Vacation Journal #4: The Last Days

I will admit that I got teary eyed this morning thinking that at this time on Wednesday we'll be driving back to San Jose, headed home.
It's been an eventful trip, good, bad and ugly, but it has also been the best out of the eight. That's actually not really true. Every trip has been special for different reasons but just because of the mere fact that we've been here for so long this time has made it SO great.

I will miss our lazy days here, which go like this...
5-6am- Wake up at the crack of dawn, little feet running into our room, wanting to snuggle...or play with her iPad.
7-9am- Dustin goes surfing. I wash dishes, sweep, clean up, make a little breakfast, maybe go down to the beach with Lily to watch Dustin surf. Lily plays:

9-11am- Get some work emails done, while Dustin plays with Lily, with this as my view:

{The Pacific is in the distance in that second picture}

11-12ish- Go to the pool with Lily, playing with the other kids in the neighborhood.
12:30-3ish- Lunch, errands in Jaco, more work emails, naps.
Late afternoon and evening- Beach again, maybe pool again, cook dinner or get some to-go.
8-9ish- Bed. For all of us.
This has been the majority of our days. So peaceful. It's the kind of boring that I long for everyday back in the States. Nothing rushed, nothing stressful, not spending a lot of money. It's been exactly what I imagined it to be and more.

We haven't done anything too adventurous this trip because it isn't easy to do with a three year old, but we did do a hike to a big waterfall called Tres Piscinas (three pools), where you can jump into the pools from the tops of the falls.
It was about a 30 minute hike up the river, literally, and it was gorgeous. Thankfully we remembered to bring the hiking backpack to put Lily in that we bought for our trip 2 years ago. She's about 15lbs heavier now, so Dustin's back was a little pissed off, but she couldn't have hiked it. She loved the adventure.
We brought a picnic, sat and listened to the rainforest sounds, watched Dustin jump like a 10 year old kid over and over into the pools, saw dart frogs, and relaxed.

While Dustin and I were in Manuel Antonio, we did hike the National Park for about three hours, walking for miles (read:getting a bit lost and walking in circles around one specific trail). It was so beautiful but I'm afraid all of the recent construction down there has scared a lot of the wildlife away, which was sad. Manuel Antonio was gorgeous, though, as always. It will always be my MOST favorite place on earth. For any newcomers to Costa Rica, we always suggest this area. It's more than amazing.

Our last two days will be spent doing more of the same, just relaxing and taking mental notes on how much we love life here.

Here's hoping that time will stop sometime in the next 48 hours...

{I haven't been adding many pictures because I forgot my plug-in to upload them from my camera. I will do a picture-full post when I get home.}