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.
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!

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.