First "Baby" Step... DONE!!!

YAY!!!

FOGO DE CHAO!!!

WHAT A WEEKEND!!! Our friend Steven was here for a little shopping and a little fun.
He got here late Friday night and we met Ann, Mike, and Vicky for a little appetizer fun at Applebees. We went home to go to bed but stayed up til 2 AM!!!! I can seriously not remember the last time I was up so late! Crazy! AND pretty silly as we only stayed up to watch Oprah that was on TIVO!!! We could have watched it at any time. I did learn though, that when you're 35, you should NOT eat boneless buffalo wings and then stay up til 2. It's a bad idea.

We survived though and had a great day Saturday of shopping a bit and just hanging out. Steven tried RJ Riches for the first time and had one of their enourmous pancakes. He pretty much ate the middle and that was all he could do. We tried to eat just a little amount as we had GREAT plans for the evening! Those plans did NOT disappoint! We went to a fun new restaraunt in downtown Minneapolis called FOGO DE CHAO.... It's a Brazillian restaraunt that is pretty much just all about meat. If you want to check out the website it's www.fogodechao.com.
The whole premise is that after you have visited the salad bar, that was amazing, they give you a little coaster-sized disc. It's red on one side and green on the other. When it's turned green, the waiters bring over AMAZING pieces of meat either all stacked on a sword or big cuts of meat that they then slice off a piece for you. The pieces are small, but don't worry, they just keep bringing it as long as you are on green. Once you turn the disc over, they give you a break and stop bringing it around until you turn it over to green again.

After the second round of greens......


A very happy husband!


We survived the meat coma's and were able to enjoy the VERY brisk walk to our car on the top floor of the ramp. It was cold but WHAT a beautiful night!


And then we Wii'd!!! Thanks to Ann and Mike for hosting the Wii party!
FUN!!!
The competition was fierce, as you can see. It's a good thing that we all love each other!

Have a great week everyone!!!

HOW FUNNY!!!

How funny is it to compare the following pictures to the one's from the previous post!
SIGH!!!!
WHAT A CHANGE!!!

On the ground wishing...

WHAT a day!!!
We tried to go to Iowa this morning at 6am to see my parents and celebrate my niece Nicole's first child by going to her baby shower. We thought leaving at 6 would get us ahead of the storm, but as you can see, 6am wasn't early enough. :( This happened a couple of years ago as well and left my sister with a 21 lb turkey and with just a few hungry mouths to feed rather than the multitudes that she had expected. This time however, Chris and I have a 17 lb turkey thawing as I write this. The initial intention was to take it with us and cook it for Sunday dinner at my Mom and Dad's but couldn't get there. We have no multitudes either. So if you're coming to visit in the near future, we hope you like turkey. ;)


We got as far as Owatanna, but the roads were just too bad. We knew we were going to be driving right into the storm, but were unsure of how bad it was going to be. When we hit Owatanna though, there was a pretty heavy feeling of driving into impending doom.... ;) After checking out a couple of exit ramps and many phone calls with my family, we decided it was best to just not risk it and come back home. We're sad, but safe and warm, and watching movies. :) Some days, the best plans just don't work out.


My father is a very wise man and has said to me many times....
I'd rather be on the ground wishing I was in the air, than in the air wishing I was on the ground. (Referring to his airplane flying days)
So..... I guess, we'd rather be at home wishing we were in Iowa, than stuck in the ditch wishing we were at home. :(



We were able to have a fun lunch with our new sister-in-law at RJ Riches. :)

Great fun in the midst of a disappointing day.... that hot chocolate was SO GOOD!!!
I think it was the real whipped cream that they put on top of it!

We hope you all are having a great weekend and are safe enjoying the beauty in the crisp, clean, whiteness outside. How pretty is it to see all of the Christmas lights and hear the ringing of bells? Take some time to remember at the start of the season what it is really about and love on the people in your life that God has blessed you with.

Know that we are thinking of you and praying that you are enjoying all the hustle and bustle!


We can't wait to get your Christmas cards!!!!


Cheryl and Chris

PICTURES!!!

Here's the link to SHUTTERFLY with all of our pictures. :)
Hope you enjoy them! WHAT a fun way to share!
www.mendezmexico.shutterfly.com

Viva Mexico!!!

We're Home!!!

WHAT a great trip!!! It was a vacation full of new things, new friends, and a few interesting things that we didn't expect!!! (read on!!!)

Here's a quick rundown of how our week went!

I'll add a few pictures here and when I get all of the pictures added to Shutterfly, I'll add that link. :)

Sunday...

It was daylight savings time, so the "fall back" helped us to get a leisurely start to our vacation which was a much welcomed change from our previous experiences. We're glad to report that the flight went well, no one lost their luggage, and we were able to get right onto the boat with, get this, NO LINES!!!!

Our room was TINY!!! Chris measured it to be about 12x14!!!! In TOTAL!!! Put a bed in there, and that leaves NOT MUCH ROOM AT ALL!!!! It was really ok though,,, there was so much to do that we weren't in our room except to sleep.

The ship was gorgeous! It was a smaller ship and very well kept up! It was immaculate and the lay out was very convenient. Our cabin was in the middle of the ship and toward the front so it was easy to get to everywhere we needed to go. The service was phenominal and the food was incredible!!!

One of the funnest things about being on a cruise is the people you meet! We chose to eat at the set dining and got to know some amazing people! Both of the other couples were from San Diego and had both gotten married on the Saturday before the cruise. David and Courtney met another couple that they clicked with and we only sat with them for a couple of nights. We were very blessed to really get to know the other couple, Carlos and Nillian. It was really great to spend some time with them and make new friends!

Out itinerary was great as it gave us time at the beginning and at the end to relax and get some sun without having to get up early and be on a schedule....

Sun... at sea

Mon... at sea

Tues... Cabo San Lucas (Where part of the Bachelor was filmed and aired while we were gone!!)

Wed... Mazatlan

Thurs...Puerto Vallarta

Fri... at sea

Sat... at sea

Sun...return to San Diego

Sunday and Monday we spent on deck reading and relaxing. We were SO excited to get to see Two whales and about about 30+ dolpins swimming and jumping alongside of our ship!!! We didn't get any pictures as we weren't expecting to see them. We weren't sure if it was migrating season or not, but I guess it was!!! Next time, take the camera on deck!

When we took off out of port, there were three other ships in the harbor. The biggest of them was the ship used in the movie Master and Commander. We were also able to see the USS Midway that is now a museum. I can't wait to go back and tour it!!!

Tuesday.... Cabo San Lucas

Chris chose to go on excursion on the America's Cup Rigata!!!! It was the boat used by Team New Zealand in the America's cup race in 2002. The sailboat was 80 feet long and had a 12 story mast! On the boat each passenger was assigned a job to do and the sailors filled in. Chris got to steer and help raise and lower the sails.

Vicky and I spent the day in the 95 degree heat shopping a little and going back to the boat early!!! It was a HOT ONE! and VERY VERY sunny! I made friends with a Pelican and he even posed for a picture with me! I wanted to bring him home, but Chris said no. It's how it always goes!

Wednesday...Mazatlan

We all went on the "Colonial City Tour" which was great but seemed like the never-ending day!

Our tour guide was VICTOR as our little stickers he gave us said. Those were to remind us who we were with for the day! Our tour left Mazatlan and stopped first at a Adobe Brick Factory. This was pretty much an open field with a big clay pit. They explained how they dig out the clay each day and use it to make 1000 bricks a day, 4 at a time by hand.

Next we stopped at a small village and saw a tile maker, again who made these beautiful designed tiles by hand and dried them in the sun. We also were able to stop at a bakery and were given rolls that were baked in a brick oven. I love my brothers baked goods, but there is something to be said for that brick oven! After getting back on our bus we made our way to a small stand that sold various artisan crafts for incredibly cheap prices! We were able to buy some beautiful pieces that we can't wait to put out in our home.

The next town we went to was Concordia. Here we had a drink at a Cantina and visited a Cathedral. There are a few times in my life that I've known I was walking on Holy Ground and this was one of them. There was an elderly woman in there praying who Chris said reminded him of his Grandmother. I won't get to meet her until Heaven but I feel like I was given a glimpse of her that day.

From there we went to an open air market on the way back to the bus and I was able to purchase a gorgeous Christmas tablecloth. What a treasure that I'll keep forever!

(SEE, it was the never ending tour!!!) (Worth every penny!)

Our last stop was to watch the Pamplana flyers. (spelling on that one is lacking!)

They were a group of traditional Mexican dancers. I'm not sure if that's quite right, but it's the closest I can come. Maybe indiginous is a better word..... anyway... it was a group of 5 men who first danced, and then four of them climbed on a spinning wheel and spun upside down for several turns. SCARY!!! no seatbelts! BUT THEN... they climbed up a 50 ft pole on ladder rungs TIED onto the pole. At the top, without safety harnesses, four of them sat on a square ring. One for each of the four winds. The final guy climbed on top, and danced. Again, no safety harness. Then each of the four men tied themselves to a rope and swung down as the rope tied around the pole unwound. Then the dancer, lowered himself down just by his hands on one of the ropes. It was incredible!

Thursday... Puerto Vallarta

All of us spent the day on a snokeling catamaran tour to Yelapa and Majauitas. We jumped on a Catamaran with 8 Mexican guides and drove out to Majauitas, a small fishing village. We weren't able to use their beach so we jumped from the Catamaran and were divided into two groups... strong swimmers and not so strong swimmers. We went with the strong swimmers out about 1/4 of a mile from our Catamaran to snorkel. Here, Vicky's favorite, Pepe, (A biologist native to the area and who looked like Johnny Dep) would free dive down about 30 ft and bring up creatures from the bottom for us to hold. SO COOL! After we more leisurely swam back to the Catamaran, we then had lunch and moved on to Yelapa. Pretty much paradise in the middle of the Mexican jungle. Chris went on a hike to a natural waterfall and into the heart of Yelapa.

Vicky and I sat on the beach and enjoyed the sun.

After we were done with our tour we spent our time walking on the boardwalk in Puerto Vallata. I think we all fell in love with it here and can't wait to go back!!!

I can wait for another death defying taxi ride though! WOW!!! I'm probably glad that I don't know much Spanish. I'm pretty sure that our driver called the other drivers donkeys and other things that I couldn't quite make out.

Friday and Saturday were spent laying on the deck and going to the infirmary!!!!

Chris and Vicky both met the ship's doctor and were treated for an upper respiratory cough and PINK EYE!!! They looked terrible! I didn't get sick until Sunday just before the plane ride home. I NEVER need another plane ride like that one! WOW!!!

We're all feeling a bit better and are glad to have had an amazing vacation. We're also glad to be home! ;)

We can't wait to see you all!

Love you and Thank you for your prayers while we were gone!

Cheryl and Chris!

One more thing...

We also wanted to say thanks to the Heutmakers for a great lunch out today!

It was so fun to get to see you for a bit today! Why is it so hard to find time to get together?
Hope is beautiful and you are SUCH great parents! We are so blessed to have you be an example for us in how you are raising such a bright, fun, and gorgeous daughter!

We love you and HAVE to get together soon! We'll take over Mike and Ann's Wii!!!
;)
See you soon!