Pura Vida in Costa Rica

What do grandma and grandpa do when they join...

Kim...

Eric and Debbie...

and Joe, Joseph, Blake, Heather and Spencer in Costa Rica for a week of fun?

Well, they go hiking in the rainforest... (don't they look lovely?)

cross ravines on hanging bridges...

check out the lava flows on active volcanoes...

soak in hot springs...

cool off in the dew falling from the trees...

and zip through the tree tops.


Here's Eric showing the proper form.

Of course all this action builds up an appetite.


Nothing tops off a meal like one of Joe's famous smoothies...

a night of good time family dancing...





and a quick snooze.

We found lots of monkeys...

and sloths...

and a few toucans...

but had to watch out that the giant raccoons...

and iguanas didn't steal our lunch.

We had time to play with the frogs and toads...


and wrestle crocodiles.


Of course, grandma had to find some horses.


The wild orchids everywhere made it look like the Garden of Eden.

But the snakes, like this eyelash viper...

reminded us that although these Labios de Novia or sweatheart's lips...

might remind us of love...

we still needed to watch out for forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden...

though these "water apples" were quite delicious to the taste.

Jose el Nefita reminded us...

to stay strong by going to church...

and to the temple.

Of course, what the Costa Ricans or Ticos would say to all of this is: "Pura Vida" or "Life is Great."

Texas Triathlon

Wendy's new truck brings out her adventuresome side.

How about a triathlon for relaxation? Does she look excited? Her age group, 15-30 year old women, wore the white caps for the swim. The last men's group started 15 minutes before her group. There were over 1500 participants, 400 for the first time.


Here's the swim. Can you find Wendy's white cap in the white caps? (swimmer's joke) She started out towards the back. I can't remember if it was top back or mid back. Even close up they all look the same.


Biking was next...


then the run.


The loudspeaker even announced her finish. Although the men started long before her, as you can see, she beat many of them.


Here she is showing off her numbers. She finished 18th in her age group (middle of the pack), not bad for her first try with just a month or two of preparation. See her age on her leg? She said it was fun to see the ages of the older folks (and men) she was passing--gave a boost of confidence. Of course she was a good sport and said encouraging words as she zipped by. She's ready to do it again.


Here she is with her biggest fans.

Buffalo Gal Won't You Come Out Tonight!

Buffalo Gal Ella...

are you and Braden ready to mount your steed...


and do some cow punching?


Or does a game of "Texas Hold'em" sound like more fun?


Here's Grandma's version.


Don't you love the happy family?