The idea of a "planned community" conjures up any number of thoughts and corresponding gut reactions depending on your personal p-o-v. For me, I can't help but think back to my parents' house in the suburb of Federal Way, Washington, with the HOA's strict rules about acceptable "Northwest colors" that qualified as exterior house paint. Refreshingly, not all developments are about conformity to the mundane, as I was reminded while chatting with Fred Geisler and Laurie Keith, the developer couple guiding the vision for TierraLuz, a new eco-community in Sayulita's not-so-remote jungle.

While many adults I know would be happy to lounge on the beach doing nothing all day on their Sayulita vacations, sometimes the kids require a little more structure and stimulation to keep them engaged and happy. Fortunately, Sayulita offers plenty of activities to keep the kiddies from slipping into boredom, like surfing, boogie boarding, horseback riding, and our local zip-line canopy tour. Adding to all of this fun is the newly hatched Sayulita Sea Camp, an educational and entertaining program for kids age 4-10.

If you're looking to improve your Spanish skills, reading children's books en español is a great way to expand your vocabulary and language comprehension. Kids' books are generally succinct, clear in their wording, highly descriptive, and accompanied by illustrations that explain what's happening, mas o menos. Bilingual books, with text in both Spanish and English, make it easy to "look up" unknown words, but with some basic Spanish knowledge and the context of story and pictures, even a Spanish-only kid's book is generally grasp-able.

Moving to Sayulita was the realization of a major dream for us, way back (almost-five-years-ago!) when. A dream of forging a new life, away from the rat race, in a place where we would have context, have a chance to offer something of ourselves to a growing community, and - most importantly - find more time for each other, the family we wanted to grow, and the ongoing pursuit of dreams.

D-I-Y is all the rage in weddings these days -- little crafty details created with love in lieu of store-bought décor and favors. My wedding group last week put an original spin on the Do-It-Yourself trend by spending one of their vacation days volunteering at Costa Verde International School and the public Kindergarten.

Vallarta nightlife, a phrase that conjures up images of foam parties, sky lounges, and... dance theater? Having an aversion towards driving on highway 200 at night, my impressions of Puerto Vallarta are skewed toward the daytime, and my days there are mostly filled with running errands, shopping, and (lately) Ameca bridge traffic.

October - it sneaks up on me each year. September always seems so slooooow, with its hot hot heat, rains, and sparse times. Septi-hambre, the locals call it. Some days it seems like September might drag on forever - some years, more so than ever. Then suddenly autumn has arrived. The sun is shining, the rains have tapered off, the ocean is clearing up, and - could it be? - it feels a degree or two cooler.

This "Back to School" week marked the beginning of Costa Verde International School's third year in operation. With a new directorial team at the helm, four new teachers on board and a host of other changes and new programs, the CVIS team is excited about the year to come. I stopped by last week before school started to chat with new Academic Director Julie Brenninkmeyer about what's in store for the CVIS community this year.