New Adventures!

Everything takes longer in Mexico...

When we bought our car, the remote didn't work and a battery didn't fix it. So we found the dealership and thought we could just stop by and have it fixed quick...then found out it would be 4 hours!! Luckily, we were near the Malecon (Puerto Vallarta's downtown boardwalk) so we went there and got some lunch and did some window shopping!

We found this restaurant on the 3rd floor with a great view! They had traditional Mexican dancers who were just finishing when we walked in, so I got a quick picture of the back of this one...

Cole wasn't sure he wanted his picture taken just then.

Our view at lunch.

A little Saturday trip...

Saturday we decided to go check out the other little beach towns nearby. So we drove on a  two lane bumpy road through the jungle to Punta Mita and Sayulita. We found little, narrow cobblestone roads with giant potholes and a little Mexican village...it was definitely interesting and a little challenging.

It was really a beautiful drive with jungle all around and an occasional glimpse of the ocean.

We were driving around the streets of Sayulita trying to find a parking spot and a bathroom. We finally found one...there was a young mother outside with her 3 or 4 kids collecting their pesos. When you pay you get the TP. :)

The beach was beautiful for sure...not sure if it's worth the drive and the parking struggle. I think walking in and being handed a towel and having a beach chair with an umbrella waiting for me at the Grand Mayan is WAY easier!!

A natural beach sculpture!

Good surfing waves!

Definitely a beautiful beach.

Grand Opening!!

Friday was the official grand opening of the academy. They had a party with food,drinks, music, etc. There were many people there and also press doing interviews.

Grand Opening Tent

The driving range is in the background. It's beautiful!!

Opposite view looking into the academy. That's where they fix your swing. I need to spend some time there!!

Bruce with his assistant Hector.

The chipping and putting greens. The whole area is amazing!!

Cole wasn't loving hanging out and meeting people at the party. He was looking for anything he could find to do to avoid the tent with all the people!!!

Cool Stuff...

One of the things I had read about Puerto Vallarta is that there are a lot of sea turtles and they like to nest in the area. That is something I really wanted to see, but didn't know if I would get the chance. Well, the first week we were there, we were walking along the beach and there were a few people gathered watching something. Of course, we had to see what it was too, and I am so glad that we did! It was a turtle laying her eggs on the beach!! So cool!!!

Sorry the picture isn't very good. It was almost dark and all I had was my phone to take a pic and I didn't want to get to close and disturb the turtle. So this is as good as I could get.

The next day, I went to see what was there, and all there was was a small hole in the sand. I think they most likely moved the nest to a less populated area.

This baby turtle was hanging out in front of a little pond. There were a whole bunch of them in the water that kept popping up their little heads.

Right next to the Grand Mayan is a golf course called El Tigre. The story is that the owners rescued 2 tigers and took care of them. Since the first 2, there have been many more, including 2 leopards they have in another cage on the other side of the course.

One thing I don't have a picture of yet is a cocodrillo (crocodile). They show up in the ponds on the golf course on a regular basis, but they have people to move them out. Needless to say, people don't fish their balls out of the water, and the birds are all really cautious.

Church...

I have had a few people ask me how church is. And yes, it is all in Spanish. Well, it is just like at home, but in Spanish. :) The people are really really nice, and there are two American families that I know of so far, and there are quite a few people who speak English pretty well. People have really gone out of their way to make sure we feel welcome. My first week in RS a sister who spoke a little English went out of her way to sit by me and try to tell me a little of what was going on, and my RS President who speaks no English came to visit me right away even though it was not easy for her. It is easy to tell that everyone works at being "united".

Cole is doing fine too. He was a little scared the first couple of weeks, though. I found out that they moved him up into the 8-year old class because the teacher for that class speaks pretty good English. That was a huge help for him. He was also really happy to find that one of the American families has an 8-year old boy so he found an instant friend.

While it is a little hard to sit and not understand what is being said for 3 hours, it is so nice to go and feel the same spirit that I felt before I came here. The people are truly humble and trying to do their best, just like us. I feel at home when I am there. I am so grateful for how the church is organized so it is the same truth wherever I am.

Real Life Mexico

My last post was all about the vacation side of Mexico. Definitely not day to day real life, but part of it at least sometimes. The biggest differences between home and Mexico are that things are always done slower and things are almost always smaller. The houses are smaller...

This is a picture of our townhouse. Most people live in houses like this. From what I have seen so far here, only the very rich live in houses.

The kitchens are small and very very few have dishwashers. Most people have a washer, but not very many have a dryer. I decided that a dryer was a luxury I must have and it was a little hard to find one. The stores would have 10 different washers and 1 or 2 dryers.

Speaking of small...check out our our mini-fridge! It is the only one we could find that would fit under that shelf. And it wasn't the smallest one either. Not quite the side-by-side with ice/water in the door we are used to.

And this is our mini hot water heater. It is a HUGE 10 gallons!!! But I haven't had a cold shower since we got it lit...it took us a few days to get it figured out how to light it. The knob is broken so we couldn't tell where settings were. It's a good thing the water isn't ice cold here!!

And this is our little TV. We had our internet and cable installed, but our boxes with our TV's aren't here yet. So we broke down and bought the cheapest one we could find.Just 19". It is really funny because we are so used to our giant flat screens.

All of this makes me realized how much we think we need to get by in the US. We think we need big houses and fridges and TV's and I used to say that I could not live without a dishwasher. Well, here I go...I think I just might survive without one!!!

We're In Mexico!!!

Wow! I can't believe we are really here! It has been great and challenging and fun and hard all at the same time. I think our biggest adjustment will be learning to expect things on "Mexican time". Everything takes much longer and is later than promised, but no one seems to get upset or worried about it.  I think we are a lot more uptight in the US. I guess patience is the key!! Every thing that could go wrong did, but it has all worked out fine in the end and I have seen many blessings every day in what we need to do to get settled.
We are moved into our apartment and have internet (it took forever to get it) so I feel a little more connected to the world!! We don't have much yet because our stuff from home isn't here, but can't complain too much. The language is hard, but many people speak English and Bruce does great with his Spanish. It is amazing to me how fast he has learned it. 


We've been to Sacrament Meeting, but not all of church yet. This week we are jumping in though. It seems like a great ward and there are some really nice people of course, and some that speak English so Cole and I won't be completely lost.

Jenessa came to visit us a few days after we arrived. We were still staying in the hotel so it was just a great vacation! The resort is amazing and we had a blast!

Cole bought a kite from the beach vendors with his pesos. That's Spider Man hanging on.

 

Pretty fun!! There is a nice breeze from the ocean every afternoon.

J and Cole hanging out at the beach.

Cole's new favorite. He could play ping pong for hours! He even played in the daily tournament with a lot of older kids.

One of the many pools.

That's Cole coming down the slide.

Playing with Bruce in the ocean. He loved the waves!

We took a Sunday walk down the Malecon. It is a closed off street along the beach with shops and restaurants in downtown Puerto Vallarta.

Cole and J on the Malecon

There are many "artists" on the Malecon. This is some pretty amazing art! Cole loved it!

One of the awesome sand sculptures. They leave a box for collecting their pesos.

Amazing views!!