Pura Vida: a commonly used Costa Rican phrase meaning "pure life", "plenty of life", "this is living!" "going great" "real living", "cool"

The rest of our Costa Rican vacation was filled with lots of miscellaneous activities and lots of relaxing by the beach and/or pool.  

One day we went zip lining.  As you can see from the secure fit of my helmet, safety was key.  I even had to wear a hair net under the helmet to prevent spread of head germs.  Rob had a hat on, so he dodged that bullet.

If you look closely, that's Rob on one of the lines.  

It was kind of scary at first (for me... I'm kind of afraid of heights) but it turned out not to be bad and we had a really nice time.

Our resort offered complimentary cooking classes with restaurant chefs, so we attended 3 of them.  We got to go back into the kitchens and make different dishes.  We made baked sea bass, risotto, and some rice concoction.  They were all delicious and saved me from buying lunch on that given day.

A guided nature hike was also a complimentary activity offered by the resort.  We finished it right as the sun was setting.  

Okay, we're on a roll for complimentary resort activities... 

We also went on the "tour of giants" where a guide took a group, with each couple driving their own golf cart, around the golf course and stopped at lookout points and when we saw wildlife (i.e. monkeys and iguanas).  It was excellent and oh so pretty.

A lot of the time we just relaxed at the beach and/or pool.  Rob read 3 books!  I read half of a book + 2 People magazines. 

Rob isn't much of a morning riser.  I, on the other hand, love to wake up early (providing I get adequate sleep the night before).  

One morning I was pleasantly awoken by a stampede of children that just checked into the room next to us the previous night.  Seriously, there had to have been a small army in there.  (Due to this, Rob and I got a complimentary room upgrade... very worth it.)  The other morning I was awoken by the loudest screeching birds (parrots?) flying around outside.  

Well, I guess I didn't exactly choose to wake up, nonetheless, it turned out to be a great thing.  I left Rob peacefully sleeping and went down to the vacant beach for a walk.   The sun had just risen and it was so peaceful and beautiful.  I also brought the camera and channeled my inner wildlife photographer.

This was a pretty bird who I watched fish for breakfast.

This was quite the site.  I was just walking and I saw a curious looking circle of shells.  The shells were small... like no bigger than an inch.  And they were all hermit crabs!!  I observed them (haha, who am I?) and I gathered that 2 of them were fighting, and the rest were probably there to watch and cheer on the one they wanted to win.  Or something like that.  It was bizarre. 

And the coolest thing... monkeys!  I've never seen wild monkeys before, so I was fascinated by them.  I could've watched them for hours.

These are Howler Monkeys.  There were a couple baby ones swinging around... they were too cute.

And these are White-Faced Monkeys.  There was a whole group of them traveling down the beach.  And if you can't tell, I'll point out that this one had a baby strapped to her back!!  It was the best thing I saw the whole trip.

It ended too soon.  But at least we have the vacation bug out of us.  And at least we came back to a mild winter in Boston, so it wasn't too much of a shock.

hike costa rica!

This time last week, Robert and I were relaxing in the beautiful country of Costa Rica.   We decided to take a last minute trip there, and we had such a good time!

While there, we went on a couple of different hikes.  We rented a car, so rather than going on the excursions offered by the hotel, we copied the agendas and did them on our own.  It was much, much better this way.  

Our first hike was at the Rincon National Park. 

We hiked through thick, treacherous forest.  

Found a lovely waterfall.  We knew a waterfall was on the path, but since it was the dry season, we weren't expecting it to be so big and...full of water.  It was definitely the highlight of the hike. (it was a lot taller than this picture shows.)

We observed dangerous volcanoes. 

...which reminded me of going to an exhibit at Disney Land.

And enjoyed the various giant tree species.  They were so huge and amazing.  I'd like to have one of those puppies in my back yard.

Next hike, a few days later... Destination: Rio Celeste Waterfall Hike

On our way there, we stopped at this cutest little restaurant in a mountain town.  The hills were all covered in rainforest.   

Also, that smoothie there in front of Rob... delicious!!! I think it was banana, papaya, and pineapple.  And it only cost $2!

Rio Celeste Waterfall, the highlight of the hike, was spectacular.  The waterfall is an aqua blue color, a result of a volcanic chemical reaction from the Tenorio Volcano.  It is considered one of the Seven Wonders of Costa Rica... and it did not disappoint.

Later on in the hike,  you get to see the exact point where the water turns from crystal clear to aqua blue.  Super strange, and super cool.

We stopped at a lookout spot and made friends with a group of like 20 Costa Ricans who said they were all cousins. They took our picture and we took theirs... and when I took their picture and counted "Uno, Dos, Tres", they mocked my accent.  It was a legit mocking though.  I can't roll my R's like they can.  No sirre.

This hike also required great bravery (see below)

And luckily we made it out safely. 

cooks in the kitchen

I guess this technically has to do with Christmas, so I guess my last post title was a lie.  Apologies.

But for Christmas, Rob gave me the wonderful gift of couples cooking classes!  He came up with the idea on his own.  He did well.

The week that we got back to Boston, we took our first cooking class- Couples Dinner Party.  Every couple was assigned a dish to make, and then we feasted at the end.  Rob and I got the chocolate molten lava cakes.  I guess we could've been a little cleaner around the edges of those ramekins, but nonetheless, they were divine.

And a couple days later, we went back to the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts for "All You Knead"... a bread making class.  I liked this class more because I felt like we learned more.  

Actually, one random thing I learned that could possibly be helpful to you:

When recipes call for salt, they are talking about table salt.  So if you are going to use Kosher salt, you have to add the amount advised + half of that amount.  I asked, "Even for cookies?" and she said "Yes".  Who would've known.

IE: Recipe calls for 1 tsp, you should add 1 1/2 tsp of Kosher.

Rob revealing his final product!  

Some of the breads our class made.  I made those sticky buns. 

I have never eaten so much bread in my life.  I honestly felt sick the next morning.  We also brought home a lot of the extra bread, and sadly it all went to waste- neither of us could bare the thought of eating another bite.

I wish I could go to culinary school.  Just for a few months or something.  I was trying to have Rob envision the meals I would create.  He seemed enthusiastic about the idea, but after he threw out a ballpark estimate of how much tuition would cost, I decided it might be a better choice to read a cookbook or something.  

the last christmas post...for another 345 days

Over break, Rob's parents celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary.  To celebrate, they took us all snowmobiling up in the Colorado mountains.  I had never been before, and it was a lot of fun.

I thought I was going to be freezing, but I rented a snow suit (thus wearing a total of 5 pairs of pants and 5 shirts) and the handle bars and feet area were heated so it wasn't bad at all. 

Katie's birthday is New Years Eve, so something fun all the girls decided to do was go paint pottery.  (Alisa, remember that time that me, you, and Lily painted pottery in Provo and we were there for hours? haha)  We stayed for like 3 1/2 hours and I think we all could've stayed longer.  We all painted a household item for Katie for her apartment, and then Amy and I also squeezed in enough time to paint something for ourselves.  

For Katie's birthday, Amy made a beautifullll cake.  It was so lovely!

And that night, we ate it.  Happy Birthday Cute Katie. 

And that concludes our Colorado trip.

catching up...Christmas Eve!

On Christmas Eve, everyone, including the dogs, went sledding.  Rob's parents live up in the mountains, so we just made a sledding hill on the side of the house.

Rob's sisters, Katie and Amy, with Amy's dog Lady.  Rob nicknamed Lady, "Rat Dog" which was a little funny.  Only a little.  :) But Lady is seriously the sweetest little dog.  

I'm the biggest wimp.  I would only go down the hill with Rob, and I think I screamed every time.

In my defense of being a wimp, that tree was at the direct bottom of our hill.  You had to either make a sharp turn, or bail off the sled. We were constantly trying to improve our route and add padding/snow around certain parts. 

Rob's dad, me, Rob, Katie.  

Also, I am fully aware that I look weird with all my hair stuffed back in my hat.  I was attempting to preserve my hair... which actually didn't work out too well.  But it was a good effort.

And when it was all said and done, we broke every single sled.  A true sign of an accomplished sledding day.

Also, remember the sweater that Aunt Amy made for Chalmers?  Well, this is Amy, and this is another sweater that she made!! Isn't that amazing!

And lets not forget Katie, who also made something cool... a veggie Christmas tree.

And this just because I think it's funny.  Rob had to cut onions, so he wore the onion goggles.  Funny invention, huh?

Fish Tales.

Rob and I spent Christmas in Colorado with his entire family- his parents, 2 sisters, 1 brother, 2 sibling-spouses (not including myself), and 1 baby  We kept busy with them and had lots of fun!

One of our days was spent at the Denver Aquarium.  It was a really nice aquarium and there were so many cool things to see.  Although I don't like seeing animals locked up, especially mammals, (have you seen the documentary The Cove?), I do enjoy the opportunity of seeing these creatures up close.  So many of them were so beautiful that I could've just sit in front of them for hours and admired them.

Exhibit 1: Sea otters.  They were sooo cute, and this one behind me kept doing backflips against the glass.  She put on quite the show for us.

Katie, Laura, and Rob

Exhibit 8: Underwater Sea Adventure.  I think this was meant to entertain children, but we were able to shove some tykes out of the way and take a turn in the underwater bubble.  ;) 

Exhibit 19: Seahorses.  I am in love with them.  I used to collect them, along with other fossils, when I was little.  Like dried up ones.  Weird, huh?  I don't think I realized they could also be found live in the wild (or aquariums).  They're much better when they're live and swimming around. 

Us.

Exhibit 30: Mermaids.  No biggie.  

Once again, I think this show was intended for children, but I was captivated as well. 

Highlight: Meet and greet with the mermaids.  

Amy, mermaid, Kat, mermaid, Katie, mermaid, Emily & Cecilia.

Oddly enough, after the aquarium, we all went out for seafood at Bubba Gump's.  

'tis the season

To kick off the holiday season, I left Robert in Boston and traveled long and far to the great state of Michigan.  Poor Rob, I know.  But he had to work and this was the only way I'd be able to see all of my family for a long time.  So he brought me to the airport and kindly sent me on my way.

Michigan: 

My dad makes these cookies every year.  His mom made them when he was young.  And this year I learned the art of making Santa cookies. 

It's kind of intense.

... I am responsible for Santa #1 with the out-of-place raisin eyes.  It took me a few tries to learn their proper placement.

After a few days in Michigan, we traveled to Georgia to see Jacqueline, and meet up with the rest of the family (except Andrew, who is in Chile)!  

One day we hiked to the top of Stone Mountain, which was a fun challenge (physically, and because it started raining on our way down, making the granite "mountain" very slippery.

We also took a tour of the CNN headquarters building which was really cool and interesting.  

That white thing going into the globe is the longest free standing escalator in the world (like there's no beams holding it up... its only support is at he top and the bottom).

And then lil' Lily flew into town and we all had lots and lots of fun hanging out. 

The Lovell fun ended the Thursday before Christmas (so one week ago today), and from there I have met up with Rob for a Buhler Christmas.  More to come on that...

Hope you all had a wonderful and merry Christmas!

xoxo