Costa Rica - Part 1

Okay so this was officially the best vacation ever. We had so much fun. I can't believe how much we enjoyed spending 6 days in Costa Rica. Carson and Camilla had a great time, we loved having Aaron with us every second, and the food was unbelievable. This is going to be a long post because I want to make sure we remember every detail of this amazing trip. 

The kids were so excited to ride on an airplane. We had to get up very early for our flight and after we changed the kids out of their pajamas we had our first of many amazing breakfast dishes. Then we showed the kids our plane. They started screaming when they saw it. 

We were all ready to head off. After a quick face time to Brooke to say good bye and seeing the new baby Grandma had bought her for when she woke up it was time to get on the plane.

I was spoiled rotten and got to ride in first class while Aaron rode in coach with the kids. They had the front row so they were still pretty close to me. I don't think the kids enjoyed the plane ride as much as they had hoped but I sure did. :)

The view on the plane was amazing. Such a beautiful country. 

After we got off the plane and picked up our rental car we finally made it to our resort. Our amazing, beautiful, fabulous resort. We got checked into our room. We had a balcony that opened up to the grass and a path to the beach. Our hotel room was so nice, the kids were so excited and immediately started planning a girl and boy bed. 

we changed and head out to check out the hotel and pool. 

We spent the afternoon swimming in the pool until it was sunset. We then went over and ordered a pina colada and a strawberry smoothie and then we went to watch the sunset on the beach. It was like this amazing, perfect moment. The pina colada was the best thing I had ever tasted. Fresh pineapple and fresh coconut milk make for one dang good drink. We decided that this had to be a nightly tradition. Life felt just about perfect. 

Saturday morning was our first full beach day. We drove into Tamarindo a nearby town, stopped at the grocery store to get some more pineapple and watermelon and snacks to have at the beach. Then we rented an umbrella and some beach chairs and parked ourselves for the day. We rented boogie boards and a surfboard and spent the whole day riding waves one way or another. 

Here is Carson on his board. 

Millie had a great time riding waves, playing in the sand, and relaxing in her lawn chair. 

After we stopped to talk the town and eat lunch she decided she was all done with the sand so we washed her off and put her in clothes. Plus our little dear had gotten pretty badly sunburned. She spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the sand and watching us swim. 

We all wrote our names in the sand and Carson wrote, I miss Brooke. We sure did miss our baby girl. 

Around 4 or 5 I was riding waves with Carson and I asked him how much longer he thought we should stay. He said, "I don't know I guess until its gets so dark we can't swim anymore. " You have never seen a boy who loved swimming in the ocean like Carson. We had so much fun but man were we worn on by the time we got home. We stopped at the grocery store on the way home for more snacks and of course, more pineapple. 

After long showers and baths and all the sand off our bodies, we opted for room service and watching a movie in bed while we ate. 

Life could be a whole lot worse.  

On Sunday we got up and after a tardy arrival went to church. It took me straight back to my mission to listen to meetings in spanish. The kids were very wiped out and we were all sunburned. After church we drove around the town. It was such a fun, small town and then we headed back to check out the next beach we wanted to explore. 

After a long, dirt road we found this amazing beach out in the middle of nowhere and one lonely restaurant. This is the moment we discovered Lola's, quite possibly the greatest restaurant ever. We fell in love instantly.

We each ordered up smoothies. Amazing, delicious smoothies. 

Our food, our amazing food. These nachos are in my thoughts more than once a day. 

We checked out the beach to stake out our spot for when we came back.  

We spent the afternoon relaxing and tried to stay out of the sun. After 4 I told the kids we could go back out and do some swimming. We swam all around the pools and back and then the kids started playing some games and Aaron and I got to swim and relax. 

Then it was sunset time again. Our favorite time of the day. 

The kids loved running away from the waves. 

I just sat on the beach watching the kids run back and forth in the waves thinking to myself, "I have the best life." I told my kids that we have the greatest family and Carson said, " I miss Brookey." 

Then it was back to our room for another long shower and bath night followed by room service in bed. Then four sunburned people climbing into bed and crashing.