Rose Bowl

When your besties call you and ask if you want to go to the Rose Bowl to watch a football game...you GO! We scrounged for our UTES gear, cause let's be honest we are COUGS through and through, but Justin did do his residency at the U, so technically we are alumni. We are the best of friends with our favorite Ute alumn, Austen and his wife Val, and would never turn down a chance to vacay with them, so we hopped on a plane NYE and spent a memorable day in Pasadena, CA cheering on his team to a victory. I may have been there for the atmosphere and nachos too!

 

Pura Vida...

We escaped with our best friends, Val and Austen, to Costa Rica! This has been on our bucket list for several years. We spent a couple days in the Arenal Forest at the Springs Resort and Spa. The view of the Volcano from the resort was truly unreal. We experienced the craziest thunder and lightning storm I have ever felt in my life. We literally were sitting at the pool bar and a lightning bolt struck so close to us that the TV screens tripped off and we felt the heat from the lightning. We swam in their varying temps spring fed pools. Nature is truly amazing. 

We spent a day at the Adventure park and ziplined, repelled and swung through the jungle of Costa Rica. WOW! We are bringing the kids back someday for sure. We spotted a baby Pit Viper...um no thanks, but pretty cool to see!

After a few days in the jungle we traveled west to stay at the Andaz on the Guanacaste Peninsula. Coast Rica has so much variety in their landscape. We stopped at this woodfire BBQ along the way from the Rain Forest to the coast. Usually we shy away from local food, but had no problem in Costa Rica. The food is delicious. 

The wild animals that roam Costa Rica are truly amazing. Along our drive we spotted several Coati. And once we arrived at the Andaz the monkeys came out to play! The Howler monkeys are super vocal, the spider monkeys mimic people. We were lucky to get invaded by them during lunch on the Andaz' private beach area. We also saw an armadillo on our bike ride! We really wanted to see a sloth up close but they really hibernate in the trees all day and night. What a blast and beautiful resort. We will definitely be returning.

Hawaii for the 4th...

A week on Oahu was just what the doctor ordered. We don't normally go away for the 4th of July but since all gatherings and firework shows got cancelled I knew we would be better off getting away. I was a little nervous that things would still be shut down in Oahu but luckily things started to open up just before we took off. They used to have vaccination rules and they just let down their guard this past month.

We stayed at the Marriott in Ko'Olina for about 5 days and spent the last two nights at the Aulani. We enjoyed all the boogie boarding, Pina coladas, snow cones and dole whip while soaking up the sun, and just enjoyed being somewhere other than Oregon. We also ventured up to the North Shore and stopped at Sunset Beach, Ted's Bakery, Pounders Beach and BYU Hawaii and the Oahu temple. The waves are much bigger up north.