New house in La Fortuna, Costa Rica The 'Peter Pan House' didn't suit us. We moved out early and got a different rental in northern Costa Rica near the Arenal Volcano and La Fortuna. This is us driving down our driveway, Tucker and Savannah are opening the gate for us before we go
Playing in the River Machuca Leaf-cutter ants on the trail we took to get to the river. We heard there were some good swimming holes on the river next to the community we're living in, so we took a trail and found one. Then we took a different trail and found some better
La Ecovilla and Orotina Walking to the pool in Ecovilla. The pool is next to two open-air clubhouses. We got here on New Year's Eve, so the community was having a dinner and party that night. We went for a little, but left before things got too crazy! A nearby small town
Leaving Virginia for Costa Rica After filling up our storage unit to the brim,,.,. we headed to the Reagan Airport early in the morning to catch a flight to Costa Rica. This is called the "Peter Pan House", and it's in a community called "Ecovilla", about 45 minutes west
Homeschool PE Class Goodbye Party, last day Coach Zack let Carson, Tucker and Savannah choose the sports they would be playing during the last week before the holidays, since it would be their last classes. They played dodgeball on their last day. Then coach announced that there would be a surprise: pizza, cookies and cupcakes after class.
Savannah's friends sledding at the Gray's house with Priscilla, Lydia and Leisel, and Abigail with the Curds: Alice, Meela and Juju
Clay Sculpture by Tucker Tucker made this caterpillar with some clay, and baked it in the oven so it would harden.
Horseback Riding at Rocking S Ranch, Winchester, VA We drove about an hour and a half northwest to get to Winchester, VA to visit the Rocking S Ranch. Bill owns the Rocking S Ranch and was our trail guide (and he took most of these pictures). He was very friendly and made us feel welcome. He adjusted each
Tucker's pack meeting - bottle rockets Tucker's cub scout pack had their last pack meeting before the summer. They did bottle rockets, where you pump air into a 2-liter bottle and then let it go shooting up into the air. Sometimes they would go about 50 feet high!
Shopping for bike helmets We got bike helmets for all the kids a few weeks ago. Savannah had fun trying some on (she didn't end up buying this one :))
3-D shapes Aunt Diane sent the kids a 'summer fun pack' with a couple of 3-D shapes the boys constructed. Tucker's is the star and Carson's is the other one ( they have super complicated names for them).
Home made Cinnamon Rolls I have been watching a lot of cooking Youtube videos lately, and finally made some cinnamon rolls. I was always intimidated by the yeasty bread recipes, but now that I have made a few loaves that have sat overnight before baking, I feel like I can take this on. The
Susquehannah, PA and Palmyra, NY - Church History Tour We drove up to Susquehannah, PA to the Priesthood Restoration Site in Oakland Township, PA. We walked down from the visitor's center to some restored homes to look inside. A sister missionary showed us inside both Isaac Hale's (Emma's parents) home, and the house
Horse riding class at Stonelea Farms I had seen some horsemanship classes offered through the Fairfax County Parks and Rec department, but they're all for kids. Before I signed up one of the kids for a daycamp type thing, we thought it would be better to try Stonelea Farms homeschool class, to gauge interest.
Monticello Out in front of the house. There are thousands of tulips in bloom in front of the house. a little frog we saw by a little pond by the front of the house. garden areas on the side of the house the other side of the house, considered the front
University of Virginia We drove to Charlottesville to walk around the University of Virginia, the school that Thomas Jefferson built. This area is called 'The Range'. Both sides are rooms for graduate students. Because it's all original buildings from the 1800s, there's no air conditioning. For winter,
Valentine's Day Grandma Bea and Grandpa Gene sent us some Valentine's packages full of yummy cookies. It included a tic-tac-toe cookie game, very cute and fun. We had a little Valentine's festivities at our friend's house yesterday. We had lunch together, decorated cookies, played games and
