Costa R-R-Rica (Arriving, Zip slide, tubing, horseback riding)

So last week Ryan and I left the kids w/ his parents, (thanks so much!!), met up with some good friends (Darren and Cyndi), and left the freezing temps in Colorado (really it was almost 60 the day we left, but it's been a cold winter) and flew to sunny Costa Rica! After a huge mishap at the airport where Cyndi almost didn't make the flight (no-thanks snowy Utah and a really rotten girl who works for Frontier Airlines!) we took off at midnight and arrived I think around 6 am in Costa Rica. I said I think b/c all time ceased to matter once we were in the air:) Once we landed and went through customs we picked up our rental car (took 2 hours) and had breakfast at Dennys (for $60!) Then we got on the road for a 4 hour drive to the resort we stayed at - ugh. But we got to see the country a bit. When all was said and done Cyndi had travelled for 24 hours straight (and the rest of us were closer to 18). This is Liberia, about 15 minutes from where we stayed. All the comforts of home:) And this is the view from the reception desk. Our little bungalow rooms were to the right of this picture.We took our stuff to our rooms where this little guy greeted us, we saw him lots. Then we met up at the bar for lunch, apparently $60 at Dennys doesn't last more than 4 hours:) Check out the guy "throwing out the vibe" behind Ryan. That's really why we took this picture - (we're not that mature:) But the swimwear of choice for most of the older men was speedos. kind of gross! To the right of Ryan was a little sitting section that looked at the ocean. and to the left was the pool. None of us got in the pool once, it was all ocean baby!After a much needed GREAT night's sleep, we headed an hour and a half away to Adventure Tours where we were going horseback riding, zip lining and tubing down a river. BEST DAY EVER! We got stopped by a little cattle drive on our way. Notice the GPS on the windshield? totally saved us!!! We first went horseback riding to here. The horses were super mellow, almost to a fault. But Darren was still very nervous, he does not love animals:)
This is what was behind us in the above picture:
We could have swam (or swimmed or swum?) in it, but we were confused and didn't wear our suits for this part of it. Next was tubing , which we did wear our suits for - soooo fun!

Cyndi:
Me: Ryan and Darren:
After lunch (I swear Costa Rica has THE best Coke EVER! I became readdicted on vacation) we went on a zipline tour. Here we are getting instructions. Don't we all look HOT in our gear?!
I think Ryan and Darren have little man crushes on each other - thanks to their shared passion for BYU sports!Ryan taking the plunge - to what feels like death the first time you go! Darren had this concerned look on most of our "adventures":) - although he said he had a good time!
As part of the zipline we had the option to "rappel" down into the canyon (actuall they kind of dropped us, but only about 75 feet), swing across the river, and climb back up the side of the canyon wall, so we did it:)
This is Ryan about to drop:

The wall we climbed back up:

Then we had to go sideways over to the next platform.

In the end, the zipline was my favorite b/c it was a HUGE adrenaline rush, I was shaking the whole time! After this we tried to find the hot springs and mud baths, but they were under- impressive so we headed back to our resort and sat by the ocean and read:) Like I said, BEST DAY EVER! (until the next day:))

Parade of Lights

Every year we talk about going to the Parade of Lights in Denver and every year it's way too cold, and we chicken out. But this year it was really warm the day of the parade so we decided to suck it up and go. We grabbed some friends (the Ley's and the Pearts) and packed our blankets and cookies, stopped at chick fil a for dinner and we were off! The kids thought it was pretty cool, I'm glad we finally got to go:) We only had to walk about 15 minutes from where we parked, but I think it really pooped the kids out!

He is DEFINITELY 2! (and we love him)!

So Brody turned 2 the day after Riley turned 7, and boy is he a 2 year old!!! We cannot turn our backs on him for a second - he loves to move chairs around to get whatever thing we have tried to put out of his reach (usually candy or soap), Brody is always laughing, even when he throws a fit it's not long before he's smiling again. He knows what he wants and has a one track mind until he gets it. He LOVES basketball, and is always asking to "go down to the ba'ment and p'ay baketball". He loves anything to do with a ball and running, and is pretty good at whatever he plays. He is a lover, always giving hugs and kisses. When he gets hurt he comes up to me and says "kiss it" and then whatever was wrong is all better. Even the days that the kids are fighting, nobody fights with Brody, I think it's impossible. He is a sweet boy and we are so glad he's ours:)