...and We're Back - in Mexico!

Not a whole lot happened after Halloween - we did have the first inaugural Thanksgiving Tacos, which were delicious - but on the 30th, it was time to get on the road again.  Off to Puerto Vallarta!

We gave Cabo a try last year, but we missed all our PV favorites:

like going to out for dinner at El Arryán -

- enjoying breakfast at our condo -

- or just having snacks poolside.

Best of all, there were friends to play with - Gracie & Audrey joined us from Boulder (yes, they brought their parents, too).  The bigger kids LOVED the waves at the beach.

Lucie, unfortunately, got knocked off her feet by a wave on our second day, so she preferred more sedate beach activities, like filling a plastic bag with special rocks, or making sand castles with plastic cups.  And after about half an hour, she was usually ready to go in -

-which is a little sad, since her big brother had so much fun in the water.

We did at least coax her to try stand-up paddle surfing with him:

Of course, you can't spend all day every day at the beach (well, I probably could, as long as I had regular deliveries of food and margaritas, but that doesn't play as well with the elementary school set).  So we did a little sight-seeing in town, shopping and walking along the Malécon.

There was a special trip to the Puerto Vallarta Zoo with Sylvia, the awesomest babysitter ever.  Brennan's favorite animal was the hippo, and Lucie like the guinea pigs the best.  And they got to feed carrots to lots of animals, the nutritional appropriateness is something I'm sure I don't want to think about too much.

We launched globos del contoya on the beach at night - 

- and had a special piñata party on our last night.

We learned pretty quick that the process was going to be quicker (and safer) if we eliminated the blindfold.

In interest of being honest about our parenting standards, I'll fess up that there was also a fair share of this going on:

The favorite spot by far, though, was the pool.  It got direct sun all day, so it was warm, and it was only about 3 feet deep, so everyone but The Bean could hop in without danger.  Which is not to say that she didn't launch herself in.

After a few alarming dunks, Lucie got better about using the pink "floaty-float" to join in the fun.

In fact, it got rather difficult for anyone else to even have a turn.

Oh, well.  Who needs a floaty when you can fly?

The hot tub next to the pool was a popular spot, too.  Lucie liked it so much, she even took a nap in it one afternoon.

There was time to scramble on the rocks at Conchas Chinas, hunt for tiny hermit crabs, and collect pretty shells - 

and best of all, no one had to go to work or school all week!

We had another fantastic stay at Casa Tres Vidas - everyone there is so friendly and helpful.  (By the way - GO!  As much as I love having the place to myself, the past few years have been hard for the Mexican tourist industry.)

We miss you, Mexico! (really - Lucie's been sitting in my lap as I type, asking "Can we go there next time?")  Hasta la próxima...