Costa Rica - Day 2 ATV Tour and Waterfall

This was the craziest ATV tour ever! We definitely got more than we bargained for, but it turned out to be such a fun adventure! And that's what Costa Rica is all about right? So we started out with the basic, but beautiful well made on road tour. We went to the top of this mountain, with amazing views all around, the rain forest below, while we are at cloud level. It was beautiful. While we took a break at a little restaurant at the top of the mountain, our 15 year old guide arranged with the owner of the restaurant to take us to this beautiful waterfall that apparently "no gringos had been to before". We were told it would be a short drive, that was a little rough, but would be fine and a short hike. Well, the drive on the 4-wheelers was, shall we say treacherous, could hardly be called a road on the side of a mountain, areas were washed out and they would have to stand in the gap and hold the 4-wheeler on the mountain as we drove on the ATV, a guys with a machete was out ahead, chopping down tree branches along the way. The hike was more of a steep descent into the rain forest. But the waterfall was beautiful and refreshing and definitely well worth it! It turned out to be quite the tour!

Costa Rica!!!! Day 1 - Tortuga Island

We took an amazing trip to Costa Rica and met Jay's sister and brother in law, Rich and Jaime, there. It was honestly the best vacation I have ever gone on! Our first stop was Playa Herradura and on our first day we took a boat to Tortuga Island. We had a small bit of bad luck in that there happened to be red tide passing through, which apparently is a bunch of algae, so we didn't catch any fish and the water was a little yucky looking. But the weather was beautiful and it was a nice trip. The guides cooked us a fish lunch on the island, which was very good and we just explored the island, found some crazy animals, like deer, warthogs that really like people and thought they were dogs, following us around wanting to be petted, and more hermit crabs than I have ever seen in my life! It was a beautiful day! We went during rainy season, so there were almost no tourists, which was awesome. It rained only a couple of times we were there and luckily never interfered with any of our activities.

Kings Dominion

Among the funnest days I have had in a long time! We all went to King's Dominion, which is a water park and amusement park. The big kid rides were the craziest and scariest I have ever been on and they have the best rides for Ethan. My favorite was the mini bumper cars for Ethan. At first he couldn't figure out how to drive and so the steering wheel was just stuck in the turn position, so he was just stuck in a flat spin. It took several rounds for him to figure it out! It was hilarious. But after he figured it out, he was chasing the other kids all over the place. It was cute. He and Addi had a blast together riding all the rides!

Me and Misty

Misty, Tanner, Lauren, Carla, Addy and my mom all came to visit. We did all the DC sightseeing and Misty has a bunch of pics, and this is the only one I took! But I thought it was a fun picture of my niece Misty and I, who I love so much! She graduated from BYU and is finishing up Dental Hygiene school. I am so proud of her!

Avery's 1st Birthday!

My Avery turned 1! It's amazing how fast this year has flown by! For her birthday, I made a cute little cake and we had a mellow party with my family since they were here visiting. By the time we got to the cake, Avery was pretty cranky because it was getting late and she wasn't sure what to do with the cake. So she looked at it for a bit, picked the plate up and dumped the cake off and tried to eat the plate! Crazy girl. She will discover the joy of sugar all too soon I am sure though. We love our sweet little girl!

3rd Annual Demolition Derby!

We again made it out to the Prince William County Fair and the Demolition Derby. We had to introduce Avery to our yearly tradition and she did quite well despite the noise, smoke and craziness. This is one of our favorite events of the year!

Camping At Assateague Beach

This summer we met Courtney, Macall and RJ at the beach at Assateague Island and camped overnight. It was the most beautiful place, with wild ponies that roam the island. Ethan had so much fun collecting sea shells, which he is still playing with. Avery did really well, and she really likes sand (especially eating it). This may become a new tradition!