Sayulita, Mexico

 After three years of anticipation, we finally made the trip as a family to visit the ultimate fairytale; Sayulita is a beautiful,  little village on the coast of the Pacific. It is notorious for it's rich cultural history, amazing cuisine, and sunshine for months on end! The waves roll gently to the shoreline, and surfing is the favorite past time of tourists and locals alike. 

We flew separately from Teresa, Mariah, and Ashlyn. You helped to wheel me around the airport because my Achilles Hell was torn. Yes, I'd be on crutches the entire vacation... But you were a champ! You learned your way around the airport, learning to gauge the monitors and estimate time at layovers. 

Once we landed, we immediately loaded up in a golf cart and rolled through town. Music and dancing and Mexican flags and chaos and stray dogs and vendors and horns honking and the aroma of food grilling before your eyes... Look left, look right, look up, look back and see how far we've come from Hotel Casablanca!

Every morning you would get up and watch the sunrise, and the first morning the gate was locked so you propped yourself up on the ledge to watch the sunrise over the water... then suddenly the Security Guard (our Amigo, Nelson!) came to unlock the gate and you were crouched like a tiger on the ledge. He squealed and you had surprised him and laughed! 

Then we'd go get breakfast smoothies and reserve beach chairs on the beach. We rented a surfboard for the  entire week, and you wasted no time paddling out and riding into shore. I stood on the shore with my crutches and took pictures. 

On the second night of our vacation, we decided to volunteer at the local elementary school teaching English as a Second Language to the children in the community. You and your sisters were so gentle and kind to the little kids, and although you're an introvert who self-reports to have "no patience for kids", you did awesome!

Every night we would get dressed up and roll into town for dinner. We'd let the scent of whatever grill called our name lead us to the table on the street... indigenous dancers and musicians would entertain us while we feasted like royalty! We'd feed the stray dogs beneath the table, and order another round of epic tacos! All the while, you'd be soaking in the scenery... "Why can't America have this kind of culture?" and you'd be imagining living here someday.

"Okay, I have a plan." You said, as we walked through town... "Here's my idea: I'm going to move to Sayulita and open my own business. I'm going to bake homemade cookies and make homemade ice cream with a diversity of flavors for each. Then people can choose which kind of cookie and which flavor of ice cream they want to create their own homemade Ice Cream Sandwich!" 

This, of course, is genius!

On Sunday morning we went to www.sayulitabeachchurch.org and gathered with about 30 other ex-pats who'd moved to this town from the United States. We sang songs together and made new friends. I was invited to preach, so I talked about when Jesus called the first disciples and they were ordinary, unschooled revolutionaries! Later that afternoon, you girls joined Mindy (one of the families from church) and hiked to the top of Monkey Mountain! It was hot and exhausting, and you got in "18,000 steps"!

But our favorite day was when we all woke up and Teresa unleashed the plan of no plan - which is to say, we took a taxi into Punta Mita, a local fishing town. She walked down on the beach and bartered with a local boat owner to take our family out on the ocean to see the Marietta Islands (closed) and hope to catch a glimpse of whales migrating north. As we neared the island, our little fishing boat was unexpectedly awed by the sound of blowing Humpback Whale! We turned around just in time to see the massive whale rise in the way, exhale water from the blowhole, and slap its tail agains the surface of the water! Unbelievable! The moment caught us unprepared, and we whispered with our mouths wide open! For the next hour, we watched a dozen whales rising and sinking and rising and blowing and slapping and surfacing and we were caught in the vortex between heaven and earth!

Later in the afternoon you and your sisters joined Teresa - leaping from the boat into the cold water and snorkeling near the shore. You watched all kinds of fish and an octopus beneath the sea, living your fullest and truest life imaginable!

We spent the last couple of days surfing and getting properly sunburned and lots and lots of photoshoots on the beach. It was so great to see you and your sisters laughing the whole week, and building a bond that will last a lifetime. 

.