Sunday, March 18, 2012

Mom's Visit

My Mom came to visit for a week; it was not long enough!!  She flew in Friday night and Mike was in Phoenix with my dad, Dennis, and brother in laws so we had some girl time!!  
 On Monday we went to the animal farm.  Izzy loved riding the horse.  I wasn't sure we would get her off.
 The weather was beautiful.  Of course she wanted to pet the horses.
 We went on a carriage ride.
 She had to tell the horse bye.
 On Tuesday I went grocery shopping and my mom took Izzy to McDonalds; she had a blast.  Growing up we went to McDonalds every Friday because my dad didn't come home for lunch on Fridays; I loved it!!
 Playing on the animals.
 On Thursday Izzy had gymnastics.  She had quite the audience-Celeste and Brandon flew in Wed night from NYC, my dad was here and my mom.  Izzy loves gymnastics, I'll make a post about it now that I have pictures.
 Walking the balance beam.
 We met up with my mom's sister and her husband in Midvale for dinner.  I love Olive Garden, until I look at my restaurant app on my phone and see all the calories I ate.  Gym here I come....
 On Friday we went to eat at Tucanos; it's my dad's favorite.  My mom didn't want to go because it's too much food so she took Izzy to the Provo Beach Resort.  I love this picture because it shows the super cute outfit my Mom bought Izzy.
She had a great time on the playground.
She rode the carousel 7 times in a row and I'm not exaggerating.
She would kick the horse and say, "ya, ya, come on boy," just like she did in Costa Rica.  The workers were all laughing.
She even got to play arcade games.  I'm pretty sure my mom didn't let me do that when I was a kid.
My parents bought her dress up shoes along with some pretty dresses and outfits.  Izzy always gets spoiled when the grandparents come to visit.
Modeling her shoes.

All of the girls hanging out, if only Suzette was here!!
Sunday morning before they left.  We had such a great week and of course it went by too fast.  I am so lucky to have such great parents and family.  I love being with them!!

Friday, March 16, 2012

More Costa Rica

Friday night we ate at the Taco Bar in Jaco, which was a favorite from last year.  They have swings and a bar you can eat at.
Izzy loved the swing and her smoothie.
Izzy loved having Mami and Papi around.  I love her curly hair in this picture.  It was so curly while we were in Costa Rica-little ringlets; I loved it.

On Saturday we drove about an hour south near Quepos where Manuel Antonio is.  It's a national park with wildlife and beautiful beaches.
The monkeys are my favorite.  I love watching them play in the trees.  They are little thieves though, they'll jump right down and steal food out of your bag.
Loved the beaches, so pretty.
Having fun with our good friends, the Myers.
You can't really see the beautiful view behind us, but it was nice.
The whole gang.  Izzy was sleeping peacefully away in her stroller.
On Sunday we laid low in the morning and then took a tour with a local, Franklin, who we met at the crocodile bridge.  He showed us to the local beaches and local homes, we were searching for macaws.  We weren't having much luck so we went in the back entrance of a park and there they were.
You can't really see the colors here, but these birds are beautiful and so so colorful.  There were six of them hanging out--we loved watching them. 

We went walking through the park because Franklin spotted a sloth.  He said to stay together because there are snakes, but not to worry because he had carefully scanned the area and didn't see any.
The sloth.  This one was unique because of it's color, usually they are black.
Izzy checking out the sloth.
Izzy was trying to take pictures.  She has a princess camera at home so she thinks she is a pro.
After the tour we went to a local tico.  Mike, Louise, and Richard split this seafood platter.  They said it was awesome, I'll take their word for it. 
Monday we hung around the pool, went to the beach, and did some shopping in Jaco.  Izzy was loving her pool time with her shades and hat. 
Time to swim!
Family picture
Headed to go horseback riding.  Izzy's favorite day!!
Tuesday we went horseback riding on the beach.  It was an hour ride so we figured Izzy would ride for 15 min and then play with Mike on the beach.  Izzy had a different plan--she was not getting of the horse.  She rode for the whole hour and loved every minute of it.  She would kick the horse and say, "Come on boy, go faster," and off we went trotting along the beach.  She LOVED it and that's an understatement. 
Izzy giving a wave.
On our way back. Notice I'm not holding the reigns?! Izzy kept telling me to get off and not touch the reigns.  She wanted to do it all by herself!!
We had a few minutes left so Louise let Mike ride her horse.  Mike was entertained by Izzy's enthusiasm; it was pretty funny!
That night we went to a hotel at the top of the mountain to see the sunset; it was gorgeous!
Beautiful; I think I'm moving!!
Really?  Does it get any prettier??

Wednesday we went to see the volcanoes at Paos.  We got there 10 minutes before the clouds rolled in and then you couldn't see anything.  Glad we barely made it.  We stayed in a hotel in San Jose and flew out at 7 AM Thursday morning.  It was such a fun and relaxing trip.  Can't wait to go back!!

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Costa Rica Round 2

We loved Costa Rica so much last year we decided to come back.  The Myers joined us on the trip along with Mike's parents, and Izzy.  How could we leave Izzy this time?  We flew out of Salt Lake with the Myers Tuesday night.  Izzy slept that flight, the layover in Denver, and the flight to San Jose.  It was awesome!  We landed in San Jose at 6 AM and were though customs and off in our rental car by 6:40.  That's what I call good service!

Wednesday we took naps, went grocery shopping, and laid around the pool.
Izzy pretending to nap. 
More naps
Melisse and Rob were smart and left their kids at home.  Of course, they skype every night. 
Izzy loves swimming on her own in the pool.

Thursday morning we headed to the beach for a run.  Running in the sand is hard! For some reason, I picture this fun, nice, run with sand in your toes.  Yeah, it's never that luxurious.  It's more like sweat dripping, mud weighing me down, and heavy breathing. Louise offered to watch Izzy since Richard was not arriving til that night.  We went with the Myers to the crocodile bridge, toured around Jaco, and headed to the beach to soak up some rays.
You don't want to fall off the bridge. 
These things are big!
Love the view!
Pura Vida!!


Friday we went ziplining.  This is one of my favorite excursions.  The first couple ziplines I am scared, but by the 12th I feel like a pro.  The rest of the day we spent at the black sand beach in Hermosa.

Louise is off
Izzy became quite the dare devil in the water.
Mike getting ready to boogie board.
Relaxing on the beach, soaking up the rays.
Izzy giving me a mud bath.
Smile!
She loved putting mud on us!!