We're finally home from our perfect, family vacation/ Christmas and NYE celebration / 10-year anniversary / pure life celebration in Costa Rica! What a beautiful, fun place to relax with the family.
Getting there almost was tragic - we took a red-eye flight to Fort Lauderdale where we had to switch terminals at 4 in the morning, and somehow Emma Rose dropped her beloved Gigi. Of course we didn't realize it until nearly an hour after it happened. I prayed so hard, went through 4 different security gates, and even demanded they search the plane... nothing. I was ready to give up, said one last little prayer, and was leaving the final terminal when I spotted Gigi out of the corner of my eye, propped up on a random counter. Emma Rose had sobbed herself to sleep by the time they were reunited, but so overjoyed to find her when she woke up!
We were rewarded with this beautiful view when we woke up for coffee the next morning...
... And this sunset every night!
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| Happy 10 years to us! |
Of course we were there for Christmas, and Rudy followed the kids there. We figured since it was a little more tropical climate, we would leave Santa some Starbursts, and the reindeer some bananas in case Santa would stop by our condo on Christmas Eve.
... And much to the joy of the kids, he did! He brought beach toys, games, and swimsuits for the kids!
We spent most mornings at the pool where the kids played, jumped off rocks, and, of course, Porter made friends with every single girl staying in the complex. We had some interesting critters around the area as well...
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| Fortunately we only saw this guy outside...once. |
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| These little guys were all over the place! |
The kids LOVED the beach.
We stayed in Jaco, a little surf-town in Costa Rica. The waves were so fun. Corey got some surfing in...
We took a horse ride one afternoon. Emma Rose was absolutely thrilled that she got to ride on the white horse.
We also took an excursion to Manuel Antonio, a national park, where we got to see TONS of wildlife - sloths, monkeys, bats, snakes, frogs, crabs, iguanas... The kids were in heaven!
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| Porter was proud that he was the first to spot this little turtle! |
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| (That's a little bat hanging under the leaf in the middle, slightly to the left) |
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| Cutest little monkey in Manuel Antonio |
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| Howler Monkey |
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| The white-faced gadling monkeys were all over the beach area! |
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| This guy stole a pineapple from someone on the beach! |
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| 2-foot long iguana |
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| The kids chased sand crabs all over the beach! |
The beach at Manuel Antonio was absolutely gorgeous!
We stopped for lunch at El Avion, a restaurant made out of a plane used in the Iran Contra-Affair, and abandoned in the San Jose, Costa Rica airport.
Emma Rose, Porter, and I did some boogie-boarding on our last day there. Emma Rose loved it! And, although we didn't get any pictures, Corey and I saw some sting rays swimming in the ocean next to us that day ... and I got stung by a jellyfish (OUCH!!!!) I am glad it happened on the last day, because none of us would have had the fun we did in the ocean, had it happened prior!
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| She was trying to look like a mermaid, but ended up looking like a merman... |
On our way to the airport, we were able to see the one thing that made Porter's trip: Crocodiles. He was in Croc-heaven, though Emma Rose wasn't quite as impressed:
Happy New Year, and Happy Trails, Costa Rica! We are definitely coming back again.
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