FINALLY**Day Three- Puerto Vallarta--The Adventure!

We got up and stated day three off with butterflies in stomach and anticipation of our upcoming adventure. We decided to go to The Oceana for breakfast this morning. We had a beach side seat with a beautiful view of the crashing wave to enjoy another delicious meal.

After breakfast we went back up to our room and got our things ready. Then went down to the concierge and requested a taxi. We were quickly on our way to the Maritime Port. The ride to the port took us back through "town" where we checked out all the shops we wanted to stop by tomorrow after visiting the flea market.

We arrived at the Port and paid the $2 port tax and went and checked in at Vallarta Adventures. We were directed to a waiting area where we were soon greeted by a

adv

enture guide. He told us when and where to be in the upcoming minutes. We sat and talked like giddy school girls about the day ahead of us. We were shortly summoned to join in a group and get aboad the R.I.B(inflatable raft with a motor...like the coast guard uses) that was going to take us across the bay to the next destination of our adventure. It was beautiful seeing the coast line and pointing out our hotel that was tucked away in the midst of lush green mountains. We even got to see flying fish and sea turtles!

We arrived in a tiny little cove. The last cove on the Vallarta that you could reach by car. Anything after this cove you had to take a water taxi to get to that town/village. We were greeted by a younger, small man who thought he was God's gift to women..lol. He was funny though! From there we walked up the shore to an area where we got instructions of what we

were to do next. There we waited for a few mintues and listened to this guy tell jokes and hit on all the cute single ladies. Our ride then arrived. We loaded up the group into two huge Mercedes Benz utility trucks that had been converted and padded to take multiple people on a bumpy ride. We strapped in and headed up the mountain. We drove through little villages with almost unlivable housing and conditions. Made us very grateful for what we have. We drove past two Tequilla factories. And we drove and drove and drove some more. And it was a bumpy ride!!

Finally we reached are final destination. On the top of a mountain. We were quickly escorted

to the "fitting area" to get geared up for our mission. We got helmets and carabiners strapped to safety harnesses. We were going zip lining through the mountains of Puerto Vallarta!

Just when we thought we couldn't go up any further they took us to a barn where we were going to add yet another form of transportation to our day. We were going to be ridding burros up the mountain to where the zip lines were set up. We sat and listened to a Spanish speaking rancher trying

to speak English explain to us how to ride these things. Not sure if I got all the instructions, but oh well! We saddle up and headed up the mountain. It was no short trip(30-40 min.) and it was no easy trip. I was pretty scared at times! But what an experience.

This was it, we truly had reached our destination...Whew! When we arrived we met the guides that were going to be "showing us the ropes". They were super fun. We hiked up to our first zip line where they gave us a demonstration and taught us the do's and don'ts for the day. It was go time. We went down ...what a rush! After the first zip we hiked up what seemed to be an entire mountain to our next zip line. As you are zipping there were valleys, waterfalls and gorgeous scenery to view. It was breathtaking! After about six zip lines we got to a big river area.

We tromped through the water to a huge waterfall. We got hooked up and did a 100ft repel down the waterfall. SO FUN!

When we got through with the waterfall repel to be greeted by another zip that took us right over another smaller waterfall. The guides so graciously would pull the zip line down jsut at the

right time so that when you got to the end you would be fully submerged into the icy cold water. We did a few more zips, climbed through woods, and over bridges and came to another water fall. This time it was free fall repel.

We did two more repels after this waterfall. The last one was a double one that Matt and I got to race down. I was ahead but lost in the end. We hiked through the trails, and in and out of small rivers to get back to base. They had some snacks and water there waiting for us. We hung out for about a half and hour and then loaded back up onto the trucks to head back down the mountain. We got to talk to the tour guide that started the tree top adventures. It was neat to hear his story and about his life in Puerto Vallarta. I love meeting different people and hearing their stories. So fascinating!

We made it down to the mountain and back to the waiting area for our boat. We got on the boat and headed back to the port. We were pretty exhausted but thrilled with the adventure we had been on that day. It was a incredible experience!

When we got back to the hotel we decided to do a low key dinner. We dressed up and went to the "fancy" restaurant. We knew it would be quiet and calm--no kids were allowed...hehe. The restaurant was called Portofino. They served some of the best Italian I've ever had. We were savoring

every bite. I had Cream of Asparagus soup that was OH so YUM! I also got Lasagna that was just as good. Matt got some tenderloin or something...I can't remember. Probably because I was so into my own meal! After dinner we called it a night. We were both exhausted and ready to get rest and enjoy the next day.

This was definitely a day I will NEVER forget!

My baby is Four

Happy Birthday Rachel!

Day Two Puerto Vallarta

For some crazy reason Matt got up early and went to work out. I know CRAZY! When he got back at 8 from working out we spent some time together in Bible study and prayer. We pulled the chairs up to the balcony and looked out at the gorgeous view. After that we went down to breakfast at the Worlds Cafe. This was the restaurant that was set up buffet style and was open for every meal. They had everything and anything you could think of to eat for breakfast. We both chose to make our own omelet and get some toast and other unique breads and rolls they had to offer. They had six types of fresh juices for us to choose from. Madarin, grapefruit, pineapple, orange, apple, etc etc. They were all freshly squeezed and so delish!

After breakfast we went and talked with a representative at the hotel about doing something exciting on one of our days here in Peutro Vallarta. We really were excited at the possibility to do such an amazing adventure but weren't sure if it was going to be in our budget. But after talking with the representative we were pleasantly surprised and super excited that we were now booked for something super fun and nothing like either one of us had ever done before. This was going to be a great experience and something that was "just ours". But I'm not going to tell you what this exciting adventure is...you'll have to stay tuned for day three!

After this we spoke to the front desk about getting our room changed to a king size bed. They told us they had one available after 3pm. So we were told to come back then. By this time it was time for the activity we chose for this morning...a Jungle Trek.

It was one of the many activites our hotel offered. It sounded like fun so we thought we'd give it a try. We headed over to the entertainment area to check in. Got all checked in and were quickly off on an exciting jungle

trek. Although we thought it really should have been called "a climb up a mountain run-off river". Either way it was super fun and beautiful. We had no idea we would be getting so wet. At first we tried finding every possible way to avoid from getting wet when climbing over rocks and on the banks of the river. We only

had one pair of tennis shoes and we knew we would need them for tomorrows adventure. But inevitabley we had to get them wet. At one point there was no other choice but to walk knee deep through pools of water. At the top of our jungle trek destination we got to a large pool of water that you could choose to jump into and swim to the other side. Then you would climb up a rope and swing yourself onto a ledge to look around the corner and see a 25 foot waterfall. We chose not to take part in this because we had our camera with us that is not waterproof.

We headed back to the room after the trek to stuff our shoes with newspaper and put them out in the sun. We got our swim suits on and headed out to the beach. We got ourselves set up on the beach looking out at the beautiful view. We both read a little and relaxed. Then we decided to go swim in the ocean. We had fun riding the waves into shore. Each trying to catch the big waves and see who could make it in the farthest. Matt always won! After swimming we decided to go get some

lunch.

Since only two restaurants were open for lunch and one of them you had to be dressed in nicer clothes for we decided to go to the Worlds Cafe again for lunch. It was again very yummy. I chose to eat some Asian food and some vegetarian sushi. Both were so yummy. Matt had a variety of stuff but the taquitos were his favorite. I must say they were very good. And they served them breakfast lunch and dinner?!

After lunch I was ready for a nap and it was almost time for us to change rooms. So we headed up to our room. We got things ready to be moved and waited for 3 to arrive. Matt gave me a foot rub while we were waiting...ahhh I can be as patient as you want if I'm getting a foot massage. Three o'clock came and since I was nearly comatose from the massage Matt went downstairs to take care of the room arrangements. He came back up about 15 minutes later with our new room keys. We said goodbye to our room and headed to the 14th floor to our new room. We arrived and were pleasantly surprised to see a king size bed but quickly noticed the

ocean view was more of a big palm tree poolside view. We hesitated on whether or not to just stay or go be pests and tell them we wanted our old room back...lol. We chose to be pests. So less than ten minutes after he was down at the desk getting our new room we were requesting to be put back in our old room! They were very accommodating and told us they wanted us to be happy. So they put us in a different room that had a king size bed AND a real ocean front view. We headed back to our new but now old room to get our stuff to move to our new new room. We arrived and everything was great. Good view and good bed! Whew!

We decided to go relax some more on the beach. We spent the rest of the day into the evening time right there on the beach. We got to relax, watch the sun set and see a wedding. It was SO great to DO nothing and have NOTHING to do!

After watching a great sunset we decided it was time to go get ready for dinner. We decided to go to Portofino this evening. It was the fanciest restaurant on the resort. An Italian restaurant with food that was melt in your mouth yummy. Matt had pork tenderloin and I had lasagna...the best lasagna Iv'e ever tasted. I also had an aspargus cream soup for appetizer that I want to find

a recipe for. SO GOOD! We shared good conversation and laughs about dreams over dinner and a bottle of wine. Dreams of what would you do if we had the money to... Where would you go if you could go anywhere in the world... What is one thing you want to do before..... What if.....

We went to the Rendevous bar and lounge after dinner and looked over the large pool and deck area that was hosting the entertainment for the evening. It was a Mexican fiesta with authentic mexican cuisine and entertainment(fancy dressed Mexican dancers). We watched and talked for about a half an hour then decided to go down and visit some of the booths that people had things for sale at. We found the boys some soccer jerseys. They were really cool and we knew that the boys would love to get them as presents.

We purchased the jerseys and headed up to bed. We knew we needed to get to bed early for a good nights rest....especially for tomorrows adventure.

Day One of Puerto Vallarta

Please enjoy the journaling of our trip to Puerto Vallarta. Sometimes you may wonder why I am going into such detail about silly things., but it's because I am mostly writing for our own memories to be captured and remembered. Stay tuned for Day two soon!

We got up at six and started getting ready for our day of travel
adventure. I was nervous and excited. With travel you never know
what's in store. You're relying on lots of other people and factors to
get you to your destination. We started our vacation a little early by
staying the night at a hotel at the airport. That was a brilliant idea
if I do say so myself.... Anyway, back to the morning of our trip. We
took a two minute shuttle ride to the airport and checked in. We were all checked in by 7:30 for our 9:22 flight. We got up thru security where I was thoroughly frisked. Didn't know wearing a skirt made you suseptable to that! We joked that maybe they thought I was concealing a weapon in a thigh gun belt like Larura Croft. We got some breakfast at Quiznos. We shared a ham egg and cheese sandwich then mosied on down to our terminal and waited for our
flight. The flight boarded and left on time and we arrived in Houston no problems. Once we got into Houston we realized we had ten minutes to get to our gate. Stupid us we trusted the gate number on our tickets that we got in Tulsa. We trucked all the way across the Houston
airport and arrived promptly at the wrong gate. The gate we were supposed to be at was a good ten to fifteen minute walk in the other direction. Luckily a lady who was driving a cart who probably heard my big high heeled boots stomping hurridley asked if she could give us a ride
to our gate. If it wasn't for her we probably wouldn't have gotten on our flight. When we arrived there was a huge group of people standing at the gate waiting to board. We made our way thru to the counter becasue we realized our tickets didnt have seat numbers on them but instead had "see gate clerk". We handed her our tickets and passport and were immediately told we wouldn't have a seat on this flight. Then as quickly as we were told that we were told we would but would have to wait. They had apparently over sold the flight as they had the Tulsa flight too. So we waited and watched everyone board finally we got anxious thinking we had been forgottn and went back up to the ticket counter. They took our tickets and told us they were still
working on finding us seats. We waited what seemed to be forever. I was NOT going to miss the beach today!!! Thankfully we made it on the plane!!

We arrived in Puerto Vallarta two hours later! We got through customs and all the crazy time share people mobbing us to come to their counter. That was crazy!!! We were not sure who was the real deal and who wasn't. We originally told our people who were to give us a ride to the hotel to get lost. Luckily they started calling out our name and following after us so we knew they were the real deal. We loaded up in the taxi and headed to the hotel.

The ride through town was neat. Real cobblestone roads that were so tiny. Like the parking lot lanes at Target in the US. Of course our driver was very skilled at driving like a bat out of you know what! He was very nice and informative but we were afraid to talk to him to
much because we wanted him to not be distracted.

We arrived at the hotel that was hugged on both sides by beautiful cliffs of the mountain. Absolutey beautiful and breath taking! We got checked in and were escorted to our room. As we entered we noticed something was alittle off... Instead of one king size bed there was two double beds?!? We were not interested in playing Ricky and Lucy Ricardo on this vacation and sleeping in seperate beds. So we called down to reservations to see what was up. They had no king size rooms available until the next day so we decide to just go with the flow. Hey!...we were in a gorgeous place, with one another and we could squeeze into a double bed together for one night.

The room had an ocean view. Please see pictures! There is a large sliding glass window/door that can be left open to hear the roaring waves crashing up against the shore all night long. Love it!!!!!! We left the window open every night and fell asleep the the ocean.

We decided to get our suits on and walked around to get familiar with the resort. There was five restaurants six bars and an entertainment center at the resort. There was no reason for us to ever leave this place. It was so cool! We didn't have time to get lunch at airport so we were famished. We went to Oceana. The restaurant that opened at 5:30! Deliscious. We had shrimp avacado spring rolls, steak and shrimp and dessert. All served "fancy" style!!! At dinner we were looking over the beach and watchedthe sun set behind the mountain. Breath taking and surreal. Not sure what was more surreal, the sunset or the fact that we had a hot, uninterrupted dinner with no one requesting to be taken to the bathroom or having fits.

After dinner we sat and watched the waves and talked. Then we walked decided to take a walk up the beach. We were pleasantly suprised at the temperature of the water...perfect! After a bit of romantic walking on the beach it was time for the entertainment the resort was offering that evening. A Circus Show!

Every night we were there they had some sort of nightly entertainment. All were wonderful and super fun to be part of. Tonight's was the circus. It was just a small six man show but they put on a great show. They did some amazing juggling, and acrobats but the one thing we were amazed at and had never seen anything like was this one clowns ability to take small crystal balls and roll them in his hands. It was mesmerizing and unlike anything we'd ever seen before. He just kept adding more balls to his hand and just at the point you thought he certainly couldn't put another in his hand he would. They were in constant motion and moving from the top to the bottom of the pile he had in his hand. At one point the had 8 in his hand at once!!

Another Reader

After going through books and sitting down to read with Mallory over the past week, I think it's safe to say we have another child in the house who's a reader!!! She is doing so good sounding her words out and working hard to read books "all by herself" Tonight she read two books to me with little assistance. I am very excited for her and proud of what a good students she is.