The Pura Vida Mommy: August 2014

Princess, The Gymnastic Queen

Princess had her very first gymnastic competition on August 10 and I am bursting at the seams to announce that not only did she do her very best, but she did THE best in her category. Princess won first place in her age group and skill set.

It was a beautiful day for a competition and even though she was nervous, we couldn't tell once she hit the mats. She did everything almost perfectly (her toes were pointed just right and she landed her jumps without mistakes).

Granted, she is not one of THOSE gymnasts but she is learning and she proved just how much at the competition. When her age group was called and the categories announced, I just knew in my heart that she was meant to be up there receiving a medal. As a matter of fact, right after her routine, I said I thought she should win. I just knew she deserved it. Not to say that the other girls didn't also do a spectacular job... because they did. But as soon as they called her name for the first place medal, I went loco. Yes, I was one of THOSE moms... I couldn't help it, I was super proud of her (and would have been proud of her either way, win or no win).

With her first competition under her belt and the taste of victory still sweet, Princess has expressed her desire to compete... really compete. She has expressed her interest in competition before because like she put it, "I want to win a trophy". But now, more than ever, she is amped up to hit the competition circuit. She still has a ways to go and lots to learn but if gymnastics turns out to be her passion, then I will allow her to continue to persue her dreams until she decides when to stop.

JC (my little fatty)

Well, it's official... JC is no longer my baby (well, you know what I mean... after all, he IS about to be 6 years old in less than a month). BUT, he has lost his very first tooth and it happened out of nowhere on August 9th.

I cannot believe how fast my little boy is growing up. It makes me happy to see him grow into such a big, strong, healthy boy from my tiny little baby yet it makes me sad to see him growing up so fast and becoming his own independent human being. Oh, the woes of parenthood (or are mother's the only ones that feel this way... father's seem to want their kids, their sons especially, to grow up).

I am proud to see him come out of his shell as well. Since starting kindergarten, he has gained more confidence, made friends and become more self assured. His teacher has expressed to me how impressed she is at his transformation in the months since the beginning of the school year in February to now. Even I am amazed.

He is most defintely a big boy now but even so, he is still my baby boy.

Toothless but ruthless... hehehehe. His first tooth.

Family Vacation 2014

It had been, literally, almost 2 years since Hubby and I had taken any type of vacation with our family, so when the time came for us to finally escape from the daily grind of life itself, I was ecstatic.

It wasn't the beach, but it was definitely a wonderful getaway. We headed to La Fortuna, San Carlos, home of the famous Arenal volcano and bountiful hot springs. We left Friday morning and stayed until Sunday afternoon. We were 10 deep (me, hubby, our 4 kiddos, my sis-in-law and her 2 kids and my mom-in-law). We took 2 cars and ended up having to stop at a mechanic shop for 3 hours, an unscheduled detour, because mother-in-law's brakes were wasted and needed to be changed. We were about 2 or so hours into the trip when that happened so we got to our destination a little late... but all was good upon arrival.

Our first stop was Los Areles (I believe that's the name), a hot springs water park (of sorts)... our cabin was the only one on the grounds. It was like an apartment with 2 bedrooms (each room had a bunk bed and regular bed that slept 4-6 people), a dining/living area, kitchen and bathroom. It came fully equipped with all we needed for our home away from home (a refrigerator, cooktop, microwave, and all the plates, cups and silverware.)

We stayed there just the night, but it was a really cool place. The next day, we headed to Baldi Hot Springs resort. We stayed the entire day at Baldi, soaking up all of their 25 hot pools, the caves and slides and at 6pm, headed to their buffet dinner (we had checked out of Los Areles and checked into a motel). It was an amazing trip and I am so thankful we were able to get away, even if it was just for the weekend. Here are the pics of our trips.