Todd's 40th Birthday!

Since Todd is getting ready to turn 41 in a few days, I thought I'd better share about his big 40th birthday bash last year. It was a night to remember, so I want it to be in our history! I knew I couldn't do a big surprise party...Todd's just not that kind of guy. But I did want to surprise him just a little bit! I reserved the shooting range at Get Some Guns & Ammo, but I didn't tell him that. I told him I was taking him shooting (since that's what he loves to do!) and then out to dinner. When we arrived at the range, all of our good friends were there, including: Misty & Lane Lewis, Destiny & Carter Rockwood, Marion & Karen Mott, Bill & Kylei Wignall, Don & Angie Griffiths, Chet & Laurel Herbert, Michelle & Erik Westerlind, Michael & Olya Van Patten, and Billy Jensen. We had a great time shooting and "looking cool". The highlight was that Todd got to shoot an automatic machine gun! Afterward, we all headed to Rafael's for Mexican food and good visiting. Todd said it was the "perfect" party for him....just right!

More pictures from the party!

Things we learned in Costa Rica!

• Es Mejor con Mantequilla...Everything is better with BUTTER! and better for you (really?)!


• Ginormous bugs and critters are "country friends" and should be welcomed in your hotel room!


• Blacktop is overrated! And guardrails... who needs them!


• You can get "tired of having fun" (words straight out of Chloe's mouth)!


• A 2 lane road can really fit 3 cars at a time!


• Shirts and shoes are not required!


• There are still places in the world where you can have the beach all to yourself! (and why don't we live there??)


• And best of all...PURA VIDA!!!

And even more of Costa Rica!

For the last week, we travelled down to Esterillos Este. On the way, we made a detour to a restaurant off the beaten path called Las Iguanas. It got it's name from, well, "iguanas". We saw over 60 iguanas in a matter of 5 minutes, just hanging out in the trees, on the side of the road, etc. It was pretty cool, and the kids were blown away! We headed up to Upala, which is a border town on the Nicaraguan border. We felt kind of cool because we were covering so much of the map, but we didn't feel so cool when we got a little lost! After some frantic driving around in circles (and lots of silent prayers on my part!), we made it back to the main highway. We were a little nervous to go somewhere new, because we had loved everywhere we had been so far, and didn't think we could love anywhere else as much. Well, we were wrong, and we instantly fell in love with the southern end of Costa Rica as well. We stayed in "Casa Amarillo", a private home, which was pretty close to the beach, but we had access to all the amenities and beachfront of the Monterey Hotel. We visited Manuel Antonio National Park, and everything else, clear down to the bottom of the country. We wanted to go as far down as we could, and we thought it would be so cool, but Playa Tortuga was the ugliest spot we saw during our whole trip! Oh well, at least we got to color it in on the map!

Although the trip was amazing, and we had TONS of fun, what we cherish the most is the time we spent together as a family. We can honestly say that we had no major problems, no arguments, not much whining, and NO FLAT TIRES....amazing! Someday we will go back!

More of Costa Rica

During the second week, we stayed at a different place almost every night. We went to the Arenal Volcano and the Monteverde Cloud Reserve....both amazing places! It was a bit chilly in those parts, and we went on a hike through the rain forest during a HUGE rainstorm. We had to keep reminding ourselves that we were in a "rain forest", and it tends to "rain" there! We spent one night at the Arenal Observatory Lodge, and I consider it one of the most amazing places in the world. The rooms were nothing fancy, but the surroundings were absolutely breathtaking. I get chills just thinking about it!

In Monteverde, we were able to spend a day at Selvatura Adventure Park. We went on a zip line, which was a real highlight for the kids (and Todd & I too!). They also have an amazing butterfly garden, a reptile exhibit, and a hummingbird garden. Our accomodations at Hotel Fonda Vela were rustic, but could not be in a more beautiful spot. At this point, we were starting to feel at home with the "rusticness" of Costa Rica.

The Trip of a Lifetime

Our family recently had the opportunity to spend 3 weeks in Costa Rica. What an experience! We had been planning the trip for quite awhile, but as the time got closer, we started getting cold feet. With the economy the way it is, and travelling to a foreign country with 4 young kids, we thought maybe we should reconsider. We tried to cancel our tickets, or even just shorten the trip a little, but it cost way too much. So, off we went! The apprehension went away soon after we arrived. We absolutely fell in love with the country, and will forever hold the memories close to our hearts.

We spent the first week at a beach villa in Playa Grande. There was a Nicaraguan couple, Melina & Lionel, that managed the villas and lived on site. They had a little boy the same age as Ozzy named Duvan (absolute doll!). We spent a lot of time with them and really got to know them, even though they only spoke Spanish. It really sharpened up our Spanish skills! Melina cooked for us several different nights, while I took good notes. The food was wonderful, and Arroz con Pollo became a family favorite. I have already made it a couple of times at home, and it tastes just like Melina's!

Most of our time that first week was spent going to different beaches. One of our favorites was Playa Avellana, which is home to the hugest pig you have ever seen named Lola. She just layed on the beach and slept the whole time we were there. There is a great restaurant right on the sand, and we ate nachos and fish & chips....yummy!! Another favorite was Playa Conchal, which is completely covered in shells. It sparkled! We saw lots of monkeys, ate at Kike's (our favorite), and tried to soak up as much sun as possible!

Am I Really Doing a Blog?

I am just testing the waters and seeing if I can really do this blog thing! ;) I have been wanting to start a blog for forever now, but never have the time to get it going. Bailey's teacher asked me to post entries into their class blog, so I am finally learning how to do it! With the tax paperwork finally off to the accountant, I am hoping that I may have a few minutes to start documenting our life. This year we are really trying to get "back to the basics". Our focus is completely on our family, the gospel, and LOTS of food storage! We have come to the realization that "stuff" doesn't matter, and that we are actually happier with less of it! We started the year with a 3 week trip to Costa Rica where we created memories that will last forever. We consider it a huge blessing from our Heavenly Father, and will be forever grateful for the experiences we had. I will post more info and pictures in a later post. For now, I am just happy to be "blogging" and hope to be able to connect and share with all of our wonderful friends and family. If you have any tips for me, I would love them! This is totally a "learn as you go" thing for me, so please don't judge my blog!!!