One Year Ago....Already

One year ago we arrived in Sayulita after coming incredible close to missing our plane. We left the passports at home! Anyway, that month was a great test drive for what we are experiencing this winter. I revisited our blog A Month In Sayulita and it was great to read, see the photos and relive March 2011. Concerts, surfing, food, friends, new experiences. Can't believe a year has gone by. Check it out if you have not already. See the tab above.

The Wahine Project

Alex has been participating in free, all girls surf clinics sponsored by The Wahine Project and has been having a blast.

The Wahine Project is an organization that was created in an effort to reach young girls who would otherwise not have access to the resources that would allow them to surf. Whether geographical, financial or lack of opportunity, The Wahine Project seeks to break down the barriers that prevent the participation of young girls in the sport of surfing and provide them the opportunity to not only become proficient surfers but as a result of surfing, increase their awareness to their global citizenship. Through education, outreach and travel young girls will be provided opportunities that will give them a sense of social responsibility that surfing uniquely provides.

We told Dionne we would pass the word on about the mission of The Wahine Project. She is always looking for support, financially and with gear donations. Tell her we sent you.

Paddle Mama

Ashley and Trace out for a paddle.

Surfing Is Beating the $%&@ Out of Us.

Learning to surf has been a blast but we have taken our licks these past couple months. Three smashed toes, a pectoral strain, a twisted ankle, tons of bruises, cuts, scrapes and Ashley getting stitches in her head after her paddle wacked her up side the melon.

Never fear, we will continue to try to learn to surf and earn our waves. After all, at the end of the day, everything feels better after a few shots of Don Julio.

After the Rain In Sayulita

This shot was taken by Sean Galloway, a local dad I know and great photographer. I had to share this one and yes, this was for real. Fantastic shot Sean! Amazing!!

On the Downhill Side

Here we are looking at the mid point of our time here and what a ride it's been since August when some things lined up and we finally said "Screw it, enough talk, we're going". Looking back on it, what have we accomplished in the last five months? I sat down with a Pacifico and shot of Don Julio and started a list.

-decided to move to another country
-told the grandparents we were moving
-packed up and rented our home
-rented a home in Mexico sight unseen
-bought surfboards?
-got the family and dog safely to Mexico
-lived through a hurricane and tropical storm threat

-put the kids in a new school
-set up a new business and attracted clients
-took Spanish lessons
-learned to surf, including Alex, and love it
-made new friends in a new culture
-learned that you don't buy new stuff when it breaks, you fix it or learn to live without it
-have realized that less is so much more
-learned how to make home made dog food
-learned that very rarely will anything happen as you planned or in the timeframe you expect
-learned again that everyone is worth knowing in some way...just some at a distance
-got some of the grandparents and friends to actually visit or make plans to visit
-learned to homeschool and as a result learned more about our kids
-learned to roll with the situation at hand and NOT freak out if something goes wrong

Though we have only reached the half-way point I'm sure this list is lacking a few items. I think I will have to edit this list somewhat and republish the post as I look back at it this summer. So far, so good.

People In The Neighborhood

Remember this song from Seasame Street?

"Oh, who are the people in your neighborhood,
In your neighborhood, in your neighborhood.
Say who are the people in your neighborhood--
The people that you meet each day?"

Each day we head into town I just can't get this song out of my head. We have been fortunate to meet and experience so many people from so many places during our time here. So many more than I could have imagined. It is hard to go anywhere without giving a wave, shout or a few minutes of conversation to someone you run in to. Sometimes it makes it hard to get things done when a trip to the store for tequila turns into an hour of socializing. I have to admit that the folks we have befriended are mostly, but certainly not all, "short timers" or the folks that have not been here all that long or on extended vacation. Many "long timers" have seen folks like us come and go each year and the effort to go out of their way to get to know us is understandably minimal. I can certainly relate to the "long timers'" view after living and working in a mostly seasonal town for close to 20 years. As you might expect there are "the nice, the generous, the slicksters, the social climbers, the sweethearts, the cool people and the people who the think they are cool, the dorks, the drama filled(something we had hoped to leave in the States), the creepy, the beautiful, the wanted, the unwanted, the crazy, the super fun, the boozers, the helpful, the paranoid, the kind hearted, the freaks, the angry, the organizers, the whiners, the good neighbors, the folks you don't want to make eye contact with and the folks you would love to have over for some drinks." It's basically just like home except here the town is soo much smaller than in Park City you kind of have to embrace just about everyone and get along in some way.

Grey Day

Today was the first day that is has rained here in Sayulita, during the day, since we arrived in October. I was working last week in the states and Ozzy was working here in the garage so the beach has not been in the plans as of late. After being in rainy SLC I was craving me some sunshine and couldn't wait to get out to the beach today, as well as the kids, Dillon and Ozzy. I awoke this morning to a rainy, grey day. We ate breakfast thinking that we would just prolong our beach visit until it "burned off". We actually loaded up the car with all the gear and I planned to sit under an umbrella and read, as the kids let out some much needed energy in the waves. You are at the beach and in the water, seriously like rain is going to hurt, right? After it started down pouring I thought that maybe I would rather stay home.

Actually we probably would have gone but I could just see the kids being cold and not into it so I put the kabash on the days plans. So we stayed home and it was very nice. It was like a fall day where you just stay inside and hang out. The kids and I spent some much needed time together doing "american" homework, reading books, playing blocks and other games, undisturbed, quality time. Then they watched a movie while I read and did some Spanish homework. It was quite pleasant. We had nothing to do and nowhere to be and didn't want to be outside. The sun was not pressuring us to soak upon her rays. Actually it was a perfect day to watch football. Too bad we don't have a TV and, oh yeah, football ended last weekend. Who played again?

The weather brought with it amazing sunsets yesterday and today as well. All of the dust is knocked down, the trees are clean, green and smiling and we are rested for hopefully a sunny day at the beach tomorrow. We love the sun but a rainy day now and then replenishes the soul and makes the earth smile:)

My Sayulita

So, we have had guests for the last two weeks. First Ozzy's mom and step dad came to visit, then my friend, "Captain Carrie" as my kids call her, came. Both visits were great. I was so glad that friends and family wanted to come and see where we live, our day to day experiences, and get a feel for our little village and lives here in Mexico. No one asked to go home early so that is a good sign.

Now that everyone is gone I am remembering why "I" love Sayulita and not wondering and worrying about what our visitors from the north think about where we have uprooted our family to.

Where to start....Might as well start in the morning..
-I gradually wake up while laying in bed watching the sun rise, occasionally one of my children will join me.
-I make my way out to the living room and look at the surf to see what the waves will be like for paddle surfing, grab a cup of coffee, open the doors to hear and gaze at the ocean, wake up and whale watch. There is usually activity at around 8 am. I literally sit on my couch look out to the ocean and if I see activity, grab the binoculars and watch. Yesterday I saw a whale jump entirely out of the water. It was pretty flippin amazing.
-Ozzy and I drop the kids at school and head out to paddle surf for three hours, depending on the day. This is a great time for us to do something we love together, without being interrupted by the kids every minute, and get either a great work out or get hammered, depending on the day, as well as visit with our local friends that are on the beach for their am activities.
-After lunch and homework we head back to the beach with the kids to release some of their energy, and usually meet visitors to Sayulita or friends again. But either way, it is more time to hang out together and as a family.
-In between all this time we are grocery shopping or walking around town to do something else. By being out and about means that you WILL run into many people that you know, so now your errands have turned into social time, which is great but now life turns into "Mexico time". No one here is in any hurry for anything. Your day could turn into anything.
-I love driving or walking and yelling out to friends saying hola, constantly being met by a friendly face that is happy to see you and vice versa. The kids love this as well, as they enjoy seeing their school friends as well as many other people around town.
-Another thing I love is the fresh Yellowfin Tuna that we have discovered at the fish market in La Cruz, about 20 minutes away. You can literally buy tuna caught same day, four fillets for around $13 US. We have become addicted and will never be able to eat or buy a $30 meal of any tuna dish ever again. It is insanely good and ridiculously priced.
-I love the warmth, wearing a bathing suit and being tan.
-I love the culture, the locals and the people that have chosen this lifestyle, I feel a connection to them.
-And to end the day, when I wake up at my usual 2 am, which I don't love, I love seeing the moons incredible refection on the ocean beaming through my bedroom window. It is literally out of a National Geographic magazine.
We need to take care of this planet on which we live, it is so full of beauty!!

This is what I love, there are many things that frustrate the hell out of me. That will be another blog post, maybe...

Ashley

Why Not Now?

Reprinted from the Daily Om
Waiting for Someday
Why Not Now?

All the joy and passion you can envision can be yours right now, rather than in a future point in time.

The time we are blessed with is limited and tends to be used up all too quickly. How we utilize that time is consequently one of the most important decisions we make. Yet it is far too easy to put off until tomorrow what we are dreaming of today. The hectic pace of modern existence affords us an easy out; we shelve our aspirations so we can cope more effectively with the challenges of the present, ostensibly to have more time and leisure to realize our purpose in the future. Or we tell ourselves that we will chase our dreams someday once we have accomplished other lesser goals. In truth, it is our fear that keeps us from seeking fulfillment in the here and now—because we view failure as a possibility, our reasons for delaying our inevitable success seem sound and rational. If we ask ourselves what we are really waiting for, however, we discover that there is no truly compelling reason why we should put off the pursuit of the dreams that sustain us.

When regarded as a question, "Why not now?" drains us of our power to realize our ambitions. We are so concerned with the notion that we are somehow undeserving of happiness that we cannot see that there is much we can do in the present to begin courting it. Yet when we look decisively at our existence and state, "Why not now, indeed!" we are empowered to begin changing our lives this very moment. We procrastinate for many reasons, from a perceived lack of time to a legitimate lack of self-belief, but the truth of the matter is that there is no time like the present and no time but the present. Whatever we aim to accomplish, we will achieve it more quickly and with a greater degree of efficiency when we seize the day and make the most of the resources we have at our disposal presently.

All the joy, passion, and contentment you can envision can be yours right now, rather than in some far-flung point in time. You need only remind yourself that there is nothing standing between you and fulfillment. If you decide that today is the day you will take your destiny into your hands, you will soon discover that you hold the keys of fate.