Smuggling for Christmas

Our Christmas drama began at 7:00 a.m. Tuesday morning when we headed to the San Antonio airport for our vacation on the beaches of Mexico. Todd thought he had done the necessary research on what we needed for international travel for 6 month old Avery. The customs and immigration agents in Laredo assured us that a birth certificate was all that was required. When we arrived at the airport, the airline required a passport. We did not even know passports could be issued for 6 month old infants! Anyway, they refused to let us board the plane, so Omie and Opa reluctantly left without us (Casey and Lane had taken off from Dallas a couple of hours earlier). After 3 hours at the airport, they determined that we could drive to Laredo, cross over the bridge to Nuevo Laredo with a birth certificate, and fly domestically (in Mexico) to Puerto Vallarta. So we rushed back to the ranch to pick up our car and Bella, then we headed home to Laredo to drop off Bella and a few other things.


As many of you know, Nuevo Laredo is not a safe town particularly for people in Todd's line of work, so tension was high. Todd was able to get a coworker on the Mexican side to escort us across the border in his armored vehicle (this is where we felt like we were smuggling our baby into Mexico). We made it to the airport safely and finally boarded the plane to Mexico City. We did not make it to our hotel room until 10:30 that night. Avery was a trooper. She did so well on the plane that we received several compliments, which was quite a relief.








The next morning Avery was all smiles as we finally made it to Punta de Mita.We immediately changed into our swim suits to enjoy the beach and poolside. Check out the cute Aggie suit Aunt Casey gave Avery for Christmas.Christmas morning we greeted all in our elf hat and cute outfit from Lily Brockman. Time for more fun in the sun. Avery wasn't crazy about the cool pool water at first, but by the end of the trip she had warmed to it.

Opa couldn't wait to get Avery out in surf.
Todd and Lane tested out their skills with sea kayaking and surfing. Let's just say they won't be cast in the next version of Point Break, but we applaud their effort.

I tortured Avery for a picture in the sand.
We tried to head out on a fishing trip, but it ended up being a whale and dolphin watching tour. Last chance to enjoy the pool.
After 4 days at the beach, it was time to go home. Once again, we had to reenter the United States via Nuevo Laredo. This time we had to cross the bridge on foot since our escort could not drive us through with his diplomatic tags. We breathed a sign of relief when we finally reached Texas soil. What a trip! Many thanks to Omie and Opa for such a great Christmas!