La Pura Vida!

First off, HAPPY EASTER!! I hope it's a great one for y'all. I'll tell you all about ours in a post later this week, but lil'E is very excited for the big E bunny!

Secondly, let me apologize to all those who've been pressing REFRESH for the last few weeks, waiting and waiting for a new post. I do try to capture every week, but failed in this case...though it's for good reason: We were in Costa Rica!

Lisa had a work trip there and so we all decided to go. For half of the time, I got to be Mr. Mom - tropical style and for the other half, we traveled to another section of the country. Needless to say, we had an amazing trip. We saw several kinds of monkeys, sloths, exotic birds galore, lizards, tropical frogs, and prehistoric-sized butterflies. We visited post-card worthy beaches, dense jungles, breath-taking sunsets, and drove through the wild streets of the city (where there are merely traffic suggestions, instead of hard-fast laws). And we ate our weight in the rice, beans, and plantains.

While we were away, E continued to astound us. He now constantly talks and talks (though no words yet). He's stood, balanced, for a handful of seconds. And he can wave...when he feels like it. We found he loves to swim (or rather, splash). He loves any animal that gets within arm's reach. He's mastering the light switch and swings are becoming a favorite. He loves trying to pull open drawers and open cabinets. And while he scoots backwards on his tummy if he's on a slick enough floor, he's got much more interest in walking than crawling at this point.  He's still a bookworm and his all-time favorites (meaning he hears them many, many times a day) are The Little Blue Truck, its sequel, and Baby Beluga.

Lisa and I have spent approximately a month in Costa Rica to date (we honeymooned there) and love it. It truly is La Pura Vida (their motto), meaning The Pure Life. A life that’s a little slower. That appreciates the beauty around it. That values family, patience, and politeness. A life that I’m going to try to hang on to as we re-enter the hustle of the real world. Obviously, business-as-usual will take over again, but I hope to incorporate the spice of this country into my outlook just enough to make this trip as life-changing as it deserves to be.

If you're interested, click here for a day-by-day log of the trip...and a TON more pictures. 

Otherwise, we'll talk later this week (I PROMISE!)