Mexico!

Zach and I just returned from the BazaarVoice gold club trip to Punta de Mita, Mexico. Punta de Mita is located about 25 miles Northwest of Puerto Vallarta. Punta Mita is actually just an area of resorts with a supporting small town where a lot of the employees live.

As part of the Gold Club perks - we were lucky enough to stay at The Four Seasons. It was AMAZING! This was the first time both Zach and I had ever stayed at a Four Seasons and all I can say it WOW! The rooms were nice but the service was outstanding!

We left the kids with my parents and headed off to the airport early Monday morning. We landed in Puerto Vallarta on Monday June 22 - just as hurricane Andres was making his way north from Acapulco. The skies were grey and the winds were blowing but we enjoyed appetizers and drinks in the lobby while our crew arrived and settled in. Tuesday was the worst of the weather - really grey, a bit rainy and really windy. The weather didn't stop us from walking on the beach and floating loops in the lazy river. We finished out the night with a specially planned dinner followed by an amazing show of fire dancers.

Wednesday we woke up to a few clouds but we could tell the weather was starting to clear. The hurricane was breaking up. To wait out the weather we hit the gym and then made a spa appointment for hot rock massage. By the time our spa appointment was over the sun was out and we were all amazed by the beauty of the resort views. We enjoyed the rest of our vacation soaking in the sun and water and beautiful views.

On Friday a small group went deep sea fishing - the trip was fun and the boat was nice but the fish weren't biting and so we came back early and empty handed. It didn't matter as much because we got to see some amazing dolphins and sea turtles. We finished up Friday tooling around the resort - getting our last bit of fun in before heading back to the room to pack up.

Saturday morning we met up with our group that was leaving on the early flight and headed to the airport. We were so excited to get home and see the kids.

Be sure to check out ALL the pics on Flickr!

Punta Mita, Mexico

It's after 11pm on Sunday June 21st and first thing in the morning we are heading to Punta Mita, Mexico on a BazaarVoice reward trip. Did I mention we are going WITHOUT KIDS?!?!?!? Aside from our quick trip to Vegas, this will be the first time we've ever left the kids. I tried to plan and prepare the best I could but I'm sure I've forgotten something ..... Luckily, the kids are in school a few days this week and I'm hoping that will help them feel in routine. As a crazy worry wart, I'm feeling overly anxious. I hope things mellow out or else I might as well hop a flight back to the ATX!

Honestly, this should be a great trip ... 6 days and 5 nights at the Four Seasons Punta Mita. We've got a couple of things already planned - including Deep Sea Fishing - but otherwise are looking forward to relaxing for a few days.

My parents are here in Austin with the kids ... it'll be a lot of work but fun, too (I hope).

Details to come ......

Jaxton and Roxy!

Overdue .....

Ok, so I'm sure this isn't coming to a shock to anyone but this poor blog isn't being updated like we used to do! I blame Facebook .... if you're not on, or not our friend, join and friend us b/c we're there updating pictures and status all day long!

Quick news:
Zach has started his new role but is also keeping his Sales Director position in California until a replacement is found. This means Zach is essentially working 2 jobs right now ....

Dog. If you haven't heard - we got a dog. Her name is Roxy (we didn't name her) and she's a 6 month old pitbull mix. She's super cute (they call her Foxy Roxy) but is quite the adjustment ....

Jaylen is what we call 90% b/c she takes up 90% of our time and energy ... she's a blast, though. She loves everything and nothing .... she's in that crazy 3 1/2 year old stage and we're just glad that we made it to the end of every day.

Jaxton is our 10% - b/c either that's all he requires or that's all that we can give him. He's a blast ... talking, making faces and really coming into his personality.

I've been doing the same old stuff ....

Until next time .... xoxo, the Hotchkiss Family!

An overdue update

It's been a long time since I've updated this blog and I suspect it will continue to be that way now that we have Facebook.

Here's the skinny:

Zach just accepted a new position at BazaarVoice. He will now be the Director of Worldwide Market Development. This is a position with the Leadership Team and Zach will have 15 people to manage. The job officially starts May 1 (the first day of next quarter). Until then he will continue to manage the South East and California. This is an incredible opportunity for him and he's really excited to start this chapter in his professional career.

Jaylen is having a blast being 3 1/2 (although at times we aren't enjoying it quite as much ... )
She's learned to pump on the swings and can even get started all by herself. She's also taken another big step and is now going poo on the potty! She's officially out of diapers (except at night). She was still having a hard time going on the potty at school but I'm hoping Spring Break will give her a fresh start on Tuesday.

Jaxton is a hoot and really starting to talk. He says:
juice
I'm all done
I want down
Nooooo
Hello (sounds like Ho)
dada
stop it

He's a climber and we've really got to watch him - he's already taken some spills.

We've been working outside around the house and cannot believe the transformation in such a short time - we now have a covered deck, a raised bed garden and a ton of landscaping. The kids are fully enjoying the playscape, too!!! Our back deck has turned into an extension of our house - we've got a table, chairs and some fun lights. The kids now have a place to play with toys protected from the weather. The house is really coming together and we're really enjoying it.

I've been doing a lot of biking. I've been making the ride to the Triangle development (only 1.6miles) with the kids in tow in my new Chariot bike trailer. They have a little sprinkler park and lots of places to stop for treats like frozen yogurt or gelato.

On Tuesday I will start working out with a trainer 1x a week (for now) and am hoping to start taking yoga classes, too ... Hopefully I'll be able to bike to the gym and yoga (if time permits).

Zach's heading out tomorrow for a quick trip to Atlanta and Orlando and will return Wednesday by dinner time. We're hoping that this will be the last of the travel .... :-)

So that's all from us for now.

We are go for ......

POTTY!

That's right - Jaylen has finally decided that she wants to start using the potty. She wants to wear panties just like all of her friends.

Such a HUGE milestone. We are being as positive as we can and are even taking her to Chuck E Cheese on Saturday ... I know - that's not exactly our style but this is a big deal ..... ;-)

Smiles, tears and a lot of snot!

It's the end of January and Zach is finishing up another quarter at BazaarVoice. This job is a rollercoaster and right now Zach is chugging UP hill trying to get some deals in before the end of the week. The rest of us are doing the usual stuff ... school (tuesday/thursday for both kids), work (still at ApartmentRatings), housekeeping and plenty of playdates. It's been a fun start to the new year.

Jaylen is 3 1/2 and testing us nearly every minute of every day. When she's not, she's a doll - so sweet and loving and a good big sister. Those moments are few and far between so mostly these days she's in time out. I'm pretty sure time out isn't really working or she wouldn't be there so often!!!!!! She's really enjoying school, bike riding, playing with her new kitchen and, of course, playing w/ brother.

Jaxton is a hoot. There's just no better word to describe him. He's so darn stubborn, he hates getting in trouble, he's a BIG TIME showoff (I wonder where he learned that?) and he still LOVES to eat. He's as snotty as ever but I think we've finally turned the corner w/ the ear infections and his tubes are really helping to keep his ears dry. He's learned to climb just about anything and I am constantly finding him standing on the coffee table or the table in Jaylen's room. He's been on the kitchen table a few times, too. He's not saying much but "stop it" ... we're working to get more words but he'll just take his sweet time - just like his sister.

We're trying to plan a summer trip somewhere - I'm voting for Pensacola but Zach doesn't want to make the drive and flights are way expensive because there's no good way to get there.

Right now Zach and Jaylen are out running errands and getting another bike for me! We are getting a bike trailer, too so we can start taking advantage of our new more central location and bike around ... good for the earth, our waistlines and our hearts!!!! The kids do really well in a jogger so we are hoping for the same behavior in the bike trailer.

We'll post some more pictures soon - well, as soon as we take some more. :)