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The biggest event on our June calendar was our trip to Puerto Vallarta to celebrate Viktoria’s 18th birthday.
The flight from Rapid to Puerto Vallarta was the first in the boy’s memory. They’ve been thrilled about the idea for weeks and were fabulous travelers, even when we had to rush to make our connection flight at DIA.


We had a longer wait to get into our room than anyone expected, so the boys and I went to the beach. Graham and Royal wasted no time jumping into the ocean.
The day before we left, Royal crashed his bike while riding nothing but skivvies. He managed to get scrapes all over his body, blood everywhere. Somehow it didn’t keep him from swimming in any pool, though it may have influenced how much he spent in the salty ocean.

The days blur together once you arrive. We spent many, many hours in pools all across the resort, and most days at least an hour at the beach. No single place became a favorite swimming hole. We enjoyed so much good food.








One birthday celebration was a trip to the nearby carnival park. Viktoria and the boys talked me into riding the flower drop AND the ferris wheel. The flower drop takes you up into the sky, then drops you several times. I screamed most of the time, to everyone’s amusement.


Another birthday dinner celebration was a six-course meal called Le Petît Chef. The meal was prepared in front of us by four tiny chefs who appeared on our table via an overhead projector. The food was unbelievable.

Viktoria’s final birthday dinner celebration was at an Asian restaurant. The chef prepared the food in front of us like you might experience at a Mongolian Grill. And we got to keep the headbands.

The only sad spots on the trip were that Aunt Steph was sick soon after arrival, then Viktoria, and Amie on the day of our return. Also, Jaynne accidentally lost her phone. It turned out pretty well for me though since I got a private tour of every floor of the corporate offices working with security to track it down. Even though we never found it, I’m super impressed by Geu, Fernando and Viktor’s thorough search and it was a really fun, very unique adventure.