Mexico Adventure: Chapter 10-Puerta Vallarta

Like I mentioned previously, some of us got to extend our vacation an extra 2 days, and get to enjoy the sights and thrill of Puerta Vallarta. I'll put this in 2 chapters, as the thrill ride deserves it's own blog post. But, we were thrilled to get to see some more of Mexico that we hadn't got a chance to experience yet. This really is a cool town, full of beautiful architecture, a fun night life, and of course, fabulous beaches & scenery!

First things first, we needed some food & drinks to get the night going, and get us out of the slump we just hit with the news!

We were right to the beach once we got food in us!

And of course there was a lot of bargaining going on, while at the beach (Welcome to Mexico! :})

And hey, look who was at our hotel...Spongebob Squarepants! :}

I loved all the art & sculptures around the city!

And, of course, the scenery in itself was stunning, and so peaceful!

Disney's Pirate Ship (which scared the crap out of me when they let the cannon go off! Hence the moment a wave hit my camera! :})

The only downfall to tropical places is some of the creatures that come your way. I was so bummed to lose a lot of my pictures, as my camera got hit by a wave & wasn't working too well (oops :}). I had a good shot of the Iguana taking a casual stroll on our hotel property, or many of them all over the golf course. This little guy (and trust me, not really so little) decided to try & nest in my hair one night. I freaked, did a little "shoo away dance", followed by turfing it on the wet patio after a major rain fall. Mind you, I had a broken thumb by this time too, so all I could think of was "Don't hit the thumb!". (yea, came home w/ a few bumps & bruises; but, that's me! :}) And let me tell you about those rain falls....they were more like tropical thunderstorms. I had never heard lightening as loud, or felt like it was so close. Of course, it didn't stop us from getting out to tour the town.

Shopping time, despite the storm at hand! Good thing Mama Jules got some umbrella's from the hotel valets! :}

Of course, there had to be a pit stop or two during all that shopping! Thirsty anyone? :}
Fun time being had by all! :}

Mexico Adventure: Chapter 9-The Moment We Heard The Sad News

We had all the fun we could have in Manzanillo & then we were on our way back to Puerta Vallarta. It was sad to leave the cute family who was taking such good care of us & who we really grew to just love in that short time! Some of the girls were going home this day, but, many of us "unfortunately" got stuck there for 2 more days! (which is kind of funny; but, short story, flights got cancelled & nothing else was going out for 2 more days...so, darn, we had to stay! :}). But, to take a step back to reality, despite all the fun we were having, we also were aware during this whole trip, that we were all anxiously awaiting to hear if Jacob got a liver. We weren't getting good phone service on our cell phones, so it was important we found out the latest before we headed out for our drive back. And sure enough...we got the text the night before. They had found a liver & would be doing the surgery at 2 am the following morning!! What great news, we were so relieved! And though we knew it would still be tough, and wish we were there with them, it was comforting to know he was going to make it....or so we thought. It took us about 6 hours to get back, and again, we weren't getting good service. Finally Suzanne got the message after arriving at our hotel there....he didn't make it through the surgery. Oh, what a punch in the gut! Here we were enjoying ourselves, surrounded in paradise, yet all the happiness of the moment taken away instantly & it was then very hard to be so far from home, and not with the ones we love & who needed us. We knew they would want all of us to continue having fun & not let it ruin our trip; but, it was hard to not have it on your mind from that moment on. We finished settling in & decided to go chill on the beach. I felt inclined then to have a bit of a goodbye moment for him. So, I drew in the sand...

And to share a personal moment, I have to tell you about my cry out to him:

I said a little prayer & asked him to make a deal...we will do our best to watch over the family on this end, as long as he did his best to watch over them on his end. I got a very peaceful feeling at that moment & as hard as it was to take him being gone, I knew he would do just that. This, oddly enough, had strengthened my belief in faith in itself, and the power of God. Now that I think about it more, I truly feel, with the kind of kid Jacob always was, this was his purpose. He needed to be here for reason, he had to go through what he did to help teach some of us a lesson, and let certain things happen, like the Home Makeover. He was an angel here on earth, and will continue to be! Goodbye Jacob, may you rest in peace...we miss you little buddy!

Mexico Adventure: Chapter 8-Fun & Games

Us girls never have a hard time finding ways to keep ourselves entertained. And we certainly didn't on our trip either. One regular night activity was to play a round of "Left, Right, Center", which is a game where everyone pitches in $3.00 and when you roll the dice, you either have to pass a dollar to the right, left, keep it, or to the pot in the center, depending on what it lands on. The one with the last $ wins the pot. Simple enough, and is quite a fun game!

It got intense towards the end!

And the lucky winner two nights in a row is....

Yea, just for that...have another tequila shot Daniella! :}

So then, one night, we decided to play musical chairs....

Of course, then there were times we just wanted to dance!

I seem to always pull out the "air guitar" when I get into it! :}

I'm such a dork sometimes! :}

Oh, these girls are just a never ending bundle of fun, I think that's why we get along so well! :}