Ollie is no longer in the youngest class at ASPV!!



and he is a little excited about it. (mom's sentiments)

What a difference a year makes: el año pasado

In May we celebrated Mothers' Day. Ollie's class put on quite the show and then we hit the Mexican countryside with friends for a little adventure. It was a great time in honour of a fabulous and gorgeous mom who we could never thank for all that she does.
We are so incredibly lucky to have you able to focus completely on us - thank you.

Of course we have lots of mom's to thank including Mary, Delores, Laura, Nora, Kristy, and Evelyn - thank you all so much for all that you have done and continue to do for us.

Mothers' Day 2010 from markpicketts on Vimeo.

- on the nerdy side of things i have begun simultaneously posting these to youtube (account: markpicketts) for those that asked to see them on your phones, m.

So as I get ready to leave here and start summer I am writing about April...at least I am consistent.

April was fantastic. We were lucky enough to have a visit from Granny & Boppy which is always a treat, did some camping, went to the boat access only community of Yelapa, played, laughed, celebrated Ella's 2nd, swam, kitesurfed, saw turtles, iguana, dolphin, pirates, rays, birds, fish, and were treated by the return of Uncle Foffy at the end of the month. We live a lucky life and are thankful for it everyday.

April 2010 from markpicketts on Vimeo.

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Speaking of giving thanks, i just want to publicly thank my family for allowing me - and often joining me - to kite more than 50 times in a little over two months. My wife's patience, forgiveness, and being the hottest girl on the beach everyday is what makes me the luckiest kid on the playground - thank you. My favorite sessions were the ones when you're there...

lens: Rudo

March was a busy month around these parts, first I traveled to San Antonio to train to become an official nerd, the title: Google Certified Teacher has been added to my resume and all kidding aside it was one of the most incredible professional development opportunities that I have ever been a part of. Of course everyone involved wanted to eat Mexican food at every meal...

From there the whole crew went to Rome, Georgia to celebrate the 90th birthday of Raymond Waters. It was great celebration befitting an incredible man. Ollie, Ella, and i were able to meet some family members we'd never met and Karli reconnected with people she hadn't seen since she was Ollie's age. I am consistently amazed at how family, regardless of previous contact or distance, seem to know they are family at the youngest age and this was no exception. See the video!

As the world cup draws closer and closer i am thankful to have returned to a futbol crazed nation and excited to cheer el Tri into the second round. The signs, spirit, and jerseys can be seen everywhere these days; these players truly bear the weight and pride of the entire nation... i for one can not wait! (more mexicanisms)

This blog has really evolved to become more of a video-journal and this post is no different. Highlighted in this clip are a long weekend camping, an enchanted wedding on a magical Mexican beach with old friends, and our road trip down to Manzanillo and Boca de Iguanas south of Vallarta.

disfruta:

March and April adventures... from markpicketts on Vimeo.

This pretty much brings you to Ella's 2nd with lots more to come, keeping up with this is a battle i continue to lose but i keep trying....

Everyone of these starts out with an apology for the late posting, and this one is no different.

It's official, we have a two year old:

Ella Turns 2! from markpicketts on Vimeo.

looking back:

• Here is her wonderful arrival
• and was this really just a year ago??
  birthday stills, semana santa video - this is the video that had her bday in it

Is it possible that with each day that passes time moves a little quicker?? because it is really feeling that way...

en serio, how else can you explain that this was in the fall:

February.

Yes it was some three months ago but i find myself today writing about it.

It is likely the month that receives the most "bad press". I have often heard, and maybe even lamented about the blah's of February and how difficult it sometimes is to get through the shortest month of the year.

Well, it is difficult to feel that way any more. With four family birthdays in the month, Valentine's Day, and this year an (extended) visit to Boston, not to mention a trip to the zoo, Ollie's first field trip, and the general chaos of day-to-day life the month absolutely flew by.

Indeed, time seems to be flying these days (so fast that it takes a while for me to actually get to putting up some stuff here on this blog). Regardless of how late it is; its here now. Sometimes as i am feeling a little bogged down with footage i wonder if i should just forget it...then i look back and it is so much more than all worth while.

So i invite you to watch this:

February 2010 from markpicketts on Vimeo.

Then consider a couple previous posts, from Februaries gone by...

• February '09
• February '08
• February '07
• The Original Birth Announcement!

So I spent the first couple days of my Spring Break finalizing some old footage and putting together more recent stuff. Of course the other 14 days i spent further digging myself in with more and more footage - ahhh good times.

Here are two little flicks:

1. Christmas Part Two

yup the hole is that deep. This takes off where this one left off, ready for Uncle Foffy's arrival just in time for Christmas Dinner. From there we had an incredible week with family in the surf town of Sayulita.

Winter Break 2010 (part 2) in Sayulita Mexico from markpicketts on Vimeo.

2. Raymond's 90th

so there is much to fill in (two months and three birthday's) between these two videos, but late march had us in Georgia to celebrate Raymond's 90th birthday. Friends and family came to Rome from all over the place, and the fiesta was a wonderful testament to an amazing man.

Raymond's 90th from markpicketts on Vimeo.

As I mentioned in this post there is a lot more footage that i will try and work on over the spring and get out to you. Start looking forward to three birthdays (four as of Thursday), more camping, the zoo, friends, friends, weddings, two weeks off and more friends...so stay tuned.

Well February is a busy month around this family and 2010 has officially proven to be no exception. We have birthdays for Aba, Oliver, Karli and me, add to that Valentine's Day, an extended work trip to Boston, the arrival of almost wind to the Bahia de Banderas, the Olympics ... a great month really - but lets not forget another superstar award for Ollie for random acts of kindness on the school yard, a "bathtub" added to our apartment and nightly routine, all while Karli continues to defy the aging process by looking better and better with each day that passes.

There is a lot more footage from the month that will find its way here soon but this post is specific for a great event that was held here at the American School of Puerto Vallarta - last Friday, February 26th:

It was the annual Pre-School trike-A-thon. Ollie personally raised more than $3000 pesos ($300 dollars) to help build/re-build schools in Haiti; we could not be more proud of his effort or the generosity of his sponsors. The event was a blast and the group as a whole raised more than $2000 for the cause - not bad for kids still learning to tie their own shoes!

trike-A-thon from markpicketts on Vimeo.

Life in new places is full of exciting and new stuff! Lots of firsts happening in Mexico and i am struggling to keep up with my documenting. I am slowly making my way through some amazing pictures of our week in Sayulita over the New Year, stay tuned.

Last Friday Ollie had his first real field trip! To go and see some Dolphin with Vallarta Adventures, moms and dads weren't allowed poolside and i have to admit i was pretty jealous of Ollie's experience. They got to meet some seals, some incredible birds, and shake hands with the Dolphin stars. It was a great morning and we appreciate all of the work that Miss. Jennifer did to put it together. Pictured are the two classes with the stars, Ollie's class, and the art project they did on the afternoon of the field trip.


So although i continue to work on our NewYear's highlights we did have an incredible weekend last weekend camping on a beach just north of Vallarta. It was the kids first experience camping and it was nothing short of amazing. Ollie was impressed with dad the firemaker and even said that he wanted to be one when he grew up, the roasted marshmallows were a hit, as was cowboy coffee and fire cooked breakfasts. Thankfully the kids both loved it and we hope to be experience the great outdoors with them a lot more! Of course the luckiness of camping barefoot in January was not lost on me. Enjoy:

Camping in January from markpicketts on Vimeo.

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One last one, because I can't resist sharing a shot from Pajama Day:

Yesterday on a road trip to a new beach in the south we had some car trouble, we never did make it to the beach. We did have a 9 hour ordeal that had us meet (and appreciate) some wonderfully kind people. One of my favorite moments was asking the attendants at a gas station - in the middle of nowhere - if they knew where i could find a mechanic; there was literally no response whatsoever. Taking their silence as a no, i asked for a taco stand recommendation ... this response was a diatribe describing the wonders of the local cuisine. They love their food here (and so do i). Good times.

Pictured is Karli reveling in what very well could have been the greatest chile relleno ever made.

(reposted from: http://sites.google.com/site/betadepuertovallarata/mexicanisms)

I am simply blown away with the amount of footage the holidays brings. I am a little overwhelmed to be honest, but i have a lot of good stuff that i want to share.

This is early December here in Vallarta; A staff Posada, Ollie's Christmas concert, some Vallarta, a trip to a jungle beach, a couple piñatas*, Noche Buena, Christmas morning, and lots of just goofin around:

Early December in Mexico from markpicketts on Vimeo.

.... there is much much more to come...

* notice how quickly Ollie goes from barely touching the piñata to really givin'er!