Back to School 2016

Obligatory back to school hair cuts.  Finn is liking his high and tight these days.  

And just like that my babies are in 3rd grade and kindergarten.  I thought I would cry when my baby girls hit kindergarten, but they were SO excited I couldn't help be happy for them.  They were so ready!  I know this will be an awesome year for them!

Gus camp 2016

Back home and right back to Sabine's favorite place - dance camp.  Lourdes loves it too, but mostly because she likes the attention from the older company members who pick her up and fawn over her.  Sabine is in it for the love of dance.

A couple of weeks later, the girls performed "Maria Maria" by Carlos Santana at Navy Pier.  They were stoked and this picture came out great.

Pura Vida Part 2

On our windy, dangerous way from Arenal to Manuel Antonio, we stopped at the beach at Jaco.  Jaco is considered one of the best surfing beaches in CR, and we caught the end of one such competition.  But the town was a bit shady/touristy (i.e. we witnessed adults arranging a "date" with the exchange of cash), so we made this a quick stop.  

Our airbnb in Manuel Antonio.  The owner was very particular, but the home was gorgeous. 

 Next morning, a trip to the beach was a must.

The rock behind the kids was COVERED in crabs.  And the kids were able to catch several hermit crabs on the beach.  They were in heaven.  We also kept them in their coverups so they escaped the beach unburnt.  The men, on the other hand, were not so lucky.  And that is with applying 70+ spf every two hours.  The sun is not playing around in CR. 

An adorable pizza place with a beautiful view right up the road from our house. 

When we came back from lunch, white faced monkeys were stealing our fruit.  They are aggressive!

We also discovered a sloth hanging in a tree right outside the bedroom.  Amazing. 

The next day we were off to Manuel Antonio National Park.  We actually saw a sloth cross the road and I can't believe I didn't snap a picture.  I mean it took the sloth at least 5 minutes to cross so there was plenty of time.  But we did capture the other cool thing at the park, which were these amazing leaf ants.  Those are ants carrying all those leaves back to their homes.  And our guides were extremely careful not to disturb them.  If you caused them to break the line, the remaining ants wouldn't know how to get back to their hole. 

Love this picture of us!

After the tour, we had lunch at a restaurant built around an old airplane that was involved in the Iran/Contra scandal.  History below.  It was cool. 

After lunch, we visited some shops.  Lourdes fell in love with a little puppy.  I thought she looked like such a beach child in this shot. 

Last day was AMAZING.  We found a secluded beach where locals rented paddle boards and kayaks for the kids.  They brought the adults amazing margaritas and even got us pizza from a local restaurant for lunch.  We pretty much stayed here all day. 

We actually caused them to run out of passion fruit for these margaritas. 

My happy place

The kids were having the times of their lives

Finn took to paddle boarding like a champ.  The adults struggled significantly more.  Joe claims it was the size of the paddle board.  I'm not so sure. 

Kayaking was also a big hit

A dip in our pool back in the airbnb before our plane departed.  So sad to leave! 

Somehow we have no pictures of our amazing whale watching trip on a sail boat.  Not only did we see a mother and baby whale, we also got to do some snorkeling and enjoy one of the best meals in CR.  It was just rice, fresh veggies and salsa, but we all couldn't get enough.  Suffice to say, this trip was one for the ages. 

Pura Vida in Costa Rica! Part 1

Our week long trip to Costa Rica was one we will be talking about until we are old and gray.  It was absolutely perfect.  We saw such cool things, animals, volcanos etc.  The kids had a blast hanging out with their Thomas cousins and new friends Leo, little Xav and Felix.  And we just generally unplugged from our regular lives and enjoyed being with each other in paradise.  

The trip started EARLY.  Our flight left at 5:30 a.m., so our alarms went off at 2:45 a.m.  The kids had no trouble with the early wake up call.  All I had to do was gently shake Finn and remind him we were leaving for Costa Rica, and he shot out of bed, woke up his sisters and they were all ready to go before Joe and I were finished with our showers.  

Kids = excited.  Joe = wishing for more sleep.  We flew to Houston and then met up with Thomas' for the flight into San Jose. 

Our home for 4 days in Arenal.  It was at the top of this enormous hill with a view of the volcano in the distance.  Getting there was slow and precarious.  They were not joking when they insisted we rent a 4-wheel drive.  The roads are rocky and full of holes.  We could only go about 20 miles per hour towards the end.  And we arrived in the pitch dark only to make the incredibly steep drive straight up to our abode.  But it was so worth it. 

The kids absolutely loving life.  There was also a pool to their left. 

The volcano in the distance. 

Our first full day, we went to Arenal state park for some hiking.  We completed a 3 hour hike and saw snakes, cool trees and frogs and learned more about the rain forest.  The leader was a bit wary to take so many kids on this hike and tried to talk us into a shorter route, but we insisted they could make it.  And they did.  They ran across the finish line while the adults were catching their breath in the rear. 

A friendly butterfly visited us at lunch. 

The hike consisted of 3 different cloud bridges.  They were so far up and offered amazing views of the rain forest. 

Cool tree

Poisonous snake

Kids checking out a waterfall

Each morning the owners of the airbnb provided an amazing breakfast for all the visitors. This was by far the best food we had in Costa Rica.  The fruit was so fresh.  We had pancakes and breakfast burritos.  And one day, we were even treated to a double rainbow. 

The pet toucan, Dorito, who ate at the lodge each morning with us

Then next day we went to a fancy hot spring.  The water was amazingly warm.  The kids spent at least an hour taking turns going down this crazy fast stone slide.    And then we relaxed and had lunch at the swim up bar. 

Paradise!

The resort also had a animal refuge.  Mainly failed pet experiments who now couldn't be released into the wild.  Who thought it would be smart to have a pet alligator, I don't know.

Kids chilling with a toucan

Lots of pet monkeys

And even some cats. 

That night we went on a hike to check out frogs.  A few were poisonous.