MEXICO TRIP: VERANA, PART TWO

(This is the second post about our Mexico trip - here's the first one!)

Well, Verana was truly everything we thought it would be and more.  Wednesday morning dawned beautifully, and we watched dolphins play in the ocean while we ate breakfast.  There had been whales there just days before we arrived, so we kept our eyes peeled, but had no luck on spotting those.




We headed out for our "Paradise Picnic" package after breakfast.  We enjoyed a private beach with snorkeling opportunities and a pleasant beach dog to boot.  We mostly read and watched the waves.  The pelicans made quite a show of eating sardines, and we caught a crab dragging a tiny stranded fish into its hole.  We felt as if we had arrived amidst a nature show being filmed.

Here is the sweet cat that wanders the Verana property - Verinita.  She eats anything offered to her, including your morning banana bread that is delivered discreetly to your "door" around 7:30 with your coffee or anything else you request.  It's your pre-breakfast breakfast.  You might be starting to see why we liked Verana so very much.

This picture was on Thursday, our last morning at Verana.  Saying goodbye to the Bungalow was a sad moment.  It was just so beautiful.




Here's how the luggage gets up and down the rather large hill.  You can request to have a mule take you up and down, but we chose to use our own legs.

The first night that we arrived, there were only three couples total staying there.  Breakfast and dinner are served down near the main kitchen overlooking the water, so you end up seeing people with some regularity, if you are on similar schedules.  Much to our surprise and delight, we ended up making friends with the other guests that were there.  We normally like to be sort of reclusive on trips like this.  However, it was such a treat to have wonderful conversation and laughter to go with our meals, and on our last morning there, we ended up all leaving together and sharing a boat all the way to Puerta Vallarta.



All of our new friends were from the San Francisco Bay area - Kristin and Mary, and Hae and Joon.  They were all amazing, and now we have some great people to meet up with in a place we have wanted to visit for quite a while.



We got to see a whole pod of dolphins from on our boat ride, and it was so fun to see them all together.  That is the thing about Verana - it is a bit of a walk on the wild side.  We saw a bunch of these woodpeckers.

There are these creatures that look like a cross between a raccoon and a monkey that are everywhere - the staff called them "Tejons".  Mary and Kristin baited them to their room with diet brownies and got to see them several times, but I never did get a good picture of one, because we saw them mostly through the trees.  I'm glad to say that we also never saw a scorpion, but Mary shook one out of her sweatshirt.  The staff graciously came and killed it for them.


(those are the dolphins, not sharks.)

As a wrap up of our time at Verana - it was everything we could have hoped for and much more.  It worked perfectly for us, because we like a little bit of adventure and love being outdoors, especially in perfect weather.  I would highly recommend it to people who like those things, because it is off the beaten path, and beauty is around every single corner there.  We were able to relax completely, which is what we most certainly needed at this time in our life.  There are many options of things to do there, but we mostly read and slept - things I rarely get to do enough of in my normal life.

The last post about our trip will show our night in Puerta Vallarta.  Truly, it was a blessed trip in every way, and we are so thankful to have had this opportunity.  God knew exactly what we needed.

MEXICO TRIP: VERANA, PART ONE

Ya'll.  We had the most amazing trip, which can be contributed to so many things.  We went someplace truly beautiful for the purpose of relaxation.  After almost nine years of marriage, we have gotten better at managing our expectations for trips together.  We met some really fun people that enhanced the whole experience.  On the whole, it could not have been any better, and we are so very grateful.

When we left in the very early hours of St. Patrick's Day, there was snow on the ground.  Nothing makes you more happy to leave on vacation than snow on the ground in mid-March.



Because we booked with miles, we had a long layover in Dallas, but that time was not wasted.  I got a massage, we had a long breakfast spent filling out our March Madness brackets, and we met the Hamburgler.  (I quite prefer the CFA Cows.)

Our travel was wonderfully uneventful.  After a cab ride from the Puerta Vallarta airport, we found ourselves in a tiny little town, waiting on a boat from Verana - the resort we stayed for most of our trip.

Our adventure began in earnest once we got into the boat.  It was a choppy ride, but the beauty was so enchanting that my sore tail bone was more than worth the journey.  We climbed the ladder onto the dock at the base of the hillside and started our walk up the hill that overlooks the ocean and the town of Yelapa.  Everything was so gorgeous.

Our arrival was marked by fresh limeades waiting for us and a tour of the property.  It is a "hand-made, boutique resort," and it lives up to the hype.  Most of the rooms are a combination of indoor/outdoor with few walls and lush jungle all around.  Everything is perfectly curated to make you feel at home and point you to the natural beauty all around.

We were walked to our room, which was called the "Bungalow."

By the end of Monday night, we were exhausted and passed out after a delicious dinner.  After an amazing breakfast, our only agenda item on Tuesday was to hang out at the pool on property.  It was a super tough gig.

(I'm sitting on Puff, the amazing Dragon inflatable, who was brought by our newly made friends.  Puff is supposed to be mailed to me after moonlighting at someone else's wedding in Verana this weekend.  We shall see.)

Tuesday night, we had a "Night Under the Stars" package that included a couples' massage, a candlelit dinner and then a candlelit bath under the stars.  It was just as amazing as it sounds.  I told John that I felt like we were on a date from The Bachelor, except for there were no cameras, and we actually know one another.

I just realized how much there is to tell, so I am breaking Verana up into two posts, and then there will be one more post about our time in Puerta Vallarta.

(for the blog post with Verana, Part Two - click here)

TWINS ARE 11 MONTHS!

After getting back from vacation yesterday, we are trying to take it easy at home today and get caught up on life.  My first major errand today was to take William in to the pediatrician to find out that he has a double ear infection with one busted ear drum.  Bummer.  More antibiotics for us.  Violet had what seemed to be a severe asthma attack earlier in the week, and my mom spent a whole evening with her at the after hours clinic.  Good times.  The other thing we learned to do this morning was give breathing treatments.

But, our vacation was incredible, and I will write about it soon.  It could not have been any better, except for having healthy kids at home - but you don't get everything in life.  Today, we are celebrating that the twins are 11 months old.  How did that happen?!?

As I mentioned before, William did not exactly feel well today.  He was as smiley as he had been all day, so I took the risk and started taking pictures.  He did well when it was just him, but as soon as I added Violet, he was just over it.  These pics crack me up.

She seems to be trying to comfort him, and I am always grateful they have each other.  Having a twin really is a special gift.

At 11 months, William is finally able to self-feed a bit, and you just want to cheer him on with all your heart when you watch it.  He focuses intently on whatever he is trying to pick up and bangs both hands onto the tray.  Then he uses the fingers that he recently discovered to scoop whatever it is (usually Cheerios) into his always open mouth.  It's pretty precious.  He is working hard in therapy three times a week, and he continues to be the most chill child we have ever had.  He is pretty good at sleeping through most nights and now weighs a bit over 21 pounds.

At 11 months, miss Violet is such a squirmer.  She is bubbly and happy so much of the time, and her face literally lights up when she recognizes you.  She is very fond of attention, and really does not like to be left in a room by herself.  Twice in the past couple of weeks, she has had breathing issues, and as it looks right now, she is probably asthmatic.  As you might imagine, holding a mask over her face for 15 minutes while she screams is really a delight for us both.  She weighs just over 20 pounds and sleeps like a champ almost every night, and she totally rocks at nap times.

We are almost through the first year, which is said by all twin parents to be the hardest.  It certainly has felt hard, but we would not change a single thing about having them.  It is always worth it, and I am so thankful that God gave us to each other.

Happy 11 months, William and Violet!  We love you so very much!

Here are the other months -

1 Month - 2 Months - 3 Months - 4 Months

5 Months - 6 Months - 7 Months - 8 Months
9 Months - 10 Months