On the Go: October 2015

Monday, October 19, 2015

Fall Break | Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Awesome job Ally on your video of our trip!!!

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Adios Amigos!

Security?

Look at the hugs and kisses Dad gets when he takes the girls to the Duty Free shop~

Back in the USA...phones are smoking....

So this has become a tradition at our house...whenever we come back home from being gone, Hayden runs in the house and hugs Ally, then Oney, Judson, me and finally Abby! Its hilarious!

Poor Abby....waiting patiently!

The aftermath...laundry piles everywhere!

And the stack of mail...

Great trip!

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Student of the Month...Ally Naifeh

And the Student of the Month for October is...Ally Naifeh! She and I attended a brief ceremony at the South Tipton Chamber this morning. There will be a bigger ceremony at the end of the year for the Student of the Year.

Way to go Ally...like Mother like daughter

Our Last Day, REALLY?

Is there ever enough time on a vacation? I say no! It is very rare/sad that our family gets to totally shut down from the business. Our phones ring night and day...24/7...emails/text messages/calls...alarms going off...complaints...last minute orders...special requests...employee issues...its all part of why we are still in business...I get that. Its part of it - you take the good with the bad. That is why I like leaving the country. It makes such a difference in our quality vacation time when we are "somewhat disconnected" from the stores. Judson is able to relax just a little bit more, I turn on my out of office reply, and we let it all go for a few days. Knowing when we return, we will hit the ground running HARD!

This week started out with a phone call Monday morning at 4:00am from Randy saying that a 25 year employee of ours had quit with no notice. Yep...happy vacation! Judson handled it great though. We couldn't do anything from Mexico and so he told our help to make the best of a bad situation and do the best they could. By that afternoon, we got a text from Randy saying everyone was working together as a team to get it all done and they were going to be just fine until we got home. WOW!

So, in spite of the rain the first two days, our employee shake up, preparations for a huge 2 day sale the day we get home, etc this was "hands down" one of our BEST family vacations EVER!!! Judson and I both tried to forget about issues we have at work and just focus on a fun, light hearted, relaxing quality family vacation. As I am typing this today, Abby came in and said Cabo was the best family trip we have ever had. Success!

The private drive to our resort...

A panorama from the master upstairs suite! It was amazing!

Judson played golf today with the men and the kids and I drove to town. We had lunch at The Office which is the perfect touristy place to go. The food is always great, the atmosphere even better and there is even shopping on the beach.

After we ate, we did the typical tourist activities...hair braiding, henna tattoos, bought fake sunglasses, bracelets, etc.

We were hot and tired after all of this hoopla, so we opted to head back to our pool and villa for one last afternoon. Then, we showered and got ready for a photo session at the beach. Why are family pics so darn stressful? I mean even just a simple beach picture causes stress?!? But, we are always glad we did it!

The newest photographer in the family...Ally has my love for photography!

I think we were all starting to get a little delirious here...

Ally interviewing her Dad on his love for ketchup...look at his plate...

After dinner, we went back to the Villa and finished packing up. So sad...NONE of us are ready to go home..well, maybe Abby...

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Ziplines and Tanlines

I definitely think my "status" went way up today with my kids. We went to Wild Canyon for a morning of zip lining! What they don't tell you when you sign up is that you have to hike pretty large distances between lines. Judson and I had done this before so we knew what to expect. Even though Jud and I are in the worst shape we have ever been in, we made it! It was a bit tougher than last time or at least it felt like it was. The kids all made it fine of course. It was a lot of fun. Here are a few shots from their camera.

After our workout this morning at Wild Canyon, we all opted to go straight back to the Villa and relax by the pool.

We went to Sunset De Mona Lisa and had a glass of wine and took pictures at Sunset. It was the perfect spot Tim had picked out. It really helps to have someone map everything out for you that has done it before. It just takes the guess work out of it.

I have to steal my high and kisses from Oney these days. He is growing way too fast!

My three "kiddos"...they really got along great this trip. I just keep thinking to myself, how different things will be next year this time. Ahhhh...

When they were babies, this was one of my favorite shots of them, standing on our boat at Pickwick with their little booties poking out of their bikini bottoms.

Look at O and Jud...I really think Oney is going to be taller than his Dad. Danielle and Oney had to take a pic together just for funnies! Sorry Damon!

One of Ally by herself...just because!

Damon giving photography lessons!

Abby enjoying the view and I am quite sure snap chatting Hayden....

The tres amigos loco, three crazy friends! Damon, Judson and Senior Tim

These three have had some good times together. The grocery business has brought some wonderful people into our lives. Tim has been so generous and kind to us over the years and we are grateful for his friendship. Damon, well, he is credited with screwing up Judson's golf game. Haha!