travel | Marriage Confessions travel | Laugh. Fight. Stay Married.

In the wee small hours of Saturday morning, we are loading up and heading out to Atlanta. My family is doing their Christmas together at my sister’s house this weekend. I am super excited. This kicks off a two week Christmas celebration for me and I am definitely looking forward to a little down time. I have been so tired lately! I’m to that point of exhaustion that I was starting to think I was getting sick, but then I realized that I’m just freaking tired!

This weekend we are going to be in Atlanta, then next week I’ll be home with the kiddos doing some last minute Christmas shopping and baking, and the following week we’ll be in Pensacola with Chris’s family for Christmas. As busy as that sounds, it’s really a lot of getting somewhere and then sitting for a while. I’m really looking forward to it. I have been trying to finish the last Harry Potter book for a month now and I just started reading “Little Bee,” so I’m ready for some sittin’, eatin’, and readin’.

But before any of that can happen, we have to make it from here to Atlanta. We learned our lesson last time and so we aren’t trying to drive Friday after work again. We’re leaving early Saturday morning and driving during the day. Hopefully, we’ll get there in much better moods this time. It’s not the getting there that’s got me worried though. It’s the packing of the car.

I swear, two kids require at least four carloads full of stuff in order to survive a three day weekend. For three days, this is what we have to fit into our car:

- A medium sized suitcase for the kids’ clothes
- A small duffel for Gracie’s bottles and formula and snacks and juice for Bean
- A large sized suitcase for me and Chris
- 4,000 Christmas presents (wrapped, so the bows can’t be smashed)
- 2 plates of Christmas cookies
- A pack ‘n play
- Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Lightning McQueen, and Mr. Bear (both of them)

We sometimes try to take the stroller, but we’re going to leave it this time and take the Baby Bjorn instead. It’s easier to travel with and the chances that my sister or my mom are going to ever put Gracie down anyway are slim to none.

So, if you see a Nissan Altima that is bulging with luggage, presents, and small children driving down 75N on Saturday, honk and wave.

IT’S CHRISTMASTIME, YA’LL!

18 comments | posted in Family, holidays, Marriage Confessions, travel | tags: Christmas, travel, traveling with infants

Okay, friends. We are continuing our tour through the five trip packages Chris and I have been offered as a winner of the Costa Rica Million Dollar Gift of Happiness giveaway. Don’t forget as you read that we weren’t selected because we are special. We won just like you can win, so head over to their Facebook fan page, enter to win like I did, and then cross your fingers, eyes, and toes.

Package #3: Adventure Package (Guanacaste, La Fortuna, Quepos & Central Valley)

Ya’ll. I’m not trying to persuade you, but this package looks like the PERFECT blend of relaxation and activities. Not to mention that every hotel is amazing! Now, I’ll go wherever you vote to send us, but this one might be at the top of my list.

The first day, we are taken by private driver (someone asked if we have a driver on every package option and the answer is yes, and that same driver will be with us the entire trip, AND he or she will be a translator for us when necessary) to our first hotel, the Hotel Capitan Suizo. Hubba hubba.

We’re at Hotel Capitan for two nights and while we’re there we are able to explore the Tamarindo-Playa Grande area, which is situated on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, or relax at the hotel in the pools, on the beach, or treat ourselves to spa treatments at the resort.

On our third day, we jump on a plane to our next destination in the northern plains of Costa Rica, La Fortuna de San Carlos. This area is rich in cattle, pineapples, oranges, ornamental plants and other products that Costa Rica exports. One of the most famous attractions in this area is the Arenal Volcano, one of the ten most active volcanoes in the world! We arrive at Arenal Kioro Hotel and spend the rest of the day exploring the beautiful resort at the base of the volcano.

Each room at the resort has a glass-front view of the volcano and a jacuzzi. Wowza! On our second day at the Arenal Kioro, we would head out to the Arenal Hanging Bridges. Now – true. I am scared of heights. But when I looked at the website, it doesn’t seem like I’d be hanging freely over caverns. It’s more like just another way to view the rainforest. I think it sounds awesome!

On the fifth day, we head by private car or plane to our third hotel, the Arenal del Mar Beachfront and Rainforest Resort. The resort is in the Central Pacific area of Costa Rica, adjacent to the Manuel Antonio National Park.

While at this hotel, we spend two days with the options of relaxing on the resort grounds in their pools, jacuzzis, or getting spa treatments, or we could take a guided tour through the rainforest which lines the Pacific Coast, taking us through both the rainforest and the beach.

On the seventh day, we travel to the Finca Rosa Bianca Coffee Plantation and Inn. This hotel is beautiful and we have the option of spending our last two days relaxing and enjoying the beautiful bed and breakfast or touring the coffee plantation.

The next day, we jump on a plane home. And I’ll start to cry and wonder why I don’t have a driver, jacuzzi, and drink with an umbrella to meet me at the Orlando airport.

Package #4: Romance Package (Tropical Rainforest in the North, La Fortuna & Guanacaste)

If you’re into relaxing (I am), yoga (I used to be), or relaxing (I am), then this is the package for you. Or me. We spend the first two nights at the El Silencio Lodge and Spa, which is an eco-luxury hotel that focuses on well-being, peace, and silence. Ahhhhhhh…. Not a bad change from a house full of loud kids and smelly dogs. We spend those two days enjoying spa treatments, yoga sessions, and relaxation.

On our third day, we head to La Fortuna de San Carlos, where we can explore the Arenal Volcano. We’ll spend the next two nights at the Arenal Springs Resort and Spa which has 26 colonial style deluxe cabins with breathtaking views of the volcano. The resort also has private horse stables for hiking or horseback riding through trails near the volcano. On our second day at Arenal Springs, we head down to the village of Maleku where a local guide will explain how the Maleku tribe have lived throughout the years. Later, the tribe will actually perform a ceremony called “God-Nature-Man.”

On the fifth day, we will be “privately transferred” (oooohhh la la) to Nosara beach in Guanacaste. Here, we will stay at The Harmony Hotel, where we can do activities such as yoga, meditation, or surfing for the next three days. On the eighth day, we head home.

I feel more balanced and rested already!

Package #5: Wildlife Package (San Ramon, Quepos and Drake)

Our first day on this vacation would put us in the Los Angeles Cloud Forest, which sounds like a pretty spectacular place to be. We’ll spend the first two nights at the Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Hotel, which is a property with over 2,000 acres of the Los Angeles Biological Reserve and INBio Research Station. While here, we have the opportunity to take bird watching tours, horseback tours through the rainforest, or tours through the Thermal Hot Springs.

On the third day, we head to the Manuel Antonio National Park where we will stay overnight at the Si Como No Resort Spa and Wildlife Refuge. This resort has a “pure vida” vibe that boasts a private wildlife refuge, butterfly aquarium, crocodile lagoon, and amphibian garden. To put me in touch with the creatures and creepy crawlers of the Costa Rican wildlife!!

On the fourth day, we could either choose to work the organic vegetable plantation or in the rescue program for wild animals. Or, if we wanted, we could just hang out at the resort and relax for the day. Which I should probably do since I tend to kill any plants I touch.

On the fifth day, we head to the Pacific lowland rainforest, National Park of Corcovado. Here, we will stay at the Casa Corcovado Jungle Lodge, a 170 acre private reserve bordering Corcovado National Park.

We spend the rest of our trip here, where we could choose to spend a day at Cano Island. Here we can picnic on the beaches, snorkel on the coral reefs, or hike up to burial grounds. Once back to the resort, we can spend our day on bird watching tour with a naturalist guide or just relaxing at the lodge. On the eighth day, we fly home.

******

Well, that’s it. All five packages. I’m excited and relaxed and pumped and dumbfounded all at one time. And in a mindset like that, I just cannot decide on a trip. So, that’s where you all come in. Vote below on which trip you think Chris and I should take. We’re so excited to see where you all send us!!! VOTE NOW! (P.S. The poll looks weird, but it works!)

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** This is not a paid or sponsored post. I’m just sharing because IT’S FREAKING AWESOME!**

38 comments | posted in Fun Things, Marriage Confessions, Operation BWYP, travel, Vacation | tags: Costa Rica, Gift of Happiness

Chris and I are getting the details nailed down for our adventure in Costa Rica in March and part of that means choosing which vacation we want to take. We have a choice of five and we have gone back and forth on several of them, so we decided that we would do what a good blogger should do. We’re going to let you all vote! Below are short little blips on each vacation package we can choose. Read through them and then vote at the end on which one you think Chris and I would enjoy the most. Whatever wins, we’ll do!

Ready?

Set?

GO!

Package One: Authentic Happiness (in The South Caribbean and Manuel Antonio National Park)
This trip gives us an authentic view of Costa Rica and its people. On our first night, we stay at the Ramada Plaza Herradura Hotel, which is five miles from the airport in downtown San Jose. The next morning we are picked up by our driver (who we will have all week with us) and taken to the Aerial Tram at Rainforest Adventures Costa Rica Atlantic. The tram covers a distance of 2.6 kilometers through the treetops of the primary rainforest at a leisurely pace of 2 kilometers per hour. Can you imagine the views we’d see?!?!

That night we are taken to the Almond and Coral Resort, where we will spend three nights. This hotel looks amazing and we’ll spend our time there doing things like exploring the beach (well, that’s what the brochure say… In real life, I’ll be laying on the beach with some kind of fruity drink), exploring the Yorkin River in a dug-out canoe in a tour led by the Bribri people, taking tours of banana and cocoa plantations, and enjoying a candlelit dinner by the beach.

Uhhhh…yes, please.

On the fifth day, we head to the Jaguar Animal Rescue Center in Playa Chiquita where we get to see how they work with injured and rescued rainforest animals to reintroduce them to their natural habitat before they are released back into the rainforest. We’ll get to have direct interactions with monkeys, wild cats, sloths, raccoons, anteaters, marsupials, reptiles, and amphibians. That same afternoon, we’ll take an aerial flight with the Nature Air to the Pacific Coast and Manuel Antonio National Park. (This would be the part of this trip when I’d pop a few Dramamine and pray I didn’t throw up in our tiny helicopter…) That night we’ll stay at the El Parador Resort and Spa. And let me show you this hotel. Holy moly. This hotel boasts a rich breakfast buffet, three ocean-view swimming pools, four superb restaurants, and a world class spa.

Yeah. That’ll do.

The sixth day is a slow day with a guided tour through Manuel Antonio National Park, which is a perfect blend of rainforest and Pacific waters. The seventh day is a full day of leisure. We can hang out around the resort or choose to participate in some optional activities in the local area. Or, we could indulge in spa treatments. (That last one gets my vote!) We leave the next day for home.

Package #2: Adrenaline Happiness (Central Valley, Pacuare River & Caribbean Slopes)
This package is all about exploring remote regions on Costa Rica and experiencing adventure tours at each destination. After a one-night stay at the same Ramada by the airport as in the first package, we travel the next morning to the Pacuare River put-in, where we then white water raft through category four rapids to our resort, the Pacuare Lodge.

And, ya’ll. Let me tell you. This hotel might be the best one in all the packages. We would stay in our own bungalow with a pool. And these things are SWAAAAAAANKY.

The lodge offers 19 different bungalows nestled in the hillside, with river on one side and rainforest on the other. The main lodge building features a restaurant, an open kitchen, and a lounge bar. On the third day of our trip, we get to hang out at the lodge all day, taking a waterfall hike or just hanging out at the resort.

The fourth day, we depart the lodge by rafting through class four rapids again, stopping for a picnic lunch along the way. That night we arrive at the Selva Bananito Ecolodge, where we spend two days exploring the rainforest by zip-lining, on horseback, and taking hiking tours.

Our last two nights are spent at the Hacienda Pozo Azul Tent Suites and Ecolodge, where we stay in actual tents on an authentic working ranch and eco-adventure center. We’ll do zip-lining, river rafting, repelling (not for me, but maybe for someone else…), and horseback riding.

We depart the ecolodge and head home the next day.

Okay, I thought I could profile all these trips in one blog post, but I’ve been working on this post for two hours so far and I’m going cross-eyed! These trips are just too awesome to squeeze into one post. So, tomorrow I’ll post the last three trips and the poll. Hang in there… some of the best trips are still to come!

** This is not a paid or sponsored post. I’m just sharing because IT’S FREAKING AWESOME!**

30 comments | posted in Fun Things, Just for Fun, Marriage, Marriage Confessions, Operation BWYP, travel, Vacation | tags: Costa Rica, Gift of Happiness

Saturday morning we got an early start and headed to the Atlanta Zoo for “Boo at the Zoo.” It was FREAKING FREEZING at the zoo that morning! I bundled the kids up as best as their Florida wardrobes would allow. They looked like little, fat sausages!

“Boo at the Zoo” was pretty awesome. Bean and Gracie got to wear their costumes around and go trick-or-treating at different parts of the zoo. Not to mention, all the animals they got to see. Bean was in heaven!

Bean really loved the petting zoo, too. Chris and Ginny took him in there to pet the goats and sheep and when they started to “baaaaa,” Bean thought it was the funniest thing ever!

Aunt Ginny, however, was a very baaaaaaad girl in the petting zoo. She started fiercely petting this billy goat on his head. She kept yelling over to me, “See, kids can’t get in there and pet them this good!” And then she’d keep on scratching his head. The goat actually seemed to really like it. He kept lowering his head and leaning into her hand, just like our dogs do when they’re getting scratched.

Then, all of a sudden, the zoo keeper came running up to Ginny, yelling, “That is not acceptable behavior! THAT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR!” Apparently, the goat was about to head butt Ginny or something. Anyway, Aunt Ginny was asked to leave the petting zoo area.

And we all died laughing.

After the zoo, we loaded up in the vans and began the TWO HOUR journey to find turquoise and yellow damn balloons. NO ONE had turquoise and yellow stinking balloons! We went to grocery stores and florist shops and everyone was either out of helium or out of turquoise balloons or out of yellow balloons.

Oh! And did I mention that at this point in the day, both kids were tired and cranky and crying? Yeah. It was loud and frustrating and, yet, still very funny.

Finally, we found balloons at a grocery store, but they were the ones with the grocery store logo on it. And, to of the four of them popped on the way out to the car, so that left us with only two balloons for the meet and greet.

Add that to the fact that the park we planned to meet in was REALLY hard to find and it made our little shindig more like a destination wedding. You really had to hunt us down to come meet and greet, so if you had trouble finding our area, sorry about that!

Other than that slight mix up, the meet and greet was a huge success! I got to meet such sweet people! Like Arden and Anne (with an E or without?) and Linda and Jessica and Lauren. And it turns out my suspicions were true. My readers ARE normal people!!!! WHO KNEW!?!?!

This is Arden. She brought cupcakes. Ergo, Arden is awesome.

And this is Lauren. She and her sweet husband hung out with us while Bean had a total meltdown and demanded that Emperor Zorg not touch the ground, even though he threw Zorg on the ground in the midst of his temper tantrum.

(By the way, I stole this picture from the post Lauren wrote about the meet and greet…Sorry, Lauren…)

I really loved having the chance to meet people face to face, to hear real voices, and to have people talk back to me. You don’t get that with a blog. We’ll definitely do more meet ups in the future. They aren’t nearly as scary as I thought they would be! It really was like hanging out with people I’d known for years.

So, I can’t write about this without sending a big THANK YOU to my seester and publicist, Ginny. And by publicist, I mean she gives me unsolicited advice on what I should be doing that I’m not and then she bosses me around until I do things her way. She’s bossy and a know-it-all and she would drive me crazy if she weren’t right on about 98% of the unsolicited advice she gives. So, here’s me. Thanking my sister for pushing me out of my comfort zone, for like, the one millionth time in my life.