Cube

Ryan: Ashley- will you take this green cube and guard it with your life?

Ashley: Of course, Ryan. Anything for you. Will you take your shirt off and show us your chiseled abs?

Ryan: You sly dog, you.

Ashley: Please?

Ryan: Well, alright. If you insist. But only since you're guarding that extremely valuable cube.

Ashley: That's great. Thank you. And. . . um . . . what cube?. . .

Ryan: Haha! . . . ha . . .

Ashley: . . . No, seriously. What cube?

More exictement.

Ok, so where was I? Oh yes. Costa Rica, day 4.

We ended the day by putting the girls to bed, and my fabulous mother offered to stay at the hotel while they slept so that we two couples could go out on a double date. Since that has happened, like, never. It was quite nice. We went out for sushi and then for some dessert. Yum. (Sorry, I failed to take any pictures.)

The next morning (Day 5, of course) we woke up bright and early to go on the "Sky Walk" through the Monteverde Cloud Forest.

We walked across many-a-bridges like this one:


The views would not have been very fun for those who have issues with heights. (This is the view looking down at a river from one of the lower bridges).


The views were incredible. We were a little bummed it wasn't as foggy as it was the day before, because the clouds make for very interesting pictures. But at least we weren't getting rained on.


We saw some funky trees.


Got some action.


Pointed at some stuff.


Now this next picture looks like it could be a happy moment. And while it is entirely possible that it was, more than likely this is one of the many moments where the girls were being reprimanded for whining/crying/screaming because they wanted to "be first" while walking. Because that's how 3 girls behave when they are around each other for long periods of time.

Kennedy getting a piggy back ride because her feet hurt. Or because she was sad that it was Marie's turn to be "first."

Oh look, here's another bridge with some guys on it.


I really really wish that these pictures made the scenery look as incredible as it does in person. Because this picture just looks stupid, compared to what it really looks like.

Stupid.

Although I was very excited when we stumbled upon a colony of mushrooms.


They were so cute. Here is a closeup. Because they're cute:


My mom got some WAY cool pictures of this mushroom village. Maybe she'll post one of her mushroom pictures soon. And the pics from her camera are so detailed- you may even be able to see Papa Smurf if you look closely enough.

My brother also blogged a bit about the trip and posted some videos, if you'd like to check that out. If not, you're kind of lame and I don't even know why you read my blog.

Totally cute.

My super amazing mother sent a very cute Valentine's Day craft for us to do.

We got right to work.

And tried really hard to smile for the camera.

But apparently when you're in first grade, it's really hard to just give a little grin.


Oh, ok. There it is.

I love that smile.

(Thanks for the birdhouse craft, mom) :)

Days 3 and 4...?

Crap. So I guess this is what happens when it takes me forever to update- I forget what things happened on which days of my trip. Or maybe that means I'm getting old. Either way, here are some pictures and some brief captions of what happened during days 3 and 4. I think.

Day 3- Los Chorros:

We hiked down a long and winding trail through the jungle to the Los Chorros waterfall(s).

We stopped for a picture.

Or two.

We gasped at the beauty of the waterfalls.

Waterfall numero one:

(*gasp!*)

...and of course a picture in front of waterfall numero two (with some locals playing in the background):

(*gasp!*)

And here is Grandma Alli posing with 2 out of the 3 girls. Marie refused to sit/stand in the water to be in the picture. And regardless of the expression you may be reading on Emily's face, she actually DID want to be in the picture.

We all thought Justin was really brave for jumping off this rock. (Woo hoo!!)

Until some one-upper local dude jumped off an even higher rock on the other side. Oh well, Justin. We still think you're cool.

We swam around and played in the cold water for a while and then went back to Brandon's house. Then I'm sure we did something awesome like play foosball or play Rory's Story Cubes (a FUN game). And probably went out to eat at Cafe Delicias. We went there like 5 times. Because it's amazing. And they have THE BEST cinnamon rolls on the planet. No lie.

Day 4 - Monteverde:

(I apologize in advance for the picture overload)

We took a 3 hour-ish drive to get to our next destination. We were so freaking glad that we rented a 4-wheel drive vehicle, that day. The road from the base to the top of the mountain was pure dirt/rocks. For an hour. I have never been on a bumpier road in my life. My butt was numb by the time we got to the top of that mountain. I have never been so happy to drive on paved roads as when arrived in Monteverde.

As soon as we arrived, we went and got ready to go zip lining.

And we all looked really awesome in our construction worker hats.

And can someone please explain to me why Kennedy is SO afraid to put her face under water, yet she has no fear of flying through the air REALLY fast, hundreds of feet above the ground, suspended by only a few pieces of equipment? I'm flabbergasted.

But she was incredible and extremely brave. I was so proud.

And can I just say- I could not believe how green and lush and beautiful everything was.

See?

See?!? And of course these pictures look like crap compared to how it really looked. You'll just have to go there and see it for yourself.

Justin was loving every minute of it. Well, we all were. But he ended up being behind me most of the time so I got lots of pictures of him:

Look how sexy we are in our gear:

And look how sexy THEY are in THEIR gear:

Don't act like you're not jealous.

Going tandem on the last - and longest - stretch of cable (1000 meters).

And that was the scariest one. Do you see that big white nothingness that they're about to fly into? Yes, that is a cloud. And you can't see ANYTHING when you're flying through it. I videotaped it on my camera, and, if I can upload it, I'll put it on here. But it was amazing. And scary. But mostly amazing.

So I must say, that really was the coolest experience of my life. It was a bit pricey, but SO worth it. If you can, do it. Even if you can't, find a way to do it. Why? Because it's incredible. And because the soup man says.

Finally, because it's Valentine's Day, I'm leaving you with a picture that you will all be extremely envious of.

Sorry, ladies (and gentlemen). He's mine. You can have the swans.

Acknowledging

As much as I complain about Utah and its nasty, nasty air quality during the winter months, occasionally we'll see a day like this one and it warms my soul (I just try to overlook the dead trees).

So yes, Utah. I am now acknowledging that you DO provide us with beautiful, clear, sunny (albeit cold) days in February. Thank you.

A dark side.

As bright and funny and cuddly and sunshiney as Kennedy is, I'm starting to think she has a bit of a dark side.