Ellison's Announcement

Now that we are back in the spirit of blogging, we needed to make our most exciting news a blog entry! 

That's right- Ellison will be a big sister at the end of July!

Rob and I could not be more excited that our family is growing and are looking forward to watching Ellie as she enters into this new phase. There had already been lots of talk about "babies"with Ellie as our dear friends Brad and Ashley and Emily and Rob are expecting in May so we have been praying for baby Cunningham and baby Garrett for months and talking about their new additions. Needless to say "baby" is a popular word in her vocabulary.

With all of our family in town for Christmas, we got to share the big news with them on Christmas day.

We never cease to be amazed at how God plans accordingly, and surrounds us with friends to encourage, support and celebrate life with.

Now, we are eagerly trying to sell our home, as our new home should be ready come late March.  I am thankful we took the leap of faith to build this new home before knowing we were going to need the space so soon.

From Paradise to the Snowmageden

As you may recall, about 11 months ago I wrote about the trip to Manzanillo that Heather and I (along with 3 other couples) purchased at a charity auction for the Tulsa Junior League.  Well the trip finally arrived, and it could not have been any more perfect.  Traveling with some of our good friends, the Hulvers, the Buchans, and the Cains, we were excited to be together for seven days.  Not only was the timing perfect (as we missed the frigid cold of Oklahoma) but so was the view, staff, and company we enjoyed it with.  Especially the view.  Quite impressive sunsets, whale watching, and ocean as far as you could see.

Here is an example of one of the many sunsets we enjoyed.  Being about 150 miles south of Puerta Vallarta, each evening we would gather on the deck which overlooked the Pacific Ocean and would watch this fantastic setting take place.  We could literally, turn around after the sunset, and watch the moon rise above the mountains. It was incredible.

The week was filled full of activities such as eating breakfast, napping, laying out, eating appetizers, swimming, reading, heading to the beach, eating dinner, and enjoying many, many drinks.



Actually one day, we did declare it "activity day" and the guys headed out to the sea to catch dinner (deep sea fish) while the ladies took in a massage.  So we headed out before sunrise, about 6:30, and took the ship called "Luckiest" out into the deep blue sea.  Not terribly confident that we would be catching anything any time soon, we took in the view and the marine life.  Quite incredible was the dolphin show.







On both sides of the boats, we watched as no less than 10 dolphins swam next to us. Looking for where the seagulls would dive bomb into the ocean, our captain indicated that is where the fish were.   Within our half day of fishing we were able to pull in two Mahi-Mahi, totalling about 55 pounds.

So as the rough and wild hunter/fisherman we are, we gladly turned our backs as they skinned the fish, and bagged the meat for us to take home.  And it was unbelievable to think that within two hours of catching that fish, we were eating some of it for appetizers.

In fact, our staff prepared the Mahi-Mahi three different ways: Grilled, Fried for Fish Tacos, and then filet as a dinner entree.


And let me tell you a little bit about this food.  First off, I gained seven pounds; seriously.  This food was incredible.  Typically we would have breakfast, "botanas" (appetizers), and then dinner.  These botanas were probably my favorite.  With the fresh guacamole and salsa everyday as well as homemade tortillas and homemade chips, I was in paradise.  The staff could literally take a simple dish and make it extraordinary.  From nachos, empanadas, tacos (chicken, pork, fish), quesadillas, fresh veggies, chicken, shrimp and did I mention the guacamole and homemade chips?

Dinners were always an affair to dress up for.  In fact, the dress code was pretty strict.  And as you can see, the guys took it very seriously.  I am fairly certain this was a highlight for the ladies.  In fact, if I recall correctly (which I don't) we only dressed like this because the ladies begged us to do so.  During these three course meals, I was impressed not only with the quality but also the presentation.  From the fresh flowers on the table to way the food was laid out, it was always done with a lot of pride.  We were able to enjoy fresh shrimp, steak, Mahi-Mahi, and the desserts...WOW: Carrot Cake, Banana Cream Pie, Chocalate Cake, Flaun and Banana Foster with Ice Cream.

So relaxation was the key.  The staff was incredible.  Wouldn't even have to leave your raft to have a drink.  I can only imagine that we firmly secured the impression of "lazy Americans".

And while the ladies would catch the afternoon rays, the guys would play hours of cards.  I am proud to say that Jake and I took home the spades championship.

Also, amazing was the private beach we got to use.  Literally private.  Of the five times we visited, three times we were the only eight folks out there.  Pretty sweet to have that much beach all to yourself!

The water was cool, clear, and very very salty. It was nice to cool down from the 85 degree heat, and beaming sun. It was a great trip. It was hard to come back from.  We are so grateful for the grandparents taking in Ellie for ten days! And a shout out to Brad and Ashley for taking care of Mr. Petie for us.

Making us miss it all the more is the the Tulsa Snowpacalypse 2011. Eighteen inches of snow I measured in our front yard; absolutely incredible.  Today I am waiting for the temperature to reach its high of 12 degrees before shoveling the drive.  So as we are stuck indoors, watching hours of Elmo and Sesame Street, we are longing for our Manzanillo days.  Maybe in a few years we will make it back.