Day In The Life: Winter 2016

It's been a while since I documented a weekend Day In The Life, and this day - Sunday, January 24 - was a pretty typical one for us at our lake cabin in northwestern Wisconsin.

Andi is 35
Heather is 34
Tory is 4
Aden is 2
Chloe (the dog) is 11

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5:00am:
I wake up feeling warm and cozy; a full night's sleep - yes! I always sleep so soundly at the lake cabin. I don't know if it's the quiet surroundings or our comfortable bed that does the trick, but ... ahhhh, I needed the rest. I click the button on my Fitbit to see the time: 5:00am. "I should get up and work out before the kids wake up," I say to myself. On second thought, I quickly drift back to dreamland.

6:00am:
Click the time: 6:00am. Still dark outside. I should get up ... but, I roll over and go back to sleep.

7:30am:
Okay, now I really need to get up! Andi is asleep beside me and the kids are still asleep too. I roll out of bed and pull on the workout clothes I laid out the night before. I fire up PiYO on my computer, a hybrid Pilates / Yoga program I started two weeks ago, and get about six minutes in to the video before I hear Aden crying from his bedroom. I hit pause, go retrieve him and bring him to Andi who's just waking up himself. A minute later, Tory joins the party in our bedroom.

Tory and Aden snuggle into our bed to wake up with a show, and Andi gets them each a breakfast snack. Then, Andi heads outside to get the ice house ready for fishing this morning. The kids and I will meet him on nearby Staples Lake after I've finished my workout and we all get dressed.

8:30am:
I throw on a long-sleeve shirt and jeans, then I get the kids dressed for the day. It doesn't really matter what we look like; ice fishing isn't a beauty sport!

Aden's really fussy this morning, and I notice his cheeks are especially rosy. I hope he's not getting sick. As I'm trying to pull together some toys and activities for the kids to do in the ice house, Aden has a major meltdown. Tory determines he's asking for a pacifier, and tries to help him reach one in the silverware drawer.

"No! Blue one!" Aden demands, tears and boogers running down his face.

"Here's a blue one, Bud" Tory says as she hands him a pacifier.

"NO! BLUE ONE!" Aden screams back.

I intervene and lift Aden up to pick out his own pacifier. He stops crying, cracks a smile and says "Blue one."

"Um, Aden, that's green" Tory says, rolling her eyes toward her brother. 

It's like herding cats getting the kids downstairs to the car. I gather up all of our winter gear -- that's three pairs of snow boots, three pairs of regular shoes to wear inside the ice house, three neck warmers, three stocking hats, three winter coats, three pairs of snow pants and three sets of mittens. Phew! I check the pile of stuff twice to make sure I didn't forget anything. We're in the car by 9:15am.

Staples Lake is just a few miles away. We could, of course, fish on our own lake but the ice fishing on Staples is suppose to be dynamite. Well, according to the "bucket crew" (a group of die-hard fishermen we see there every weekend perched on top of overturned 5-gallon buckets).

Half-way down the road, Aden cries for his favorite blanket and I realize we forgot it back at the cabin. So, I turn the car around and we go get it. Life without Aden's favorite blue blanket is not a life I want to be apart of! Back on the road just before 9:30am.

As we're driving to Staples Lake, I realize I'm starving; as in, I'm so hungry I feel sick to my stomach. I need to eat like, whoa. I pull up to the boat landing and spot our big black ice house straight ahead. I unbuckle the kids' seatbelts for safety and drive ahead onto the ice. No matter how many times I do this, I still feel nervous as I listen to the ice crack and groan beneath the weight of my vehicle. I pull up near the ice house and carry the kids to the shack. Inside, Andi's got everything set up for fishing and breakfast underway.

For breakfast, he's made us eggs-in-a-hole (runny yolk eggs inside slices of toast) with sauteed mushrooms and asparagus. Oh, and coffee: a big ol' travel mug filled with piping hot coffee. I scarf down my food so fast I barely taste it. Aden and Tory each pick at the food on their plates. They're obviously a) not hungry, or b) not as impressed as I am with Andi's fancy ice house breakfast.

I clean up the breakfast mess while Andi starts fishing with the kids. Aden holds a "dummy" ice fishing rod - one without a hook or a reel - and seems perfectly happy in doing so. "Reel! Reel!" he shouts without the danger of sticking someone in the eye with a flying hook. "Oh, fishie, where are you?" Give it another year and I think Andi'll have a serious fishing buddy on his hands.

 

Though, I suppose he's already got one child who delights in fishing with her dad.

10:00am:
Andi keeps fishing with Aden while Tory and I play Candy Land together. I'm truly amazed how well she understands the concept of playing a game now. Just six months ago, she'd cry if it wasn't her turn or if she didn't win; now, we completed the entire game and most importantly, had a great time playing together. 

I suggest we go outside and play in the snow for a bit, so we pull on all our winter gear. It proves to be a bad decision as Aden has another meltdown. He cries because he doesn't want to wear gloves on his hands, then cries when his hands get cold without them. Frankly, he cries the entire time we're outside. Kid, you're driving me crazy! I take a few deep breaths and remind myself he doesn't feel very well. That's becoming obvious with every passing hour.

 
Tory's having fun making snow castles with a plastic Solo cup, and Andi seems to be enjoying himself fishing at a hole nearby.

11:15am: 
Not many bites from the fish, though. We decided to pack it up and head back to the cabin. I drive the kids in my vehicle, and Andi cleans up the ice house and pulls it back to the cabin with his truck.  

Aden whines on the floor while I unload the car. "Blankie! Blankie!" he cries, and Tory's saying back, "You're sitting on it, Aden." Little buddy is having a rough day.

All the work I did loading up snow gear and activities for the ice house is being replayed in reverse as I unload all the bags, plus the food and dirty dishes from breakfast. I set Aden up with a TV show in my bed so he'll stop crying. Tory's contently playing with toys in the living room.   

I start lunch for the kids and I; Andi's still not back from fishing. Sunday lunch is usually a clean-out-the-fridge meal as we bring most groceries back to the Twin Cities with us at the end of a weekend. I scrounge together corn tortillas, black beans, leftover chicken and shredded cheese to make a quesadilla for Tory and I. Aden doesn't eat dairy, so I make him spaghetti with a side of oranges.

Except, I find him fast asleep in the master bedroom. Poor buddy. (An out-of-focus photo, but I didn't dare wake him with the click of more than one shot.)

Tory and I are eating lunch at the table when I notice Chloe throwing up on the carpet in the living room. Life with kids and pets is so glamorous, isn't it?

12:30pm:
After we finish eating, I start to pack up for home. This includes packing up the suitcase with our dirty clothes from the weekend, emptying the refrigerator of perishable items, washing and drying dirty dishes and folding clean towels. Andi's back at the cabin now, tinkering with things in the garage. When he finally emerges, I make him a quesadilla for lunch and do a final wipe-down of the kitchen.

I set the suitcase and grocery bag by the stairs, and Andi loads them into my car. We tag-team pulling the blinds, making sure everything that's suppose to be unplugged is unplugged, gathering coats and boots that go home with us ... and triple-checking Tory and Aden's favorite blankets, stuffed animals and pillows are loaded in the car. We never, ever want to forget those! It sounds like a lot to remember, but Andi and I are so used to doing it every weekend I think we could close down the cabin in our sleep.

 
1:30pm:
I buckle the kids into their car seats and say good-bye to Andi. He met the kids and I at the cabin on Saturday afternoon because he had a work event in the Twin Cities on Friday night. We don't typically drive separately, but recently it seems that way due to his various work events. Andi turns off the water pumps and hot water heater at the cabin, and is on the road shortly after us.

The drive is ... not a very pleasant one. Aden fusses for the next two hours in the car. I do my best to re-start his iPad a dozen times and hand back snacks to keep him occupied, but nothing works for long. Usually he'll sleep in the car on Sunday afternoons, but the 30-minute power nap he clocked over lunchtime has thrown his schedule off.

Fortunately, Tory handles the drive nicely. She watches Inside Out on her iPad and only pipes up when she asks for a snack or two.     

4:00pm:
I suddenly remember the entire upstairs level of our house in the Twin Cities is in shambles. We had new carpet laid in our bedrooms on Friday morning so all the beds need to be re-assembled and furniture moved back to its place. Ugh. My least favorite part of having a cabin is unpacking at home after a weekend. Today this feeling is compounded (x a million) as everything needs to be put away.

  
It's go-time; let's do this! Andi and I hit turbo-power: he assembles the beds and I assist in holding things when he asks me. I also dust the furniture, vacuum and make the beds with clean sheets and blankets.

New carpet! One of those things that isn't that expensive in the scheme of things, and makes me wonder why we didn't replace it a long time ago.  

5:30pm:
Now that's done, it's on to unpacking the cabin bags still sitting by the back door. I'm starting to feel like all I've done today is pack and unpack bags! Check the time, and my step count: 8,840. I'll have no problem reaching 10,000 steps today. (I'm seriously obsessed with my Fitbit, can you tell?)

Andi asks me what's the plan for dinner, and my simple response is "I don't know, and I'm not cooking." Sunday night meals are tough to plan because we're usually pulling in from the cabin right at dinnertime. He offers to run to the closest grocery store deli to pick up food. I pour myself a glass of wine; I deserve it.

That makes two bathroom selfies today...

Andi's back with dinner. He picks up crispy chicken fingers, corn, mashed potatoes and fruit for Tory and Aden, rotisserie chicken and a salad for me, and meatloaf and mashed potatoes for himself. Tory proclaims it the best chicken she's ever tasted. So delicious, in fact, she couldn't even finish her favorite mashed potatoes. Two gold stars for you, HyVee deli!

Aden eats corn, and refuses all the rest. 

6:30pm:
The kids tear around the house playing dress-up while I clean up the kitchen after dinner. Tory's dancing and twirling in the living room in her "beautiful princess dress, high heels and crown" and Aden's behind her dragging his blanket around like Linus from Peanuts. Andi's off taking a shower, I think. After dishes, I get the kids dressed in their pajamas and start to turn the lights down low for bedtime.

7:00pm:
Books and bedtime for Aden. I rock him in the rocking chair for a few minutes and put him to sleep. He doesn't protest much; little dude just wasn't himself today. Andi sets up the humidifier in his room to help Aden's congestion. Judging by his barky cough, I'm guessing it's going to be a long night ahead.

7:30pm:
Tory and I curl up in our room to read a few books before her bedtime. It's a bit earlier than her normal bedtime around 8:00pm, but she seems tired enough to call it a night.

8:00pm:
Andi and I snuggle up and watch a few episodes of Bloodline on Netflix - a new mini-series we started watching this weekend that's pretty good!

I can't remember what time Andi and I fall asleep, but Aden wakes up coughing and crying around 10:00pm. I get him from his room and take him to the living room to sit in the rocking chair for a while. He's having a hard time breathing while laying down. We both fall asleep there until 11:30pm when I carry him back to his crib. He cries, and his voice sounds so hoarse. It pulls at my heartstrings, so I bring him to bed with me in the master bedroom. Andi doesn't love having the kids sleep with us, but I can't leave Aden to cry tonight.

Our night of sleep is a rough one -- Aden lays propped up on my chest when he's not tossing and turning between Andi and I. Not an ideal night of sleep, but I will say at this point in my parenting career I've learned to live with less.

Costa Rica: Days 7 & 8

It's quite evident my time with two extra pairs of hands has ended -- I haven't had a minute to myself since we returned home from our Costa Rican vacation to recap the last two days of our trip. So, here I am staying up way past my bedtime to finally check this to-do off my list.

Monday was our final full day at the beach. Our day played out much the same as the one before it -- beach or pool; what to do first? I could get used to that being the most difficult decision I make everyday!

The house we rented on the Villa Estival property was about 100 yards away from Playa Pietra. It wasn't a private beach, but the main access road was off the beaten path so you'd need to be a local or have specific directions to find it. We loved the seclusion, and didn't mind sharing the beach with local Costa Ricans who kept to themselves for the most part. It seemed most people came to the beach around Noon, which was even better because we were there by 8:00am and looking to take refuge from the sun by lunchtime.

That morning, Andi made everyone breakfast in our kitchen -- eggs, toast and fruit -- and the five of us dined together on our patio with breathtaking views of the ocean in the distance. The pineapple in particular was so deliciously juicy there; I could've eaten a whole bowl of it every morning.

Andi and I decided to take the kids to the beach after breakfast, and Janie opted to stay back at the house and relax. It was so convenient to throw on our swimming suits, toss a beach bag over our shoulders and GO! Living on the beach is definitely a future dream of mine. We're all so happy there. Sand, sunshine and big smiles = so much fun!

Though I have to say, Tory isn't a big fan of the ocean. She enjoyed building sandcastles and searching for beach treasures, but she wouldn't go near the water. Andi wanted Tory to swim with him in the ocean so badly. He tried coaxing her into the water by drawing a line in the sand and encouraging her to meet him half-way, but she wanted nothing to do with his plan. These two are so are alike it's crazy sometimes! It was a stare-down, and neither one would give the other an inch. Tory's feet were firmly planted in the sand.

  
I can't say I blame her. I'm more of a sandcastle-girl myself.

Aden, on the other hand, loved the ocean. He ran straight toward the waves the minute his feet touched the sand. "Here comes 'nuther one!" he shouted as waves barreled toward him. "Big one!" he'd giggle when they'd knock him over. Aden had a blast, but it sure gave this mama a heart attack. My little thrill-seeker will be boogie boarding by Age Three, I just know it.

Around lunchtime, the four of us headed back to the house for lunch and rest time. Janie offered to stay back with Aden while Andi, Tory and I drove to nearby Playa Portrero for an afternoon date. I felt bad leaving Janie behind again but she insisted, and I have to admit it was fun spending some one-on-one time with Tory.

We went to a little beachside restaurant and watched the birds fish off the coast while Tory ate a plate of French fries as big as her head and Andi and I split an order of blackened tuna. It was seriously HOT outside. One-hundred and two degrees, to be exact. My feet were sweating in my flip-flops! Andi and Tory wanted to grab ice cream after lunch (it was his vacation promise, after all), but we wanted to get back to the house and into the pool as quickly as possible. The three of us stopped by a little convenience store across the street for ice cream, bottled water and some pantry staples before making our way back to Janie and Aden.

The pool at Villa Estival was really nice. There was a bigger pool typically filled with older kids, and a smaller kids pool perfect for Aden and Tory. With their puddle jumper life jackets on, the kids were able to play semi-independently while Janie, Andi and I sat on the pool step nearby. We'd eat snacks and drink cocktails ... and life seemed pretty darn great.

Andi said he wanted to take all of us out for a nice dinner on our last night in Costa Rica. He picked a beautiful restaurant inside a fancy hotel on the beach, not far from our house at Villa Estival. We arrived right at sunset and stood together on the beach watching the sun dip below the horizon. It was beautiful.

The hotel property was beautiful, too - so chill and trendy. Tory and Aden had fun swinging on the rope swing while Janie, Andi and I took turns playing with them and sharing a pitcher of sangria. We practically had the place to ourselves, but I suspect that might've been because we were dining at 6:00pm (as you do when you're traveling with little kids). Our server was adorably sweet when he repeated our order back to us in English, and then Spanish, so we could try to learn the language. We shared tuna tartare, beef sirloin and the fresh fish of the day. Best of all, we were home with the kids tucked snugly into their beds by 9:00pm.

Tuesday (Day 8) was our last morning of vacation. Andi and I took the kids to the beach again after breakfast, and then hit the pool for one last dip before we left our spot in paradise around 11:00am.

Our drive to the airport was a short 45 minutes long. Unfortunately, both Tory and Aden fell asleep in the car on the way there so I knew there was nearly a 0% chance they'd sleep on the plane. Tory was a good little traveler as always, but Aden was another story on the trip home. We carried both their car seats onto the plane to make them more comfortable but he screamed "I'm stuck!" most of the second half. Tres amusing. It made the end of vacation even more difficult to swallow.

We had a wonderful time in Costa Rica! There hasn't been a day since our trip I haven't wished we were back on its warm beaches enjoying one another's company. Until next time ...

Costa Rica: Day 6

Sunday was our first full day of the sunny, beach portion of our Costa Rican vacation. Right away, we had a tough decision to make: Beach or pool? Decisions, decisions ...

First things first -- Andi made Janie, the kids and I eggs, toast and fried potatoes for breakfast (we definitely missed the luxury of having breakfast prepared for us every morning!), then we pulled on our swimming suits and hit the beach. Costa Rica has been surprisingly uncrowded wherever we've been, and Piertra Beach is no exception. With low tide, we had the wide open beach practically to ourselves. The kids were giddy with excitement over the whole scene: sandcastles, water and sunshine.

 
Interestingly, we've hardly seen any international tourists in this area. All of the other houses at Villas Estival (there are 11 separate villas on the property) are occupied with vacationing Costa Rican families. It's perfectly fine, other than a stark reminder that our family needs to learn to Spanish if we're planning to travel extensively in this part of the world.     

The beach outside our villa, Playa Piertra, has beautiful black sand. The access road isn't clearly marked, so it's virtually private and in pristine condition. There are hardly any rocks or sticks in the sand, and the view is spectacular. We're fortunate to have such a great place to spend our days.

As a parent, I never grow tired of viewing Tory's signature or cute little drawings. She spent quite some time writing all of our names in the sand.

Down at one end of the beach, we spotted 11 howler monkeys eating leaves in a tree. They seemed too preoccupied with their meal time to care about us, and were hanging low enough for the kids to see them. I imagined seeing monkeys in the trees during our visit here, and I'm so happy we were able to view them in their natural habitat.

Andi, Janie, Tory, Aden and I headed back to the house around lunchtime. We made Aden peanut butter toast, buttered noodles and fresh fruit to eat; a quick meal was much needed before meltdown-mode set in. When Aden went down for an afternoon nap, Janie curled up on one of the big outdoors beds with a book and Andi and I took Tory into town for a little day date.

The three of us drove about 15 minutes away to Playa Flamingo. This area was much more toursty with hotels, shops and restaurants. The beach was packed with peddlers selling their trinkety treasures and both locals and travelers sunning themselves on the beach. It had a good beach vibe, street dogs ran wild and the roads were dirty and bumpy. This was like the Costa Rica I'd envisioned.

Andi picked Cafe del Manglar for lunch, and the three of us found a table under the shaded awning. We sipped our choice beverages (an orange juice smoothie for Tory and local Imperial beers for Andi and I) and listened to a Costa Rican musician serenade us on his guitar. For lunch, Andi and I dined on fresh ceviche with house-made fried plantain chips and a caprese salad while Tory enjoyed a hamburguesa and fries. The food was very good here, and the beach-view ambiance was excellent.

After lunch, we scoured the town to find a popular gelato shop the owner of our house at Villa Estival raved about in her communications with Andi. We finally found it in a deserted strip mall off the beaten path. The shop was called 0039 Heladeria Italiana and didn't look like much from the outside, but both the strawberry and Oreo cookie gelato were delicious. The three of us sat outside in the blistering sun and enjoyed our cool treat before heading back to the house to meet up with Aden and Grandma Janie. 

 
Aden woke up from his afternoon nap a few minutes after we arrived back home, so the five of us decided to head to the pool. The cool water felt amazing under the blazing hot sun! We brought the kids' Puddle Jumper life jackets along to use at the pool and the beach, and they proved to be well worth it. Prior to our trip, I was so worried about Aden having open access to water. He's taken swimming lessons for two years, but I was nervous one of us would take our eyes off him for one second, and .... anyway, life vests for both Tory and Aden gave everyone a boost of confidence around the water.

The five of us walked down to our very own Playa Piertra to catch another amazing sunset. This evening, I smartened up and kept Tory and Aden in their swimming suits after the pool. There's no casually strolling along the beach for them; Aden runs full-steam toward the ocean the minute he spots it. Tory's actually afraid of the ocean and refuses to go near the waves, but the black sand on Playa Piertra means every inch of us is dirty after a visit there.

As we walked along the beach admiring the setting sun, Tory and Aden made friends with a group of local children there. The locals ooh'd and ahh'd over Aden's blond hair, and started to whistle when one of the little girls came up to shake Aden's hand. The kids may not have been able to communicate by the same verbal language, but the smiles and laughter they exchanged was enough to get their message across.

Andi picked up take-out from Sol y Mar and brought it back to our place for dinner that night. Someday we'll have the chance to enjoy nice family dinners in restaurants, but for now it's much easier to get food to-go and eat in the comfort of our own house. Andi ordered fresh salad, grilled fish and chicken and roasted vegetables for all of us. We had to eat fast before Aden ate it all for himself!

Today was a wonderfully relaxing day at the beach. I thoroughly enjoyed our time near Lake Arenal in Costa Rica's rain forest, but I'm absolutely loving the sun and the sand in Potrero.

Costa Rica: Day 5

Saturday was our 5th and final day near Costa Rica's Arenal Volcano. We woke up early and enjoyed a hearty breakfast of sausage and pancakes in the main building of the bed + breakfast compound, and said our good-byes to Nepenthe's owner. We'd all grown especially fond of Gordon and his little dog, Jaz, during our stay.

It was a picture-perfect day in El Castillo. The sun was shining without a cloud in the sky. One of the locals said there are roughly 30 days a year as beautiful as one, and we felt blessed to be there for one of them. Best of all, the glorious Arenal Volcano was in full view. I'm so happy we were able to see it clearly before we left the rain forest. It was spectacular.

 

There was one last stop we needed to make in El Castillo before we left town: the Butterfly Conservatory. Andi and I promised Tory a visit to this exhibit during our time here and the beautiful weather on this day made it the ideal time to see the butterflies in action.

As seemed to be the theme of our time in the rain forest, we were fortunate enough to have the entire place to ourselves. A tour guide at the Butterfly Conservatory walked us through four butterfly habitats and filled our ears with information about the native Costa Rican butterflies. Who knew butterflies were so interesting!

A symbol of Costa Rica, this butterfly has a beautiful iridescent blue color inside its wings.

This one is known as the "invisible butterfly" due to its see-through wings.

After the butterflies exhibits, we toured through the frog habitat to see some of Costa Rica's famous red-eyed tree frogs and poison dart frogs up close and personal. This little guy sneaked his way into one of the butterfly habitats and was eating the exhibits for lunch!

After the Butterfly Conservatory, we hopped in the car and began the four-hour drive to Playa Piertra on the Pacific coastline. This is where we'll spend the last three days of our Costa Rican vacation. Our descent from the rain forest during the daylight hours went smoothly. We saw amazing views of the volcano as we looped around Lake Arenal, and no one seemed as car sick as our drive into the rain forest.

The landscape and the temperature changed dramatically as we neared the Tamarindo area. It was a pleasant 22 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit) in El Castillo that morning, and a steamy 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) at our new digs by the beach. No longer was everything damp and musty; our new environment is hot and dusty. It seems impossible to move from two such extremes in a matter of hours, but we did just that!

We're staying about an hour north of Tamarino in a private gated community called Villas Estival on Piertra Beach. It's a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom house with a kitchen, living room, pool and beach access. The ocean view is spectacular! We can walk 50 steps from our patio door to the beach.  

The alluring sound of ocean waves crashing against the sand can be heard throughout our entire house. I truly enjoyed our time in the rain forest, but I really missed the sun. I can already see spending three days at the beach won't be enough time to soak it all in. It's pure heaven here.

As soon as we settled into our new house, Andi, Tory, Aden and I walked down to the beach to catch the sunset. Janie decided to stay back at the house to watch from one of the over-sized lounge beds on the patio.

Dressing Tory and Aden (well, mostly Aden) in regular clothes for a walk along the beach was a big mistake. In a matter of seconds, Aden was dripping wet from head-to-toe from barreling straight into the ocean waves. This kid loves the ocean as much as his dada. Aden has no fear of the water and squeals with laughter every time a wave crashes over him. "Here comes 'nother one!" he shouts with elation.

Our family of four walked along the beach until the sun went down, then we headed back to the house for dinner. Janie offered to stay back with the kids and feed them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while Andi and I drove to nearby Flamingo Beach for a grocery run and dinner just the two of us. We'd be silly to pass up the offer for a date night, so Andi and I did just that. We stopped by The Shack for mahi mahi tacos (for him) and veggie stir-fry (for me), and picked up grocery essentials at a nearby market to get us through meals the next few days at the beach.

I'm looking forward to relaxing by the ocean for our last few days in Costa Rica. Pura Vida.

Costa Rica: Day 4

Friday was our last full day near Lake Arenal and guess what? It stopped raining! I can't say I minded the rain (we are staying in the rain forest, after all), but it sure was nice to see the sun. We woke up around 6:00am to birds chirping outside our windows and howler monkeys screeching from the trees. Apparently, we weren't the only ones rejoicing over the sunshine.

Our family ate breakfast in the main building of Nepenthe's bed + breakfast once again. We're not staying in the bed + breakfast in the typical sense since we've rented the owner's private house, but it's been lovely to meet other guests staying on the property and converse about everyone's daily adventures. The kids love to chase and play with the owner's dog named Jaz.

Agustin, Nepenthe's property manager, has been helpful in offering suggestions for things to do in and around El Castillo. We considered visiting an animal rehabilitation center near La Fortuna on Friday morning, but at the last minute decided to go for a hike at the nearby Arenal Observatory Lodge. On a clear day, the Observatory Lodge provides up-close views of Arenal Volcano and we hoped to catch a glimpse of it if the rain held off. It cost $10/pp (our kids were free) for entrance into the Observatory Lodge, but we found it well worth the cost for all there was to do.

Andi, Janie and I were immediately taken by the beautiful lodge grounds. The large property includes a hotel and spa, observatory viewing room, restaurant, pool, hiking trails, waterfall, two hanging bridges and a farm. There was so much to see there, we could've spent the entire day exploring.

 

First, we decided to hike to the waterfall. We'd heard the Arenal Observatory Lodge trek was a shorter and more kid-friendly trail than the popular waterfall hike in La Fortuna and hikes leading to Arenal Volcano. We were pleased to find mostly flat and well-maintained paths at the Observatory Lodge perfect for the kids to navigate. Tory and Aden walked the entire distance until the very end when Andi and I carried them down 100 stairs or so to the waterfall below us. We could hear the rush of the water in the distance and a wonderful sight presented itself as we descended the staircase.

 
We made it!

Tory and Aden were absolutely amazed by the waterfall. "Wow!" we heard each of them exclaim at least a dozen times. The five of us stood at the base of the falls, water misting on our faces and the roar of the falls flowing nearby, for at least a half an hour. We had the whole place to ourselves. It was perfect. 

Next, we decided to hike to the Dante hanging bridge. This trail was also well-marked and easy for all of us to walk along. We took our time and enjoyed the beautiful trees and flowers surrounding us as Aden and Tory picked up sticks and rocks along the way. As soon as Aden spotted the hanging bridge, he bolted toward it without an ounce of fear.

   

I'm not exactly sure how high the bridge was, but it was ... high. I didn't realize just much until I ran after him. Oh, Aden boy, what are we going to do with you?

We continued along the trail in search of the Observatory Lodge Farm, but decided part-way to detour for lunch at the restaurant instead. Things got a little dicey toward the end as the kids' legs grew tired and their bellies hungry. Andi and I ended up carrying Tory and Aden most of the way back to the main lodge -- we definitely got our workouts in that morning!

All was well once we arrived at the Observatory Lodge restaurant and Aden and Tory got their daily strawberry smoothie fix. The five of us sat on the restaurant patio at the base of the Arenal Volcano in absolute awe of its sight. Now, if those pesky clouds would've only moved out of our view ...

There was much more to do at the Observatory Lodge, but Aden was growing tired and ready for his afternoon nap. We headed back to Nepenthe to drop Janie and Aden off so he could rest, then Andi, Tory and I headed back into El Castillo for an afternoon yoga session. Andi arranged a private yoga class for the three of us, and Tory was absolutely over the moon about it. This was her very first "official" yoga class.

Our yoga instructor's name was Dani and she led Andi, Tory and I through an hour long session. Her studio was on the third floor of a warehouse she'd just bought and began to renovate, and it had the most perfect view of Arenal Volcano through the windows. Dani was sweet with Tory and led us nice and slow so Tory could follow along. Toward the end of class, she asked Tory if she had any favorite yoga moves. She invited Tory onto her mat to do some tandem yoga poses by balancing Tory on her feet and hands. Tory beamed from eat to ear from all the personal attention. She loved the experience, and Andi and I did too.

  

Afterwards, we headed back to our house at Nepenthe for rest time. We were tired from hiking and yoga, so we lounged around the house for a bit before dinner. Without the rain, it was the perfect time to sit poolside and enjoy the amazing view of Lake Arenal.

 

We'd planned to drive into El Castillo for a nice family dinner that night, but as we drove past the restaurant on Nepenthe's property we changed our mind. The half-mile drive into town was bumpy and steep, and staying closer to our rented house seemed easier with the kids. Plus, the food at Agustino's was very tasty and it looked like we'd have the entire restaurant to ourselves. Janie, Andi and I shared ceviche, guacamole and steak with chimichurri sauce.

What an amazing day in Costa Rica's rain forest around Arenal Volcano. Today, I was so impressed with the manicured gardens and pathways at Arenal Observatory Lodge, and the friendly welcome our yoga instructor, Dani, gave Tory, Andi and I. I think we're all sad to wake-up and say good-bye to this place tomorrow morning.