thsi time we were caught a few times and walked away with a silver bracelet, a couple of bead necklaces for Alisa and a shirt for Jason.
Jason enjoyed his first authentic Mexican tacos in a little cafe. They were good. I asked for Carne and the man said "Cual tipo de carne?" I looked confused so he opened five different containers each containing a different form of beef and again asked which type I wanted. It was great.
The tourist trap horseback ride was nice too. The owner accompanied our group and told us a little about herself and the area. We basically travelled the highest mountains closest to Ensenada all the way around a circuit which showed off the city and the landscape. It was beautiful. I didn't take many pictures because it was mighty rocky and I was a little worried about my big black's footing. He kept slipping on me. Nothing deadly, just a little unsettling.

After that it was smooth sailing home. Jason and Alisabeth spent a lot of time outdoors and I was able to enjoy myself inside watching way to many movies for a four day trip. I think the total was something around 10. They were all free, and only one was seen completely through from beginning to end the first time. ;)

All in all the vacation was amazing. We had a blast. Unlike last time I didn't feel burned out at all when we got home. I was very glad to be with family and friends. I am excited to go back to Arizona in about 6 months!!!!!!

The first major accident

So here's a play by play of the trip. We are having a great time. My fear of being ready to go home early has not materialized. I think we've been able to visit and balance with everyone. It's been great so far.

These were from the stop in between Idaho and our first stop. It's someplace in Utah.

Jason saw his future car so we had to snap a few pictures. I tried to get a closer one, but it's kind of hard to do going 80 on a three lane highway. :)

We finally got to Jason's grandparents house and she walked right in and took the place over. It helped a lot that they had a piano and stuffed animals/dolls everywhere.
We didn't stay long, but we enjoyed our time immensely.

When we got to Tucson Jason took Alisabeth and let me crash. Neither of us slept the entire night. We listened to a book on tape for the entire 18 hour trip. (including stops).

She has loved each set of grandparents. And they have enjoyed her a lot.

We went to the zoo with Crystal and her husband Mike and their little girl. Alisabeth had a blast chasing all of the animals she could get to.

We spent a few days at our old landlord's new house. They are amazing people and we enjoyed that too. Of course, that was the site of Alisabeth's second major accident. (The first was the headfirst down the stairs at 9ish months.)
This time we wouldn't get up at 6:30 in the morning with her, so instead of playing with toys and entertaining herself like she normally does she decided to play with the paper slicer. It was just a little one, but it was large enough for her little finger. She got it right through the nail on her pointer finger and then it sliced out from there:

No other strange events. We've spent a few days at Jason's house playing with all the foster babies there and enjoying her cousins. We spent two Sundays with the Liddeke side of the family, but I kept forgetting the camera, so we'll have to get pictures on Thursday when we go out to dinner.

This week is full. We have to spend my mom's money tonight at the LDS bookstore, then tomorrow Jason's fixing the car and we're babysitting for his sister so they can go on a date (she took Alisabeth for us while we watched Harry Potter). Wednesday is a lunch with my old boss who hasn't ever met Alisabeth before. Thursday is dinner with my Dad and Sonja at an "amazing" Mexican place they just found. Friday is paintball with a decent sized crew. Saturday we drive out to San Diego and the rest is history. It's hard being on vacation! So many demands!!

Ah, Arizona

We arrived safely, thanks for all those who were praying for us. We actually listened to Anne McCaffrey on tape the whole way and it kept us going. There was only one spot where we almost died. I started driving at about 3 in the morning and Jason decided to doze off. Alisabeth had woken up so he had turned on some nice soothing music to put her back to sleep. . . and then left it on . . . I felt like Mac in cars with the 4 hotrods.
Anyway, Jason was only out for 1/2 hour so when he came around I told him he had to talk to me and that woke me back up. Then he turned on the book and I was fine again. It kept my mind awake.
We drove through the night and ended up pulling up to my mom's house at about 8:30 am. We wanted to crash, but Jason didn't. Instead he took Alisabeth to see her cousins at his mom's house while I crashed. When they came home I was barely aware of the world.
It's been fun so far. We've visited family back and forth and let the cousin's play. We went and saw the Harry Potter movie. I have to give it cudos for trying to stay true to the main plot line, even if it failed miserably to make it very clear. My mom's husband came too and was thoroughly confused about the whole thing. He's seen all the movies but never read the books.
We're going to go see the new Star Trek sometime soon too.
I've really enjoyed life so far, but it's been amusing to watch our gas guage. We're back in the big city alright :)
I am so proud of Alsabeth. I expected her to be reticent and hesitant with all the new faces and people. She hasn't balked at all. It almost seems as if she remembers everything. She went stragith to the toy room at my dad's place. At my mom's she walked confidently into the spare room. At Jason's mom's house she moves with purpose too.
Even when we visited Jason's grandparents, who she hasn't met before, she was all willing and smiling. She played the piano and played with the dolls. It's been really cool.
The temperature hasn't been below 105 yet, so it's a bit hotter than Rexburg, but I hesitate to write that because sometimes the heat feels very much the same as what we're used to. Although Jason has noticed one significant change. His alergies are gone. He can breathe and despite a slight cold which he contracted our first day here, he has felt really good.