Costa Rica

Our anniversary is in February and each year we try to get away for a long weekend or, if we're able to swing it, a whole week.

This year Grady did his best to convince me of two weeks in Hawaii and, bless him, he had so many of the details and arrangements planned out for me, but I wasn't having it. Are there any other homeschooling moms of multiple kids out there? Two weeks away is a long time to manage, and the more I thought about it the more I realized I would need lots of stressful weeks to catch up for the two relaxing weeks away.

Since I squelched his awesome and wonderful Hawaii idea, it was back to the drawing board. We wanted someplace warm, that didn't require multiple time zones of travel, and that wasn't in the Caribbean. We landed on exploring Costa Rica and spent a week staying at the Los Suenos Marriott Ocean & Golf Resort.

In a nutshell: wonderful and relaxing and unique and fun! Most days were hard spent reading by the pools and waving down a server for ice cream. But in between all that strenuous activity of turning pages (and occasionally chasing nearby iguanas), we ventured away from our resort to explore.

Grady rented a board and spent a few hours surfing - actual surfing and not getting up and immediately crashing down. He did really well and looked semi impressive while doing it.

The beaches we visited were beautiful, but were all covered in black sand. Black sand + brilliant sunshine + mid-80's = MUST WEAR SHOES. We didn't see any unique seashells or marine life, but we did witness some of the best sunsets we've seen.

Hands down our trip highlight was a personally guided six-hour ATV adventure through the edge of the jungle, the mountains, remote villages, beautiful rivers and waterfalls, and special views of the Pacific. We ended the day tired, sore, and filthy - but full of energy and enthusiasm for all we had seen and experienced.

Costa Rican food was so-so... says the girl who isn't a huge fan of rice and beans to begin with. Grady had his fill of fresh sea food and I woke up every day excited for an enormous breakfast on the veranda by the ocean and pool.

A week away with just my man was a dream - and I wish those dreams happened more than once a year, but I'm so thankful for the one week alone we enjoyed. A HUGE thanks to the family and friends who kept or four kids alive and our house standing - you win Heroes of the Year awards.

At the airport and ready to go... the idea of getting away alone for a week was still settling in.

After a full day of flying and driving to get to our resort, we stopped at a roadside restaurant for dinner and devoured it. The open air dining, the evening breeze, the murmurs of Spanish all around us, the stray dogs wandering (!!)... we were far from home and loving it!

Our room faced the rain forest and offered lovely mountain views. 

Breakfast outside each morning was my favorite thing about the entire trip. I'm not even kidding. No cartoons in the background. No spilled Cheerios. No thoughts of laundry to get started. No questions about school that day. No reminders to make beds and brush teeth. Just me and my man with a delicious spread, a beautiful view, and incredible Costa Rican coffee.

We took lots of evening beach walks and enjoyed many beautiful sunsets.

The resort was wonderful and we were more than content to spend time staying there and doing absolutely nothing.

I didn't get pics of Grady surfing, but have several video clips on our YouTube channel. He was a stud and rode more waves than he crashed.

One evening we walked the beach to a nearby town to enjoy dinner... which was awesome, except for the small river we had to cross in the dark and, trust me, cell phone flashlights weren't really that helpful.

This ATV tour was so fun! So dirty. So, so dirty. But so fun!

Days at the pool... sometimes quiet... sometimes talking... sometimes napping... sometimes observing... but all the time relaxing and enjoying each other. (And, of course, eating ice cream. Because calories don't count on vacation.)

Costa Rica did not disappoint! Thanks, Babe, for an incredible week away. For working hard to provide a special time away. For planning and arranging and managing travel details. And mostly for loving me faithfully and serving me genuinely and caring for me tenderly. Happy Anniversary to us!