Costa Rica

We had a great time in Costa Rica. We got back on Saturday night and spent Sunday recuperating. It was a fun trip and a once in a lifetime experience.
We stayed in Tamarindo, which is on the northwest coast. My parents rented a villa called Casa Paquita in which we all stayed. You can check it out here: Casa Paquita
The house was beautiful. It had three levels and a guest house. The infinity pool looked over the ocean and the white sand beach. We had a gate and a little pathway down to the beach. Each evening the sun would set just over our little piece of beach and it was beautiful.
The weather was HOT. It was mid nineties every day and very humid. We spent a lot of time in the pool. Almost none of the roads were paved. We had two rental cars, but driving was a hot, dusty, bumpy process. There is also not much plumbing in Tamarindo. You had to be very careful about how and when you flushed the toilet. It was primitive, but so beautiful, you just didn't mind.
The villa came with a housekeeper who was not much of a cleaner, but was a very good cook. She made us delicious guacamole every evening and we would all congregate outside to watch our sunset and drink and eat. Davis loves guacamole and chips just like his mother does. I never fed him dinner, because he would fill up on the avocado.
The whole family was with us. Mom, Dad, Grandma, Gramp, Tiffany, Keith and Kade. Davis and Kade had so much fun together. They played and played. Both of my boys got a lot of quality time with family and seemed to blossom before my eyes. Davis learned to swim in the pool with his floaties and LOVED it. He also got better at throwing and catching a ball. We would play with him most evenings in the courtyard. He also experienced the beach and sand and jumping waves and looking at tide pools. He loved all of it.
Michael and I had fun too. Michael got to relax and not study for a few days. He also went deep sea fishing and helped catch a sailfish and lots of yellow fin tuna. I was so glad because they brought that fish home and we cooked it and it was the best meal of the trip. We even had fresh sashimi! We also got to do a canopy tour where we ziplined through the forest. Mom and Grandma stayed home with the boys and the rest of us swung through the trees. I got to walk on the beach every morning and I gathered a fantastic shell collection. I also read two and a half novels! It was wonderful since I haven't gotten to read anything more than emails and childcare books since Sam was born. We went to town one day and bought souvenirs and checked out the locals. I bought lots of costa rican coffee. It's delicious!
We celebrated both Davis' birthday and my own. Both were early celebrations, but we wanted to have them with family. Davis had a tres leches cake and presents and he loved being sung to. I had a chocolate cake and presents and then we went to a beach barbecue at a gorgeous hotel called Capitan Suizo's. It was a great night. We danced and ate and listened to the howler monkeys in the trees above us.
We all got tans, and relaxed and played a lot of cards. We swam everyday and ate lots of rice and beans. Davis took long afternoon naps and sometimes so did Michael. I got to have good conversation with my family and my husband.
The trip was a memorable one and really enjoyable. It's getting more difficult to travel, I will admit that. Two small children change the way you travel. We have just realized that we have to accept that we won't be doing a lot of activities. Instead we enjoy staying at the villa and relaxing and playing with the kids. Trying to do too much just doesn't work. Flying is also a challenge, but the boys were really good. Davis is getting to be a pro at this travel thing and his passport is getting filled up!
So I'll post a couple of pictures here, but jump over to my flickr account and see some more. We got some really good ones. Yay vacation! Only two and a half months till the next one!