Costa Rica - January 2014

 January 2014 - We were in Costa Rica for a week.  We really loved doing absolutely nothing!  Well that's not true.  We did eat a lot of great food, sat by the pool, or in the water.  Eat some great food.  Drink frozen drinks.  Eat food.  Took naps by the pool.  Eat food.  Golfing, spa treatments.  Eat food.  So really, our trip was exhausting.

The "Ticos", what the Costa Rican's call themselves are friendly people.  Their national slogan is "Pura Vida" which means Pure Life.  Very eco-friendly country and I'll always have fond memories.
So Mexican's would say "gracias, amigo"..Costa Rican's would say "gracias, tico"..or "thanks, friend"

Costa Rica is a beautiful country.  Made up of mountains formed by volcanoes and sea.  10 degrees north of the Equator situated in the 'narrow neck of the land'.  My Mormon friends should recognize that phrase!  It was exciting to be there, oh the history of it all!!
Costa Rica is about the size of West Virginia with maybe 4 million people.   That's a pretty small nation.  We were there during their dry season, the other is all wet.  I'm glad it was dry.

Did I tell you that we ate a lot of food?

Kim grouped these photos together of a few snapshots.  We discovered that adding banana to a pina colada (virgin of course!) makes the best fruity frozen drink ever!

The sunshine was such a blessing.  Our winter in Ohio had been brutal, frigid and snowy. So drinking a frozen colada really kept our home in our hearts.

We ate food.

 Kim and Scott did a round of golf while Marsha and I visited the spa 2 DAYS IN A ROW!

I loved my manicure, and I loved the relaxing facial I received.  I think it was worth every penny.  My husband rolls his eyes about that.  I think a round of golf costs more than a day at the spa..don't you think?

Food.

These photos were too good to be taken by me!  I snagged them from the Westin Resorts Hotel page.
The bungalows to the left are where we stayed.  The rooms where spacious and cool for the hot weather.
It was always windy.  The sea breezes from the Pacific ocean sounded gale force to me.  The winds whispered for me to eat more food.

 I wish I had a picture for how the rooms looked inside each bungalow.  We had a hard time figuring out the resorts numbering system and where we lived.  Thank goodness for the taxis!  We were too full from eating all the time to walk back to our rooms.

We ate food, we ate LOTS of food.

I discovered I liked to eat passion fruit.  It looks nasty, and you have to get over the slimy texture surrounding the crunchy seeds.  But, it is soooo yummy!

The white sand beaches are in fact white sand.  But it's not the smooth silky sand you would expect.  Its shell sand, ground up sea shells from the ocean makes it a rough walk for newly exfoliated feet.  OUCH!

 The picture on the right is the hotel lobby, where you were greeted with a lush drink (we didn't partake, not a fan of alcohol) and little taxis to take you to your bungalow.

No food here.  Only drinks aloud.  I did get a bottle of water.

Kim here soaking up the sun by the pool.  It was nice to do nothing and let our brains go numb with boredom.  We actually did do somethings, like eat food.

And finally, a photo of the HUGE pool.  It was beautiful.

Why I Am Busy

2011-2014 Bachelors of Science - Business-Marketing Management

I have been working hard, and have not had the time to dedicate to my writing and blogging.  Here's what's been going on.  First..I am almost to the end of my studies at Western Governors University.  I have completed a 4 year degree in just 3 years.  (I graduate this fall 2014).  Since I began my journey with WGU we have hosted 3 exchange students, gave birth to our 3rd child.  (Now you know why I've been a little distracted from writing!).

Emily -2011- The joy of our family life!  She has brought such a zest for living into our everyday lives.  We are so in love with our sweet daughter.

Jannik -2011 - Our giant.  He was so fun, a real party guy.  We have such fond memories of him.  Don't tell anyone,  but he has a sensitive  and sweet side to him.

Pia - 2013 - My daughter/sister/friend in Germany.  She was meant to be a part of our family, like her older brother Patrick.  We love her always!

Matthias - 2012 - Our basketball player.  He was also our more artistic and quiet student.  I think I was the one that liked him best that year.

Goodness me,

It has been well over a year since my last entry and I'm sorry!  I should blame all the missed entries on an extremely busy life.

But!  I am going to change all that very soon.  I'm almost done finishing my bachelor's degree for marketing and my kids are almost done with school (just 50 more days till summer break!).  And then, I'll have a little time to write all that I want.

See y'all soon.

Hunter and school...

We worry about our little boy.  Of course, he isn't so little.  He's happy and having fun in this picture.  But, we still worry.  He has been having difficulty at school for several years with a few boys who love to torment and bother him. (We have talked with the school for several years too!)
It has effected him more than we realize. He hates to attend school.  At school functions he would rather talk to adults or be by himself.  His grades are horrible! It took an article about bullying for us to evaluate this situation and realize we need an alternative solution.
We are thinking and praying about allowing Hunter to enroll in an on-line public school. (almost immediately).  We feel that for Hunter to finish his middle school career, will give him the chance to outgrow the problems that has plagued him.  I hope that the years in a different learning style will improve his self esteem and confidence in himself.

All Store Brands are not Created Equal!

Okay here's the deal.  I like to pinch a penny when I can.

Pillsbury makes the best quality canned rolls out there. I love the ease of popping open a can of rolls and enjoying the flaky goodness, and the can is about $2 here.  (Expensive for 8 little rolls!)  So, for about fifty - sixty cents less I can buy the store brand and save some pennies.  BUT, not all store brands are created equal.
Recently I've started making homemade pizza rolls with them.  (see previous post here... Homemade Pizza Rolls )

Walmart makes canned crescent rolls that are most like the national brand!  It stretches nicely and has a smooth texture, which makes pizza roll making a breeze.    

Kroger also makes a canned crescent roll and I found the dough to be grainy and not pliable enough to stretch around fillings for a pretty looking pizza roll.  This is a fail in my book.  Kroger is cheaper, but the quality is too.  

Pasta Dish

Pasta Dish
(recipe from back of a box)




I like to experiment with new recipes all the time.  And sometimes the best ones come off the back of a box.  I got this recipe from a Barilla pasta box.  It is light and tasty.







Ingredients:
1 lb box of your favorite pasta shape
1 green pepper, julienned
1 red pepper, julienned
1 yellow onion, diced small
4 tablespoons fresh chopped flat leaf parsley.
3/4 cup fresh grated Romano cheese
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cup salted pasta water
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to directions.
Meanwhile....
Saute onion in large skillet (I use a 12") till clear.
Add the peppers and 1 cup pasta water.
Cover and let simmer till the peppers are softened.

Toss cooked and drained pasta into pan with the the liquid and peppers/onions.  Salt and pepper to taste and add cheese and chopped parsley.  Serve immediately!

This is Matt and Emmy

We love to add people to our family, whether they be from abroad or we grow them ourselves!

The year 2011 brought a wonderful surprise to our family, Emily Ann was born in May.  She has been a blessing and is treasured by everyone in our family!  Emmy is 8months here.

The year 2011 also brought Matthias Hatzenbuhler to our family.  He's from Germany.  Emily absolutely adores him!