Cutting down our Christmas tree

just down the road from our home is a Christmas tree farm so we headed over to pick our tree. we discovered many Costa Ricans come early and pick out their tree, reserve it, then pick it up when ready to put up.....even so there were many to choose from and we found one!

it was a nice sunny warm day, first time we've cut down our tree in shorts :)

and had a palm tree growing in the Christmas tree lot

loading up the tree in the mini-car, amazing how they strapped that big boy on!

upon getting home....the tree just fit

the girls picked out the tree decorations and we had fun decorating our very colorful tree

McKenna and Tatum just returning from school to discover Gabi playing with the Christmas tree decorations

Gabi's officially started crawling at 10months. It takes much to motivate her considering she has many willing arms to pick her up these days, but she's realizing she's onto a faster mode of transportation and there's no holding her back.

the camera case was the object of fascination this time

next was the ball

got the prize!

"Are you watching me?"

Our 1st visitors - Nana Leen & Papa Bob from AZ

Tatum's school class had a family picnic that we all attended- the kids posed after swimming and playing in the zoo gardens of one of Tatum's classmate's Grandparents

some playtime out in the yard

We took a trip to Inbioparque, an environmental, animal, flora,park to share some of our local wonders with Nana Leen and Papa Bob

Nana Leen was convinced to cross the rope bridge

here's a few of the butterflies we saw in the amazing butterfly garden

we visited the petting zoo

the gardens were so lush

We enjoyed a wonder family dinner at Hotel Bougainvillea in Santo Domingo and had a chance to tour their beautiful gardens...what a treat!

This bromeliad is one of the largest ones we'd all seen and served as a beautiful backdrop......we'd have taken more photos if our camera battery hadn't died :(

We took a very scenic day trip to Guapiles through the Baurillo Carra rainforest-here we stopped for lunch in a typical Tican restaurant

the restaurant had a turtle cage that caught our interest

Gabi convinced Nana Leen to watch the turtles, she was fascinated!

Lisa's parents' visited in early November-Brad, Gabi, Lisa and her parents visited Poas Volcano and enjoyed a clear day with spectacular views! McKenna and Tatum were in school.

Bob and Aileen pose with a poor man's umbrella plant, one of many beautiful flowers in the area.

Halloween in Costa Rica

We attended a Halloween party that school friends hosted which was great fun! Bobbing for apples, musical chairs, hunting for hidden treasures and good food along with 40 costumed kids and their parents made it very entertaining! This all took place after Gabi's bedtime so we entertained her (kept her awake) with the orange baloon. No trick-or-treating this year.

McKenna, our China doll

Tatum, our Princess

Brad and the girls ready to set out for the Halloween bash

Nica or bust!

Read this post from the bottom up to get the jist........Still smiling having crossed the mud-filled road to reach our awaiting taxi-our taxi driver didn't seem to mind us loading up his trunk with our mud-covered bags and stroller nor our mud-covered bodies, just another day in the Nicaraguan rainy season.

A little mud never hurt anyone!

We finally got to a point in the road that we could not pass by four wheel drive vehicle, spots were sunk in the mud 3-4 ft deep. The only way to cross was by foot thru the mud on the sides of the road. We took off our shoes, carrying our bags and with the help of many locals crossed the 3 block stretch.

McKenna and Tatum were fascinated to see this lady carrying her load on top of her head.

We crossed many fast moving rivers that washed over the road we traveled. Holding our breath across many we felt fortunate to cross safely.

Heading back to Rivas by car to catch our bus we saw many local Nicaraguan homes like this one on the way.

One of the many beautiful beachside homes on Rancho Santana

low-tide

After the storm, we explored many beautiful beaches.

McKenna takes a turn after Tatum blazed the trail!

Tatum was the first to jump aboard the horse for a ride :)

View from the Rancho Santana clubhouse

The resort had amazing grounds with lush gardens.

family photo hanging out at the clubhouse under a large open straw roof veranda

Playing at the resort playground with friends we met that had recently relocated to Nicaragua from Maryland; Ana was Tatum's age, Joe pictured was 4 and baby Jack 11mo.

McKenna and Tatum exploring the beach during low-tide, collecting treasures. The coast water was brown due to the heavy rains driving a local river to overflow into the ocean.

Tatum, Gabi and McKenna hanging out in the Casita, escaping the rain!

From Rivas, we headed to a resort on the Pacific coast, Rancho Santana. Here's the Casita we stayed in, very nice 2 bedroom bungalow with kitchenette, a five minute walk to the beach.

We ventured on a bus trip to Nicaragua in mid-October, amidst the rainy season. This was our bus, Trans Nica, which was clean, comfortable, economical and most importantly had a bathroom aboard. What was intended as a 4-5 hour trip there took 12-1/2 hours! We were heading just over the Costa Rican border to the Nicaraguan town of Rivas.