the big seven-oh and a cruise to boot

best friends; Lien and my mama


the kids rocking the big chess set

the obligatory gorgeous beach shot in the Bahamas

the family cruise shot, sans Anthony and Suzanne

and, of course, Augustus in his off-the-hook style

So my mama, the Matriarch of our family, abuela to the babies, celebrated her 70th journey around the sun with a family cruise. The cruise was interesting, great food, super fun stuff for Magdalena, gorgeous scenery. But the main attraction was being with our family with no calls to make, no errands to run, no dishes to do, no beds to make, for four glorious days and nights.

We hung out on the Lido deck forever, had poolside drink deliveries, basked in the Caribbean sun, went on family excursions, ate breakfast, lunch and dinner in restaurants every day, got room service, jet skied, glass-bottom-boated, and had a fabulous time all-around.

Did I mention that I decided to go sugar-free about a week before the cruise? And that you can basically eat dessert 24/7 on a cruise? And that every night there are these delicious looking chocolates for your eating pleasure awaiting on the pillow? And that the desserts served at dinner were gourmet, chocolate and insanely decadent and obviously divine, given the utterances of those eating them? No, I guess I hadn't mentioned that. Sigh. My timing is just plain goofy. But, here I am, about a month in to sugar-free and still going. I guess we'll see how it all unfolds.