Puerto Vallarta, Mexico Trip

Our trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico was amazing, incredible and unbelievable. We just kept thinking it was too good to be true. Kids were being cared for so great at home and we just embraced every waking hour being together just as husband and wife. It was so great. Celebrating our 10 year anniversary however, I did learn (or was reminded) of a few important things.

1. We TRULY do enjoy the sames things. Whether it's quiet reading time, ping-pong by the pool, tennis, or strolling a secluded fishing village, we BOTH love spending time in very similar ways, which is a wonderful thing that I do not take forgranted.

2. It takes a very, deliberate, JOINT effort to come back with some some-what flattering pictures of ourselves. Things just are not the same as they were 10 years ago. That's for dang sure!

So we left at 6am last Thursday morning. It was a 3:15am alarm, BUT it got us a jump start on the day and allowed us several waking hours down in Mexico once we arrived. I would leave that early again. It wasn't that big of a deal.
It definitely provided us some wonderful views on the way down to LA. We had a two hour lay over, which we filled with food and cards.
We both got hours of reading time in, which is a true pleasure for me. I NEVER sit down and read regularly, but when I get the chance, I can really plow through a book. We both happened to be reading Mt. Climbing/Adventure books (Into the Wild & No Short Cut to the Top) so we swapped stories and had lots of discussion regarding our books. Again, not typical on a plane ride with three kids in tow.
This would be me at the Mexican Customs, on the floor. I asked the flight attendant if I could fill out my form in pencil....twice, and was reassured that I could, twice. We stood in line, got to the counter, and got booted to the back because it was in pencil and not pen. I didn't have a pen, nor did they, so we had to make quick friends and 15 minutes later we were on our way.
We took a Taxi to our hotel, DREAMS Puerto Vallarta, and OH MY GOSH, we'd recommend it to anyone. We had the BEST experience. The staff, the food, the activities....everything was spectacular. It was an All-Inclusive plan, which means everything is included. Food, drinks, activities, room service and shows. It was such a great way to go.
We were starving, so we grabbed some food, then went straight out to the ocean for an after dinner swim (this is the type thing you take forgranted after a few days).
We swam over to these caves, which had crabs crawling all over the sides of the walls. It was cool.
Then we sat on the beach and enjoyed the sunset. The sunsets were spectacular. Everyday, it's pretty sunny and very hot all day long, but each evening the clouds would roll in (creating the most amazing sunsets) and we often had thunder and lightning storms at night. It was really fun the way it mixed it up and trust me, there was no shortage of sunshine and heat.
Every night at this particular resort, they let 50-100 baby turtles go into the ocean. The mama turtles come up at night and lay their ages, and then leave. So the resort, digs them up and takes care of them until they hatch and then the guests get to help release them.
This was just one night of turtles we helped with.

It was a fun thing to be part of........there is a video at the end of them crawling out to the water.
Again, incredible sunsets, night after night.
On our very first night, we saw a mother turtle come up to lay her eggs, and then watched her retreat to the ocean. Watching it, it almost felt sacred.
Friday morning we got up and headed to the Dolphin Discover Park.
We spend an hour in the pool with two dolphins, playing with them and swimming with them.
It was a pretty awesome opportunity and something we will never forget. The Discovery Park also was a Water Park, which was practically empty. We did a bunch of water slides like little kids and then enjoyed a few shows the park puts on as well. Video at the end of me getting kissed by a walrus.
When we got back, we just played ping-pong, swam, played tennis, ate and attended a Circus Show that was pretty impressive.

Saturday morning after breakfast, we headed up to play some more tennis.
Then we grabbed some lunch (you gotta tank up before you leave your resort when you are going all-inclusive).
I kind of got use to eating 7 meals a day. I could get into that!
Then we took a taxi to a nature preserve called El Eden about 20 minutes south of our resort. It was a beautiful, tropical jungle (okay, pretty much all of Puerto Vallarta is) and we just meandered through, just the two of us.
At this particular place, there is a restaurant the hangs over some beautiful falls and a rope swing.
About 5 minutes into our journey, I slipped on a wet rock and got scraped up pretty badly. This was after I got it nice and cleaned up after swimming in the river.
We came upon a long suspension bridge that crossed the river.
Once we got across, we jumped down and walked down to the river to swim.
It was beautiful, serene, tropical and we had it totally to ourselves.

There is something fiercely romantic about walking through a river of waterfalls in a tropical jungle with no one around. It was amazing.
When we got out and hiked back up, we went through this stretch of jungle that tropical birds were everywhere. Bright yellow and blue, and these cool lizards. It was like something staged at Disneyland or something.......but it was real.
That night we had a Mexican Fiesta for dinner with all the other guests. The food was incredible (again), but this pictures is actually of the following night at a private dinner where we had some live music right at our table for awhile. It was very romantic as well.
Another amazing day......and sunset.
So.....Sunday, we got up to got to church in town. When we showed up for breakfast at the buffet at 7:30 the waiter asked where we were heading so early. I told him "Church" to which he replied, "OH, you are getting married!". Because who on earth on goes to church at 7:30am on vacation!? We were actually really looking forward to worshiping with a different culture.

So we took our taxi and had to convice the driver that we weren't in the right place as he sat in front of a Catholic Church. Nothing against Catholics, but just not the planned destination. A few blocks away, we found the recognizable building of a Mormon church, though it seemed pretty quiet for an 8am start time. Literally, the gates were locked at 7:55am.
Someone passing by then said it actually started at 8:30, so we walked around for awhile, then made our way back to sitting in front of the locked gates again at 8:25. Thankfully, a member, who happened to live near by, saw us and came over to tell us that there was no meeting because it was Stake Conference (20 miles away!!!). We didn't even have close to enough money on us to go, so we just walked a few blocks to find a taxi and heading back to the resort. We tried!
We spent some time, in exchange for church, reading some stuff on the beach together (my kind of meeting!!).
Then we spent the rest of the day hanging around the resort, reading, swimming, playing and yet again, EATING. My favorite part.
Love those infinity pools!! Another great Comedy Show that night, that was pretty entertaining.

Monday, we got up and got a taxi to a near by town and then caught a water taxi to a secluded fishing village called Yelepa. No roads going in.....therefore, no cars. Yelepa just got electricity in 2002.

Once on land, we headed for a water fall we had heard about, while taking in all the rustic and athentic town and people as we went. It proved to be just about my favorite thing we did our whole trip.
Here is the street going through I guess what you'd call downtown. There were a few small rooms with stores in them.
Their phone booth, having had the electricity for only 7 years.
The kids. Oh, how I loved the kids. They were SO PRECIOUS. These kids were riding their brooms like horses, until Will came along and showed them how a true American rides. They just giggled and giggled.
This gentleman had had a successful morning of fishing. It was huge!
We did find the 150ft water fall and stayed awhile, before we left to explore more of the village and it's people.

We just happened to be walking by when the Kindergarten let out. I almost teared up as I saw the same popsicle stick art projects being shown with pride to their moms that I've received from my kids.
It was beautiful to see these families together, riding home from school on a horse, barefoot, with their dog by their side.
When you can't speak the language, you listen to people's eyes, and read the lines in their faces. I got teary a few times, seeing the same beautiful God given light in their eyes. I recognized their souls and was deeply intrigued by their lives.
Something stirred in me that day. I want to see more of the world, but not the world so much as it's people. I pray that that day will come for Will and I. I know there are opportunities out there.
Yes, 3rd world type living conditions, but it was so beautiful that you almost forgot.

(you might have to click on this beauty to really enjoy the action shot of Will playing ping-pong with the Tennis Pro)

Tuesday we just spent the morning reading, playing more ping-pong and hanging around the pools. Oh yeah, and eating. Then caught a 4:30 flight home.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Rebekah and Tommy for watching our children so lovingly. It meant the world to us not to worry.

We simply had the best time. We wouldn't have changed a single thing. It was just perfect. We missed the kids terribly and spoke of them all the time, but we needed and deserved this time together, undistracted by life. I feel so, so grateful that we could enjoy such a trip.