Another Busy Weekend!

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

As usual it was another long and busy weekend for us. Melissa's father and step mother came down from Mattawa and we took them out to Jack Astor's for some Birthday drinks and dinner. Larry is turning [not allowed to tell] on Halloween (Tuesday).

Melissa & I gave him the gift of Sirius Satellite radio. There will actually be more than 2 stations on their radio way up in Mattawa now! We love ours and we know they're gonna enjoy theirs.

More Good Times!

This weekend we also had Darrin and Lori-Ann over for dinner, drinks, and a whole lot of laughter! They showed up with all kinds of goodies for everyone.

The Beckham jersey they bought our little BMac fit like a glove! He loved it and rarely takes it off now. We still can't believe how good it looks. We can't thank you guys enough - he looks like a pro now.

The spoiled brat also scored a Halloween gift bag, which he's not allowed to open until Halloween. He's been eye balling it since (no Boston Terrier googley eye jokes here please).

...and of course we were treated with some of LA's patented chocolate covered GOODNESS again. Just in time because we just ran out of the last batch. Thank god they're fat/sugar free ... and next to no calories whatsoever (right?).

I guess I'm not the only one with sore cheeks from laughing all night. Darrin didn't disappoint with his usual animated stories from the past as he double fisted wine and rye all night. I heard there was some 'comfort' food ordered the next day assist with the hang over.

Thanks again you two - it's always an exciting time. We'll see you in a couple of weeks!

Oh yeah, needless to say I didn't make it to football Sunday morning. I was up in time but I guess I rolled over and the next thing I knew it was 11am. A couple of the dudes are a little upset with me, especially because I was suppose to pick them up along the way. Sorry guys - I'll make it up to you next week.

Jackson's Christening

The weekend didn't end there. Sunday Melissa's God-Son, Jackson, was Christened. The little monster got dunked a few times and passed out for half of it. He looked great all dressed up!

Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it because someone had to watch the puppy. Another month or so and we'll be able to leave him for a few hours here and there.

Sunday Visit!

Shawn, Angie, and Tiana spent some time over here with me on Sunday as well. It was good to hang out and do some catching up. Tiana is looking more beautiful every day! The camera wasn't around but here she is from a few weeks ago.

Spice Girl?!

While I was walking out of the building the other day, I ran into Beckham's little girlfriend! Another Boston Terrier lives in this building. She's 2 years old and cute as hell. I told her that we'd have to hook the two up shortly. Her name is Lucy ... Lucy Spice is gonna go nuts when she meets this handsome little footballer!

Soccer Anyone?

Happy 30th Birthday Kearney

Sorry we missed the big birthday bash last night buddy but I hope you had a blast! I'm assuming you're licking your wounds today - that's a sure sign of GOOD TIMES. I hope it wasn't like that house warming of yours when you were the first one to bed.

Just remember, it's only NOW that you're allowed to complain about all your bumps and bruises. You're officially 'ALMOST AN OLD GUY'. Welcome to the 30 Club - you're finally catching up to that thinning hair of yours!

Recent Beckham

The little bugger is getting big, fast. It might not be evident in the pictures but our 'puppy proof' home needs some adjustments. He's now getting at things that were once out of reach.

Here you go Kay, as per your request!

A Mattawa Thanksgiving

It's been 2 years since we've been north for Thanksgiving and as usual it was fantastic!

First we stopped by my parents in Sundridge so my Mom & Doug could meet Beckham. Needless to say, they fell in love with him. Their LARGE dog, Max, loved him as well.

My fat cat, Simba, wasn't so welcoming but aside from puffing up (yes, she can puff up even MORE!!!) and a nasty warning sound, she kept to herself. She's pretty small eh!? ;)

On to Mattawa. Uncle Kent and Landon took us 'CITY BOYS' (myself and Greg) out on the ATV's again. The weather was great and we had a blast. We only ran into one partridge and Kent took her down before she could fly away. Thanks for another great time up there guys!

I haven't had much time to post anything and am somewhat limited right now so I'm just throwing some pictures up.

It was great hanging out with most of the family again. Pam, Greg, and their son 'ACTION' Jackson were also there. Man he's a MONSTER!!!!

Sorry for not getting more pictures of the all the rest of you guys.

More Beckham

Beckham Comes Home

He's finally home! Yesterday we drove up to the Walkerton area to pick up our little runt. Lita and Gary at Black Jack Kennels had him and all his belongings ready when we arrived.

He played with his rope for a while on the way home and then slept for about 2 hours solid. He wasn't fussy at all with the ride. We were a bit worried that he'd be scared and cry most of the way but he took it all in stride.

That little angel in the car quickly turned into a little terror when we got him to our place. After playing with all his toys, he brought them back to his crate one by one and then was off in search of other 'toys' that he could play with. It's hilarious watching him tug and chew on anything within his reach.

I think I was dreading his bath more than him because although he wasn't exactly LOVING the situation, he was pretty cool with it and took it in stride. He didn't try and squirm or wiggle away at all. He had more of a 'lets get this over with' look on his face. Good boy!

He ended up spending the night with Melissa on the couch then 3 more hours with me in the bed snoozing because he wasn't too happy with the crate situation. He howled and tried to bark for a while but because it was his first night here, we gave in and allowed him the comfort of being beside us.

Oh, Lita and Gary, thanks so much for everything. You were both very accommodating and helpful. We'll keep you updated and send you off new pictures from time to time.

The Honeymoon is Over :(

Our trip was fantastic! The weather was VERY hot but you're not far away from an air conditioned room, an ocean, or a pool if you need to cool off. It did rain, but it wasn't often or very long at all. For example, we drove through a 3 minute cloud of heavy rain once. The other side of that cloud was blue skies. The locals didn't seem to care much but why would they? It's not like up here where we'll get an entire week of it.

We were very pleased with our resort in all aspects. All rooms offered a 2 person jacuzzi which we used about every other day. It was something we planned on using once a day but we were too busy and when we finally did make it back to our room it was bed time.

The mini bar was stocked with tequila, rum, scotch, and brandy. No rye, but I did do some damage to the rum bottle. We also had a mini fridge stocked with Pepsi, 7-up, bottled water, 2 types of canned beer, and club soda. They were very good about getting you stocked up with whatever you were using.

We had access to room service 24 hours a day which was covered in our all inclusive. We took advantage of this several times just for the convenience. They were very quick getting the food to our room as they were with any call down to the front desk. The delivery was followed up with a call to make sure everything was to our satisfaction.

The maid service was also great. We tried to make sure everything was clean as possible but we returned to a fresh spotless room every time - accompanied by daily towel art.

We had access to 7 a la carte restaurants from 6pm to 11pm which we were blown away with. We really didn't expect the quality of food that we received. We can't say enough about the food at all the restaurants we tried whether it was the steak house, Italian cuisine, Oriental, or Mexican. We tried to get to all of them but we enjoyed a few of them so much that we returned.

The service throughout the resort was so good that it was almost annoying. From the time you check in until check out the main theme seems to be all about you and your experience while you're there. There was a few exceptions but they were minor.

The only downfall with our resort was the occupancy. Aventura Spa Palace was only at 30% capacity due to it being their 'low season'. It was nice not being over crowded and there were certainly enough people around to meet and enjoy their company, but they had the south end of the resort closed for repairs. Some restaurants were closed until dinner because of this reason - which is understandable, but it came as a surprise to us nonetheless.

Booking with one of the 'Palace' resorts gives you access to ALL the Palace resorts. Your wristband gives you full access with the exception of a room. Food, drink, and facilities are all yours and you're treated just as you are at your own resort. We took full advantage of this and traveled to as many as we could with the time we were given. Our second day we took off to Playacar Palace which allowed us access to a great beach and was located just steps from 5th Avenue in Playa Del Carmen and the pier.

We took the shuttle bus to Moon Palace for a day and were blown away by the size relative to our resort. Aventura is pretty big - but Moon Palace was HUGE. We spent a day there enjoying their large pool and had a great lunch before returning to our resort. While we were there we ran into our first iguana. He caught us off guard be was pretty cool when approached.

One of the trips we really wanted to take was Cozumel. We were fortunate enough to have access to the Cozumel Palace resort on the island because we really needed it due to the heat. We took the trip over with our new friends from Springfield, Illinois - Steve & Paula. We could have spent our whole time with you two down there. I'm glad we enjoyed our longest trip with you both over there. We'll see you soon and thanks again for the Crown Royal shirt and the silver shopping tips! Who knows - maybe we can join you again in Mexico for your wedding!?

George & Violet - I wish we could have spent more time together. Staying up late with you two the night before we checked out was well worth being extremely tired the next day. I wish we could have spent more time, but perhaps we'll leave that for another occasion. You're not that far! Thanks for the snorkeling tips and for making the effort to see us before we left. George, stay away from those sting rays and if you're gonna chase them, make sure he's not cruising by my feet!! Good times for sure!

There's so much more to write about but we'd like to leave some for conversation. I'll be posting more pictures in the future.

All in all we had a the time of our lives and it was the perfect honeymoon!