The kids really gorged themselves at our last breakfast on the boat. Here's Silas with an omelette,

For years now, largely in response to suggestions motorhome rentals los angeles international airport from Power of Moms fans, April and I have been thinking about putting together a "Power of Families" event where we'd gather with a bunch of other families for a few days for great activities and discussions. The kids would have a great time together. The parents would share ideas and learn from each other plus enjoy some fun social time. It was a beautiful and exciting vision. But we were so busy with Retreats, podcasts, newsletters and books alongside our most important work of being moms and wives that we put our Power of Families Retreat idea on a shelf for a long time.
Then last fall, when we saw that there were some great deals on cruises going on, we decided to finally motorhome rentals los angeles international airport put a piece of our vision into action. We needed a good chunk of in-person time to discuss our 2014 goals and plans for Power of Moms and figured we might as well do our planning retreat on a cruise ship where we could simultaneously feel out whether motorhome rentals los angeles international airport a cruise might be the right venue for a future motorhome rentals los angeles international airport Power of Families Retreat. So we booked an inexpensive 4-day cruise out of Long Beach, CA (near where April lives and drivable for our family) and presented the cruise to our kids on Christmas. They were so so so excited! The prospect of a huge floating hotel with a swimming pool and waterslide and all-you-can-eat food of every kind combined with visits to exciting new places in the company of the Perry kids was just plain wonderful.
When we got to Noah and Kristi's, the boys jumped right into some screen time (what is it about boys and screens?) while the girls (Liza and Lyla) pretended to be princesses and fairies princesses (sad I didn't get a picture of that!)
On Sunday, we had a great time visiting Noah and Kristi's motorhome rentals los angeles international airport ward and exploring their beautiful neighborhood and just enjoying the wonderful feeling of sunshine. But somehow motorhome rentals los angeles international airport I didn't take photos of our time exploring. I just got this photo of everyone watching "Joseph, King of Dreams" later in the afternoon. motorhome rentals los angeles international airport It's a good movie (in case you can't tell by everyone's rapt expressions).
We topped off the day with a rousing game of sardines motorhome rentals los angeles international airport (where one person hides and everyone else has to sneakily find that person and join them in their hiding place until everyone is squashed into one place together). I loved playing motorhome rentals los angeles international airport that with my siblings when I was little and it was so fun to see my kids and Noah's kids enjoying the game so much.
The kids had SO much fun with their beloved little cousins. And Noah and I realized that the nine kids we have between us are close to the same age-spread of the nine children our parents had. Wow. That's a lot of kids.
Just beyond the casino was a nice beach area for swimming and snorkeling. Despite the fact that it was in the low 60's, the kids were game for some time in the water. Crazy people! I was cold enough just sitting there watching them in my sweatshirt with a towel wrapped around motorhome rentals los angeles international airport me.
Ashton and Isaac did some serious snorkeling and saw some pretty motorhome rentals los angeles international airport amazing fish and kelp forests. I couldn't believe how long they stayed out there looking at the fish. They had the whole bay to themselves motorhome rentals los angeles international airport - no one else was crazy enough to go in that cold water on such a cool day.
And our waitress, Kostadinka, spoiled us rotten. Oh, what a pleasure it is as a mom to sit back and have someone take such great care of you and your family and delight everyone with exactly the food they want w/o having to even think about the cost of what people want to order. The delight of getting ANYTHING YOU WANT on the menu (or even asking for things not on the menu) was such a novel and exciting thing for everyone. motorhome rentals los angeles international airport And to top it all off, Kosta was from Bulgaria and I had SO much fun pulling out some of my rusty Bulgarian to talk with her!
Here's "La Bufadora" - while a guy played beautifully on his guitar, we watched the waves come in and the "blowhole" spurt up again and again - it's sort of mesmerizing and very pleasant. Silas especially loved watching it and didn't want to leave.
After everyone found the souvenirs they wanted (a new fedora for Ashton, a bracelet with her name on it for Eliza - made in 3 minutes right before her eyes, a poncho and backpack for Isaac, bongo drums for Oliver and a hat for Silas - after much ado and some tears when it took forever to find just the right one for him), we had some really delicious tacos at a little stand (and enjoyed tons of free samples of delicious motorhome rentals los angeles international airport pina coladas motorhome rentals los angeles international airport and churros).
Back in town, we visited the beautiful cathedral motorhome rentals los angeles international airport and learned about some service projects at orphanages and homes for abused women and children that we'd love to make a part of a future Power of Families cruise. As it turns out, the great tour guide that we stumbled upon when looking for a ride out to La Bufadora is the perfect lady to help us set up such a thing!
And visited the lovely history museum where we got to see some lovely things plus, in searching out a bathroom, we found the "center of culture" motorhome rentals los angeles international airport where we got to see kids making beautiful clay sculptures and taking motorhome rentals los angeles international airport classes in traditional Mexican dance - great for the kids to meet some Mexican kids and see what they enjoy.
Our last day of the cruise, we were at sea the whole time. The kids played games and did fun activities at the kids' camps provided while Jared and I checked in with them periodically and had their own fun and April and I talked and worked and talked and worked some more. We got a ton of great Power of Moms planning done that day.
It was great to see the Loosli and Perry kids having so much fun with each other throughout the trip. I caught these photos of the older kids hanging out over dessert while the twins and younger Perry boys enjoyed a movie at the kids' camp.
The room steward left us a special "towel animal" in our room each night. The twins thought that was pretty darn awesome and made sure to go to the "towel folding fun" class so they could learn how to make such cool things out of towels.
The kids really gorged themselves at our last breakfast on the boat. Here's Silas with an omelette, a ton of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, and a bunch of fruit. He actually ate very nearly all of it!
And April and I are thinking that a Power of Families cruise is definitely something we'll want to offer in a year or so. We'd love to bring together a bunch of great families to enjoy an experience like this and have a great balance of family time, sight-seeing, good old-fashioned fun through the games and activities we'd offer in the evenings, and learning through the workshops we'd hold during the day the ship is at sea all day. There's a nice conference room on the boat and everything. And the kids' programs seemed great so the kids can be happily entertained while their parents enjoy workshops/discussions/adult activities (or kids could stay home with babysitters if parents want to enjoy this as a couples motorhome rentals los angeles international airport get-away rather than family get-away).