I decided it was time to recap our last week … inquiring minds want to know, right? :)

So … after flying into Liberia, we took another flight to Tambor, a small village on the pacific coast, south end of the Nicoya peninsula. We’re staying in a nice house on a small beach with a few other houses and small hotels. It’s really a gorgeous area.

We’ve been having a great time and have settled into our own little routine.

The kids wake up around 6:30, watch a little TV {sometimes we catch a show in English}, go to the beach for a hermit crab hunt, come in and get ready for breakfast. After breakfast, we swim til lunch. After lunch we all have rest time while Hunter takes her nap. The girls watch a movie, while Taylor, Curt and I have computer time {although the three of us have caught a nap here and there too}.

The ‘rest time’ is good for us cuz it’s way too hot to be out in the sun mid-afternoon! After rest time, and when the pool isn’t exposed to the sun, we head back out the pool til dinner … ahhh, the life, huh?

I do love routines. Really. Sometimes I feel like I’m too much of a task-master and try to lighten up a little, but I guess I feel secure in a routine.

Anyway.

On Monday we took a boat out to a private island for some snorkeling. What we thought was ‘private’ was actually privacy filled with touristas! Just what CJ loves best! The boat ride was about 30 minutes and really beautiful on the water … the scenery is gorgeous … you feel like your in the middle of absolutely nowhere! I guess we kinda are … but still.

When we got to the snorkeling spot, there were four[ish} other boats with their touristas in the water swimming about. Despite a few eye rolls from CJ, we managed to get the girls masks and life jackets on. They snorkel without a snorkel or fins … we each grab one of them and sort of tow them through the water as they stick their heads in and out of the water.

We put the baby in the water, but she backed out quickly … we were proud of her for at least getting her mask on and getting into the water. We left her on the boat with the guide, a bag of pretzels and her nuk … pretty nice set up for her!

The rest of us made our way into the water … Taylor had Piper, and I had Wynt. We were swimming against a strong current and my calves were killing me! I think I must’ve burned a few hundred calories {I’m hoping I did!}. The fish were beautiful and plentiful and my little adventurers were in heaven! The fish make a crackling sound under the water and we were literally swimming through schools of them.

On the way back to the boat, we had to swim over some rocks and coral and ouch! I got it good. My leg has a nasty cut and is swollen and bruised … but worth the price of remembering swimming alongside my girls in Costa Rica looking at beautiful fish.

After snorkeling, we went to the ‘private’ beach for a cookout. Our guides whip up this awesome grilled fish concoction … yum.mie! The girls were less than thrilled with it, so CJ and I got seconds!

It was on that beach we saw a tame pig hanging out. Everyone seemed to know him … I forget what his name was, but he let the girls pet him and pour sand on him … awesome!

After lunch, we headed back to the boat to go back. Hunter fell asleep in my arms on the way back and the girls were a bit sleepy too. It was a great morning! But then of course, Hunter didn’t take her nap when we got back to the house …

We went out to dinner Tuesday night and last night. Tuesday, we went to an Italian trattoria … so weird being in the middle of the jungle! The couple is from Italy and take their food very seriously … it was delicious and the ambiance so pretty!

Last night, we went to a place right on the beach. It was part of the coolest hotel. They were all sort of outdoor hotel rooms made from the prettiest wood … almost a mahogany? We sat outside and had dinner as it got dark … beautiful … there were bats flying around and bugs cricketing everywhere. In fact, there’s a type of female bug that is extremely loud … this high pitched scream almost. What she’s doing is laying eggs. She screams and screams until she pops. When she pops, she actually throws out eggs everywhere … and then dies.

But moving on … I think it’s time for a few photos!

I only took five photos yesterday … kinda the same ol’, same ol’ so I gave the camera a rest. But when I saw my little Huntie butt standing here, I couldn’t resist …

The girls are swimming topless in the morning and nakie in the afternoon … they love it! You can see the freedom they must feel when they’re flailing around in all their splendor!

And then yesterday during rest time, we had pedicures for the ladies … fun! The little girls got their toes and fingers done. Tay and I just got our toes done. When I told the girls in the morning that we were going to get our nails painted, Hunter asked excitedly, “Is granny coming?” I think they’re going into granny withdrawal! :)

And let me back up to Wednesday and our trip to the wildlife reserve … it’s a maintained natural habitat, so there were signs and different types of trails you could take. There was an ‘easy-easy’, easy, moderate, difficult. We chose the easy trail. It took us about 45 minutes to get through and some of the terrain was a little rugged. It was extremely hot! The girls {minus Wynter} did great. Wynter can be a little dramatic at times and was in full-on drama queen mode during the hike.

We all had water bottles that CJ kept in his bag, she was wanting to stop constantly for water, wanted to be carried, and cried a lot. Oy!

I would pour water on each of their heads and they loved that. After the hike, they got a little sip of CJ’s diet coke for ‘energy.’

We saw two different species of monkeys. There were capuchin monkeys that hung out by the administration area and were fed there, but we were lucky enough to see both capuchin and howler’s on our hike … Hunter was loving the howler monkeys! We also saw a ‘Jesus lizard’ … CJ isn’t sure that’s the name, but it’s something like that. It’s a little lizard that runs across the water … the girls loved it and I loved that they began to recall the story of Jesus walking on water.

We saw some howler monkeys in the driveway last night before we left for dinner … they make the coolest barking noise! They were just hanging out in the trees above the driveway … they looked to be younger babies.

Also noteworthy … the girls are in heaven with the hermit crabs! They go out at night when the beach has hundreds of them … they pick out a few to keep in their bug tent {we never leave home without it!}. Some of the crabs are babies, and some are as large as your fist … the girls love it! They play with them in the pool, they bring them into bed and if they want to freak Taylor out, they shove one in her direction! The joy of sisters, right?

Today we’re headed into ‘town’ after breakfast and tomorrow we leave for the Liberia airport area, where we’ll stay in a hotel til we get home.

It’s a bit of a struggle to keep miss teenager entertained and happy. It’s hard with the age difference between her and her sisters. But I think we’re all doing okay!

I’m getting a lot of sleep {I actually think the circles under my eyes are disappearing! either that, or they’re tanning …}, I’m coming into peace with a lot of situations … and, well, … I am blessed.