The one of a kind vacation!

In October we planned a 4 day vacation while the kids would be with us over the holiday. This vacation was a memory kind of trip! In 2003 when Denny was in CINCEL for 4 months to rebuild his Spanish, Ryan joined him for a month and became the youngest ever to receive a CINCEL certificate. He had a private teacher and then joined the larger classes for Grammar and Phonetics. Renee and I joined them for 2 weeks to enjoy their graduation and a vacation. Daddy took us to the rain forest, and the Arenal volcano. At that time it was still spewing lava and the red fire bathed the volcano every night. We stayed in a little bungalow at the base of the volcano.

The kids wanted to re-live that vacation so off we went for 4 days. It was a blast, especially having Lauren with us too. One of the 2003 highlights was riding horses up the base of the volcano. I will never forget how black our faces were at the end from all of the ash.

This time we rode to the Arenal river. The trip began at 1:00 and we came back to the stable at 5:00. I daresay I couldn't walk correctly for three days after! haha! I was hurting in places I didn't know existed!! What a memory, A great memory for all of us. When Renee marries, I sure do hope I have the energy to do it again!

New Year's Eve!

The kids flying in New Year's Eve brought lots of noise and hoopla!

and then we were five!

Renee joined us on December 14th and we anxiously awaited New Year's Eve to make an airport run! It was the first time for Lauren to experience Costa Rica and she just so happened to bring her husband of 14 months! our Ryan! We were so excited we couldn't contain the joy.

Limon!

I've wanted to visit Limon since we arrived here in Costa Rica! My love for the Jamaican people drove me there! Denn promised me that when Renee arrived we would go. The drive wasn't bad and oh how we all enjoyed it. It wasn't a sunny day to enjoy the beach but the food! OH MY! felt like we were back in Mandeville! A wonderful day that I can't wait to relive!

Costa Rica's Horse Tradition!

Hundreds and hundreds of horses trotted the main street of San Jose 2 days after Christmas, what a sight to behold. We were unaware of the tradition until after we got downtown to do some shopping. We joined in the festivities and became cowboys! haha!

Christmas Day!

Ham dinner number two! We were able to find hams, although expensive, here in town. The CINCEL families that were still in town celebrated on Christmas Day. We had so much fun!