The First Birthday Of The Year

 Every year the first birthday celebration in our house is my wonderful husband's.  Happy birthday to my hubby, who hustles hard to give us this wonderful life we live.  

We didn't do much to celebrate but I made sure he at least had his cake, a delicious carrot cake and a nice dinner. 

And being his wife, I had to dress for the special occasion to show him how much I appreciate him, appreciating me.  On a serious note,  it was an important date for both us because without his birth, I don't know where I would be, where our children would be or what our lives would look like. So we celebrate him to the fullest on his special day,  even if it's not as big a deal to him as it is to us. 

Let's Go To The Amusement Park...Again

 One of the traditions I had started with my kids, was going to the Amusement park with them on New Years Eve. We'd ride all the rides, since there were never any lines and then watch the fireworks in the evening once the sun had gone down.

It was a great tradition that I kept up for years until Covid hit. When we went back to our yearly tradition of the New Years Eve park visit, it just wasn't the same. First off, word must have gotten out about there being no lines because now, everyone was at the park on December 31st.

Second, the price of admission had gone up. It had jumped a whopping $10 and the hours of operation had changed. Instead of closing time being 7pm, it was now 5. Needless to say,  our yearly NYE park visit fell to the wayside. Well, for now.

We still love a good Amusement park day out, however, so we recently went back (again) and what a day it was. The sun was out and beaming gloriously.  And this particular day had extended hours until 6:30. Plus we got in on their awesome promotion deal. Tickets were pre covid prices. We love that. There were lines everywhere though; to park, to enter, to get on the rides and the lines were long and plentiful but that didn't affect the day too much. We still had a blast and it was one of the most amazing park days thus far.

Of course, we had to end the day with some good food so we headed to Olive Garden. It had been a good long while since our last visit. The experience was a 10 and the food was just as good as it always is. It was the perfect Sunday Funday. 

The New Year

 New Years Eve was spent at home this year,  despite my best efforts to head outside.  However, it worked out for the best as we had a pretty good celebration in the comfort of our own home, with all our kids.  The memories we created that night will be cherished forever. 

To make the day seem like it was just that much more special, I curated a snack "board" for the kids to munch on before our big meal.

Dinner was phenomenal. I love to cook and for me,  celebrations are that much more special when there is a wonderful meal prepared with love to full up our bellies and hearts.

And as the resident sweet tooth addict I had to have dessert. Nothing too fancy, just a simple but delicious apple tart. 

And ice cream, of course.

The next day being New Years day and the very first day of the 2025, I wanted to make a special breakfast to get the day and the year off to a great start.

Chicken and waffles me please!

We wanted to extend the New Years celebrations, especially since the kids are still on school vacation, so a few days later we headed to the famous Costa Rican Zapote Fair, a huge holiday tradition for Ticos.

The fair is a pretty standard one with all the typical fair rides, food, drinks and entertainment. 

After the fair, we were famished, so of course we went out to eat.  We didn't indulge in any of the fair food, as we wanted to save our appetites for something a little more hearty.  Bostons Piñares was the perfect spot for such a meal.

Hubby did decide on the seafood restaurant next door and his dish was incredible.

Bostons had a table side guacamole dip and chips "experience," similar to the one in Chilli's but I have to say, Chilli's guacamole is better, though we did enjoy Bostons after adding a tad more salt.

I was craving a burger and even though it didn't quiet hit the spot like a Smash burger or Johnny Rockets, it was still good.

All in all, the new year started off on a very high note and I look forward to what 2025 has to offer.