Puerto Vallarta with the Johnsons
This is our second time back to this resort — VELAS VALLARTA. We loved it the first time (exactly two years ago) and we loved it again this time! When we checked in the desk clerk said, “We have one room with a fabulous view…” and without hesitation we said, “We’ll take it!” Loved walking out onto the balcony any time we were in our room.
I didn’t take one picture of Day 1 — no exhilaration upon feeling the 86 degree warmth, no excited kids in the lobby, no first chips, guac and Miami Vice’s in the beach restaurant, no meeting up with cousins, no hanging out by the pool, no dressing up for dinner at Andreas. But boy was it a good first day — and we enjoyed every second of it! So grateful to Grandma Johnson for making it possible. Best Christmas present ever!
Day two started at the Beach Restaurant for a big breakfast. The teens (Tyler, Emily, Megan and Spencer) are loving their own room. So much fun!
Lunch with Luke
The resort and staff were so helpful for Luke’s dietary needs. On the first day they let us know everything he could have and what his options were for every meal. One day Luke and I headed over to the beach restaurant and ate by the pool. Corn tacos and chips and guac. One day Luke preordered gluten free spaghetti and had it delivered to the pool. Glad there were so many options for him — and love that the staff kept wanting to be in the pictures. Ha ha
Family Pictures
Grandma got us all matching shirts for Mexico and we wore them for pictures before our Mexican Fiesta. Just missing Katie.
Grandma and all of the grandkids - except for Katie. : )
John was anxious to take his Mexico shirt off and show his 49ers shirt for the big game starting just a few minutes later. Love this pic!
Of course we made quite the impression on everyone at the resort. Several people made comments about our big group and how nice it was to see cousins young and old getting along so well with each other. After wearing these shirts people then addressed us by name. “You guys are the Johnson crew, right?”
Yep. That’s us!
Playing in the Waves
We decided to head down to the beach with just a half hour until dinner. The kids ran in and out of the waves and some of them got soaked and had to change before dinner… but it was so fun. Kayla said she forgot how much she loved the ocean.
Ryan picked up one more crepe before dinner and this time decided to get a scoop of ice cream on top. Such a good idea, Ryan!!
Mexican Fiesta Night
A big Mexican Fiesta night was held at 6:30 in the ballroom. We picked out several tables and then headed back to get salads, chips, salsa, guacamole, tostadas, tortilla soup, mexican ribs, spanish rice and all kinds of great food.
The balloon guy came (you can see him in the above picture) and started making fun balloon hats for Brooklyn and London - who were seated at the adult table. When Lindsey pointed him in the direction of the ‘all kids table’ he turned to ask if these were all our kids. When she said yes, he furrowed his brow and said, “I hate you.” It was so funny. He went above and beyond making fun balloon hats for EVERYONE - including a fun one for Ryan. It made the night extra special.
The balloon guy made Matt and Derek’s long pointy hats at separate times. It wasn’t until after he finished everyone's at the table that he came back to these two and attached their hats at the top. It was so funny! They loved it! They made several trips back to the food together and loved dancing together too. : )
Night Swimming
After the pool Luke, Matt and Derek wanted to go night swimming. With the pool all to themselves they spent most of their time freaking themselves out in the river that connects the two main pools. So fun!
Beach Run
I ran along the beach one morning. I’m just so excited to wake up and head outside. Love being at a resort right by the water.
Peacocks
So excited that Ryan and I were able to see one of the roaming peacocks with it’s feathers all fanned out.
Baby Turtles
Nikole told me that turtles had hatched in the little turtle preserve on the edge of the hotel property so I went to check it out. Just hours old. Then I went to find Matt so he could experience it too! They were so cute! They were realeased into the ocean later that evening but they told us the wrong time so we missed it.
Pool Time
It tried to snag our corner of the pool as often as we could. So much fun to let the kids have their freedom in and around the pool.
The kids LOVED the swim up bar! So fun to have the freedom to swim up and order whatever you want. The Mango Coladas were popular with the kids, as were the Winnie the Poohs (Half Mango smoothie, half strawberry smoothie) and the SpongeBob (Sprite with Mango flavoring).
So funny to watch the kids order their drinks and then walk back across the pool with their drinks high above their heads so they wouldn’t spill. Definitely a lot of close calls. Ha ha
Dinner for 25
Eating dinner on the patio of the Beach Restaurant was a first. We hadn’t done that on our previous trip but thought it would be fun to be in the pool as the sun came down and walk over for a right-out-of-the-pool casual dinner. You can’t really see it in this pic, but the sunset was amazing. Our food was outstanding, some of the best of the trip. Loved this night.
Yoga
Early one morning I headed to the beach for Yoga, which was so fun. Salutation to the Sun is just so much better with this view.
Breakfast and then after breakfast ice cream… every day.
Beach volleyball and then back to the pool. The teens even did a little water aerobics.
Beach Stroll
Heading down the beach to visit the turtle preserve - about a 30 minute walk. So beautiful.
The Turtle Preserve
We were excited to see turtles since almost everyone had missed seeing the turtles at our own resort before they were released in to the ocean. Fortunately the reserve had ONE little baby turtle born before the rest of it’s batch. The kids took turns holding the green bowl and touching the turtle’s back. So cool.
And always a backflip or two from Luke.
Everyone got in and enjoyed playing in the big waves. The water was so warm! One by one the little kids came out crying after being tossed under the waves and swallowing some salt and sand, but the big kids and adults stayed until it was dark.
I love how the colors in the sky made all of these pictures a different color. We headed straight over to the pool and then changed and enjoyed our last dinner at Andreas. A great night. Then another game or two of Hand and Foot and then Secret Hitler for the diehards.
One more breakfast at the Beach Restaurant, goodbye hugs and then it’s time to Uber to the airport. What a great trip!