Trip to Costa Rica - July 14-21

On July 14th we flew off to Costa Rica for our summer vacation.  (This trip would take us to our third continent of the year!)  Dan and I had visited Costa Rica to celebrate our 10th anniversary and we were excited to visit again and this time share the adventure with Emory and Ellie.

We flew into San Jose and started our adventure.  Our first night we would spend in Manuel Antonio which was about a 3.5 hour drive away from the airport.  Along the way we crossed the Tarcoles Bridge which is known for the huge crocodiles that are always found underneath the bridge.  We had to stop and check them out.  It was more than a little scary and these pics don't come close to showing how big these crocs really were!

We arrived at the Falls Resort in Manuel Antonio where we would spend our first night.  This was a neat little hotel tucked into the rainforest.  We had a relaxing evening swimming in the pool and enjoying some wonderful Costa Rican food and drinks.

Sunday, July 15th:  Our first full day in Costa Rica! 

We toured Manuel Antonio National Park.  It was absolutely amazing.  Our guide was fantastic and found so many animals that we had hoped to see on this trip.

 A Howler monkey...just the first of many that we would see up in the trees.  Amazing!

An iguana hidden in the trees.

The illusive sloth.  This was the animal that we had all hoped to see on this trip and we were fortunate enough to see them several times at Manuel Antonio.

 A toucan spotted up at the top of a dead tree.

 A Jesus Christ lizard.

Baby Bats up on a tree...

At the end of the tour of the national park, we had time to swim at the beach.

Emory found a coconut on the beach that had fallen off a tree.  It started off being a ball to play with in the waves but then he decided to peel off all of the outer layers and get all the way down to the coconut so that he could eat it.  His determination paid off.




































Everywhere we visited in Manuel Antonio the views were incredible. We were often at the tops of the tree tops and could hear and often see the monkeys playing in the trees below.

Monday, July 16th:

Today we woke up in Manuel Antonio and were headed to Monte Verde.  This trip would take us from the Rain Forest to the Cloud Forest.  Before leaving though, we wanted to take a couple of pictures in front of a restaurant called El Avion, that is built around an actual airplane.  The restaurant was still closed as it was early in the morning but since it is an open air restaurant we were able to walk through and see the views behind the restaurant.  It was here the we came in contact with three different types of monkeys that were playing in the trees around us and also a sleeping sloth.  This just might have been my personal favorite part of the entire trip.  We would have stayed and watched them play all day!

 

 Soon it was time to start our drive to Monte Verde.  It started off on a wonderful new paved highway but soon took us to the bumpiest and most rural roads that we have ever been on.  They really weren't kidding when they said that the roads were impassable for months out of the year during the rainy season. 

Ellie started off the day with a little nap in the car.  Costa Rica is a small country but getting from place to place often takes a very long time.

The change in scenery was dramatic as we headed up, up and farther up into the mountains.

We were stopped a couple of times by farmers moving their cattle down the middle of the road.

Our home for the evening in Monte Verde would be Cabanas Valle Campanas.  Here we had our own little house on a small farm.  We enjoyed getting to see their animals, fruits and vegetable gardens and even trying out real sugar cane juice that they pressed for us.

 A capybara at the farm.  They had two.

The craziest thing that we did on this trip was take a night tour through a farm in the hidden valley.  What was I thinking when I decided to pay money to walk through the pitch black jungle with only a small flashlight and a guide?  Let's just say it will never ever happen again!  Even though it was super scary we did see some animals that our guide pointed out like a sloth, a few frogs and a tarantula!

 

Tuesday, July 17th:  Monte Verde to La Fortuna/Arenal
Our last morning before leaving we Cabanas Valle Campanas we were treated to some fresh sugar cane juice.  It wasn't the best tasting juice we have ever had but it was neat to see how they make it using a press that is over a hundred years old.

 

Before heading out of the Cloud Forest, we visited the Hanging Bridges for a birds eye view of the tree tops.

Emory's Summer Jazz Band - July & August

This summer Emory participated in a summer jazz band that was coordinated by his PBMS band director, Mr. Rankin. The World Golf Village Summer Jazz Band was made up of students from area middle schools and a few adults too. They met once a week for practices and then at the end of the summer performed for seniors at a local retirement community.  

Ellie's Art Camp - July 9-14

For the second summer, Ellie attended a week long art camp at the St. Augustine Art Association.  She learned a lot and had another great week with Ms. Denise.

Summer Visit to Richmond - August 4-9

This summer we headed to Richmond in August.  The main reason for our trip was to attend  a surprise birthday party for Pa.  Tammy and Dante hosted the pool and bbq party at their house and it was so much fun.  In all of the excitement this was the only pic that was taken and it is before the birthday boy arrived.  It was a great day though and we were so happy to be able to share the special day with Pa!

The next day we decided to take Emory and Ellie to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg.  The weather wasn't necessarily looking like it would cooperate, and in the end it was a little wet, but we decided to go anyway since it was going to our only opportunity to make the trip. 

Busch Gardens has some great roller coasters and our first one that we went on was the Loch Ness Monster.  I remember when this first opened many, many years ago.  It was still fun!

Our favorite roller coaster had to be the Griffon.  It was the best roller coaster ever and equally terrifying each time that we went on it.  At one point in the ride you are suspended looking straight down for seven straight seconds.  Incredible!!!  Ga took this picture of us and we are way up there in the front row screaming! 

 The rest of the day was filled with lots of fun and laughter and smiles all around.

On another evening during our visit, we met up with Kenny, Leigh-Emma and the boys.  We had dinner from the food trucks that park behind the Virginia Museum and then stayed to listen to music and play ball.  It was such a neat way to spend a fun summer evening playing with Jack and Max!

This trip also brought a new first experience for Emory and Ellie....going off a diving board.  Our pools here in Florida do not have diving boards anymore so they were excited to head to Ga's pool in Surreywood to try out their two diving boards.  Honestly, it wasn't pretty at first and there were a couple of ouches but they got the hang of it quickly and then just started acting silly.  After about an hour they were absolutely exhausted!



 

Happy Birthday, Daddy! - August 10

The picture stays it all...Fabulous 44!  Happy Birthday, Daddy!  We love you!!!!!!!!!!

Paddleboarding - August 14

One afternoon in August, we headed off to Anastasia Island Watersports to try paddleboarding before the  thunderstorms rolled in.  I found a Groupon online and it seemed like the perfect time to give it a try.  Emory has attended Marine Science Camp for the past two summers nd athis year he got to paddleboard and loved it.

Just a couple of minutes after getting there,  Emory had picked out his board and headed right on out and hopped up.  He was ready to go.

Ellie wasn't quite ready to go on her own at first so she started out with Dan on his board.  She was seated on the front of the board getting a nice little ride but soon found her confidence and was standing and then ready to try it all by herself. 

It was a fun afternoon until the thunderstorms rolled in.  We'll definitely be back for more paddleboarding again soon!

First Day of School - August 20

The first day of school came on August 20th this year.  After another busy summer, I think that the kids might have been ready for a little more structure and ready to see their friends again.

Emory is now a seventh grader at Pacetti Bay Middle School.  He will be in the honors program this year and is looking forward to playing on the Wildcat soccer team again.

Ellie is a fourth grader and is attending the new Palencia Elementary School that just opened in our neighborhood. Go Pirates!   She is soooo excited!  The school is brand new this year and is the first all digital school in our county.  That means no text books.  All of their books will be on ipads.  Her teacher this year is Mrs. Simpson and most of her classmates are friends that she already knows from our neighborhood.  It looks like it is going to be a great year!

The mascot for PES was chosen by the students before the school opened last year and they are the Pirates.  The school colors are red and black and they have a voluntary uniform that they are asking the students to wear, which is why Ellie has on a red polo for the first day of school.  Definitely not her first choice!  We did have a cute pirate bow made to match which made it a little better.

With the new school being right at the front of our neighborhood and less than a mile away, there are no more school buses.  Most of the kids ride their bikes to school or walk.  Ellie rides her bike with her friend Allie who lives just down the street.

It looks like it is going to be an exciting year for both Emory and Ellie.  Go Wildcats and Pirates!!!

Oops, I did it again....

...and didn't post anything for months!  So, in order to at least get all of the fun into the correct year, I am going to make a bunch of posts today.  Happy New Years Eve!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween came to Florida with a chill in the air this year.  In fact those of us who live here would consider it to be down right cold with temps in the low 50s at night.  It did help get us in the fall mood though which was nice after a very warm fall.

Emory and Ellie did all of the hard work turning their pumpkins in to jack-o-lanterns this year.  All on their own they cleaned out their pumpkins (and didn't even make a mess!) and picked out their stencil that they wanted to carve into their pumpkins.  Ellie outlined the stencil onto her pumpkin and I carved it for her.  Emory did it all and even carved his own pumpkin for the first time this year.  It's amazing how much easier this activity has gotten for Dan and I in the past few years!

 

 

We ended up with two very different pumpkins...a cute owl and a scary alien.  Bet you can guess who created each of them! 

On Halloween day at Palencia Elementary, the entire school dressed up as pirates and had a picture taken all together at the pirate ship park beside the school.

Ellie's class had a Halloween party on October 30th.  It was very busy but lots of fun for the kids.  They made homemade apple turnovers, painted the cutest little rock monsters and had a big party for lunch. 

Halloween night we had a Cupcake Cutie and Mario at our house. 

 

 

 It was a strangely quiet Halloween in Palencia this year.  There didn't seem to be as many trick or treaters or parents out on golf carts as usual.  Maybe it was the chill in the air or the fact that it was the middle of the week.  That didn't stop the kids and their friends from getting lots and lots of candy and having a fun evening!