Costa Rica: Part 1

I'm finally getting around to posting about our trip to Costa Rica that we took last month. It was a wonderful trip! We got to see and do so many cool things and we also had some time to relax, so it was the best of both worlds. We traveled there with a group of 11 of us for our friends' 10 year wedding anniversary.

We stayed in an all-inclusive resort right on the beach and spent a lot of time on the beach or in the pool. The resort had good food and fun entertainment. They had a show each night, which was always fun to watch. 

I thought I'd start off my Costa Rica posts with a post about our resort.

The resort we stayed on was called the RIU Palace Costa Rica in Guanacaste.

Costa Rica has 2 seasons... Rainy and Dry both lasting around 6 months each. We were there during the very end of their dry season and they were having a particularly dry, dry season thanks to El Nino. It was VERY hot and VERY dry. The average temperature while we were there was around 99 degrees. They said the hills behind the resort here in this picture above are covered in green during the rainy season which starts in May. 

The swim-up bar before opening that day.

Our room was an ocean view which was beautiful, but not quite as close to the ocean as we had hoped. 

Our room was very nice, but I wasn't a huge fan of the decor in the rooms. It just didn't seem to match the beauty of the outside architecture. However, it was a very nice and comfy room with a jacuzzi tub and a separate rain-shower, so I'm not really complaining.

The beach at the resort was beautiful. The waves were just the right size, not too small and not too big. The water was the perfect temperature and it was never overly crowded. You could order drinks right from the beach without ever leaving your lounge chair! It was wonderful! It was a little bit of a walk to get there, but not too terribly bad. 

It was a beautiful resort with so many wonderful amenities! I would highly recommend it!

Next up will be our day trip to Rio Perdido. 

5 on Friday

 

 

Happy Friday!

Today I'm linking up with Christina, April and Natasha for Five on Friday!

 Avery had her second week of gymnastics this past Tuesday. She seems to be really liking it. My mom took her this week and said she kept saying, "fun!!" 

 Last Friday night we grilled hamburgers and hot-dogs and ate dinner outside. After dinner we had a fire and roasted some marshmallows with the kids. It was a beautiful evening and a lot of fun!!

 As I was leaving a photo session last weekend, I had to stop and wait for this sweet momma and her babies to go by! I just love Spring and all the new life around us!

We took the kids to Toys 'R Us last week to spend some birthday gift cards and Avery was so happy to get this Minnie Mouse Vacuum. She was so excited, in fact, that she wanted to carry it to the car all by herself. If we would ask her if we could help, she would say, "No, me do it!" Miss independent!!

 My favorite coffee/creamer combination as of late.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

My Little Soccer Player

We signed Jackson up for a Spring Soccer league here in our school district. He's never played organized soccer or even played for fun. He's never even really watched it on t.v., so it was pretty new to him. 

It was 4 weeks with games every Saturday morning from 9:00-9:45. The first half of each Saturday was just practice and then the second half they actually played a game against another team in the league. 

The first few games were a little iffy for Jackson. He didn't seem all that interested and didn't really seem like he wanted to be there. Jake worked with him in the back yard a few times and then finally his last game was a huge improvement. He got the ball several times, interacted with the other kids on his team and really seemed to come out of his shell and enjoy himself. I'm really kind of sad it's over because I feel like he was just starting to get the hang of it. Hopefully we can get him in a league in the Fall and see if he continues to like it. 

I brought along my "big girl" camera this past Saturday for his last game to try and get some good shots of him playing and I'm so glad I did. He did such a great job and we're so proud of him!

First up was practice... just look at that smile!

A little pre-game pep-talk!

Now on to the game!

My adorable little soccer player!

Mother's Day 2016

We had a very nice Mother's Day this year. We got up and got ready for church, had a lovely service and then went to the cemetery where my Grammy is buried to put some flowers on her grave and wish her a Happy Mother's Day.

After that, we headed back to our house for a late lunch. We had my family of 4, my parents, my sister and her family of 5 and my Papa Reg over to our house. It was very casual and laid back. My mom actually made taco salad the night before so all we'd have to do was warm it up. It worked out perfectly. After lunch, we took kids outside to ride bikes. Thankfully the weather was nice enough for some outdoor play! After that, we went back in for a little dessert. 

It was a very nice and fairly relaxing day (as relaxing as it can be with kids around, ha!)

Here are some pictures from our day.

Myself, my sister, her baby Emerson and my Mom.

Avery and I, my sweet sugar!

After everyone left and I was just hanging out with the kids, I was able to talk them into taking a few selfies with me. Jackson never wants to take pictures with me, so this was a Mother's Day miracle! Ha.

As far as gifts go, Jackson made me this really sweet card at Pre-school along with this little bouquet of flowers. :-)

He also made me an adorable little flower box at church and the sweet teachers filled it with flowers.

And lastly, Jake got me a card from the kids along with some Ghirardelli caramel chocolates. Yum!

It was a very nice day spent with family. ♥

Project Life 2016: Week 16

My Project Life page for week 16 of 2016.

I used the Unwind Full Kit Freebie from DigiTee Designs.

My "Date Knight" with Jackson

Last Tuesday evening, the Chick-Fil-A near our house was having a Mother/Son "Date Knight". I saw it on their sign the week before as I drove passed on my way home from work and thought, that sounds like so much fun. So I looked on their website and was able to reserve us a spot. 

It was really cute and even better than I expected. The restaurant was decorated with Knight decor and they had a guy dressed as a Knight that greeted us. When we got there, we checked in and they gave me a pretty white rose, then they took our picture with the Knight and sat us at a table. They took our order and brought us our food. There was a shield and crayons for Jackson to color and he colored a picture of he and I. ♥

He and I talked about his day at school and we had a really fun time just the two of us. After eating, I let him play on the indoor playground for a little while and then we headed home. It was so cute and I'll be checking to see when their next fun event is.

5 on Friday: Happy Mother's Day to 5 Important Women in my Life

Happy Friday!

Today I'm linking up with Christina, April and Natasha for Five on Friday!

First and foremost, I want to wish a special Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful Mom!! She is amazing, wonderful and beautiful. She is such an encouragement to me and she's always there for us no matter what. Not only is she an amazing Mom but she's an equally amazing Maw Maw, Wife, Daughter, Sister and Friend. We are so blessed and thankful to have her and we love her so much!!

Vintage Market Days this past Sunday with my mom and sister!

I'd also like to wish a very Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful sister! She is such a great mom and someone I can always talk to about motherhood. She's not just a sister to me, but a best friend.

 My sister with her youngest of 3 boys this past Monday at the Zoo.

 Next, I'd like to wish my Mother-In-Law a very Happy Mother's Day!! She is a wonderful mother to her 3 boys and I'm so thankful for all she does for us! She's an amazing grandma as well and absolutely loves being with her grand-kids.

My MIL with my 2 kiddos last June on her birthday.

And a special Happy Mother's Day to my Grandmothers! My sweet Grammy in Heaven and my wonderful Grandma Stoffel. I'm so thankful for the influence they've had on my life and for all their love and support!

Grammy and I, the Christmas before she passed away.

My grandparents, me and my 2 kiddos at Rend Lake last year on Labor Day weekend.

There are so many more women that have had such an impact on my life that I'm celebrating as well. I'm so blessed to have such an amazing support system of women in my life. Happy Mothers Day to all of you beautiful and wonderful Women and Moms. I hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing weekend!