Ali's 2nd birthday

We kept Ali's birthday simple. I figured she wouldn't really remember a party anyway. We went to the pet store (she LOVES all animals) and let her look and hold and pick out a betta fish. That's all I ready for right now. Then we went to the Mayan, which is her favorite restaurant. We opened presents, had cake and ice cream then she got to sleep over at Grandma Marsha's. It was a great day for her.

Ali got an Ariel chair. She loves it, but I also just thought this was a cute picture of her.

This is her beautiful cake. Okay, so I can't make cakes like Jessica, but is was all chocolate, so Ali sure loved it. Happy birthday my baby girl!

Easter

Our first egg hunt this year was the ward Easter party. Here is cheesy Lydia finding some eggs. We had a great Easter, we hope you all did too!

Here are the girls discovering what the Easter Bunny left for them. He came while we were at church, so they are in their Easter dresses. They both got kites, sunglasses, and lots of candy. Lydia got a fishing rod so she and Daddy can go fishing. Ali got a Barbie dvd. I got a fun new game, and Tim got a new atlas.

This is our little family hunt we had after the girls found their baskets. You also get a glimpse at our new swing set.

We ate Easter dinner at a neighbor's house, the Arnold's. They have 2 boys just older than our girls. They are great friends and we had a wonderful day there. This is Kyle Arnold and Lydia during the egg hunt. Thanks Amber for including us in your festivities!

We had an Easter egg hunt in the Arnold's backyard. It was the most fun of all of our hunts this year because it was small and not rushed and Ali had finally figured out to pick up an egg and move on instead of sitting down and eating the contents of the first one she found.

Costa Rica

On our first day in Costa Rica, we went to Volcan Poas (a volcano near San Jose). IT was cloudy though and so we couldn't see inside the crater, which is directly behind me. Oh well, the rest of the trip cooperated with us.

We went to a place called La Paz waterfall gardens. It was set up kind of like a zoo with only native animals. This was in the aviary and the birds were all free as you walked through. They also had hummingbirds, poison dart frogs, monkeys, lizards, and so many of the amazing wildlife you can find in Costa Rica.

On a hike at La Paz we saw a series of four waterfalls through gorgeous rain forest. This one is called Temple. They were all beautiful, of course.

Tim is zooming in on a zip line during a tour we took through the rain forest in an area called Monte Verde. It was a very exhilarating way to see this breathtaking part of the country.

Yes, this is February, and it is 90 degrees! Playa Tamarindo was very Americanized and beautiful. It was paradise.

This is the cute little bungalow we stayed in while at Playa Negra.

This is the sun setting on the Pacific Ocean at Playa Negra. It was a black sand beach as the name states. We were at this beach on our anniversary.

This is the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. Most of the people there have Caribbean roots, so they speak a Jamaican sounding Spanish. It's very fun to listen to. The food is very influenced by the Caribbean as well. It was raining while we were here, but we went for a hike through the rain forest anyway. We saw 2 and 3 toed sloths, howler and white faced monkeys, poisonous snakes and spiders, iguanas, colorful butterflies, and many beautiful birds. At the end of the hike we went out snorkeling in a coral reef. Because of the storm the water wasn't as clear as usual, but we still could see many fish. It was a nice ending to our trip.

I'm Learning How to Blog!

Hello out there!

It is really late at night and I should be snoozing, but I suddenly had a desire to create a blog like so many of my friends and family. Since it is late and I am simply experimenting, this will not be long, fancy, or have any pictures. I promise to post some later though. Tonight I am pondering why it is I continually volunteer for things I know I am not good at and will regret simply because I feel like I should volunteer every time someone asks for volunteers. Case in point. I cannot sew. My mom tried to teach me and gave up deciding that not everyone can sew and that it is a talent. So, someone asks for volunteers to sew some balls for children in a battered women's shelter and I sign up. That's silly because no one is going to want balls that I attempt to sew. Needless to say the project was removed from my incapable hands. Then last week volunteers were asked to help with a RS birthday party enrichment, and of course I signed up, and for the entertainment committee because no one else wanted to do it. Well, tonight we had a meeting to discuss details of the event. When they asked for my ideas for the entertainment, I gave the ideas I had researched earlier and was promptly informed that my idea was "boring"! I don't know why I put myself in these spots all of the time. I've just always filled in gaps I feel no one else will fill, even if I know I will do an inadequate job. I really need to learn to just say, "Let someone else who is more capable do it." It sure would make me and everyone around me happier. Ah well, maybe I have finally learned my lesson.