Pura Vida!

I think Eric and I are the luckiest people in the world. Eric has embraced my love for traveling and we've done a pretty descent job in our marriage trying to see the world...one country at a time. Last month we were welcomed by

COSTA RICA!

Costa Rica is a stunning place, filled with all sorts of things to see and I feel like we got to experience a little bit of everything!

WE:

surfed

Eric was in heaven, he surfed every single day. He'll be sad I didn't get any pictures from his "big" waves... these are the baby waves he taught me on :)




WE:

golfed

Happy Golfer



Happy Driver

Funny story, Eric is deathly afraid of snakes. He hates them. As we pulled around to the 18th hole, we saw this sign and had a little laugh. It's definitely a good thing we didn't see it till the 18th hole because he may have been a little wigged out. As he was putting on the last green, no joke, we heard an alligator literally eating his lunch! There was a swampy area right by us I can still hear the sound vividly in my head of the splashing swamp and a low, roaring attack...yuck! Needless to say, we got out of there as fast as our little golf cart would take us!

Well, more like Eric golfed. This guy can't go anywhere without taking his golf clubs so I was the driver. The weather was perfect and the course was amazing! It was right on the beach, we were like the only people there and to add a little icing to the cake, Eric ended up shooting his best round to date...a 69. I was so happy for him!

WE:

zip-lined

Can you see Eric out there?

I Spy trees full of monkeys!

WE:

Ran

I apologize for this disgusting picture but I just had to demonstrate how humid it is in Costa Rica. This was after a short run on the beach...for someone who doesn't sweat much, I was sweating everywhere! I had no idea it was even possible to sweat from your shins but I assure you; it's possible. 

WE:
Rented a terrible looking car called a BeGo

 There is only one paved road where we were in Costa Rica so driving in anything smaller than this was impossible. There was mud and pot holes everywhere!
Doesn't it sound like someone with an accent was trying to say "we go" but then just name the car how it sounded? haha
We be-goin!

WE:

Had many romantic dinners on the beach

(This dinner was actually in the jungle, not on the beach)

WE:

Sipped coconuts on the beach

WE:

Peeled a layer of skin...hence my face.

 Even after I kept coating spf 75!

WE:

Saw loads of crab(s?)





Baby Crab

WE:
Hung out at our hotel





This was our trade...a round of golf for a message :) It was heavenly

WE:

Beach Hopped



Hubba Hubba
But also check out the view through the window :)



WE:

Went jet skiing on in the Pacific



WE:

Loved EVERYTHING about Costa Rica

Including all of the crazy roads.

AND
WE
Almost got to stay!

Due to a plane malfunction and the rain, we nearly got to spend one extra day. Instead, we waited on the boarded plane for 3 hours for someone to find a mechanic in Costa Rica who could fix the problem :(

PURA VIDA!!

There She Goes

She did it. I think this poor girl was having a hard time letting go of all of her loves but eventually she decided she was ready.

The viewing and funeral were beautiful and were exactly how she would've wanted them to be. It felt more like a celebration for her lovely life than a sad funeral, the Spirit was incredibly strong and I know she was there with us.



I was put in charge of most of the display tables which doesn't seem like a big deal... but if you knew my Grandma, you know that tablescaping is an ART and I didn't dare disappoint.

One of my Grandma's very favorite traditions was her famous Tea Parties. Every summer since before I can remember she held a tea party with all 5 of her granddaughters. She used to set up the most elaborate tables out on the veranda and serve mini cucumber sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches (cut in small triangles), fruit, chocolate milk, and whatever else she thought might look cute to eat. haha She would teach us proper etiquette and how to be a lady. My uncle's company made a beautiful video of my Grandma where they interviewed her and were able to record my Grandma telling some of her favorite stories and all about her life. It was precious to hear her voice and to hear her laugh as I was setting up. I felt like she was there with me.

This picture breaks my heart

Hobson Sisters

 I'm blessed to know that I will see her again, I will love her always. 

California in April

My little sister Sam had a cheer competition in Anaheim last month. Since she is a senior, I knew I'd probably never get the chance to see her compete again. My family has always been way into sports but cheer has been a new realm for us and I haven't been to as many cheer events as I probably should have. Not because I didn't want to...I've had night classes and high school games are always held while I'm in class. Anyway....enough excuses, I thought I'd capitalize on the opportunity and make a trip out of it :) Shocker.

 You can't really see her in these but she's there and their team did really well! I think they placed 1st in their hip hop routine and 2nd in cheer. Not to shabby!

These pics are a little better from senior night at Brighton. It's tradition for the seniors to teach their dads a dance and perform it on senior night...those that know my dad realize that a part of him died that night.



Goodbye Cheerleading

While we were in California we also got to stay with our favorite Bowen family! I love these guys so much, and love that they always let us come visit.

We were able to meet up with my Mom, Sam, and Chan at DISNEYLAND! Disneyland is truly a magical place.

The Bowen's are Disneyland regulars so they met up with us in the afternoon. I loved having so many of my favorite people with me in one afternoon!

 It was a real short trip but it was definitely worth it!

Stickers!

The other night at dinner, CoCo and I played with stickers to help us sit still. I think the video says it all...

I guess stickers do feel pretty funny when they are on your face.

I love her

Left to Right: Spencer, Allex, Derek, Grandma, Trent
Haley, Chelesa

She was born to be our grandmother.

Chelsea, Grandma, Allex & Haley

Haley, Grandpa, Chelsea, Derek, Grandma, & Allex

At her most recent birthday

It's crazy how quickly life can change. Two weeks ago my sweet Grandma was her normal, energetic self. She'd been having sharp pains in her back and kept going to the doctor because she thought she had a pinched nerve. I hate to say it but I wish it were a pinched nerve!!! Her doctor kept giving her more pain medicine to help with the pain and the chiropractor couldn't figure out what was wrong either. The pain eventually became unbearable so my Grandpa took her to instacare and little did we know how bad an MRI could look. Come to find out, my Grandma has cancer EVERYWHERE. It's in about 20 places on her spine, her liver is covered with cancer spots, it's eating her bones, in her blood, taking over just about everything except for her brain....but it's in the bones of her scull too. How does this happen?! She and my Grandpa just climbed Machu Picchu less than a year ago!

 

Can you see her in there?

There's nothing the doctors can do for her and we were told it could be days...weeks at most. I just can't even believe it. She is in so much pain I just wish I knew how to help her. For now, I will continue to snuggle her.

Ticked

Is it ever okay to just be ticked at the world? Because I am today.

Mawage is what brings us together today...

Today is our 3rd anniversary! It's crazy to think that it has already been 3 years since Eric and I made the best decision of our lives. This post will get a little gushy but I'll keep it brief :)

I sure love that husband of mine. He has a way of making me laugh and is more genuine than any person I've ever met. Life is an adventure with this guy! We've been through some really hard things since that beautiful, snowy, February 11th and are better people because of it. I couldn't have asked for a better person for me. He is my best friend and always will be.

We kept the anniversary celebrations super low key this year which was exactly what I needed. Life has been a little too crazy lately so I loved just being together. We ended up going to Park City for dinner on main street which was delicious as always. Then we went over to the outlets and found a few must-have's and chocolate :) It was great! When we finished at the outlets, we headed home and watched our wedding video. I don't think we've sat down and watched our wedding video since our wedding dinner! (oops) We also haven't ever watched any of the footage taken by the videographer from the big day and that was really fun to see. I loved being able to see the shots from the temple grounds and it was also awesome to watch everything that went down at the reception. We got to see all the extra stuff that was happening while we were talking to everyone else; which was SO FUN! What a perfect day we had:) 

Here's my attempt at a collage from some of the pics from

February 11, 2009

I Love you Mr. Theurer!