Costa Rica 2011

All I can say is that this trip was well enjoyed, well worth it and long past due.  It was heaven.  The 24 hours it took to get there(long story, missed flight, etc) were worth it.  It was a monsoon when we arrived, but a prayer for sunshine in my heart was answered and it was beautiful the entire trip.  I want to go back and live for a year, teach my kids spanish, do some mountain biking and races,  and enjoy a simple life. It just kept getting better and better.  The food was amazing, the sunsets spectacular, the people friendly and respectful. I definitely need to get out more.
I appreciate the Ridds for tending, even though I'm pretty sure they don't ever want to do it again.

 9 hour layover in Seattle and it was fun to get out and see the city. I really enjoyed it there, it would be a great place to live.  Very outdoorsy, yet the Nordstom headquarters are there, REI, etc etc

 View from our B&B room in CR.

 Mangroves

 Howler Monkeys

 Room at The Lost Iguana, rainforest area

 Hike through the swamp,  a guy pulled us off the beach and asked if we wanted to go through the jungle to see monkeys and alligators. yea, sure why not?

 I found this little guy greeting us on the newel outside our room.  Wanted to bring him home.

 Fun little hike from our room to the restaurant

 So much beautiful vegetation

 Fun pool

 Arenal Volcano, did a zipline ride near this, just breathtaking

 Hike in the jungle

 Swim break

 meeting Wes's friend from his mission, she was really great to hang out with

 It's like Hawaii before the commercial package

 Wes loves these old defender landrovers, they are much more expensive there, this was $33,000

  Before we started I asked if she wanted to get any snacks for the hike and she said no. I later found out why when she knocked down guavas to eat and picked fresh sugarcane. It was delicious.

 Tamarindo

 Short boards are cool man.  But a grinder to stay up on.

 Golden hour, amazing

 Biking is big there, here a guy is hopping a small river.

 The Bed and Breakfast living room

Malia showing off her new costa rican dress.

Reflections 2011

Last summer, during the few hours Malia napped, I got out the canvases, paint, markers, jewels, and... didn't paint a thing.  Morgan and Carson, however, went to town on their future entries for the reflections contest.  The theme was diversity, and the boys had a great time painting it.  I laid out some complementing colors, gave them some suggestions and their little heads and hands moved like clockwork to produce some great little works of art.  Carson to this day spends 1-2 hours drawing animals of every shape and size.  He runs the ink out of all my pens.  This kid deserved a medal and he took first in his category from K-2nd Grade!  It was soo fun to see his excitement when he received his trophy.

Morgan had made up a little majestic song about space. He called it Stars Workout and it sounded great!  He practices and loves to play.  He has a very musical little mind. He was able to perform at the awards ceremony and took second in music and third in art. Gramma Julie wrote the amazing bottom hand but wasn't able to be there to play it so Abbie performed it. He was soo surprised to win two trophies!  I really hope this has inspired them and given them a little confidence in a pursuit of arts.  

Morgan also landed his first 180 on his rollerblades and practiced and practiced and fell and tried until he got it!  I was so proud of him!
 It's these moments that make motherhood feel so worth the sacrifice of our own pursuits.

I love these little guys.

Oh, and Malia is a big girl now, we cut her hair (I wouldn't leave the salon until she decided to get in the chair and get it done. it took 2 hours) we also got her ears pierced, and she is fully potty trained.  woohoo! I love her too.