Heading Home!!! NOOOOOOO!!!!

Can't believe this is really happening!!  We are leaving our beloved Manzanillo.  I wasn't sure I would like this place when we first arrived because of the rain and clouds, but we sure grew to love it here.  We're excited for the adventures that await us at home, though, and will forever be grateful for the time we spent here.

 We were determined to make it to the San Jose temple before we headed to the airport, but we were in a rush and our GPS stopped working!!! Satan is always against us when we want to go to the temple. The streets of San Jose are crazy, so we felt a little hopeless, but after a few prayers, a few tips from pedestrians, and a little luck, we finally found it!!!  Ah, it felt so good to finally get there!!!

 This is our main man, Mario.  It's a miracle that he let us rent his van for 3 months and we are so grateful to him!  That made the trip sooo enjoyable! He met us at the airport and was so pleased that we had a great time in his country.  We were a little worried that he might be upset about a few wear and tear items on the van, but he just said "No worries!  Pura Vida!!"  We love this culture!

Adam can always figure out a way to make life easier.  Eliza is asleep?  Let's just attach her carseat to the suitcase and pull her!  Voila!

 

 

We wanted to get a photo of these cute kids with their tans and long hair.  Man we love them so much!

 Lincoln didn't get to sit by the window and was a little sad.  The airline attendant was impressed with his attitude that she gave him a kids kit with treats and Wiki Sticks!  Cool!  He made this cute wagon.

We were all still trying to finish the Book of Mormon before we got home!  Adam snapped this photo of me falling asleep....  But I finished!!!!  Wahoo!

We made it to LA!  It instantly felt like America with the huge billboards full of half-dressed models.  We stayed overnight at a hotel near the airport and were disgusted with the news reports blaring as we ate our breakfasts.  Shootings, political drama, etc.  Ugh.  Is this really what we have to come home to?  We liked our bubble of perfection:(. 

Despite the chill in the March air, Lincoln was the first to jump in the cold pool!  That kid is a fish and will swim in any weather!

Eliza was soon to follow!

We had to check out of our hotel, but our flight didn't leave for a few hours, so we set up camp on the floor in the airport.  We had to use our beach mat one more time...

These two are joined at the hip.  They conked out on the flight home!

It was hard to get the sleeping kids out when we landed and we didn't have any coats!  I don't think we were expecting a huge snowstorm to blow in!  Adam's parents were kind enough to pick us up at midnight and brought us blankets.

HOME!!!!!  We made it!  As much as I knew we'd miss Costa Rica like crazy, it felt soooo good to be home!!! Carpet, flushing toilets, clean water, and my very own bed.  I had forgotten what home looked like.  It was beautiful!  I didn't realize how much I love our home.  Now to unpack this mess...

Our sweet friends and family made us these cute welcome home notes and posters on all of our doors and windows.  We love them so much and appreciate more than ever the connections we have.  Going without them proved to be a great void in our lives that we had taken for granted before.  It is a lot of work to keep up relationships, but we realized that it is worth it.  Relationships add a great deal of depth to our lives and bring us a lot of joy. 

The kids were out of their minds excited that it snowed!!!  We didn't miss winter after all!  There were a few times in Costa Rica that the kids were sad that we would skip the snow.  How lucky for us that the winter had been mild and didn't really snow until we got home!!!  They played for hours and hours.

We did it! We really lived our dream of taking our whole family to Costa Rica for three months.  It was the best thing we could have ever done and we are so grateful for that opportunity.  We may not ever have the chance to leave for that long again!  And now we're home and will forever remember the amazing adventures we experienced. 

Treasures Without Price

So many fun days at the beach.  Once the sun came out we had to make little shade structures.  The boogie boards worked great!  Love these cute sisters!

Ahh, surfing was so much fun!  Jade and Adam always had a great time catching the waves.

One of Adam's life goals is to learn to surf.  He was pretty excited to join the locals on his short board and actually catch some waves!!!  I guess it takes a 3 month trip to the most amazing surfing to finally catch on!  He did awesome!

Lincoln made me a cute mermaid tale all by himself!

This is the river at Punta Uva.  We liked to rinse off here before we'd go home.  It had a fun little rope swing the kids played on, but we were a little nervous about the cleanliness of the water...

On our last night we thought it would be so fun to finally go out to eat at one of the cute little restaurants near Playa Grande. We had a lot to pack and didn't want to also have a dinner mess to clean up.  After 2 hours and $75, we realized that our home cooking is way better and we could have eaten and cleaned up in less time!  Oh well.  We walked home in the light of the full moon and enjoyed our last walk in the most perfect weather in the most perfect place on earth.  The howl of the monkeys, the song of the toucans, the crash of the waves, the friendly people, the slow pace, the bright sunshine, the lush green forests, the perfect sand beaches, and the happiness we felt cannot be forgotten.  The firm relationships between each of us, the closeness and the bond we feel after so many adventures together, and the Spirit that guided us are treasures without price.  We will forever feel a connection to this beautiful country and all that we learned.  We are all better people because of our experiences living in this wonderful Costa Rica.

Dolphins!

From the time we arrived in Manzanillo a month ago, we had heard that we could take a boat out into the bay and see dolphins, but the sea had been so rough that we thought we'd miss it.  However, the 2nd day before we left, I saw some guys with a boat on the beach.  I asked them if they could take us out to see the dolphins and they excitedly agreed, explaining that the next day would be better. We woke up early, the last day before we left for good, thrilled for the adventure that awaited. The sun shone brightly and the sea was calmer than it had been in months. It was perfect!!

The scenery was exquisitely beautiful with the luster of the sun reflecting on the bright blue water.

People sleep in this cave!  It has tents in it, so kayakers can travel to it for a fun campout.

And here they are!!!  We found a couple of groups of dolphins, but mostly followed these two around.  Our guide said they are fairly old, as their fins are gray.  They really put on a show for us!  They'd criss cross in front of our boat, flip their tails, and blow their holes right by us.  It was so AMAZING!!!!!  We were in heaven!!!

The kids thought this was greatest thing ever!

What a fantastic day!  The dolphins were so wonderful and we were in awe at their gentle beauty.

Our boat drove to a secluded yoga retreat where we toured their incredible gardens.  They grow most of the food they eat there.  I wish I could remember what these pictures are of...but I don't.  Some sort of food that surprised me.

Of course all the kids wanted to hold the giant golden orb weaver spiders!

We stayed at the beautiful beach for a while snorkeling, collecting shells, eating lunch, and enjoying the peaceful afternoon.

After we returned back to our beach, we bought some cold coconut water and enjoyed a refreshing drink, sadly knowing it would be our last.  I can't think of a better way to spend our last day!