Mom's Sweetie

My Sweetie...

I've been tagged!

1. What is his name? Curtis
2. How long have you been married? 36 years
3. How long did you date? 1 year long distance while he was in the Navy. When he came back we dated two weeks.
4. Who eats more sweets? Kathie. Who can resist chocolate?
5. Who said I love you first? Curtis
6. Who is taller? Curtis
7. Who can sing better? We both, but Curtis sings better.
8. Who is smarter? We both are capable. It depends on what it is.
9. Who does the laundry? Kathie with help from Alisa.
10. Who pays the bills? We do it together.
11. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Kathie
12. Who cooks dinner? Kathie, but he will cook for himself and he can reheat a mean fondue.
13. Who drives? When we are together Curtis drives.
14. Who is more stubborn? Kathie. If momma ain't happy ain't nobody happy.
15. Who kissed whom first? It was a joint effort.
16. Who asked whom out first? Curtis. We were set up on a blind date by Sherrie who wouldn't take no for an answer.
17. Who proposed? Curtis in a letter from the Philippines.
18. Who wears the pants? We make decisions together.

Everyone we know has already been tagged so I guess it ends here for us.

Colorado Garden and Home Show

Yesterday I tagged along with Annmarie and Steve to the Garden and Home show that is held yearly at the Convention Center. It has everything you would need for a home and even some unusual things. It took us almost 6 hours to go through, there were about 20 aisles that were probably 2 football field lengths or longer. Man were our feet and backs tired by the end of the day. Since they are in a new home and need to put in their back yard, they wanted to get ideas and find someone to do it. Some of the bigger companies put together some eleborate displays which included real flowers and tress. What a beautiful smell that was and it made me want Spring to come even sooner. We finished our day with dinner at Ted's Montana Grill, its a resturant owned by Ted Turner. Their speciality is bison, it was such a great meal. Thanks Annmarie and Steve for the fun day, I enjoyed being with the two of you, even Steve and his teasing.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad

Chilis in Puerto Vallarta, January 27,2008.




Our parents celebrated their 36th wedding anniversay yesterday. They have 6 great kids, 3 beautiful daugther-in-laws, 1 awesome son-in-law and 8 terrific grandchildren. What a great example they are to their family. They have such a great love for each other that we get to see everyday. They still continue their date night every Friday and any other chance they have to spend with each other. We love you both so much and appreciate the love you have for all of us.

This picture was taken at Annmarie and Steve's wedding

Our last adventure

Parasailing was a wild ride. I am glad that I did it and can say that I went parasailing but I think this will be my one and only time at it. Mom and dad were not up to this so it was left to Aaron, Jen, Jake and me. We took off from the beach, the boat starts going and they tell you to squat and the next thing you know you are being lifted into the air. It was a windy day so while up in the air we were getting rocked back and forth. It was amazing to see everything from that vantage point and to see the people on the beach look like ants. It was around a 10 minute trip around the bay. As you make your way back to the beach you pull on a cord and you slowly touch ground again.

A 3 hour tour on ATVs

On our ATV tour we paired up and headed through town and up into the jungle. They gave us each goggles, hankerchief, and helmet which were very helpful after we saw how dirty our clothes and arms were at the end. The back roads we went up reminded us all of the mountains at home except for the palm trees mixed in with the other trees. There were two stops where we were able to rest our behinds. Our first stop had a mexican leopard or a black cat that became our friend because we had food. Jake was able to tame the cat with his charm but then the dog came along and chased it away. We were back on our way along the dirt roads and splashed through a few rivers for a photo op. The last stop was a Tequilla tasting and an explaination of how Tequilla is made. We were the only group not partaking and they looked at us like we had lobsters coming out of our ears. This was a great way to see another part of Puerto Vallarta. We all enjoyed it and were eager to jump in the swimming pool when we returned to the hotel.

Marigalante Pirate Ship

One night we took in a dinner and show on the Marigalante. Here is a little history of the ship. Marigalante is a Santa Maria replica, the ship used by Christopher Columbus when he discovered America. “The Pirate Ship”, as all the tourists call it, has sailed the seven seas. The world-wide voyages of the Marigalante began in 1987 when she visited Miami, Bermuda, Spain, Brazil, Panama, Hawaii and Japan, finally settling in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico. Today, this impressive ship has become a symbol of Puerto Vallarta, and its picture is known around the world.
The night began with a preshow of dancing by all the women on the ship and a contest between 3 women. A woman from Canada, Mexico and USA and can you guess who was chosen as Ms.USA............our Jennifer. It was a three part contest which included Jen being put into the stocks were she had to sing La Cucaracha with a piece of ice between her teeth, she had to be the first to put on a poncho and sombrero, and last part she had to dance for Aaron. Jen did a great job and all three women ended up winning a tee shirt. Then we had dinner were we could choose from either steak and shrimp, fish, or chicken. Unfortunately Jen got sea sick and wasn't able to eat her dinner. Luckily they gave her some Dramamine and after some fresh air she felt as good as new. The show was after dinner and a few fight scenes and fireworks later we were on our way back to the marina.

Canopy Tour

This was by far the greatest activity we did in Puerto Vallarta in my opinion. A canopy tour is essentially a wire cable suspended in the air connected at each end by a tree. You wear a harness and then its attached to a handle bar on the wire. The guides called it a Mexican Harley. Then you go zipping down the cable, where at the end a guide is there to stop you or come out and get you if you get stuck on the cable. This was my biggest fear but luckily I had no problems unlike Jake. There were a total of 14 lines during the tour with the highest being 400 meters. The lines went through the forest and over the river. Jen and I made many boyfriends on this trip especially with the videographer. He would ride down with you and record you and other guides would ride to get to the other platforms. One of my trips with a guide he was behind me and the next thing I knew he had spun me around in the middle of the wire over the river. The guides definelty made the tour with their sense of humor, we were always laughing. After the tour Jake, Jen and I decided to go and see the monkeys. They let you in the cages to feed the monkeys. The monkeys would jump between the three of us on our shoulders with their wet feet. This ended quickly for me after one of the monkeys peed on me. Normally, I would have been more grossed out but I was already hot and sweaty so it didn't matter. Jake and Aaron both held a python around their necks, that is were Jen and I drew the line. It was a great experience and something that I would do again. We were happy to see that mom and dad were good sports and were up to this adventure. Way to go!

Downtown Puerto Vallarta

We made many journeys to downtown Puerto Vallarta by way of the public bus, what an experience that was. It cost 50 pesos or 50 cents to ride each way. Many times we had to stand and that could be dangerous at times. The roads are made out of brick or stone so it was very bumpy. During the first part of our trip we spent the morning wondering the boardwalk and seeing the sights. Along the boardwalk there are sculptures depicting the Spanish heritage. A man even had done sand scupltures, they were pretty spectacular. We noticed that even after he had finished he always had to keep them moist so he would take his mister and continually water his sand. There were many vendors trying to persuade you to buy anything. There favorite lines were "Almost free" and "Cheaper than K-Mart." Jake is pretty proud of his bargaining skills. He found himself a Denver Broncos poncho and the man starting at $35 but by the time Jake was done he had him down to $23 and a free plastic bag. After a couple hours of this we decided to find a place for lunch. We found a restaurant and checked out the menu and the prices for food were pretty cheap so we decided to give it a try. Little did we know we were in for the suprise of our life. We each had about 2 sodas during our lunch and when the bill came it was over US$100. It turned out that there were no free refills and each soda cost $6. We learned a very important lesson that day and made sure to always ask if refills were free. It is definitely a different lifestyle there and we feel blessed for the things we enjoy in our lives.

The Beach

The beach was very beautiful, it is situated in the Banderas Bay. Many mornings and sometimes early afternoons we were lucky enough to see the whales. What an amazing sight that was. During this time of year is when they feed, we never did see any dolphins but I am sure they were there. Aaron and Jake enjoyed swimming in the ocean and sometimes Jen would join them. As for me I am not a big fan of getting in as far as they did up to my knees is just fine by me.

Our Hotel

We stayed at Villa del Palmar which is about 5 minutes from downton Puerto Vallarta. It was a 2 bedroom and 2 bath suite, that looked right out to the pools and beach. Many mornings we rolled out of bed into our swimsuits and hit the beach. This is definetly a life we all could get use to.

We're back

We made it safely home from Puerto Vallarta last night. We had an amazing trip and did some very exciting and thrilling activities. Stayed tuned and I will post our week in review once I get all my thoughts and pictures together.