Costa Rica - Manuel Antonio

Manuel Antonio Park is a small rainforest near the coast with lots of great wildlife. 

This sloth was hanging out, literally, outside our hotel room door.

 

 

This is an agouti. We didn't think that much of it at first, but apparently they're really timid and hard to find. We saw a momma and a baby.

Outside our room.

A blue morphos butterfly. It's blue on the inside, but it moves so fast I couldn't get a shot of it opened!

 

There we were walking to the beach, and we ran into a group of Capuchin monkeys.

They have these special ropes to allow monkeys to cross the street without killing themselves on the electrical wires.

As he was crossing, these birds kept attacking him, Kamakazi style. It was crazy. 

 

 

Scarlet Ibis

Howler Monkey. The noise they make is haunting.

Capuchins are not timid around people. They've been know to come snatch a camera or snack.

 

 

Costa Rica - Arenal

Jonathan and I got to go on an amazing trip to Costa Rica to celebrate our 10-year anniversary. It was a great mix of adventure and relaxation, perfect for us. Don't worry about those boys; they were having a blast sharing their time between both sets of grandparents.

Our first stop was Arenal, one of the active volcanoes on the island. This was on a hiking tour to learn more about the volcano and area. After this tour, we got to visit a hot spring as well.

There were guava trees everywhere! It smelled great!

Our view from our hotel. Jonathan got the best views early in the morning. A lot of the time the volcano was covered up by clouds, as it rained almost every afternoon.

Driving to the coast

Scarlet parrot

In Arenal, we got to go rapelling down a waterfall and whitewater rafting. No pictures because our camera was not waterproof, and we didn't want to pay the bazillion dollars they charged for their professional pictures. After rafting, we got to have dinner at this amazing farmhouse restaurant with "tipical" food and the best coffee I've ever had. The tour guides and restaurant owner had a little jam session for us after the meal.

As you can see above, it rained A LOT. It was the rainforest in rainy season after all.

 

First Day of Transitional Kindergarten (TK)

 

More Lake Gaston

Fishing with Granddaddy. Josiah was really excited about doing this.

Playing UNO with Mimi. As we were getting ready for trip, it struck me that Josiah was old enough to learn this game. He was and he loved it! He played with his cards displayed, but he definitely followed the gist and enjoyed laying down his "Draw Twos" and "Skips." He played a round with almost all the adults, and he said it was his favorite part of the trip.

Micah coloring with Jacob.

 

Mimi snuggles.

How to play ping pong with two young children.

Daddy wrestling

Preparing for the Olympics. They took the competition out to the tube on the boat as well.

 

 

Lake Gaston Trip

We got to spend a few days with the Moseleys on Lake Gaston. This house had a pretty yard area, just right for pictures.

This little one did not sleep well (Mommy forgot the pack 'n' play) and was not his perky self. I cannot get him to smile for a picture (without me catching it candidly).

Sweet Caleb

 

 

Formula for fun at the lake: find two rocks, one for each hand, in the yard.

Step 2: Drop rocks off dock. Shout hurray. Give Mommy a small heart attack being so close to the water. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Too cool!

 

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

 

My thoughtful boy.

 

A really great family picture. Small miracle with four kids under 5.

Wilson and Anna, college bound just a few days later.

Doing a trust fall with her brother.