I'm BACK!

Well I am not sure if anyone missed me but I am back. We have been on a family vacation/ business trip for the past week. My plan was to download photos and blog every night from our hotel room so that I would not get behind on my blogging. However the Westin Waterfront Hotel in Boston, MA had different plans for me. NO free WI-FI. I refuse to pay $100 for a week of internet access. For those of you who are thinking why didn't I take the computer to the lobby or all over the city of Boston...this was my thought. How was I going to use the computer in a lobby or on the subway with a very curious 2 year old. AGAIN NOT WORTH IT. So I am planning on doing daily blog updates from our trip. Boston ROCKED! It was fantastic and thanks to wonderful family friends, Terry & Karen, we had our own personal taxi, concierge, chauffer, tourguide, and entertainment our entire time in Boston. While Kevin was in continuing education classes Terry & Karen would take Zachary and I ALL over the city. IT WAS AWESOME and so much fun to spend time with them. THANK YOU TERRY & KAREN. Well stayed tuned to the blog if you are interested in our trip.

Day Three: Cancun

Just for the record....we are already home. A lot of people are asking. I was not able to update the blog while we were there because the "free WiFi" was super slow and because I did not want to download my photos in case I would lose them from my files. So long story short...I wrote some of the blog entries while we were there and then these last days of our trip now from our home. Sorry for the confusion.

Day 3 was pretty much like day 2. A lot of relaxation!!! Just what we needed. I can honestly say this was the most relaxed I have seen Kevin in about 4 years. We totally enjoyed our four days away.

One of the main things on the agenda for the day was to get me a MONKEY drink. We saw pictures of them on the online Orbitz review and I really wanted one. Every day from noon to one the bar staff makes about 20 monkeys to pass out to guest. The second day we were there we missed out. So my goal for the day was to get one. . At 11:30 I started stalking the bar for the "COCO LOCO". Finally at 12:30 they were ready and I got the first one!! I know I get excited at the dumbest stuff..it's okay to laugh at me. Anyways, I took a drink and it was GROSS! I dumped out the contents of the "Coco Loco" and refilled it just so I could have it by my cabana. I was thrilled I actually got one.

So there are 5 Fancy restaurant at this resort. We only had 3 nights there so we knew we were going to miss out on 2 of the restaurants. Leave it to Kevin to come up with another plan so that we could take advantage of the other ones. On the 3rd night we decided that we would go to 2 of the restaurants. Yep, in true Austin fashion we ate at the Lobster house at 6 pm, took a walk, then went to Agave the Mexican Restaurant at 9pm. I was so full by the time we got to Agave that I really did not want to order...but we did anyways. We really did not enjoy the ethnic fare as much as the Lobster House. I think its because we are used to Taco Bell and not the real deal. We nibbled on our meal but did not finish it. That is the beauty of an "all-inclusive" resort.
Overall we had a great day and to quote our good friend, Dave Brotherton, "we were stuffed to the gills".



These were our "Coco Loco" Monkey Drinks
Kissing my monkey

Date Night #2
Dinner at the Lobster House

Mariachi Band

Somberos at Restaurant (click to enlarge....the photo is super dark).

Day Two: Cancun

Here are our photos from Cancun on day two. We had the best time lounging in the sun, playing in the ocean, swimming in pool, eating lot of food, and hanging out with each other.


Swinging bed by our room

Relaxing at the beach
Kevin enjoying his vacation

For dinner we ate a the "French" restaurant and used our anniversary voucher. It was hilarious we gave the hostess our voucher and she made us wait while she got our table ready. When Kevin and I walked into the restaurant the pianist/organist started playing "Here Comes The Bride" super loud. I was so funny. The entire restaurant started clapping. I thought it was sweet how excited the wait staff got when we sat down. Dinner was a four course meal.

Ready to go to dinner

Our anniversary dinner at Chez Isabelle
Our waitress set this up for us
Kev's appetizer of Escargot "SNAILS"
Hil's pear, almond goat cheese salad
Three desserts: We could not decide...Creme Brulee, Chocolate Ganache
cupcake, and Chocolate Crepes.

To finish dinner one of the resort staff, Ivan, came over to make a Mexican tradition...Mayan coffee. It was the coolest show. First he melted sugar on the rims of the glass coffee mugs. Then he started pouring different kinds of alcohols and coffees together. Within seconds he started a fire and poured the liquids from one glass to another. The pictures really do not show the flames but it was super cool. The final drink tasted like the worst cup of coffee we have ever drank. It had a lot of ANISE in it so it was like drinking black licorice. After one sip we could not finish it. We clapped and tipped well so that we did not hurt Ivan's feelings. He really wanted us to love that Mayan Coffee.

Day one: Cancun

Well, Kevin and I arrived to Cancun Mexico around 12:00 today. Our flights were excellent and our trip to our all-inclusive resort was good too. Funny story about our ground transportation....when we exited out of the Cancun Airport there were all kinds of signs with peoples names on them. None of them had our name but from a distance I saw one that said " Bienviendos HILLARY HOUSTON...Excellence Playa Mujeres". I did not think that was ours but there was not one with our name on it. As other tourist started to leave in their shuttles this sign was the only one still waiting for its guest. I told Kevin, "I think that is our transportation." It was....you know Hilary Houston, Hilary Austin, Hilary Texas. They had it somewhat close. Anyways we were taken off in a fully loaded Denali XL to our resort. It was safe, comfortable, and private.

Once we arrived at Excellence Playa Mujeres we were greeted by Mario who brought us citrus smelling, moist hand towels. Then we checked in where they gave us glasses of Champagne to welcome us. Everything was just like it was pictured online. The resort staff were super friendly and the rooms were spacious and beautiful. Check it out online. Immediately upon arriving we went to lunch at The Grill. Food was good. After lunch we threw on our suits to head to the pools. Boy, did we feel like we were on vacation.

Here are some photos from our suite and the resort. More photos to come
tomorrow.

Our suite

The living area of the room

The bathroom

Jacuzzi tub in room

Our porch

Directly outside our swim up room.

We're home!

Well it's late and we are tired. But I wanted to post that we made it home with all of our luggage. It was so nice to be greeted by our family at the airport. Zachary zonked out on the last flight 5 minutes before we landed. I will post pictures of our last day in Florida later this week. We had a great time with Uncle Jeff, Aunt Kathy, Brynn, and Karsen. It was just a little short. More updates later. We are going to bed.

Day 5 Vacation

FYI::::: You can click on the photos to enlarge them. It is hilarious to enlarge the first photo from today. Seriously now.

Zachary "lubed" up for the beach...sunscreen provided by daddy


3 Austin cousins entertain each other on the hotel room chair


Zachary playing on Beach


Karsen holding/carrying Zachary


Aunt Kathy, Brynn, Karsen, and Z

Cousins on the Beach

Brothers on the Beach....fishing


Aunt Hil and her girls


Aunt Hilary, Brynn, Karsen, and Zachary swinging


Brynn holding Zachary


It's been a very exciting day here in Florida. This morning Z had our usual breakfast and then played around the resort. We decided to go on a walk this morning when we ran into Uncle Jeff in the lobby. Zachary immediately let Uncle Jeff pick him up and walk him around. After we found the rest of the Austin's we pulled Kevin out of his class.

Since then we have ate lunch, played on the beach, swam on the beach, Z took a much needed nap, fished on the beach, paddle boated, ate dinner, walked on the beach, walked around the resort, swung in the hammocks and enjoyed each other's company. We packed a lot into our day. Zachary adores his cousins Brynn & Karsen. He also has a taken a liking to his Uncle Jeff and Aunt Kathy. Here are some pictures of our wonderful day. We are sad that we are headed back home tomorrow. Its been a great vacation. I am dreading getting Zachary back to our "normal" routine. YIKES!

Day 3: Vacation

Well, last night after I posted our blog we went for a long walk around the grounds. Zachary mellowed out and fell asleep as soon as we returned to our room. Again we are so glad that his sleeping has not been an issue.

Today we woke up. Kev went to his classes. Zachary and I enjoyed our breakfast of bagels and bananas. Z wanted to eat it like a monkey. (Sidenote: usually I slice each piece into what I call "banana coins". However I doubt the cleanliness of the knifes in our room so he got to eat it out of the peel). After breakfast we went to the Starbucks to get mommy her morning energy. After coffee we swam and then went on a 3 mile walk. Z crashed in the stroller. After our walk/nap we had a lunch date. My cobb salad was so good last night that I ordered it again. We met Kev/Dad for his breaks. This afternoon we were in the room napping and showering. I am pleased to report our sunscreen is working. YEAH!!!

Tonight we drove to Tampa (approx 15 miles) to eat at one of my favorite chain restaurants...Bahama Breeze. They have one in St. Louis but we never go there. Last time we ate at one was in Orlando for Kevin's Ortho Boards. Let me just say that this trip to Bahama Breeze was a lot different than last. We did not think the menu was as good as the last time. Also we had a very tired, hungry little guy. Luckily our wait was only like 3 minutes. Zachary got his dinner first...BIG MISTAKE. As soon as ours arrived he was "DONE". He threw the biggest fit. Everyone began staring. I tried to do what our friend, JAMES DOBSON, recommends. I took him to the bathroom and told him that mommy & daddy still needed to eat. I don't think he heard a thing I said because there was beach music on in the bathroom. He was too busy dancing. When we returned back to the table he lost it. I told Kevin to finish his meal and get mine packed up. This was the first time in Zacharys life that we have done this. You'll see me holding my coconut shrimp in the photo. That was the last time I touched them in the restaurant. Z and I went outside. Kevin brought my food and I ate it in the car. Once we got in the car Zachary crashed. Poor guy. I think he has a little too much vacation.
Well, I did not mean to make this a long blog. Zachary is ready for bed but he
is begging me to tell you that the baby ducks are doing great. We have stopped to see them several times today. Rumor has it that another set of ducklings hatched overnight. We have not seen them though.

Well, nothing else is new. We are thoroughly enjoying ourselves. Tomorrow our Austin family from Naples is joining us. We are really looking forward to it. Talk to you guys later. Love HIL

Last nights Florida sunset

Zachary's breakfast of champions

YUMMY!!

Staying hydrated...Zachary always has a drink in his hand.

My lunch date at B.R. Cuda's. Cobb Salad Day 2

Zachary & Daddy at Bahama Breeze

Zachary excited about coloring on the menu

Mommy excited about coconut shrimp

Zachary's Ducks

Vacation: Day Two

Well I am HAPPY to report that Zachary did AWESOME in is portable crib. Not sure if it was because he was super tired but he just got in there and laid down. It was so nice.
Last night after I blogged we headed out on a walk around the resort. We came across "movie night" or what the resort calls "DIVE-IN". It was at the kiddos pool on a HUGE BIG screen t.v. I guess the idea is you can lay on your rafts in the pool and watch the movie. We just crashed on the pool furniture and watched a little of Napoleon Dynamite. Zachary's personal request was "The Bee Movie"...we're keeping our fingers cross for later in the week. HA!

This morning Kevin headed to his "Dawson Course". Meanwhile Z and I hit the pool. I think we were the first people out to the pool area. People must have thought we were nuts. We lathered up with sunscreen and swam. Zachary loved it. We met Kev on his breaks. After some more exploring of the resort we found mini-golf, paddle boats, several walking trails, and lots of neat restaurants. Since our early morning swim, Z and I have gotten into the pools three more times. He is turning into a little fish. In fact during lunch I could have sworn I saw fins growing out of his back. Another first for Z was that I ordered him a small chocolate shake after he ate his meal. He was in heaven!

After Kev got out of his class, we met him for a paddleboat ride. Zachary really enjoyed it. On the ride we saw a family of ducks, a swan, and lots of plants. After the ride we hopped in the pool for swim #4 for the day. Again Zachary was in heaven. After the swim we got Cobb salads for dinner. We are going to post this blog then head for a night walk on the beach. There is live music out there and the sun is setting. Gotta run. Talk to you all tomorrow. Love you all, HIL

Dive In Movie night at the pool

Kevin enjoying the movie

Zachary relaxing at movie night

Mommy & Zachary swimming

Zachary jumping off the edge

Zachary's 1st EVER chocolate shake
A Paddleboat ride

Zachary's exciting find on the boat ride. He was very excited to see the DUCKS.

A night swim with Dad