Weekend in Vallarta

We are truly blessed:) So many fun adventures... This last weekend we headed out to Puerto Vallarta for the holiday weekend. WOW! Amazing trip......it was a last minute decision to head to the beach...we actually had planned to go with some of our friends that we usually do the beach camping trips on a trip they had planned to a city called Michoacan. During this time of year, there are a bunch of butterflies that migrate to this specific place and it's supposed to be a really cool thing to see. The friends we were planning to go with are super adventurous and had planned some stuff we just didn't think the kids could handle. We still would like to get out there at some point and check it out.... we just decided we wanted relaxation and beach this past weekend! And that is exactly what we got;)

We went with our friends Kimberlie and Steve and their little guy Nathan, whom is 19 months. They are awesome people, who are relaxed and like to have fun like us....just our style. Kim had told me last wednesday at the weekly wives lunch that they were thinking about heading to the beach....maybe Sayulita...which is about an hour outside of puerto vallarta. I thought....hhhmmmm the beach sounds fun:) I knew we had talked about our michoacan trip to see butterflies but what can I say?....I'm just a sucker for the beach. And pretty sure Erik was in the mood for some R&R because when I mentioned to him that Kim and Steve were thinking about the beach he was like....."call them!" So that's what I did! We all decided it was a go and immediately started searching for places to stay online. Sayulita must be a pretty nice spot, and especially on a holiday weekend because there was absolutely nothing! Everything was booked....so we started checking in puerto vallarta......a travel agent named April got back to me immediately and found us a few things. I forwarded them to Kim and she liked the same one I liked(we did good girl!) ....I emailed April back and told her save the Grand Venetian property for us! We'll be there tomorrow! BOY were we in for a beautiful surprise! The place was gorgeous! I was like...."are you sure this is $200/dollars per night?" ..."Because....this is amazing!" 14th floor, 2 bedroom, plus pull out bed in living room, brand new, granite kitchen counter tops, decorated perfectly, flat screen TVs in every room, bath tub on the balcony.....get the picture? OH and it gets way better.......sliding glass doors across the back that open all the way up, perfect view of the ocean and pools, perfect 85 degree weather, breathtaking sunset!...I loved it:) I was in heaven.....

The weekend consisted of laying by the pool/the kids were little fishes and did so well swimming~they remembered from last summer and were like little pros, playing in the ocean and beach, eating at super yummy places in downtown puerto vallarta. Which, by the way is pretty cool! The only other time we came to puerto vallarta we stayed in an all-inclusive resort so we never left the place! We were missing out! Downtown is so fun and there are tons of restaurants! I felt like I was in the states~menus in english and waiters that speak to you in english(a little treat when you live in mexico)....and the food was outstanding! Thanks to Steve! He had some really good recommendations for restaurants.....saturday night we headed to Joe Jack's.....we ate fish and drank mojitos. Sunday afternoon we went to cheeky monkey's where they had $1 margs~the boys liked this one! Erik got a pulled pork sandwich......yum. It was SO good. And we also ate some pretty tasty pizzas there.

We were only supposed to stay friday and saturday night but we ended up getting a free night in Nuevo Vallarta (about 25 min outside PV) for sunday night......our poor little Halle girl cut the bottom of her foot our first night there. They were fixing one of the showers and the workers had left some tiles outside the bathroom, and my little angel sliced her foot! It was not pretty and we were so lucky she didn't need stitches! We would have had ONE upset little girl if she was unable to get in the water all weekend! It was hard enough that she was freaked out to get in each day because she was dreading the stinging she would feel putting it in the water! But, she was tough....and NOTHING was getting in the way of her swimming;) Also, they came and did some work on the shower on saturday morning, and weren't supposed to.......no wonder the room was so cheap!?!?...lol. BUT, we did get a free night for the inconvenience and the travel agent was very apologetic and sincere. The free room nice but it was nothing like the one in PV, but we did enjoy hanging out one more night:)

SUCH a fun, relaxing weekend with great friends! I can't wait to do it again;)

Funny conversations with Halle

Lately, Erik and I have been telling Hallers we don't want her to get any "bigger"....(meaning "older").....you see, our sweet little girl is going to be turning 6 here pretty soon! We both just can't believe how fast the time has gone and that she's really going to be 6 years old!!! These years are just going way to fast for us.... We grab her and hold her and ask her..."can't you just stay 5 FOREVER?"...she's cute and says..."don't worry mom and dad...I'll always be your baby."...We sure do hope so:)

Well, the other day when we were getting dressed she said to me......"Mom, I don't want you to get any bigger"....I kinda laughed and said..."Oh, haller ballers......mommy is done growing....you see you stop growing when you turn 18"....."Oh" she said......"and how old are you mom?"....."well, I'm 30"....."WOW mom! That's OLD!" I said....."Excuse me little missy! I am not old!!!!" and we both laughed......the funny thing is.....pretty sure she meant "older".....not "bigger" just like we say to her....Love my Hallers!!!!

Dinner with dear friends

Seth and Bri invited Erik, me and the kids over for dinner and wine. We ALWAYS look forward to these nights when we're home visiting! We MISS them so much!!! Ash came over too! Seth made an awesome steak dinner and we actually broke in their formal dining room! They've never used it before, this was the first time~we felt pretty special...lol:) It was really nice! Of course after dinner, Bri, Ash and I headed out to the patio for some wine and OVERDUE girl talk!

They are our dearest friends.......our forever friends! Seth and Erik have been friends since they were 3 and Bri and I always seem pick up where we left off....like we haven't skipped a beat, I LOVE that about our friendship! And, it's so cool to see our kids play together now! Costa and Sage are only 9 months apart and are starting to look like little "mini-me's" of Erik and Seth! Hopefully, they can have a close friendship just like their daddy's and mommy's too~of course:)

As always.....a great night with old friends! Already looking forward to next time......;) Love you guys!!!

Little Ardi loved me....she wanted me to hold her! Little muffin!

Reese's visit phoenix

The Reese's ...Jen, Jas, Bailey, Blake and Brady

It was SO great to be able see Jen and her beautiful family! They came to phoenix for new years this year and we got to see them for one day before we headed up to pinetop! Lynz and Mark had a bbq at their house and we all came over to see Jen and her fam. Jen's like an older sister to us....we've known her FOREVER..... She started babysitting us when I was 5 years old, Lynz was 3 and Les was just a little baby. She has always been around since I can remember and was the BEST babysitter, we LOVE Jen just like a sister! We became even closer when I had my first baby.....she was AMAZING and helped me with all the crazy things nobody tells you when you have a baby! It's because of HER my kids are such great sleepers.....thanks Jen for teaching me about babywise...you're the best!!! We now talk on the phone all the time and I really MISS her! Her and her husband Jason and their 3 darling boys, live in good 'ol Payette, Idaho...we're ALWAYS trying to talk them into moving to phoenix. And I think we're getting CLOSER!!! HA!....she said Jas is going to retire from the police force in about 12 years and they are seriously thinking this is where they might end up for retirement. YEAH~we'd be SO happy to have you and your fam Jen! Hopefully, we'll be back in arizona by then;) Love you!

Us girls snuck out to take Tatym to her 2 month doctors appointment.....it was hilarious~Mom, Lynz, Jen and I all taking one baby to the doctor!

Ringing in 2010

Wow! Crazy how it's 2010 already...a new decade...I can actually say my husband is going to graduate from medical school "next year":) YEAH!!!! It seriously seems like yesterday we got the news we were moving to mexico for 4 years! Time is really flying and we are trying to cherish and make the most of every day......before we know it we'll be off on another adventure:)

This year we headed up to pinetop for new years....we wanted to be able to spend some time with my dad because he had the week off from work. Mark and Lynz also rented a cabin up there close to ours so we were excited to spend time with them as well. And the babies of course....Xander and Tatym....my little Tatey pie and Nars (I nicknamed her but Xander nicknamed himself!...hehe) Alex and Les also headed up, so that was even BETTER....some good 'ol PRINGLE family time.....it was great. Mark and Lynz brought up some quads and Alex brought a snowmobile as well. The boys had LOTS of fun the first day up and were out on the 4 wheelers playing in the snow ALL day long:) Crazy boys..... They had a blast. The kids and I spent the day hanging out in the cabin with Lynz and the babies and her friend Sara and her two kids, John Michael and Banks who also came up and stayed with Mark and Lynz.....we missed Les that day:( She couldn't come up until new years night because she had to work. Hanging out with my sissy's is the BEST.....we have so much fun doing absolutely NOTHING together! I love it, and often miss it living far away:(

We spent the next few days pretty much just HANGING out...just being together and talking... playing in the snow,playing air hockey at Mark and Lynz, making cookies, roasting marshmallows, holding the baby:),riding 4 wheelers,hanging out with dad and Terry, drinking LOTS of wine, eating, eating, eating.....did I mention we ate? ...a LOT? Gotta love my brother in law Alex......he LOVES food and is a good cook! Mark brought up a smoker and they made some pretty good dinners every night. I'm definitely paying for it now, but I'm back at the gym so it's all worth it to go home and eat YUMMY things......

New years eve we had dinner at Mark and Lynz with everybody and celebrated the new year EARLY with the kiddos. Erik and I had bought a fun new years goodie bag with some pop-its, confetti type fireworks and blow horns for the kids. We took them outside at the cabin and let them go to town.....we even did a count down and had them yell...HAPPY NEW YEAR! It was adorable, they got the biggest kick out of it. I'm so happy we did it.....they should get to celebrate new years too....lol!

Yeah! Auntie Les got there just as we were going outside to do fireworks with the kids....they were SO excited to see her!

Afterwards, Erik and I went and put the kids to bed at our cabin where mom and dad Contreras were....they just couldn't make it til midnight to ring in the new year! We were "kid-less" so we decided to head over and say hi to our dear friends Seth and Bri who were hanging out with Seth's fam at the Bingham cabin. As always, it's great to party with them! We have SO many wonderful memories with them throughout the years and can't wait for MANY, MANY more......
New years day, dad and mom Contreras hosted a beautiful breakfast with menudo, chorizo burros, chips and salsa, bloodies, mimosas.....oh, and tamales!!!!!! PERFECT spicy, mexican breakfast for new years day:) Thanks guys! Everybody was in heaven! We had the whole crew there......Lynz, Mark and their kiddos, Bri and Seth and their kiddos, Alex and Les, Grandpa Tom and Terry, and Auntie Lanie and Uncle Sal were also there. It was a gorgeous morning ....the sun was shining so it wasn't too cold but there was LOTS of snow for the kids to play....so we spent most of the morning watching the kids play in the snow and sipping on mimosas! Thanks to Grandma Contreras....she had boots, snow bibs AND gloves for every kid there! It was amazing......so the kids had such a great time and us adults did too! Auntie Lynz got creative and made a super cute snowman with kids also.......they loved it.






What can I say? Another PERFECT trip to the mountains......Until next time!!!!!! Here's to a beautiful 2010!!!!! Cheers!