Jack's first official, full haircut

So he's had a few little trims here and there but never a FULL haircut -- until January 13th!!
After a few comments that were made while we were out and about for the holidays, I decided it was time to move on from bing a baby to becoming a "little boy." Also, the crib fuzz on the back of his head was getting out of control!!! It would stand out from his head and was very hard to comb for the dreadlocks that were forming!!!
So, here's the before:

And with the superman cape and a sucker - he's ready!!!
Jenna is awesome! She cuts my hair and the girls too! She is so patient and kind with all of us! :)

He didn't flinch too badly when she used the clippers on the back...

Just busy with his sucker!

Tada! Isn't he so handsome -- and Jenna looks cute too!!!

And even though there was some hair stuck to his Dum-dum, he stuck to it! :)

A Day in Town

We headed into Puerto Vallarta one of the days while we were there. We were going to ride the bus in and while waiting at the bus stop, we were approached by a taxi driver who offered to take us and another couple into town for just a dollar more than it was going to cost to ride the bus. So, we joined a couple from LA who were on their honeymoon and headed into town.

Sand Sculptures on the beach

The market place along the river - there was lots of shopping in PV - pretty commercialized and tourist focussed.

Here's the bus we rode back to the main highway - we had to switch buses at Walmart - yes... Walmart which was right next door to Sam's Club and right down the street from Home Depot. Not kidding.

After we got back to the resort, I picked a nice chair - not at the 'adult only' pool that was full of children but at one of the three other pools that were empty - and enjoyed my book and a few drinks. I sat there all afternoon and into the evening.

Sea Turtles

Dave and I took many walks along the beach while we were in P.V. We thoroughly enjoyed these times and had many awesome conversations that we realized that we hadn't had a chance to actually have and/or finish in the past few years :)
So while walking one of the first afternoons, we noticed a dead baby sea turtle on the beach. We checked it out and talked about how it must have washed up from somewhere... Well, as we walked, we noticed what looked like it must be turtle nests - not quite a hole dug in the sand and what looked like leathery remnants of what had to be turtle shells. I didn't agree with Dave but after looking closely, it had to be... so we asked Benjamin - our guide on the whale watching trip - and he said that yes, now was the time that the Mama turtles were coming onto the beaches and laying their eggs and that the baby turtles would be coming out each morning and making the trek across the beach and into the ocean.
What amazed me was that there are no signs or regulations or beaches that could not be used or anything to make anyone aware of any of this. In Costa Rica, there were many regulations and rules about the beaches where these turtles came to lay their eggs again and again, year after year. There were guided tours of watching these turtles but no flashlights or flash photography - with threats of being jailed if you did take a picture with a flash -- So, to have these tiny baby turtles right on the beach where we were staying and to see their nests... Just amazing...
Again, brought me back to the days of Oceanography class and the dream of being a marine biologist. Dave keeps telling me, it's never too late to go back to school... He just wants to stay home with the kids and live somewhere warm!!!
So, here are the pictures to prove that I held in my hand a tiny little sea turtle - I hope he made it past the breakers and out into the bay... before being gobbled up by a boot fish or grouper or something of that sort!

Camouflage on the beach --

Can you see the bird in the picture above??

What about the baby sea turtle in the picture below???

I just think God is so creative...

Just like you see on tv!!! Look at his little flippers just working and working ... he is so dang cute...

Puerto Vallarta Sunsets

Puerto Vallarta is famous for its sunsets... Hope that you can see why in these photos - these are my favorites from our trip - in no particular order... :)

Whale Watching Trip

This whale watching trip is one thing that we did do! It was the only plans we made! And it came highly recommended from some friends and I would also highly recommend it!

We were on a sailboat with about 15 other people and sailed out into Banderas Bay to Las Mariatas Islands. These islands, along with only the Galapagos Islands, are home to the Blue Footed Booby bird, which we got to see while we were snorkeling.

One of the Mariatas Islands (there are three) which the Mexican military used to use for target practice, until Jacques Cousteau came along and made them aware of the amazing habitat that it is for many species of birds.

Little baby Pacificos. Benjamin, our host on the boat, told us that their size is optimal because they don't get warm before you are finished drinking them. I decided I'd better take two - he doesn't know how UW girls drink beer!! ;) No, really, there was just an extra that he'd opened and passed around so I took one for the team and didn't let it go to waste! The baby Coronas are called "Coronitas"

This is lunch after snorkeling - a ham sandwich with a rice and cucumber and red onion salad that was YUM and homemade salsa and guac. GOOD STUFF!

Laurie and Michael - a couple that was also at our resort with Benjamin (middle) who was our tour guide and host on the boat.

Below are some videos that we took while whale watching - neither is very good but it gives you an idea of how close they were to our boat. We did see them about 5 different times and watched them dive and show their flukes. Very cool! Reminds me of my days in high school oceanography class when I wanted to be a Marine Biologist.

11 1/2 years of marriage

Dave and I took a trip to Puerto Vallarta to celebrate our 10th anniversary - only we had to do it 1 1/2 years later due to Jack's arrival into our family! :)
Thanks to my Mom, we were able to go - just the two of us - the week before Christmas. I must say that having the warm weather in Mexico to look forward to made the EXTREMELY cold fall much easier to take...
We stayed at an all-inclusive resort, which isn't usually the way we like to travel but it was sooo nice to just relax. I kept thinking, "I have no where to go and all day to get there... "

Meg's program

I wasn't able to get as close for Meggie's program as I was for Ella's -- their elementary school does the program two times on the Friday before break and for both performances, has a PACKED, standing room only cafetorium!

Ella's Program at Holy Name School

Ella performed in the Holy Name Christmas program on December 17th. We all thought that they did a WONDERFUL job! There were many giggles and heart-warming moments!

Jack enjoyed walking himself up and down the pews...

Gingerbread House

I never got to properly thank the Hoffman's for this fun family gift they gave us. The girls beg every year to do a gingerbread house - this is the way to do it -- with a pre-fab kit from the store!

And then, after Christmas, they beg and beg to eat it --- they had to literally bang on it to get it to break into bite-size pieces! FUN!

Thanks again Hoffman's!

Jack with his bear at one year old

Here's my little guy with that bear he's had his picture taken with over the past 12 months... poor bear used to sit quietly and pose... now he is squeezed and hugged and smooshed and thrown on the floor!
If you look close, you can see the scratch and fat lip that Jack acquired during this photo shoot when he dove off of the chair

And here he is trying to take a second dive out of the chair!!!