The kids were well taken care of by Mama Zista, so much in fact that they were completely worn out by her energy and fun.
Ryker was adamant that he did not want a stuffed sloth, he did not like stuffed animals, and wanted something else from Costa Rica. About twenty minutes later we noticed that the sloth was on the couch while he played video games, An hour later the sloth was right next to him, and by bedtime he admitted that he really liked his sloth.
Lisa disregarded our rule banning the babysitter from inviting friends over by inviting her sister and brother-in-law, Debbie and Roger.
Jens was excited to have the company.
Dad was nice enough to take them on a helicopter ride.
The robe patrol went for a winter swim at Wapato Point.
I returned to the office after a week away and found that they had done some redecorating. DeA didn't want her picture on the wall, but she also didn't want Mandy Moore's picture up there. Sometimes you can't win for losing.
Our lil' Baby Gyker turned eight years old! I can't believe that he's grown so much. He enjoyed a delicious breakfast of whipped cream and pancake.
Whitni and her kids came up for a week visit while Stewie slaves away with accountant stuff. MadBum was thrilled to see her cousins and join in the party.
Ryker made a list of demands, and one of his biggest desires was his very own Red Ryder BB gun. He was thrilled and wanted to go night shooting with it in the rain.
He loves the attention that comes with his birthday.
D-Rell was too busy looking for the Ninja Turtles to really enjoy the fun.
When I got back from vacation I noticed the trucks that my therapists drive and realized that I might be paying them a little too much.
Costa Rica is spanish for the delicious coast (at least according to google translate via someone on our flight). We took a red eye flight from Seattle and arrived in Liberia at 2 pm. We were too excited to take naps, so we found a nice restaurant on the beach. DeA forgot her sunglasses, but I was a gentleman and let her borrow mine.
The sunset was spectacular, but was weirdly early at 6pm.
When we returned to our room I heard some splashing in the toilet. A frog was not what I expected to see when I lifted the lid, but a frog was definitely better than the snake I expected to see.
We attended the Liberia Ward on Sunday morning and then stopped at a place right off of the highway. We enjoyed a typical meal of rice, beans, and meat.
Breakfast at the hotel was great, to the point that we started talking about it the night before. They always had great fresh fruit, fried plantains, gallo pinto (rice and beans), scrambled eggs, and some kind of meat. Here you can barbecue chicken wings.
As we walked off of the plane I started talking to the shuttle driver in Spanish. He hooked us up with some inside information, like where to eat lunch. Here we are at Soda Teresitas where we enjoyed a delicious meal of rice, beans, and meat.
We took a trip into Liberia for supplies at Wal Mart and on the way home stopped by a restaurant that specializes in plantains. Here we enjoyed a great meal of rice, beans, meat, and plantains!
Wanting a break from the rice, beans, and meat we drove about 20 minutes to an Argentine restaurant. DeA made sure her hair looked its best.
So far this looks like our trip consisted of only going out to eat. The truth was we spent most of the time at the pool or taking naps. Since DeA won't let me post pictures of her in her swimsuit you only get pictures of us going out to eat. But, here is our view at the beach:
By Thursday we were ready for an adventure, even a Safari Adventure. While we were at church on Sunday we met a gringo family that owned an adventure park with animals, zip lining, and other fun stuff. It was about an hour away, but the smile on the camel's face made it worth it.
There was a 45-minute tour that included eight different animals, six of which you got to feed by hand. The giraffes were hungry little buggers.
I could stare at zebras all day, they are so cool.
The ostriches were mean little cusses, their beaks were not pleasant to deal with while feeding them.
After the safari I talked DeA into going zip lining. Her level of anxiety was amplified when she realized that the guides didn't speak English, but she was a trooper and went despite her fears.
We had a group of around 10 people, and she was the only one that didn't speak Spanish. Anyone that knows her knows that she is naturally shy and a little hesitant to try new things, so it was a big deal that she followed through. After the first line she was so proud and proclaimed "I did it!". Then the guide said in broken English "only eight more". If she could have figured out the carabiner she would have unhooked herself and climbed down the tree. Instead, she looked her fear right in the eye, threatened to kill her husband, and pressed forward courageously. If I wasn't so scared for my life, I'd say that is a smile on her face.
Even more surprising is the guide hooked her up a special way and let her fly like Superman!
Duh, Duhdundunduh, dun dun DUN!
Nine lines and a rope bridge later, she still looked fantastic.
To celebrate we went back to the Argentino restaurant and bought out their alfajores. I told the lady I wanted all her alfajores, and she said okay. I called her back and explained that I was afraid what she heard was I wanted a lot of alfajores, but I emphasized that I wanted all the aflajores.
The trip was the most relaxing trip I've taken in a long time. It was so relaxing that DeA had to ask me if she had fallen asleep or not.
The view was pretty great.
The SeaTac airport and waiting for the shuttle was a rude awakening. Someone was not happy.
DeA loves bragging about her Parcheesi prowess. The kids acquired the game and demanded that we play for FHE. Someone didn't like losing...
The Karate Kid and his mom are loving karate classes.
Rock finally had a chance to use his bow and arrow. He was pretty accurate.
Ryker wanted an excuse to make Muddy Buddies, so he decided that he was going to make some for his Grandma Rae. Turns out Grandma isn't a big Muddy Buddy fan and Ryker basically ate the whole batch.
We were getting frustrated that Jens wasn't coming to the car, then we realized that she was out cold.
Rock was excited to spent his birthday with Mama Zista. She made him a sensible breakfast
Now he's his teacher's problem.
After school he enjoyed bowling, arcade games, pizza and presents. He's a pretty spoiled, special little guy.
The kids and I wanted to go to a Wenatchee Wild hockey game, but DeA did not. A compromise was struck and I took the kids alone. The first stop was EZ's Drive Thru, with the hope that the kids wouldn't want as many expensive arena foods.
Our seats were great, right behind the penalty box.
The kids were excited to harass the opponents in the penalty box.
Ryker dressed dignified in his Canucks onesie. He never told me what he was wearing underneath it, so I'm pretty sure he was nekked.
Nobody in the sin bin, yet.
They still wanted expensive arena treats, but were content to share the popcorn and cotton candy.
Intermission was spent at the kid's zone shooting pucks at the goalie.
The kids were frustrated with the lack of penalties called on the other team.
Our section won free coupons to Domino's! They were too excited to realize that all coupons are free, but still it was exciting.
Family picture!
You can tell that they had a good night by the way they all crashed out hard on the way home.
