Great Family Time...

Bill and I have 4 kids...  biologically speaking, 2 daughters are Bill's and I have a son and a daughter.  But they are all "our" kids and have been for... oh my gosh...  I just looked at the date and today is our 35th anniversary.  Our kids live in New York, Ohio, Louisiana and Texas...  our grandkids live in Michigan, California, New York and Texas...  and there are great-grandkids as well.  Our "extended" family are all over the USA.

Last week, when our daughter and son-in-law who live in New York came here to Mexico for a short visit we were thrilled.

They were supposed to have a direct flight from NY, but as it happened, the Puerta Vallarta airport closed for several hours and their flight was diverted to Houston to wait for the fuel spill here to be cleaned up.  So despite the 3 hour delay, they did arrive safely and we happily began our visit.

Glenn and Donna 

We wanted them to see our new home, but we also wanted them to see the things that we like here so much.  Walking to the beach in the sun and wading in the Pacific Ocean is part of what we like so much.

Here's Bill, taking a photo...  

My Leica camera broke a month or so ago.  I ordered a new Nikon on Amazon, had it sent to Donna, and she brought it along with her this trip.  Donna took this picture of a whale, rising out of the water way off in the distance.  We stood on the beach and watched the whales coming out of the water and of them blowing water way high in the air.  

We went to the Tianguis (street market) both in the nearby town of Sayulita and in our own town of Lo de Marcos.  Donna bought several gifts at the market to take back with her.

The town just comes alive at dark...  at the plaza these folks were selling Churros (think of a long, skinny funnel cake).  There was a long line waiting for them to be made, but it was worth the wait.

This is the beach at Sayulita, which is much more popular than Lo de Marcos...  the surfing is better and it's more suited for folks who want to be around the tourist attractions.  While Bill and I seldom visit this beach, it's a "must see at least once" and of course we took the kids there.

January 6 is the "Three Kings" Day...  the day the 3 kings finally got to Jerusalem.  It's a religious holiday here in Mexico, celebrated by a Rosca de Reyes cake, which has a small plastic "baby Jesus" embedded in it.  Our King's Cake had THREE little baby Jesus's.  Tradition has it that whoever finds the infant has to buy the tamales on February 2nd.  (Dia de la Candeleria).  Donna told us that Evie, our great-granddaughter loves these kind of things, so not only did she take the 3 little figures home to Evie, she also bought her a miniature cake so Evie can find her own.

Of course we ate out a lot...  traditional Mexican foods, but also...

A great meal at an Italian restaurant just outside of town.

The guys that have the restaurant are only here during the winter months... during the summer they go back to Italy for their business there.  The food was excellent!

Here's Glenn with my favorite dog.  Pirate lives up near the plaza and frequently hangs out with us at the bus stop or goes on our Monday walks.  Around Thanksgiving he was hit by a car...  lost a lot of weight and looked like he was a death's door.  His owners feed and take care of him, but I thought he needed something extra so often give him chicken and rice.  Of course he made right up with the kids...  he's everyone's friend. 

Here's my kid!

Isn't it great to see that your kids can enjoy life!

(and, yes, she's a Grandmother... but a kid at heart!)

Too soon it was time for them to go back to New York...

We had 3 full days together, and we really made the most of it.

Spent most of the time in our own little town and still didn't see and do all the things we wanted to.  One thing...  Bill & I are taking Spanish lessons, and the kids went with us to class on Friday.  Truth is, Glenn conversed in Spanish better than us!  His high school Spanish came right back.

We did have a wonderful time...  it just passed all too quickly.

They are back in NY now...  maybe the other kids and their families will be next!

That's All For Today!