The Vacation Comes to an End

Mexico was beyond amazing and the views were breath-taking. Mike and I felt so blessed to be able to be together and experience all Mexico had to offer.

A sunset view on one of our last daysGetting ready to go to a fiesta!

This was the view from our room. Our hotel had amazing water activities. This pyramid was actually a slide with two wave pools on either side. We went down the water slide with tubes and I kept getting water up my nose! Oh well...it was worth it!

Another view from our room. You can see all the different pools and activities the hotel offered. Also, there are little private cabanas where you get massages!

More views from our room.

Overall, we had a blast in Mexico. The boys went dune buggying on our last day (which was Mike's favorite activity) and the girls relaxed by the pool and painted pottery. Overall, the whole trip was a success (besides the fact I got food poisoning towards the end of the trip) and we can't wait to go back for more!

How many pictures did we take??

During our City Tour, we went to this tiny, hole-in-the-wall restaurant which served fresh, fresh seafood. We all decided to get a sampler plate to share and the food was amazing! We had fresh lobster, red snapper, mahi-mahi and shrimp. It was an Anderson Dream! Fresh seafood and great family memories.

One stop on our City Tour was to a Tequila factory. This was the actual factory...not the courtyard outside the factory. Mike is standing next to the plants used to make the tequila and they basically mash things up and make tequila. (You can tell this part of the tour really held my interest!)

Having fun with the locals...

Christmas Card Photo! (kidding)

Mexico Continued...

So many pictures to share! On Thursday, we did a City Tour which was really fun. We saw amazing views and had a fun day touring the city as a family.

Mike and I had our 8 month anniversary while in Mexico! Keeping the love alive!!Scenic View

I loved this little shop in town! These guys make statues, art and these colorful eggs by hand using beads! Each egg had a meaning to it and Mike and I just had to have 2 for our Christmas tree. Mike picked the Scorpion egg which symbolized a Protector. I picked the flower egg which symbolized Life.

All of us in downtown Puerto Vallarta on our City Tour

The city...so pretty

Still More Mexico...

As our week continued, we relaxed, swam, tanned and the girls had amazing outdoor massages! If I could, I would live at the hotel spa! Just lock me in the hot tub area for the night and I will be a happy camper.

Here are some more pictures of our adventures...

Just because we are in Mexico, doesn't mean we can't be our dorky selves...My dad is always curious and gets bored just sitting still as a passenger on boats. So, he always talks to the captain and some how starts driving the boat. This has happened about 4 times before on various trips, but he always manages to get his butt in that Captain's Chair. Just one of the many reasons why I love him!

Here Mike and my dad are relaxing and enjoying the atmosphere.

A cute little beach town we hiked through

This was the town we hiked through to get to the waterfall. It was so peaceful and quiet.

More Mexico...

One of our first days, we were able to go snorkeling, boating and hiking to a waterfall! The day was so amazing and we had a blast. When we snorkeled, we saw and held starfish, saw sea urchins, and the cutest puffer fish in the sea! After that adventure, Mike did this hilarious imitation of our cute puffer fish and it made me laugh all week long. Here's the cute face caught on film...
We hiked through this tiny village and up path to this gorgeous waterfall.

On our boat ride to the small village and snorkeling spot, I got sea sick. I hate the fact that I get sea sick, but there isn't much I can do about it. My Aunt Patty gave me some great tips that helped me keep my mind off the nauseousness and one of those tips is to pretend to drive to boat. As goofy as that sounds...it actually worked! Thanks Aunt Patty!

While we were in the harbor area, we had to wear our life vests. So attractive in bright orange!

This picture is more of an inside joke. When you walk into the entrance of the Grand Mayan, you walk into this black marbled corridor that is barely lit and there is Mayan tribal music playing in the distance. Also, there are 14 40-foot Mayan warrior statues that scared the crap out of me when I walked in. You just don't expect to see these huge warriors standing in front of you when you walk into a hotel entrance. Well, in this picture I overcame my fear of the Mayan warriors but I still thought it was a creepy room.

Our Mexico Trip

Mike and I were lucky enough to go to Mexico with my parents and my Aunt Patty! We went to Puerto Vallarta and it was amazing! I was blown away by how beautiful everything was and I offically classify Puerto Vallarta as paradise. We were able to do once-in-lifetime activities and we just felt so blessed to be able to go and relax with family.

We flew into Mexico on Saturday morning and checked into the Grand Mayan hotel. This resort took my breath away (as you will see in later pictures). We started the vacation with virgin Pina Coladas and pool time.

Here Mike is while we are arriving at the Grand Mayan hotel. Our hotel had their private beach with these cute cabanas to escape from the sun's rays.

Our hotel from the ocean

We were so ready to relax and be care-free for a week! I didn't realize how stressed we were until we got there and decompressed! Mike has just finished a semester at DeVry and I had just finished a few major projects for work before we left. I have to say, it was perfect timing! I think my parents were inspired to take us on this trip so we could relax and keep the gray hair away!

How gorgeous is our view? It's a hard-knock life for us...sipping fruit drinks and laying out in this weather.

After we settled into our fabulous hotel room, we figured out the excursions we wanted to do while we were there. We signed up for a City Tour, a fiesta, snorkeling, a dinner cruise, hiking to waterfalls and much much more!

Busy, Busy, Busy....

So many things have been happening these last few weeks and sometimes I feel so overwhelmed! I can't even imagine thinking about what kids will do the stress...and thank you for those individuals that tell me it just gets worse. Very inspiring. Makes me excited for more stress.

On top of Mike going to school and working full-time, my schedule picked up without warning and somehow I seem to thrive on the chaos. At work, some exciting things have been happening. I was promoted to THE Manager of Account Management at my company. No longer am I the Jr. Account Manager! So, basically that means that I am the one in charge of everything. We are going to bring on Jr. Account Managers for me to train and help spread the load while I deal with all our huge, money-making clients and keep everyone at LACED on-track and focused on projects.

I love this company and the opportunities I have to prove my abilities and talents! We have been lucky enough to land some huge accounts in these last few weeks and these are clients that actually prosper in hard economic times. (Such as Educational clients). So, things have just been great at work and I feel so blessed to be a part of a company that I support and believe in the product we give.

Now, with more responsibility comes way more stress and I feel like there is never enough time to accomplish everything, but it keeps me beyond busy and out of trouble.

Along with the stress, we have some great opportunities coming our way and one of them is a week in Mexico with my parents! Mike and I are SO grateful I have parents that love to travel and take their kids on vacations with them. I don't think Mike and I would survive another week without this vacation driving us forward.

So in conclusion, here are my thoughts...I love my job. I am so grateful I magically found this company after moving to L.A. a year ago. I can't believe I've been with this company a year and I am just so excited to move forward and kick some advertising butt! Second, I love my family! Mike has been the most supportive husband I could ever ask for. When I came home around 8:00 p.m. one day, he had dinner ready for me (sandwiches) and the house was clean! What a blessing it is to be married to someone that supports your dreams and wants you to reach all your goals! But also, I love my family and Mike's family for just being there for both of us. Like I mentioned before, these last weeks have been insane and it is nice to know that we have a solid support. I'd also like to thank the academy...just kidding. I'm not giving an Oscar acceptance speech, but I wanted to let everyone know that my family (Anderson and Pless) rocks and I love them all!