Spring Break in Mexico

My itch was scratched.
It was bliss.

Yes, those are my toes.
Isn't it fabulous?!
So, we flew out to Mexico and stayed the first night at the condo in Punta Mita (about 45 minutes from Puerto Vallarta) where the Blatters have a beautiful condo (and house too).
When we got to the condo, we were welcomed with petals on the floor in the shape of a seahorse! The kids thought that was pretty cool!

The sliders from the condo lead straight to some fabulous pools and the beach right there...

This is the beach club right next to the condo where the kids love to play...


The next day we went to another beach club in Punta Mita that is absolutely fabulous with a family area with pools and a play structure and hammocks and kayaks and cabanas on the beach and a gorgeous restaurant with a giant palapa (sp?) roof. They also have the best and most beautiful shrimp tacos and chips and guacamole. It's gorgeous!


Hannah

Helping Owen

Owen sporting cool goggles

Jake in his ever-thoughtful pose in his own little world on the beach
John and Diane offered to take the kids for an hour so that we could go to the St. Regis resort alone!!
It was beautiful...



John and I

Chris and Lisa
We relaxed and talked and swam and sipped diet cokes. We definitely needed that!

That evening we drove to Nuevo Vallarta to spend the rest of the week at the house but on the way we stopped at "Tacos on the Street" a fabulous find with some of the yummiest tacos ever! Jake and Mason ate like 5 and wanted more. We had to go again later in the week because we liked it so much!

Nuevo Vallarta...

We boogey boarded...

John and Alex

We played in the sand...

And played in the ocean...

Had a mud fight...Chris lost!

And swam and laid out by the pool...

Cute cousins

Owen was a mad man in his tube. Jumping off the wall into the pool, loving every minute!

One day we went to the crazy Mexican zoo where there were tons of animals and not a lot of protective fences. It was wild!


Cute cousins...Hannah and Katie

Jake in heaven
So they give you a bag of food and let you loose. There was a huge area with all kinds of animals--ducks, goats, ostriches, a hippo--all co-habitating. It looked a little sketchy but we figured they must all get along. Not so. We watched as this hippo got a goat in its mouth and started gnawing on it. We told the kids they were wrestling and watched paralyzed with the craziness of it all!

Feeding the flamingos...

The camel that spit on Mason...

The giraffe who only had a half-wall to keep him in...

Check out how far his neck comes out! He had a crazy tongue...

My favorite...


We were buddies.

One chain link fence between me and a puma.
Another favorite animal was this mini bunny...

You can really see how small he is when you compare him to the others...

I wanted to bring him home for Easter.
They let us in to a petting zoo area where guinea pigs were wandering around. I asked John to grab one for the kids to hold but he could only get the slow turtle, so I got in myself and grabbed a guinea...only to be told that we weren't supposed to pick up the animals.

(Interesting what they choose to crack down on!)

Check out the awesome signage in the zoo...



Jake and the donkey


Owen giving "luvs" to his dad! Isn't that precious?!

We got back to the house and did more of the same...swimming, beaching, sandcastling, reading.
Some more picture taking...

Katie, Hannah, Sydney



Hannah was over picture taking by this point so this was the best of my four...

All the cousins...

The way we ride in Mexico...

Even Owen getting in. I shouldn't admit this but "When in Mexico..."

The crazy mom who let them sit in the back...

Off to the Waterslides...



Owen loved the kiddie area...





Then he was ready for the big slides. He loved it! Jake and Mason even went down the "toilet bowl" and earned themselves some bragging rights! Alex and Owen wanted to do it but you had to be 10--(Jake and Mason are tall by Mexican standards, I guess. They didn't even ask and I didn't know!)
Owen made a friend (everywhere he goes) and the man insisted that he keep his ball and get his picture taken with him. So friendly!

Good times

Another highlight of the trip was Geckie and his brother Geckie Go...The kids found a couple of lizards and named them and had a lot of fun with them...so much fun that one got rough-handled a little too much and they ended up holding a funeral or "ceremony" as they called it where they "let him go".








They also got to walk down the beach and buy trinkets. Here they're showing them off...


Alex chose a bobble-headed turtle, Jake a bobble-headed dragon, and Hannah an onyx dolphin.


Checking out each other's trinkets...


Love these girls!

We also went to Paradise Village to climb the pyramid...


At the top...






Check out those bananas!
Another highlight was when we saw a big mama sea turtle on the beach heading back into the water. Another day we took a pre-sunset walk down the beach and found a spot in the sand where baby sea turtles were emerging and a couple of policmen were there digging them up. They let us help them and hold the baby turtles! They were so cute and about the size of my palm! It was something the kids will never forget! Unfortunately I didn't have my camera.

Something else I will never forget is the sun and the breeze and my lounge chair and the four books I read. Oh, and the sunset dance parties. And the couple's massages down the beach that John and I did one day. And an evening out without kids thanks to Grandma and Grandpa! Also the joy of seeing my kids having the time of their lives with their cousins and G&G. It was truly unforgettable!

It was a blissful week!

Finally off the plane and ready to run! They were off before we could stop them...

At the baggage claim...

I had to include these shots of Owen waiting for the shuttle...
He wouldn't take his hands out of his pocket for anything, even the risk of falling. So cute.




Fun times!