Costa Rica, Part 1

We just took the most spectacular trip to Costa Rica for Spring Break with the Craguns and Thomases. It was pretty last minute--the Craguns came to us in February and asked if we wanted to join in on their trip to Costa Rica. We were hesitant since we did Maui in February and it felt like a lot back to back, but we decided to go for it and definitely don't regret it. Such a special trip.

So fun to sit by friends on the flights! Max and Hadley are good buds.

These three are always the cutest.

The flights in general went well! The only hiccup on the way there was picking up the rental cars. It ended up taking a couple of hours and we'd already arrived at like 10 PM. So we got to bed very late in the airport hotel. And Davis woke me up very early. 

We woke up our first morning and headed to church. The kids were confused why we went when we couldn't understand anything. It was special to be there. We all loved singing "I Will Walk With Jesus."

We got to see the temple right next door!

We only use our tablets on trips, and Davis is extra obsessed. Like, scary obsessed. It's like watching an addict when he's playing games on them. I think this is him having a meltdown because he didn't have the tablet he wanted. Also, the car rides were beautiful but pretty tough. Lots of turning, which made people car sick. Also we were very cramped when all of the luggage was in the car. Poor Max was in the back with the luggage and it would fall on him when we turned lol.

This was the typical Costa Rican meal! Chicken, rice, fried plantain, beans, salad, cheese, and some veggie hash. It was actually pretty good, depending on where you got it.

This is how they made the fried plantains.

The first half of our trip was spent in La Fortuna/Arenal. We stayed at the Arenal Springs Resort and loved it. We had a lengthy drive our first day to arrive (like 3 hours?) and then spent 3 nights at the resort. I think we all could have used another night and loved the jungle vibe of the area. It felt like a really unique, special place. So fun to see so many animals and do so many adventure type things. The actual resort was incredible too. It has all these natural hot springs and was so beautiful and special.

The kids loved the playground at the resort.

Loved how the kids played at the resort so much. No one really watched any screens the whole trip (expect for the long car rides).

The kids spent most nights searching for toads.

Zip lining was a top experience for everyone!

The kids were all troopers--they all did it! And did all 9 of the lines! The place was smart and didn't really give people a chance to be scared. They just kind of pushed people off the first line and you got used to it quickly!

This is me! So fun to fly through the jungle. Not pictured is the tarzan swing I did (that was quite scary) and I made some kind of primal, gorilla noise. Everyone made fun of me for it the whole trip.

Absolutely gorgeous

Pineapple lover

Eating at a soda (cafe) for lunch

Found a yummy ice cream place

We did a nature wildlife tour and looked for animals. We mostly saw sloths (which were actually surprisingly hard to see). But also saw howler monkeys!

Howler monkeys!

These two picked out wrist sloths for their trip souvenir. 

Our hotel had the best breakfast every morning.

We visited the Fortuna Waterfall and had a blast.

The water was cold but we all got brave and got used to it quickly.

The kids spent most of their time looking for miniature little frogs.

The cutest tiny frogs!

Finally got one of his own!

Mistico Park visit! We saw tons of different animals. 

Andy having a teen moment

Lots and lots of hanging bridges.

Andy being cute with Cooper and Theo

Matching suits for the trip, of course!

We surprised our husbands with these beauties.

We got sushi boats one night at the hotel by the pool and it was so fun. Just a magical night hanging out in the pool, laughing and chatting, and eating the best food.

Max played a prank on Kasee for April Fools Day and brought these fake cockroaches all the way from home. People kept pranking each other with them the rest of the trip--it was pretty fun. :)

Breakfast at Arenal Springs Resort was a real highlight. The kids still talk about the smoothie bar, where you could pick out your own fruit and they'd make you a smoothie out of it. We were all sad to leave and would have definitely stayed at least another day.

Smoothie!

Violet loved her pineapple smoothies.