Three out of four!

I uploaded a handful of my Costa Rica pics to the Arizona Daily Star reader's gallery tonight. I find that it is a great place to get some pretty serious critique! There are some SERIOUSLY talented people posting there. If you have never checked it out...you should! You can just go to AZSTARNET.com and click on the readers gallery icon on the left hand side. From there, you can explore pictures of almost anything and anywhere you can imagine. Anyway...I uploaded four pictures about two hours ago. I just logged back on and three out of the four pics have great comments! One of them already has SIX comments and has been picked up and added to the AZSTARNET homepage! It's a picture of the scarlet macaw feathers...and it is sitting there and has been given the caption "birds of a feather share their photos together". The comments state that "That is a piece of art." WOW! Art! Other comments include "Beautiful!" and "Very striking and a nice composition." And "Gorgeous!" I might have to have that one framed? My sloth has two comments. "Amazing shot!" and "Well done! Fantastic image." and my snake has one. Just "beautiful" , but still...I'm so excited! Isn't that so cool?

Costa Rica in Pictures

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Dinner Wednesday Night

So tonight...we were treated to another patio dinner here at the hotel. A lovely dinner with a lovely little menu. Extravagant and over the top appetizers and....salads? Whatever it was....the second course might have been a wee bit over the top! Then there was the meal. Yummy beef tenderloins! Or salmon or eggplant or pork glazed spareribs. All delectable and divine. But as dinner was served tonight....there was a little something "extra" in the air. There was music. All sorts. Some odd guitar and some sort of bells or tubes instrument thing. Like a xylophone....a bongos set and who knows what else. And there was dancing, All sorts of spanish girls in big, swoopy, fancy dress dancing. For a while there was a narrational diaglogue. I could still translate enough to know that this whole drama involved a "moonlight walk" for the actors. It also, incidentally, involved a decent amount of yelling by the actors that sounded an awful lot like dying, or very VERY ill seagulls?! Quite disturbing. The "opera" thing went on for song after song. And just when we thought it was ending, they struck up a new line and the dying seagull dancers began picking people out of the audience. That should have been our cue to run like the wind, to get the heck out of there. But we stayed to watch. And what we watched, was one of those men come to our table and pick ME out all the people sitting there, to get up and go and dance with him. A little line dance, conga line thing that snaked amongst each and every table...making sure that not one person would miss who had been "chosen" to participate. Can't even begin to tell you how long that song was or how humilitating that little part of the festivites was! YIKES!!! AT the end of the song the conga line ended up in a warped kind of circle where everyone joined hands and rushed in on each other and sang Ole'! How special is that? As one who struggles a bit with personal space issues,...I may never, ever, be the same again! Not only did we all hold hands and slither our way amongst all the tables as a big, giant, clumsy, snake thing....we had to do a bit of a "ring around the rosy bit" where we all come together in the middle. Lucky for us we did NOT have to "all fall down". Rather...we had the dubious honor and duty to come into a tight inner circle and "flap" our wings. At one point I was quite earnestly praying that God would just pluck me right up...right now....like Elijah. And make me vanish with less than a trace! I made it through the psychotic chicken/bull run/cpnga line thing! And now I am exhuasted! We are off on the catamaran tour tomorrow! Hopefully....music and dramatic musical free!

Wednesday in Costa Rica

Today has been a VERY exciting day! We slept in late this morning. That in and of itself is fairly exciting! It happens SO rarely and these room darkening curtains here in the hotel are just so fabulous! Anyway....after sleeping in to a wonderfully later than normal hour, Chris and I headed downstairs for a yummy breakfast poolside. I had belgian waffles and hashbrowns and some sort of mexican rice with peppers and black beans. Then there was fresh pineapple and bacon and something else that I have no idea what it was...but it was quite yummy! Then, after breakfast, we got all of our gear together and headed out to the Rainforest. We took an amazing tram ride up and into the jungle canopy. Kind of like gondola things that carried you up into the trees and up the mountainside. It was so neat to be smack in the middle of the jungle and to travel through all of the different layers of the canopy. On the way up we saw beautiful waterfalls, an iguana up in the treetops, hummingbirds, and beautiful toucans with their gigantic and colorful beaks! It was SO neat! At the top, instead of riding the gondolas back down again, we were instead, led down a side path, where we were introduced to our very first zip line! We were all harnessed up in all sorts of gear...straps and belts and helmets and gloves. One at a time, we were clipped onto the cable and then sent out, soaring high above the jungle below us! It was the most exhilarating thing I have ever done in my life. My legs were shaking so badly after the first two zip lines, that I did not know if my body was going to be able to handle the adrenaline rush. It was SO awesome! Time after time, we were clipped onto the different lines, and the guide there would say "one, two....See you!" . And just like that we would be airborne again. Flying through the air with a couple of hundred feet between us and the ground! To tell the truth, I am SHOCKED that I was able to go through with that. It was hands down, the scariest thing I have ever done in my life and it was just so unbelievably cool! At some points, we were sailing across the canopy, and could look out, high above the jungle and see the Pacific Ocean gleaming there in the distance and the cliffs and beaches. It was all very surreal at times! There were 10 zip lines in all. One of them was over 1000 feet long! Talk about FAST!!!!!! It was over in a matter of seconds. But SO unbelievable. Once we were safely back on the ground, we were given a tour of the reptiles of the jungle. We saw all sorts of boas and pit vipers and were amazed at their camouflage talents. It really was so neat. And by then, our tour guide who had driven us out to the rainforest was waiting to take us back to the hotel. On the way out, he found a giant termite nest on one of the trees on the side of the road. He stopped and got out and collected a handful of termites for us. On the way to the tour, he had been telling us about their protein content and their value as food in surviving in the jungle if need be. And so, he sat there with these live termites crawling across his hands for us. Who were we to refuse? So Chris and I plucked up the termites and ate them! Just like that! Live, wiggly little bugs! Again...very cool. And not at all yucky! They tasted like old, stale peanuts. Crunchy, obviously. While I would not probably order up a big bowl full for dinner, I also would not totally freak out and lay down and die rather than eat them if my survival depended on it! And so I got a little extra, albeit unusual, protein boost today!

Now that I am at the hotel and processing the day's activities, I am fairly certain that we must be insane. Those zip lines, while outrageously fun, were totally scary too. I shudder to think what would happen if ANYTHING had gone wrong. However...nothing did. We lived to tell about it and had a blast in the process! It's a memory I will NEVER forget! Pictures to come when I get home!

Interesting

So...when you log onto something like Facebook or Blogger in a spanish speaking country, all of the prompts and words come up in that spanish language. Very interesting and just something...you know...FYI!

The last two days have been very interesting. I spent much of the day today laying around the pool here at the hotel and chasing iguanas with my camera. I have become QUITE an iguana hunter and am MUCH more able to spot and find them now than when i first arrived! The latter part of the afternoon brought on a fairly serious sinus headache episode. As I sit here listening to the thunder and seeing the lightening flash across our hotel room, I realize now what that was all about! I am feeling much better tonight.

Tonights activity involved loading up on a stange bus thing where all the passengers were in a sort of cage thing. There was a door seperating the passengers from the front of the bus and the driver. We were bused to a very exclusive resort about 20 minutes away. Apparently it overlooks the ocean from high atop a cliff...but one would never know it as it was too dark to see anything! But needless to say..it was a lovely party they put together for us. Dinner was exquisite. Never in my life have I seen so many glasses in so many different shapes and sizes and so many utensils arranged for one person's use. My whole family doesn't use that many glasses or utensils in a meal!!! It was very lovely and totally over the top. It's fairly surreal to realize that you are having this experience in somewhat of a third world country. I believe they told us the rooms at this resort go for between 800 and $2500 a night. Insanity! Truly!

After dinner, we returned to the hotel and had drinks out on one of the many verandas and watched the moonlight sparkling out over the ocean. Simply lovely!

Costa Rica-Arrival

We are finally here in Costa Rica. It was a hellaciously long day of travel. I did just great with it until we landed here in Costa Rica. Then we sat for about half an hour in the car waiting for a couple of other people who were also coming to our hotel. It took forever to collect them and their things...or rather...their lack of things. Seems someone's luggage got a bit lost on the journey. As we pulled out of the airport, I learned that we still had approximately two hours of driving ahead of us. I figured we's jump on the interstate or four lane highway and toodle our way right on over to the hotel. Instead...we spent a solid two hours in switchback hell. Up, up, up steep hills and switchbacks and then would switchback our way back down an equally steep and treacherous set of switchbacks on the other side. Always seeming to be winding around to....well, I don't know where. It was a LOT of road watching and both Chris and I agreed that our abs got quite the workout there on those roads...just holding ourselves upright! We FINALLY rolled in to our hotel. The entry is beautiful. Gorgeous really. I was just taking in every single brick and column and chandelier of it. It was awesome! We made our way to the front check in...and as we waited behind a couple of people to check in, I noticed the first gecko on the wall. It was darting and hiding in and out from behind a picture directly in front of me. It's a very open, airy kind of foyer place....still. It was a close encounter of a kind I don't normally, so much hang with. We were given our room keys and headed on up to the third floor. Immediately, upon stepping out of the elevator, my eyes were drawn to another three gecko friends. Hmmmmm....part of the paradise experience? Who knows. So long as they stay OUT in the hallways and OUT of my room...it's all cool. I'm okay with them. OUT THERE. Bu I sure don't want to sleep with them. WHICH brings me to our sleeping arrangements. Apparently, our room in paradise is outfitted with two very small, full sized beds. I immediately pronounced us as sleeping in seperate beds. Chris was NONE too excited to hear about that. But he's such a heater...and the beds are SO tight. I just don't really see us being comfortable together in one and quite honestly...I'm pooped right now and could really REALLY use a good night's sleep! We plan to talk to the desk in the morning and see if there is another room available. With at least one queen size bed like we have at home...if not a king, Oh...and the beds aren't heavenly pillows of cloudy softness here like they were in Hawaii. Just regular old beds. Oh well. I was SOOOO looking forward to piles of pillows and billowy softness all around me. We have to get moving early tomorrow. No rest for the weary! I will update more later!

The Final Hours

We are in the final 7 hours now before departure for our big trip. We spent some time with the kids this evening and then dropped them off at Grandma's house about 8:30 p.m. It was torture. Clara spent the whole two hours before we dropped her talking about how it was the last night we were going to see each other for a long time. Like I needed a reminder! There was a flurry of activity going over last minute details and papers and who had to be where and what not. A few minutes of craziness. And then the hugs. Lots of hugs. Clara had hers ready! We hugged and snuggled and she seemed ready and excited for us to leave...which was a relief...because I was starting to worry over dinner. Even Max came over with a big hug...and he is NOT a hugger. And then there was my Ben. And he was the one that caused me to come unglued. He was strangely quiet in those minutes leading up to goodbye. And he was the last to get hugged. And when I looked into those gorgeous blue eyes...they were starting to swim in tears. Filling up...slowly, but surely. And then my own joined in and for a few minutes there I thought I might die...having to leave them behind. It seemed terribly selfish and unnecessary. Chris had long since made his way to the car and was waiting for me. Reminding me that they would be just fine and busy and we'd home before they missed us, or us them. But I miss them already and I've not even left the house yet. It's so quiet here. The kids are gone. The dog is gone. I know without a doubt that Ben is missing us horribly already and Clara will be desperate to see us before we are halfway through the trip. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, though...right? I'm so wildly fond of them and it's scarcely been an hour since we parted ways! As excited as I am about this trip...I am finding this getting off part to be extremely difficult. Oh well. Bon Voyage, right?!

Getting Ready

Today, I am getting ready to go to Coast Rica. Well...I've BEEN getting ready. For weeks now, I've been planning and packing in my head...making mental notes of all the hundreds of little details that need to be dealt with. Wrapping up loose ends and seeing started tasks through to the end. Despite a major change in plans of who would be caring for my children in my absence, I think I'm nearly ready. The new plans have been put into place. Pages upon pages of directions and phone numbers have been typed up. Children's suitcases have been packed. Along with mine. Chris has yet to start the packing process. He's famous for waiting until the last minute! Passports have been gathered up. Letters of authorization to seek medical treatment have been written. I feel like I have a handle on it all here in these last 16 hours or so that I am stateside. I'm looking forward to this trip...despite the fact that I am not a great traveler. I am looking forward to the break. The timing of these conferences is superb since I am just coming off the incredibly busy Christmas season! It's a wonderful and welcome break after two months of being insanely busy. I am SO looking forward to taking pictures of anything other than two year olds! And Christmas balls. And the desert. I have LIVED in the desert this Christmas season. Once I return from Paradise, it will be time to seriously help my kids crank out their science fair projects (oh, joy of my life!) and Ben's costume project for his upcoming competition. Before we know it, spring break will be here...and that's a return to the beautiful sunny beaches of San Diego for this clan! Then I've been asked to do the pics again for Clara's dance studio. I'm very excited about that because it was such a blast last year! My wheels are already starting to turn with ideas for how we will shoot this year's dancers. And there all sorts of other special and neat things on my plate when I return. On a sad note, I know that week that I return I will be doing a maternity session for a Now I Lay Me Down to sleep family. They know that their precious little boy will not be able to stay with them here, but is destined for the arms of Jesus, perhaps even before he ever takes a breath. These sessions, I think, are the hardest to do. At least for me. Somehow...while that precious little one is all tucked up so snug in their mother's womb...it just always seems to unreal and impossible that the doctors can know already that there is no hope. That it will end in tears and loss. I am always amazed at the courage of these mothers. At their committment to see it all through. To persevere to the end and bring forth the child they have been told they will not have the opportunity to see grow up. There is such a sense of resolve about them and a strength I can't even describe. I find the sessions to be a little bit stressful for me, because I don't want them to be disappointed with their images. I know they are out to capture and preserve every single little detail and memory of this child that they can. I recognize how significant this step in their journey with this baby is. These sessions count like no other ones. And when these sessions are over, sometimes I feel so guilty for having been blessed, over and over again, with three beautiful and healthy children. It's certainly a perspective setter! Anyway....enough dwelling on that! So much to look forward to in this new year. I KNOW that this is really going to be an exciting year for our family and I can't wait to see what it holds for us! I am nearly giddy with anticipation.

And on a last note. I walked my Oscar today...four and a half miles. And can I just say that it was beyond gloriously beautiful out there today. The scenery simply took my breath away and I walked in a total state of awe and appreciation of this vast and beautiful desert that I have been so blessed to live in these past four years. Seriously...the best four years of my entire life!

And on another last note....I walked behind an older couple today. I have often passed them on the street as they walk together. And what always stands out in my mind is how they always hold hands as they walk together. Always. And my heart always does a leap at the sight and as I look at them, I can't help but wonder if Chris will also hold my hand like that one day. And walk with me, And just seem to enjoy being along for the ride in life, by my side, as I am by his? I'm not sure what the power in the gesture is, but it moves me so much. And in that hand holding, I see such love, and treasuring of the other spouse. I see protectiveness of them. And a kind of sweet ownership. I see joy and happiness and tenderness and a quiet comfort that comes from knowing that you have belonged to someone, and they to you, for a very long time. I see youth, and promise, and hope. I see faithfulness and loyalty. And I see friendship. And unity and solidarity and acceptance. And I see love that is not easily swayed by the winds of the world. Wow...pretty sappy and nostalgic of me, huh?! All that...in just holding hands?! Well...anyway. It moves me. That's all.

And on that sappy and completely unrelated to absolutely ANYTHING at all note...I have more packing to do! Back in a week!

I HATE the Science Fair

What I mean by that, is that I DETEST it. I LOATHE the whole act of exploring the scientific method and creating dazzling scientific experiments that have been executed by people in my household. I HATE having to help my kids THINK of a topic. To come up with a question they are thirsting for an answer to. To form a hypothesis. All of it. Just hate it. It's that time of year again. And the science fair is mandatory for Maxwell. This is problematic on SO many levels! First of all...Max is my most disorganized. He has a very difficult time with these long, drawn out, way off deadlines kind of projects. A lot of time to do a project translates directly to a LOT of time to procrastinate for Maxwell. Another problem is that Max tends to think in grandiose terms and ideas. He'll have none of that" which fertilizer works best on the pea plants?" kind of experiments. No siree. He wants to bend light and defy gravity and build electro magnets and all other manner of complicatedness. Drives me insane. Truly. And therefore...Mom set forth some science fair rules tonight. The rules are 1)The project must be VERY simple and straightforward. There is to be NO complicated processes or vague areas involved. 2) The project must NOT be dependent on the gathering of difficult supplies or on any supply that cannot be purchased at either Target, Walmart or Home Depot. And 3) There will be NO attempts at changing the world through said science fair project. Nope. We are simply out to execute the scientific method...step by step, in a manner that will, in the end, produce a clear and concise report, complete with pictures and easily interpretable date...basically...we are after an easy grade here. I harbor absolutely ZERO hopes and desires to go on to the science fair competition. I simply want to get this project done and turned in. Now...it might sound as if I personally am going to be doing this project. I truly wish that were the case. At least then I could sleep at night, knowing it was all on track, under control and being done in an organized manner! I am NOT going to be doing it. I am simply not enjoying the fact that this will be hanging over my head now for the next two months. GRRRRRRRR. I SO hate the science fair! I hated it when I had to do the projects while I was in school. And I really, REALLY hate them now that I have to watch my kids crank them out. Oh well. Guess I had better just buckle up and hang on for this wild ride! Come on SPRING!!!!