Costa Rica - Part 2

Monday morning after a big, delicious breakfast (Carson ordered this breakfast sandwich that was the biggest sandwich I had ever seen) we decided to let the kids check out the kids' club. They spent some time playing in there while Aaron and I got to do some alone swimming and relaxing. It was pretty fabulous. It would have been a very different vacation without those 2. Then it was time for Aaron and Carson to head to the jungle for their adventure. This gave me and Millie some girl time. We went to play at the playground and play in the sand (per her request).

Then after a lot of digging and playing we decided to order some smoothies and head back to the hotel room to eat lunch and relax for a bit. 

Meanwhile the boys were on their way. 

They made it up to where the ziplining started. Carson was so excited. We were nervous that he was going to be scared but this is one tough boy. 

They got all ready. They were super lucky to be in a small group so they had no wait time. 

I so love these boys. Carson climbed right up and headed out, not an ounce of fear. 

They did 11 ziplines in all and they both reported that they had a great time and it was beautiful. Aaron had packed them some lunch and Carson kept saying he wasn't hungry. As soon as it was over he downed two sandwiches and anything else Aaron would give him.  

On the way home they stopped by the grocery store and got more pineapple and a few other essentials, like more aloe. :)

As soon as the boys got back we changed immediately into our swimsuits and hit up the pool for a couple of hours before dinner. 

Monday night we decided to eat out for dinner at the asian restaurant. We ordered sushi and fried rice and amazing sweet and sour chicken. 

It was a gorgeous view perfect weather. 

After dinner we decided to try out the ice cream shop, well actually gelato. It was super yummy and we spent some time laying in the hammock and enjoying our ice cream before heading back to crash. 

Tuesday was our last full day and we decided to make our beach day. We drove to the playa Avellana, we layed our some towels in the shade of some trees and got right in the water. The kids spent time climbing the trees.  

This girl, oh I love this girl. 

We spent the day doing a lot of the same, riding the waves, building sand castles, and swimming. The waves were really big and I got knocked around a few times but I could spent all day in the ocean. 

After several hour of swimming we decided to break for lunch. Lola's of course. We got our smoothies and nachos and then each tried something new. It was just as amazing as Sunday. I told Aaron my new goal in life is to move to Costa Rica and buy Lola's.

After lunch Camilla was worn out and cuddled right up on Aaron and fell asleep.  

While they were napping Carson and I swam and swam. They napped for about an hour before Carson woke them up. Aaron and Carson ran right back out to the ocean and I stayed with Millie to help her wake up and we heard a strange sound above us. We looked up to see a monkey right above us. Camilla was so excited. She immediately ran to tell Carson and her Dad. 

We stayed for awhile longer, ordered more smoothies and packed up to head out. We stayed as long as we possibly could to get back in time to make our fancy, last night dinner. We decided to eat dinner on the beach for our last night. They do it buffer style with a man making any meat you want out on the grill. The beef was the best, followed closely by the pork ribs. The kids mostly just wanted rolls. :)

It also came with yummy drinks. One last pina colada for us. Oh how I miss my pina coladas. 

The kids finished before us and started digging in the sand. 

Our last family picture in Costa Rica. Such a beautiful night.  

After dinner I wasn't feeling well so I went back to the room and Aaron took the kids to get ice cream one last time. Double scoops. :)

They ate ice cream in the hammock and talked about all the things they would miss about Costa Rica. We couldn't believe our very last night had finally come. This trip went by so fast. 

Then Aaron had promised the kids one last late night swim. Carson was all over it, Millie preferred to take her backpack and color. They swam for a bit and then got into the warm tub and swam a bit more. Aaron is so nice to take them swimming one last time because goodness knows I was exhausted. I can't believe how much Carson can swim. This boy is part fish. 

Wednesday morning we got up early to get started on packing and I wanted to get one run in before we left. I set out on a loop outside the resort. It was a beautiful morning and I'm glad I did get a bit of exploring in but I was so tired and my legs were dead after our beach day. 

Then Aaron took the kids swimming while I packed up our hotel room, real tears. I was so sad to be leaving. I got everything packed up and went and met them to eat one last amazing Costa Rican breakfast. The kids got waffles with berries and fresh cream, Aaron had these unbelievable nutella pancakes and I got an omlette filled with fresh veggies and avocado and hash browns and one last cup of yogurt filled with berries. It was all amazing and we had a great view. 

Then we had to leave. The time had arrived. We rushed out (because of course we were running late) and returned the rental car. When we got to the airport they told us we needed to pay our exit fee before we could check in for the flight. We were aware of the exit free but not aware of the line to pay the exit fee. It was over an hour long. Like legit long, two workers casually taking money. We did not have 2 hours to wait. Aaron begged someone at the front of the line to let him cut. She thankfully obliged, reminding him that this is why they tell you to get to the airport 3 hours early (um no one told us that). Aaron rushed back to us and checked us in. Sadly in bag security they confiscated all our sea shells. We had collected sea shells every day and could wait to fill them up and keep them. Plus the kids went on a last walk on the beach with Aaron that morning and filled up a bottle of sand and they took that too. Sad face. That was a bummer. We made it to our gate just before it boarded but we were starving to I grabbed the kids and we ran to some airport restaurant to pick up some food. I got quesadillas, sandwiches and pizza thinking there would be something for everyone - sadly it was awful food. After 6 days of nothing but amazing dishes this was as let down. Camilla gave the pizza a good try. :)

Once again I rode in first class, passing my food back to my starving coach class family. The kids were much better on the way home. They watched movies, read books and relaxed. I also finished my book and relaxed on the flight home. 

And just like that our dream vacation was over. Aaron and I just keep saying that we will probably never take another vacation to top this one. Aaron's busy travel schedule is not always the greatest but man did we enjoy those travel perks on this trip. We love Costa Rica and hope that we can make it back some day!!

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.