Bday Surprise: Mexico
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
February 2015
We stayed at the Sheraton Hotel in Puerto Vallarta. We upgraded the room to a ocean view, which was incredible. Waking up to the sun, the sound of the ocean, a warm breeze, next to someone you love...NOTHING in life is sweeter. The hotel was so clean, it had an awesome gym, pool, private ocean space and was only a 10 minute walk from downtown Puerto Vallarta. Though we loved catching some rays and going on adventures it was nice to lounge around at the hotel. Of course, one of my favorite parts of being on vacation was room service and a maid.
After we checked into our room we walked 10 minutes downtown to a popular restaurant that had been recommended to us by the locals. It was called Pepe's. That place was crowded with people, had live music, fresh guacamole made right in front of us, Jaime's favorite childhood dish queso fondido, excellent service and of course overall delicious Mexican food. I think we ate there about 3 or 4 different times throughout our week in Puerto Vallarta it was so good.
Jaime bought tickets to the "fiesta" one of the first nights we stayed at the Sheraton hotel. We got dressed up and walked to the outdoor venue where they were service dinner with live beautiful live music. We were greeted by the hostess with a shot of tequila...I swear everywhere you go you are given...but really forced to drink Tequila. After we were seated at our table and enjoyed a delicious Mexican buffet followed by entertainment including a raffle, traditional Mexican dancers and my personal favorite: a live Mariachi band. There is definitely a talent and beauty about the Mariachi singers I have always respected. They sing and play their music with such pride and vigor. Their outfits are so individualized and decorative. I told Jaime I'm waiting for the day he puts on his Mariachi suit, grabs a guitar and belts me a love song. He said "Maybe one day." After dinner we walked out on this beautiful pathway that led out to the ocean. We enjoyed the view and took a few pictures. All I remember about our first day in Mexico was thinking that I never wanted this week to end. It had just started but I was dreading the end. This was paradise and there was no one else I would rather be with. Photos brought to you by the timer on Jaime's phone.
During one of our adventures downtown we walked to the Catholic Church. Apparently Jaime's grandmother helped build this Cathedral in the early 1900's. I have been to a few Catholic churches and have to admit that the architecture is breathtaking. Also, I just love the fact that the alters are crafted with real gold. While we were at the church Jaime said he wanted to pray. While in the midst of his very long (and what must have been thoughtful) prayer, his eyes welled up with tears. I put my hand on his back and asked him what was on his mind. He said he was just thanking God for bringing me in to his life and he that he didn't feel like he deserved to be this happy (I've always been touched by Jaime's humility). Jaime is compassionate beyond reason, sincere and always reflecting on his life to identify areas to strengthen and improve. I remember looking him in the eyes and telling him that we have all made mistakes in our lives. If we are willing to repent, forgive and forget and if the intent of our heart has changed, we are able to start over and be blessed. I could tell there was a heaviness Jaime's has always carried and would remind him that all I have ever seen is a wonderful man that takes care of his family, loves everyone around him, looks for opportunities to help others, brightens the world with his smile, works harder than anyone I know and most importantly who makes me happier than I have ever been my whole life. Jaime deserves the world and whenever he has these heavy thoughts on his mind all I can try to do is remind him of how wonderful is. I know that he has been through a lot in his life...a lot that could have left him damaged and broken, but he chose to be resilient, positive, and remain humble and compassionate...that's why he is continually blessed. I know exactly how he feels because I look in the mirror all the time and ask myself, how do I deserve him? It's easy to be hard on yourself but I have realized that is the beauty of Heavenly Father's grace and kindness. The song "My Kindness Shall Not Depart From Thee" explains it all. Thanks Dad for showing me that one.
Valentines Day was certainly one for the books. I woke up and Jaime gave me another very thoughtful card, actually two because he couldn't decide between his top two pics. I gave Jaime the card I printed out and also a list I had started to compile which included all the reasons why I love him. I started at 14 for Valentines day then the list quickly increased to 32 because I thought that would work with his age. My list kept flowing and I kept coming up with reasons why I love him...I figured that wasn't the worst thing. My goal ever since has been to continue adding to the list. We relaxed the rest of the day and eventually got dressed up for the evening. Jaime's parents purchased us a gift called "Rhythm of the Night" which consisted of a dinner, cruise, and a show. We took at taxi downtown to the port where the boat picked us up. When we got our tickets I was given a beautiful red rose and we killed time taking some more pictures. The boat ride out to the island called Las Caletas was breathtaking. The sun was beaming and eventually turned into the most beautiful pink sunset. The tour guides on the boat were playing the most calming music, we had delicious h' orderves and were able to live in the moment and appreciate the lasting memories we were creating together. Boating up to the island was a sight to see because there were torches everywhere that provided the island's source of light. There was no artificial lighting at all. We were seated at the outdoor auditorium and enjoyed a beautiful show which acted out the ancestry and heritage of the Mexican people. There was music, acrobats, animals and a very intricate set. After dinner we were escorted to our private table for the most delicious dinner I had all week (except for the one hole in the wall Ma's place called Burrito Beach...more to come later in the blog). There was fish, steak, chicken, vegetables, shrimp, fresh bread, pasts, desserts of all assortments....we ate until we couldn't move. The natral lighting really set a romantic mood for the evening. The service was amazing and there was even a live harp player. I'm pretty sure all I was thinking that night was that I knew I was going to marry Jaime. Everything just felt right, I was happy, he was happy....love isn't complicated. Someone once told me relationships with the right person would and should be easy. My relationship with Jaime is effortless and I am happy. There's nothing more I needed. After dinner we had time to walk around and explore the island. We walked down by the water to snap a few more pictures and I think I accidentally ran out in the middle of someone's proposal, OOPS. When the bell rang from our ship, we were on the opposite end of the island and literally ran back to make sure we didn't miss our only trip back. Actually...I wouldn't have minded being stuck on that island with Jaime.
Puerto Vallarta Zoo:
One of our friends from Northwest Crossfit told us we had to visit the PV Zoo. We took a taxi ride about a half hour out of the city and the driver said that we wouldn't be able to get a taxi when we were done because we were so far away. He told us we would have to pay him to wait around for us so we arranged a price. Jaime was convinced that he was going to take off with the money. I told him to have a little more faith in people, haha. Plus, he would get paid for the long ride home so it was in his best interest to wait for us. When we got to the zoo we were given a bag with food and a detailed description of what animals we could feed. First we met the ostrich that nearly bit off my hand. I wasn't really sure whether we were friends on enemies. Then we met about a million different breeds of birds, camels, dogs, hippos, etc. etc. It was pretty cool that you could feed the animals. The real highlight was at the end of the zoo when we were able to play with live monkeys, tigers, and a baby lion. The little tigers were first and they reminded me of the most high maintenance twins possible. They both wanted to run around, didn't want to be cuddled and had such hyper energy. One kept trying to eat my Marc Jacobs hand bag. After the little tigers the zoo keeper brought out a baby lion. I was so amazed by this beautiful animal. Her eyes were incredible and she let me cradle her like a little baby. I couldn't believe I was holding a live baby lion. After the lion came the entertainment. The zoo keeper brought out three different kind of monkeys. These animals had so much personality and wanted to get into everything. They just crawl all over you and invade your personal space. Jaime pulled out his phone to take a picture of us with the monkey and the monkey ran straight out on his arm, grabbed the phone and literally started taking selfies. Our photo pretty clearly expresses my shock at how smart this little guy was. Oh also that same monkey bit Jaime in the arm and he freaked out that he was going to die from Dengue, Yellow Fever or something else along those lines.
One of my favorite parts about being on vacation with Jaime was that he loved to explore the city, art, raw culture, hole in the wall restaurants, architecture, vendors, etc. We would spend hours walking all over town seeing what we would find. Of course, a lot of the locations that landed our attention had food. GOOD FOOD. We would find the best little ma and pa's taco trucks or taco stands. We couldn't get enough of the carne asada and I ate all the Chorizo in Mexico. We also stopped by this Panaderia and I think I contemplated buying the whole place. Those pastries were amazing, I didn't know which one to choose. We walked out by the water and saw some pretty cool sand castles some of the locals were making. We enjoyed beautiful sunsets and explored a lot of the traditional art in Mexico. Jaime told me that he always brings home a piece of art wherever he travels so we had to find something we could bring home. We kept walking by this one man's art with these two little birds and talked about the simplistic beauty of his work. He also had a very calm demeanor and smile on his face. We eventually choose one of his pieces and he was so humble. He thanked us for supporting his artwork and I asked to get a picture with him. I told Jaime I loved this piece because it reminded me of us....isn't there a saying like "Two of a feather stick together" or something along those lines? I could be making that one up. One funny thing that kept happening was that everywhere we would go people would stop Jaime and admire his tattoo. Not just like your average "Hey man nice tat." They would go on and on about the detail of the Aztec work and wanted to know where he got it, who designed it, what motivated him to have that traditional piece on, etc.. The locals loved hearing about all the research Jaime did prior to getting that HUGE piece of art on his beautiful shoulder. I can respect the fact that he did to a lot of research and put a lot of time into choosing that design. When he mentioned the design wasn't complete I kindly told him that he has enough and doesn't need any more, pretty sure he was ready to tear off my face.
Pool time:
Every morning we would wake up early to take turns putting our towel out by the pool on the chairs because the pool area would fill up fast! I kept teasing Jaime because he never wanted to go swim in the ocean, someone has a little fear of drowning in the water...we'll work on that one.
I made Jaime come walk out by the ocean with me and somehow we decided that it was necessary to work on our hand stand walks. What better place to try it out on than the sand? Not gonna lie all the Strawberry Daiquiris made it a little more difficult than anticipated. One local was making fun of me and told me to just go for it... the worst that would happen would be that I fall or land on my back. So I went for it and actually made some progress. I think I walked about 10 feet. After Jaime had to show off and could basically dance circles around me on his hands. Also, side note some local was walking by on the shore and asking if we wanted to ride his horse. We said no thank you and then he asked Jaime "Do you want some weed man." Jaime said no thanks and he hassled him and said something like "It's Mexico man, I'm high, my kids are high, even more horse is high." REALLY?
For Ash Wednesday Jaime wanted to go back to the church. We said our prayers and followed this important Catholic Holiday and showed our respect by wearing the cross for the day.
One of my favorite memories from Mexico was being able to sit with Jaime watching the sunset. We reminisced about how we met, how everything in our lives started to fall into place and simply how happy we were. We set a lot of goals for our future together, talked about our childhood dreams and kept smiling about what we new would be shortly down the road for us. I love that we can just sit and talk for hours and dream like we are little kids. I hope that never changes.
Until Next time...
Sadly this week in paradise had to end. But one thing we know for sure is that we will be back to PV sometime again soon.
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In November Jaime started asking me what I wanted for my birthday. Honestly, I thought long and hard but had nothing specific on my mind. I was just happy enough to be able to spend time with him. I'm not much of a materialistic person...I mean sure we are always happy with another handbag, another pair of shoes, a cute pair of earrings....but when you really find what makes you the most happy, nothing else seems to compare. In the winter time I'm usually itching for some vitamin D and some good old sunshine. I think I said something along the lines of "I just hope it's sunny...I just want to feel the sun on my face." Well BOOM a few weeks later and we had booked a trip to Mexico. I was in store for all the vitamin D I could possibly get two months later. The thought of having a week off in paradise with Jaime was more than I could possibly imagine. I was so excited to go to Mexico not only because I love the culture and environment, but Jaime's family is from Mexico and he loves to eat authentic food, adventure downtown with the locals and site see at historic places.
Lounging at the hotel:
We stayed at the Sheraton Hotel in Puerto Vallarta. We upgraded the room to a ocean view, which was incredible. Waking up to the sun, the sound of the ocean, a warm breeze, next to someone you love...NOTHING in life is sweeter. The hotel was so clean, it had an awesome gym, pool, private ocean space and was only a 10 minute walk from downtown Puerto Vallarta. Though we loved catching some rays and going on adventures it was nice to lounge around at the hotel. Of course, one of my favorite parts of being on vacation was room service and a maid.
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| Sometimes it's hard to get me out of bed...I always beg for at least 5 or 15 more minutes. |
Pepe's:
After we checked into our room we walked 10 minutes downtown to a popular restaurant that had been recommended to us by the locals. It was called Pepe's. That place was crowded with people, had live music, fresh guacamole made right in front of us, Jaime's favorite childhood dish queso fondido, excellent service and of course overall delicious Mexican food. I think we ate there about 3 or 4 different times throughout our week in Puerto Vallarta it was so good.
Fiesta and Los Mariachis:
Jaime bought tickets to the "fiesta" one of the first nights we stayed at the Sheraton hotel. We got dressed up and walked to the outdoor venue where they were service dinner with live beautiful live music. We were greeted by the hostess with a shot of tequila...I swear everywhere you go you are given...but really forced to drink Tequila. After we were seated at our table and enjoyed a delicious Mexican buffet followed by entertainment including a raffle, traditional Mexican dancers and my personal favorite: a live Mariachi band. There is definitely a talent and beauty about the Mariachi singers I have always respected. They sing and play their music with such pride and vigor. Their outfits are so individualized and decorative. I told Jaime I'm waiting for the day he puts on his Mariachi suit, grabs a guitar and belts me a love song. He said "Maybe one day." After dinner we walked out on this beautiful pathway that led out to the ocean. We enjoyed the view and took a few pictures. All I remember about our first day in Mexico was thinking that I never wanted this week to end. It had just started but I was dreading the end. This was paradise and there was no one else I would rather be with. Photos brought to you by the timer on Jaime's phone.
Visiting the Catholic Church:
During one of our adventures downtown we walked to the Catholic Church. Apparently Jaime's grandmother helped build this Cathedral in the early 1900's. I have been to a few Catholic churches and have to admit that the architecture is breathtaking. Also, I just love the fact that the alters are crafted with real gold. While we were at the church Jaime said he wanted to pray. While in the midst of his very long (and what must have been thoughtful) prayer, his eyes welled up with tears. I put my hand on his back and asked him what was on his mind. He said he was just thanking God for bringing me in to his life and he that he didn't feel like he deserved to be this happy (I've always been touched by Jaime's humility). Jaime is compassionate beyond reason, sincere and always reflecting on his life to identify areas to strengthen and improve. I remember looking him in the eyes and telling him that we have all made mistakes in our lives. If we are willing to repent, forgive and forget and if the intent of our heart has changed, we are able to start over and be blessed. I could tell there was a heaviness Jaime's has always carried and would remind him that all I have ever seen is a wonderful man that takes care of his family, loves everyone around him, looks for opportunities to help others, brightens the world with his smile, works harder than anyone I know and most importantly who makes me happier than I have ever been my whole life. Jaime deserves the world and whenever he has these heavy thoughts on his mind all I can try to do is remind him of how wonderful is. I know that he has been through a lot in his life...a lot that could have left him damaged and broken, but he chose to be resilient, positive, and remain humble and compassionate...that's why he is continually blessed. I know exactly how he feels because I look in the mirror all the time and ask myself, how do I deserve him? It's easy to be hard on yourself but I have realized that is the beauty of Heavenly Father's grace and kindness. The song "My Kindness Shall Not Depart From Thee" explains it all. Thanks Dad for showing me that one.
Salsa dancing & Live Music:
On Friday night I told Jaime I wanted to go out dancing. We walked past all of the clubs playing loud obnoxious pop and American music. We found a little restaurant with a live band playing cumbia music and were hooked. We walked in and enjoyed the local live music with couples and families dancing the night away. Jaime asked me if I had danced cumbia or salsa before...I admitted that I used to salsa with my dad when I was little but it had been a few years. Apparently he grew up with a million female cousins and would dance for hours every weekend night, so I knew he was good. Good is an understatement, he is an AMAZING dancer. It's so hard as a female to dance with a man who isn't confident about talking the lead and it takes a lot to get me to relax when partner dancing. I'm used to choreographed dances and freestyle is something I'm working on. I will admit I always wanted a man that could dance. We stayed until closing and I swear I didn't even care if I was dizzy or my feet hurt. Jaime held me so tightly and there was no way I was going to sit down. I just love his confidence in everything he he does. He's so passionate and really just sweeps me off my feet.
Las Caletas & Rhythm of the Night Show:
Puerto Vallarta Zoo:
One of our friends from Northwest Crossfit told us we had to visit the PV Zoo. We took a taxi ride about a half hour out of the city and the driver said that we wouldn't be able to get a taxi when we were done because we were so far away. He told us we would have to pay him to wait around for us so we arranged a price. Jaime was convinced that he was going to take off with the money. I told him to have a little more faith in people, haha. Plus, he would get paid for the long ride home so it was in his best interest to wait for us. When we got to the zoo we were given a bag with food and a detailed description of what animals we could feed. First we met the ostrich that nearly bit off my hand. I wasn't really sure whether we were friends on enemies. Then we met about a million different breeds of birds, camels, dogs, hippos, etc. etc. It was pretty cool that you could feed the animals. The real highlight was at the end of the zoo when we were able to play with live monkeys, tigers, and a baby lion. The little tigers were first and they reminded me of the most high maintenance twins possible. They both wanted to run around, didn't want to be cuddled and had such hyper energy. One kept trying to eat my Marc Jacobs hand bag. After the little tigers the zoo keeper brought out a baby lion. I was so amazed by this beautiful animal. Her eyes were incredible and she let me cradle her like a little baby. I couldn't believe I was holding a live baby lion. After the lion came the entertainment. The zoo keeper brought out three different kind of monkeys. These animals had so much personality and wanted to get into everything. They just crawl all over you and invade your personal space. Jaime pulled out his phone to take a picture of us with the monkey and the monkey ran straight out on his arm, grabbed the phone and literally started taking selfies. Our photo pretty clearly expresses my shock at how smart this little guy was. Oh also that same monkey bit Jaime in the arm and he freaked out that he was going to die from Dengue, Yellow Fever or something else along those lines.
Exploring Puerto Vallarta:
One of my favorite parts about being on vacation with Jaime was that he loved to explore the city, art, raw culture, hole in the wall restaurants, architecture, vendors, etc. We would spend hours walking all over town seeing what we would find. Of course, a lot of the locations that landed our attention had food. GOOD FOOD. We would find the best little ma and pa's taco trucks or taco stands. We couldn't get enough of the carne asada and I ate all the Chorizo in Mexico. We also stopped by this Panaderia and I think I contemplated buying the whole place. Those pastries were amazing, I didn't know which one to choose. We walked out by the water and saw some pretty cool sand castles some of the locals were making. We enjoyed beautiful sunsets and explored a lot of the traditional art in Mexico. Jaime told me that he always brings home a piece of art wherever he travels so we had to find something we could bring home. We kept walking by this one man's art with these two little birds and talked about the simplistic beauty of his work. He also had a very calm demeanor and smile on his face. We eventually choose one of his pieces and he was so humble. He thanked us for supporting his artwork and I asked to get a picture with him. I told Jaime I loved this piece because it reminded me of us....isn't there a saying like "Two of a feather stick together" or something along those lines? I could be making that one up. One funny thing that kept happening was that everywhere we would go people would stop Jaime and admire his tattoo. Not just like your average "Hey man nice tat." They would go on and on about the detail of the Aztec work and wanted to know where he got it, who designed it, what motivated him to have that traditional piece on, etc.. The locals loved hearing about all the research Jaime did prior to getting that HUGE piece of art on his beautiful shoulder. I can respect the fact that he did to a lot of research and put a lot of time into choosing that design. When he mentioned the design wasn't complete I kindly told him that he has enough and doesn't need any more, pretty sure he was ready to tear off my face.
Pool time:
Every morning we would wake up early to take turns putting our towel out by the pool on the chairs because the pool area would fill up fast! I kept teasing Jaime because he never wanted to go swim in the ocean, someone has a little fear of drowning in the water...we'll work on that one.
The Ocean:
I made Jaime come walk out by the ocean with me and somehow we decided that it was necessary to work on our hand stand walks. What better place to try it out on than the sand? Not gonna lie all the Strawberry Daiquiris made it a little more difficult than anticipated. One local was making fun of me and told me to just go for it... the worst that would happen would be that I fall or land on my back. So I went for it and actually made some progress. I think I walked about 10 feet. After Jaime had to show off and could basically dance circles around me on his hands. Also, side note some local was walking by on the shore and asking if we wanted to ride his horse. We said no thank you and then he asked Jaime "Do you want some weed man." Jaime said no thanks and he hassled him and said something like "It's Mexico man, I'm high, my kids are high, even more horse is high." REALLY?
Puerto Vallarta Cuisine:
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| My favorite meal from my favorite little place called Burrito Beach: Carne asada burrito and little tacos with chorizo. |
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| Street market pastries and pies |
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| Someone insisted on his daily Starbucks |
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| Fresh corn, platanos, and strawberries with yogurt |
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| Fresh made pizza, Hawaian is Jaime's favorite |
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| Burrito Beach once again |
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| La Panaderia |
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| Senior Frogs, the most American place in Mexico to eat |
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| Our favorite restaurant: Pipi's My favorite plate was Queso Fondido which consists of chorizo, cheese, and tortilla. Jaime used to eat this all the time as a child. |
Ash Wednesday:
For Ash Wednesday Jaime wanted to go back to the church. We said our prayers and followed this important Catholic Holiday and showed our respect by wearing the cross for the day.
Watching the Sunrise:
One of my favorite memories from Mexico was being able to sit with Jaime watching the sunset. We reminisced about how we met, how everything in our lives started to fall into place and simply how happy we were. We set a lot of goals for our future together, talked about our childhood dreams and kept smiling about what we new would be shortly down the road for us. I love that we can just sit and talk for hours and dream like we are little kids. I hope that never changes.
Until Next time...
Sadly this week in paradise had to end. But one thing we know for sure is that we will be back to PV sometime again soon.
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