I'm Back!

I have returned from my voyage to Mexico and I am happy to be back. I had a lot of fun, but a week is a long time to be gone from my baby girl and husband. I missed them like crazy and the hard part about this vacation was the fact that I could not just call home every night to see how things were going. I did get to email two of the days because I found cheap internet service on land so I had 15 minutes for $2. I checked the blog and saw that Brent was doing an excellent time blogging and taking care of Audrey. I truely did not have to worry so much because he is such an awesome dad and Audrey was lucky to have a week with just him:) Sounds like they had tons of fun. I got tons of sun and enjoyed some exploring, but Mexico is not my favorite place to be, it was a little dirty I thought. The cruise ship was awesome besides the fact that about 100 or so people had the flu and were spreading it around the ship like crazy, made for an interesting time, thank goodness nobody in our group got sick. I would love to go on a cruise some time with Brent. It is an amazing way to take a vacation and I am so lucky to have gone on this trip.


My boss Gayla standing by the ship in Mazatlan.

A whale tail on the Whale watching adventure in Cabo San Lucas.

Our ship, the Oosterdam, anchored in Cabo.

Here we are learning what to do in case the ship sinks. The most important tip, warm clothes and comfortable shoes, ha. I am sure that is what I would be thinking about.

Leaving San Diego.

The Brent Wood Travel group that was sailing with us.

Sarah, me, and Gayla in the Northern Lights Night Club, we hung out there a couple nights.

Enjoying a nice cold pina colada by the pool after the Walk for the Cure 5K (nine laps around the boat).

Gayla and I enjoying the salsa we made in Mazatlan.


The cemetery in Puerto Vallarta that we found so incredibly interesting on our off road bike adventure. It is so different than in the US.


The grocery store in the small village that we toured on our bike ride.


The street through the small village. It was amazing to see the conditions the people live in.

All of the police we saw carried machine guns.


On the dock in Cabo San Lucas. This was by far my favorite place we visited on the cruise, much cleaner than any of the other ports.


A heated game of scrabble with Ben, Sarah and Gayla.



Formal night on the cruise with our waiters Fredy and Reza. They made our dining experience the best, we enjoyed every night.

Signing off

In just 24 hours Shanna will be back. Whooo hooo!!! I have missed her more than I can even put into words. I haven't slept well all week without her next to me, I miss her coming home at the end of the day and how excited she always is to see Audrey and me, I miss watching her play with Audrey because they always make me laugh, and I miss her stories from work, because lets face it, as much as I love my job, there are not many exciting stories that start out with "So there I was tieing out my balance sheets..." I could go on and on about all of the things that I miss about her but I won't.

Audrey and I have had a great week. I know that I am probably slightly bias and that all parents probably think and say this but Audrey is the worlds best baby. She makes my job of being a Dad the most enjoyable and rewarding experience that I have ever known.

We have someone coming to take a look at the house Saturday afternoon so wish us luck.

Hopefully I have done an ok job keeping up with the blog this week. Who knows if Shanna will let me maybe I will throw in a post of my own every now and again now that I know what I am doing.

Happy Audrey

Audrey woke up this morning as happy as ever. I took her temp and it was 98.4. She is a super baby. When I picked her up from daycare this afternoon they told me that she had been very happy all day. We had a great night together. We played, had a bath, played some more and then had a bottle and she was off to bed. She was very cooperative and let me put her in her excersaucer while I cooked myself up a supper of steak, corn, and mashed potatoes. Once she went to sleep, I was able to get outside to shovel (don't worry, I took the monitor with me). I had to pay a couple of bills (first bills that I have payed in 6 years I believe) and now I have a load in the washing machine. I didn't want Shanna to come home to piles of laundry and bills. That would be no fun. Friday is almost here. Just 2 more days and my best friend will be back. I can hardly wait. Friday evening Audrey and I are joining G&G Wood, Randy, Rachel, Terry, and Larry for supper at Mazatlan. Well, I need to fold some clothes and watch Survivor.

Over half way

We have officially made it past the half way point. Whooo hooo. Last night Audrey hung out with G&G Sonnek. Grandma gave her a bath in the kitchen sink and from the look of the pictures that she took Audrey loved it. I had bowling league and had one of my better nights. The score for my 3 games were 158, 195, and 182. Golden Heart called me at work around noon today and told me that Audrey had a fever and needed to leave. Fortunatly Grandma Wood was able to take her for the afternoon so that I could get back to work. Audrey and I had supper at G&G Wood's and then I went to work out. I took her temp before putting her to bed and it was still 102.2. I will check it again in the morning and if it is still high I think I will need to take her in. Not much planned for tomorrow night. It is Survivor night so Audrey and I will be watching that for sure (Don't worry Shanna, I have it set to record already).

Shanna has emailed me the last couple of days. She is having a good time, and has a pretty good sunburn. She misses Audrey and Me (who wouldn't). We miss her too.

Good night

Day's 2 and 3

Whew, being a single dad is no easy task. Saturday night, Audrey thought it would be a good idea to wake up at 1:45 for a snack. In the morning we were invited over to Grandma and Grandpa Sonnek's for breakfast. It was delicious. Audrey and I spent the afternoon playing and we took a nap on the couch. Grandma and Grandpa Wood came over Sunday night with Chipotle for supper. This morning, I was able to get both of us ready and off to daycare and work on time. No easy task. Hopefully I can do it 4 more times this week. Tonight we went over to Grandma and Grandpa Wood's for pizza. Now Audrey is in bed but she has a bad cough. So far she continues to sleep through it. Hopefully she will make it all night. I am very thankful for having all the grandparents so close. It sure helps me out and helps pass some time.
Tomorrow night Audrey is heading over to hang out with Grandma Julie while I bowl and Wednesday G&G Wood are taking Audrey to Steve's Bday party while I go work out. I have a whole new respect for anyone who is a single parent.

Day #1

Audrey and I have officially been on our own now for one full day. We had all kinds of fun today. We played, went grocery shopping, ate bannanas (mmmm Audrey loves banannas), and had a bath. Shanna called this afternoon to let us know that she made it on the ship.

While Audrey and I were hanging out all day a thought came to me. "I pay someone to watch this little beauty all day during the week?" It seems like someone should be paying me for giving them that opportunity. They are the lucky ones.

Keep checking back. I am going to do my best to keep everyone posted on our week.

Home Alone

Good evening everyone,

It's me, Brent, and I have taken over the blog duties for the week. Audrey and I have been on our own now for about 1 hour. So far all is well. I gave Audrey a bottle and she fell asleep and I put her to bed.
I will try and keep everyone posted on Audrey and me throughout the week. It should be interesting. I haven't been apart from Shanna for more than a weekend since we met.
Shanna, if you have a chance to check out the blog we want you to have a blast on your cruise and take care of yourself. Don't you worry about us.