Costa Rica [one year anniversary trip]

Around April Mike & I decided that we wanted to go somewhere for our *Big One Year Anniversary* in October. I started doing some research -- I looked at Belize, Puerto Rico, Ecuador...and Costa Rica. Belize was beautiful, but super expensive. Puerto Rico looks awesome, but I hear it's very Americanized. Ecuador also looked awesome - so we thought we'd give it a try. We were in the process of booking a trip to Ecuador when I contacted the man (we use VRBO &  love it) about his house to make sure it was still open and he had rented it out to someone else! So, bummed as we were we started looking around again - and kept coming back to Costa Rica. We decided that since we loved it so much last year that we would go back! And, the Lord blessed me with a 2nd job over the summer which allowed us to take the trip without dipping into our savings! [God is GOOD]

So, I searched houses all over Tamarindo, Costa Rica. I ended up with a great deal -- we stayed in Villa Andalucia (if you ever get a chance to visit - I highly recommend staying there!) Gary & Jolene were amazing - they took such good care of us! We had beach cruisers (that we used daily since we opted out of renting a car), breakfast cooked by Maria - a local, a clean pool, TV (a huge plus since we don't have it at home!), A/C, and anything else we needed.

This year we knew we wanted to do something (other than surfing) so we went snorkeling with Brooks & Kyle. It was amazing - they took us to the Bay of the Pirates which was stunning. I've never seen anything like it. We also got to experience the Panodoria (Bakery) Truck..this little gem drove up after we'd snorkeled for about 3 hours - with a trunk full of German baked goods. We were hooked from the smells alone! We told them they could've charged us $100 for our pasteries & we would've payed! It was delicious!

We really didn't do much. We read, a lot. We layed out. We ate a ton of great Costa Rican food (you would be surprised at how much pizza we ate though). We enjoyed watching TV since we don't do it at home. But mostly, we enjoyed each other. Time away was such a blessing - we've gone on some mini-vacations since we've been married (skiing in the spring, a few days at the beach with our families, weekend lake trips) but nothing just the two of us. Much needed, much recommended if you're newly married...or if you're oldly married (:

 My beach cruiser

 Mikey soakin' up the sun



Goin' out for dinner one night! 

Crabbbbbsssss

 Goin' to dinner...another night!

 the beaches are very LOST-esk

AT Nabbana's. Great local food (not so great pizza)

seashells

[there are conservation laws that will prevent you from bring the 4 pound bag of shells that you picked up all week home. just know this in advance so you don't wast your time.]

in the Houston airport

laughing at the gallo