Mexico or bust!

Once again, we headed south of the border for some R&R. This time we went for the wedding of a dear friend, Ben! But, before the celebration started, it wouldn't be in Streff family fashion to not begin the trip with a little drama...
As I was packing, Wed. night, around, oh, 8pm I went to get our passports from the file cabinet and for whatever reason I decided to read Kipp's. Hmmm...issued in 2000....that's funny, I thought they only lasted 10 years... YIKES!!!! It expired in Mar 2010.... I went to the closet where Kipp was joyfully packing...
Me: "We have a problem!"
Kipp: "What's wrong?!"
Me: "You're not going to Mexico!"
Kipp: "Whatareyatalkinabout?"
Me: "Your passport expired 3 months ago."
Kipp: "Well. All we can do is drive to Houston tonight, get a new one first thing in the morning and fly out from there tomorrow."
Me: "I'm not driving anywhere. I'm gettin on a plane tomorrow and going to Mexico!"

Needless to say, we found a few websites offering services and advice on these kinds of situations. I got on a plane the next morning and flew out by myself, while Kipp went downtown to the passport office and within an hour had a new one. He exchanged his morning ticket to Cancun for an afternoon flight to Cozumel, took the fairy, grabbed a cab in Cancun and was at the resort enjoying a drink by 8pm.... what a day!!!!

We thought we were in the clear for a sun-soakin-pina-colada-drinkin-weekend, buuuut, this crazy thing called Hurricane Alex had something else in mind for all of us! Even though it rained most of the first day, and remained cloudy and extremely windy the rest of the time, we all made the most of it. It actually worked in our favor for us all to spend some time together. Ben is a buddy of Kipp's from Parker. In total, there were about 70 people who went and 20 of them were all friends from Parker. Being spread out all over doesn't offer too much visitation as a group so it was definitely a good time! I hadn't seen some of these guys since our wedding in '08!
Kella thought it was pretty cool that her name was "on the beach" in Mexico!

Kipp and the groom, Ben!

I thought this was pretty funny. Great advertisement! It was definitely getting attention.

Cruise ship in the background. Probably a little more to do on the ship when it's raining that there was at the resort.

Enjoying some drinks in the infinity pool.

Inside joke of the trip. Ben had a little bit of a miss-hap at his bachelor party in Vegas a few weeks before. What will diving head first into a 4ft. pool get ya? 4 staples in the skull. Luckily, no serious damage was done. AND, he had a head full of hair for the wedding!!!

This is T.R.O.U.B.L.E.

W-i-n-d-y day! Check out the girl fighting her umbrella. Thankfully, the resort was prepared. They offered pots and pots of umbrellas everywhere we went. When I was first checking into our room, I wondered, "hmmm, wonder why they have so many umbrellas?" Now I know!

It really was peaceful. During the rain (really just some sprinkles) one afternoon, Kipp & I took advantage of these poolside, outdoor beds. It was awesome! (The nap, that is =D)

Before the wedding.

Just some of the other doc's on the trip.

Resort lobby.

Mariachi band at the reception. There's the happy couple, Ben & Krista!

These guys were great! Too bad my pics don't illustrate their dance moves!

Swing bar. We spent most of the time trying to figure out how we can add one of these to our backyard.

Please don't judge the muffed-hair-do! It was pretty humid and windy. AND I'm on VACATION!!! I was just happy to not be watching the clock, waiting for nap time, washing bottles or changing diapers!

Last night at dinner. We had Japanese with 3 other couples.

Soooo... now that I wasn't traveling alone, I thought the trip back to the states would be a breeze.... ummmm, NO! We had "technical difficulty" with our plane and what was supposed to be a 2 hour delay turned into over 7! With a gate change and bus ride out to the plane, we finally had a functioning plane that brought us safely back to Dallas. Due to the hurricane, there were several delayed flights all arriving back at the same time, so customs was a nightmare, but luckily there weren't too many obnoxious travelers alongside us. Funny how some people think this is only happening to THEM! I thought one guy was going to have a heart-attack, because HE needed to get home. There were several young children on our flight who had extremely patient parents making the most of the situation. Kipp & I couldn't help but feel slightly more sorry for them, rather than the hot-head, potty-mouthed, my-time-is-more-precious-than-yours, Dallas-ite. I'm just glad the storm turned from a tropical storm to a hurricane AFTER it passed over us!

The girls & Gibbie worked so hard on our "Welcome Home" sign, which was waiting on us in the garage! Mom said Kella wore her blue hair, pretty much everyday we were gone. I love that they added it to the collage. Along with a hot-air balloon, airplane, sunshine and smiley face (which was daddy, crying..?!?!).

It was raining the next day too, as we said our good-byes to Gibbie (sniff-sniff) I think she needs a vacation of her own now!

Of course we brought the girls back some goodies from Mexico. I thought Kella would get a kick out of the guitar, which we lucked out and snagged the last blue one!!! Now, she comes in and says, "Mom, you ready for the music?" You bet!

Our band wouldn't be complete without some maraca's. Each one got a set, they had some small one's which Ryan hasn't put down since we got back!

Father's Day

The lighting wasn't the best, but it was 100 degrees + on Sunday and I wanted a group shot of my favorite guy with my 2 girls! I love that Ryan is waving in the 2nd pic.

We started the day doing what daddy wanted, which was going to the "early service" at church, early meaning the 9 o'clock. We always attend the 11, getting myself and 2 girls up & ready to leave by 8am on the weekend is brutal, but this day.... whatever HE wanted!!! Sooo, 9 o'clock service here we come!!!!

But first... it's present time.

First was the card.... a recordable one that Kella composed saying, "Happy Father's Day, Daddy. I love you!"

The rest takes a little explaining... since Kipp is the one who watches the bank account, he knows every move I make, or let's say, dollar I spend. So buying him a gift is almost impossible to keep as a secret. So what's a girl to do.... throw him off with some creative wrapping skills.... knowing he would've seen a purchase at footlocker, I mysteriously wrapped one of his new shoes in box #1....

Uh, huh! He was totally fooled!!!

I tried to find a box the same size as #1, for box #2, hoping to throw him off, but instead of his 2nd shoe, it was his watch. We ordered this thing months ago and I may have told a little white lie earlier in the week to keep it going, something like, "I got an email with the tracking #, etc. for your watch... it won't be here for another week....dang, I'm sorry. I was hoping you would have it before our trip." (sad face, sad face)

Kipp: "Me too! This is ridiculous that it's taken this long to get it." (grrrrrrrrr)

What he didn't know is I had gotten the watch a week earlier and in my devilish scheme to surprise the un-surprise able.... I was basking in his frustration for the moment knowing it would only make the reveal that much more of a sweet, sweet victory.

And, of course, box #3 was the second shoe. Whew! Victory it was. I kept the secret... Kella kept the secret.... he was totally surprised and loved everything he got! Sweet, sweet daddy!!!

I'm so thankful to share this experience of raising kids with a man like Kipp. He is more involved than any dad I know. We share, equally, the responsibilities of these 2 amazing girls. We often talk about how thankful we are to be "on the same page" when it comes to discipline & beliefs. We definitely fill in each other's gaps. Though this day has been a tough one for the past 5 years, I'm slowly making the adjustment. I have an amazing husband and sweet friends that unselfishly think of me in the midst of their celebration. This is the 5th Father's Day I've spent without my dad and I have to say it was an emotional start to the day. Our pastor is battling the same disease that killed my dad. He began his sermon, almost reminding himself and not us, of the effects and destruction it could have on his life, family and him, as a person. Though he faces it with humbling peace, the reality is still there. The attack on your body, slowly taking away your memory to the point of not recognizing your own children. I must say, that was a pretty tough day to walk in, sit down by my dad and he had no idea who was sitting next to him. Yes, that reality is tough, almost too tough sometimes, but those are memories that need to be lost.

Today is a new day, a father's day worth celebrating! Happy Father's Day, Kipp!!!

VBS, new dress and ICE, oh my!!!!

Last week was Kella's first ever Vacation Bible School. It was a little confusing to her at first, since it was at the church & building where she attends her ''school'', she didn't understand why she was going to a different classroom, why she couldn't take her blanket... "mom, I need it for my naps!" My explaining that she wouldn't be taking naps at bible school didn't seem to register. "Mom, where's my nap mat?!?!" "Where's Miss Amy, Miss Ann & Miss Meredith???" Hmmmm..... total confusion. Once I got her into the classroom with all her friends, she was golden. Oh, how fun it was to see them all during the summer!!!

Her hair is finally getting long enough for piggie-tails, which she insisted on this day...

Being silly in her new, or new to her, princess dress.... refer to my earlier post about my quest for these magical garments.... thanks Kid to Kid!!!

Like her momma did when she was little.....Kella has now found her "stage" on the fireplace!

Leap off!!!!

Sporting her crumbled cowboy hat AND blue hair!!! Niiiiiice.

As I've posted before, Kella loves the ICE at the mall.... since they are offering classes I thought we would test the waters before committing to an 8 week class... she was beyond excited! We had gone a week earlier, but missed the public skate session, so when making our weekend plans skating was first priority, though Toy Story 3 came in a close second!

I always thought walking in the skates was tough, but she made it look so easy. She was hoppin around and loving the extra inches they give you in height. She felt "sooooo taaaall"!

It's been awhile since I've hit the ice, myself, so momma was a little nervous. Especially since I've never had a toddler in tow when trying to work on my 'skills'!