We traveled across Costa Rica from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans and spent our second week in Costa Rica in Playa Hermosa, just south of the touristy city of Jaco. The place we stayed was very different than the old banana plantation house. This place was amazing - it was on top of a mountain with a view of the jungle and the ocean, had two pools, and (most importantly to me) AC!
We spent most of our time here on this huge covered porch watching the birds. Occasionally a troupe of monkeys would also come through, which was super fun to see.
The jungle and ocean view from the deck is something I'll miss waking up to. Not a bad place for breakfast.
There were 14 of us together here, so the kids got some good cousin-time.
Costa Rica is also known for their crocodiles. During the rainy season these crocs will venture out into the ocean in search of food, so surfers have to be aware of rivers feeding the ocean.
This photo is taken from "Crocodile Bridge" that overlooks the Tarcoles River. We threw some chicken down to the crocs and it was a bit scary looking down watching the zeal that they had for it with just a small railing between us and these beasts.
I've surfed (mostly unsuccessfully) at a number of beaches around San Diego and in Hawaii, but Jaco had the best beginner waves I've ever tried. The water is shallow so it makes it easy getting out to the waves without expending all your energy. Each of the boys all had some success getting up and going for a ride.
It was a perfect fall day to hike the Y - even though I had a passenger for most of the trip up.
BYU has made a lot of improvements to this trail since the last time I hiked it probably 20+ years ago. They've widened and graveled it, added benches to rest and take in the views. They've also added lights around the Y so they can light it for special occasions.
Horseshoe Bend was our last stop of our Spring Break trip. This also was pretty incredible. You take a short hike and it looks like there's nothing out there until you get close and then - bam! You can finally see the scale of these cliffs and how the Colorado River has carved out this canyon. It's really pretty spectacular.
I've always loved baseball. Most summer days of my life have included it in some way. That was collecting baseball cards as a kid or checking the box scores in the morning paper to see how my favorite players did the night before. I started playing, and didn't quit for a long time all through high school.
Every year as we get our first hints of Spring I get antsy for baseball and every year I've wanted to take a road trip down to Arizona to watch Spring Training. This was finally the year!
The weather was perfect! We watched the Rockies and Diamondbacks train and do some drills. We met some really nice people who gave us some balls they had caught that we were able to get signed by some players. Then we went to watch the Brewers and Royals. It was a really great time.
Saturday was a special day for me as I got to take Pierce and Cash to the Temple for the first time. It was pretty fun to see them both take it all in. I asked Pierce what was his favorite part, and after thinking about it for a second he said that the lockers that you get to put your stuff in were very cool.
Afterward we saw some of the downtown sites at the Visitor's Center and Church History Museum.
If you get a chance to go make sure you don't miss Hyrum's sunglasses. They have flip out sides to block the rays from all directions - I seriously can't believe they haven't made a comeback yet.
I'm still getting older. It's been nice to have Jeff around and it means he gets to eat more cake than maybe he's used to. Mom also was in town so it turned into a real party.
I think Noelle has finally found someone who likes to do crafts as much as she does...
I've surfed (mostly unsuccessfully) at a number of beaches around San Diego and in Hawaii, but Jaco had the best beginner waves I've ever tried. The water is shallow so it makes it easy getting out to the waves without expending all your energy. Each of the boys all had some success getting up and going for a ride.
