Keeping It Reed

Eric and I returned last night from our cruise! We drove down last Friday and stayed the night in St. George at Eric's grandparents' condo. Saturday morning we drove the rest of the way to California.

I was so excited to show Eric my hometown, Rancho Cucamonga/Etiwanda! This was the first time I have ever had the chance to take him to CA so I was really stoked! I showed him my house and high school. His family thought my school was weird because it was outdoors, lol Utahns :) Then I took him to my favorite spot in Rancho, In-N-Out, as you can see in the pictures! In high school, my girls and I would stop there every Saturday night after the stake dances! "Protein, animal style burger with a chocolate shake!"

After our nostalgic trip through Rancho, I navigated us to Newport Beach where we spent the rest of the afternoon body surfing and boogie boarding with Eric's family. I have decided that I do miss the beach, but I do not miss the salt water! It seemed like it got a hundred times saltier since the last time I was there! Yuck! I have just been spoiled by the freshwater lakes in Utah. For dinner I took Eric to the Crab Cooker. Mmmm... you all need to go there! They have the best fish ever!

We stayed in Arcadia for the night. The next morning we drove through Compton (SCARY!) to San Pedro where we boarded the ship. When I stepped on that ship, I had no idea how much fun I was going to have over the next seven days!

We stopped at three ports in Mexico: Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta.

We snorkeled in Cabo and snapped some cool shots with our underwater camera. Some of them turned out really good! Following the snorkeling was a crazy fast ride on a banana boat back to the port! I almost flew off the boat like ten times! Our driver was insane! LoL The one thing I didn't like was that we were bombarded by Mexican peddlers trying to sell us their little odds and ends and trinkets. It was really sad to see mothers and their children out there selling in the heat of the day but at the same time we didn't want to buy anything that they were offering. It was hard and very sad when we had to just walk on by. Being there made me so greatful to live in this blessed country that we live in. We are so rich and we have no idea.

The next day we cruised to Mazatlan. We went and hung out by the pool at a resort located right on the beach! We layed on the lounge chairs and soaked up all the sun we could stand! Then we hit up the waves and the pool to cool off. Eric and his siblings parasailed right off the beach! They had a lot of fun! I sat by and watched :) No one was going to talk me into that! No way, Jose! Then we went took a bus into town to the "Mercado" which was like their supermarket/mall all crowded into one. Inside there were booths after booths owned and operated by different people so that made for quite a variety. I found a Mexican silver ring that I love! It's so pretty. That became my Mexican souveneir.

Eric had me talk a little Spanish to the lady who sold me the ring and that is one of my favorite memories of the trip! I loved hearing Eric and Zach speak the language and then to hear the natives responses. I tried to decipher as much as I could and I was impressed with how much I could catch onto. I think I impressed Eric too! It's amazing what I remember from high school Spanish class! Haha

My favorite port was Puerto Vallarta because it was so green and lush! We rode ATVs through the jungle and the vegetation was gorgeous! I loved the ATVs and, can you believe this, I wasn't even scared!! Eric's family was shocked :) I was very proud of myself! Haha. They didn't realize that I'm my daddy's girl and in my family, that meant my dad made me comfortable on a dirt bike at a young age. My dad is one of the biggest motocross enthusiasts you'll ever meet!

The trip was absolutely phenomenal. From the people we met to the food we ate to the experiences we had, it was spectacular! The best part was enjoying quality time with my husband and his family. It wasn't just the immediate family, either. We were part of a group of thirty-one people in the "Reed Group!" Eric's Grandpa and Grandma Reed paid for all of their children and grandchildren to go on this trip in celebration of their sixtieth wedding anniversary! It was so cool to spend time with all the cousins, aunts and uncles and get to know them better. We now feel much closer to the Reed side of the family.

And to the Reed cousins and family who are reading this: We are so glad we got to cruise with you guys! You are all so much fun and we are happy that we got to know you all a lot better. Thanks for a fun vacation! We hope you all had as much fun as we did. Maybe we can do it again sometme?!

I am so excited about her new upcoming album! Right now she has a single out called, "Come on Over," that is sooo good! Have any of you heard it? Go to jessicasimpson.com and create a username and you can view a preview of the music video and listen to the full song. You can also purchase the single on itunes. Oh my, I can't tell you how much I love the song and how excited I am for my favorite southern girl to be singing country music. I am so happy she chose to try country. She is from Texas! What better girl out there to sing country than sweet lil southern Jess? I think she is amazingly talented and stunningly gorgeous! I always love her music no matter what. I'm a huge fan! Ok, so you all have to go listen to the song and tell me what you think! I love it!