Los Amigos de Vacaciones! Costa Rica!

Costa Rica, Baby!

So, like I said before, Mike took a trip to Costa Rica with the boys. It sounds like they had a great time, with a couple of memorable experiences to end the trip. I told Mike it would probably be better if he wrote about the trip, but he said he would rather I do it, so here goes!
Their trip started with a quest for a zipline jungle tour. They got to CR and had no idea where they were going or how long it would take them to get to where they wanted to go. They ended up finding the jungle tours, but it was too late that night to do anything, so they went on a quest for a volcano that was errupting. They found the volcano, and although it was dark, they were determined to see it. One of the boys had a headlamp in his bag, so they all set out following his tiny little light. Well, they eventually found it. They said it was very loud, that it sounded like gunshots, but very cool, and the late night hike. The next morning, they headed back to the jungle zip line tours, and from what I hear, it was definitely something I need to do some time soon.
Doesn't it look like they are having a GREAT time?! They spent alot of mornings surfing, and thanks to Matt, the resident surfer, they were all given some sort of lesson and off they went. It soulds like the Surfing lessons went well, but not so much the HOW-TO-PUT-ON-SUNSCREEN lessons! This just looks miserable!

So, this is a random pic, I know, but whenever we travel, I like to take pictures of the flowers in the different places we visit. Anyway, Mike knows I love Hydrangea's, so he took this picture for me. I think this is such a beautiful flower, I had to include it in this post.
Random jungle picture
Random Iguana picture (ICK!)
This is Mike and his brother Dustin.
Mike being a goof on a suspended bridge, in the middle of the jungle.
Losa Amigos in the hostel (again ICK!). (From left Spencer Randle, Matt Metcalf, Dustin Burgin-nice hair, Dustin, Cody (don't know his last name), and Mike.)

So, something interesting that happened on this trip, besides all the sun and ocean and ziplines, probably the most memorable thing that happened was, their car got broken in to. It gets worse. Matt had his bag in the car and that was stolen, so he had no clothes or anything for the rest of the trip. No biggy, they were going home the next day, but oh wait a minute, not only were his clothes in the bag but his cell phone and his. . .PASSPORT!


This was over Easter weekend and the US Embassy was closed, therefore no way for him to get a new passport. It was stolen on Thursday, and they were planning on coming home on Friday, but the embassy wouldn't be open until Monday. I got a frantic IM from Mike, asking me to call all of these random phone numbers to see if there was anything that could be done, but none-the-less, there was nothing. Well, being boys, they figured they would just all come home and leave Matt there, and that is exactly what they did. He stayed, and surfed (which was the greatest thing in the world to him, much to the chagrin of his wife, who if she were anything like me, would be worried sick!) He eventually made it home on Monday and all is well. But most likely he won't be taking any more trips with the guys out of the country any time soon.

What happens here, stays here. . .Vegas, that is!

Ok, so I guess what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, unless you have a blog, then you share it with the whole world! Well, as you have probably guessed, we took a litte trip to V-Town! It was definitely a much needed vacation for the two of us, and we got to go with a couple of good friends, Matt and Melissa.
First off, let me introduce you to these crazy people. Matt is a member of the Army National Guard, along with Mike. They met in ROTC (officer training) at the U, so subsequently, and luckily, Melissa and I became good friends as a result. We love these two.

Our trip got off to quite and interesting start. I was driving in rush hour traffic to go pick up Melissa to head to the airport, and I pulled up on quite a peculiar sight. At first I couldn't figure out what the heck I was looking at, but as I got closer, I couldn't help but laugh out loud. What on earth are people thinking? And if any of you know these people, or people like them, could you please thank them for making me laugh, and let them know how incredibly ridiculous this is.

I had a feeling that our weekend was going to be quite the trip if this is how it started, and we weren't even out of Utah yet!

We left on a Friday, and we got to Vegas around 10pm, but no matter what the hour there was one thing we had to do, and no I am not talking about hitting the slots, we HAD to get our "animal style" cheeseburger from none other than the amazing In-N-Out. So straight from the airport, that is where we headed. And boy did it hit the spot.

Saturday morning came, and it was quite the special day. Happy Birthday to You! Mike turned 26! It is a tradition at our house that we have sweetrolls and bacon, and Happy Birthday is sung to you while you are still in bed. So when 6:00 came and I couldn't sleep anymore, I decided to head downstairs to the Starbucks to get a breakfast bread of some sort, and some makeshift candles, my choices were between matches and a lighter from the hotel giftshop (I went with the lighter) and headed upstairs warming up my voice the entire way, only to get to the room and have Mike gone. I guess he needed an early workout at the gym. So when he got back I sang and then asked him "where the HECK have you been?" Happy Birthday to YOU!!!!
For Mike's special day we decided to let him decide what he wanted to do, so after swimming in the pool, (I don't think he wanted to do anything else. If there is a pool, Mike is in it) with the weather barely in the 60's and the wind blowing. After a brisk run from the pool, back inside, we headed back upstairs to get ready and head to the State Line to ride the world's tallest roller coaster. Now, I love a good roller coaster, but 2 minutes and 43 seconds on a rickety old coaster is maybe a little more than we, or maybe just I, could handle. We walked around the casino for a minute to let our stomachs settle, then we got back in the car and headed back to the strip, still not sure what we wanted to do. . .except eat at the Harley Davidson Cafe, the only thing Mike had been looking forward to since we had decided to go to Vegas a few weeks earlier.
I thought this was quite fitting when we sat down at our table. The boys sat right in front of it, so it was a great backdrop for this pics was taking of them throughout the night. As I mentioned earlier, they are both in the Army, and this was a HUGE American Flag with this flag hanging dead center. I am so proud of the service Mike is doing for our country and I wanted to have a little tribute to the soldiers in this blog.
When dinner was over, we decided that we wanted to go see a show, maybe a variety show, or a comedian of some sort, then we saw a huge flashing sign "DAVID SPADE" March 15th at Planet Hollywood! Well, our random show, turned out to Joe Dirt himself! It was quite interesting and eye opening. I had never been to a stand up show before, and not so sure if I will go back, but it was quite the experience, one that I most likely wont' forget and it made for a memorable B-day for Mike.
On our way back, we had to take a stroll through the gardens at the Bellagio. It was so pretty. There were so many different kinds of flowers in bloom, tulips, roses, you name it, they were there. It was a great way to end the night, and Mike was such a good sport as I stopped and oohed and awwed over all the flowers, Thanks babe!

We got home on Sunday night at about 8:30-ish, only to turn around and head back to the airport for Mike to head out on another adventure to Costa Rica for the next week. No I didn't go, but it was an adventure all in itself that I heard about from afar, one that I am sure they won't forget. So, until next time. . .

The Love of my Life!

Ok, everyone. I know I haven't updated for a while, and I promise I am planning on it, but in the mean time, I just wanted to introduce you all to the cutest thing on this planet! This is my MOST WONDERFUL nephew, Brooks. He is my most favorite (little) person! I have a feeling he is going to become a permanent staple in my blogging efforts, so learn to love his cute litte face! I will update here shortly, but in the meantime, please enjoy a little Brooksy. . .

Fire and Ice

Ok, so apparently we all have a bit of an obsession. I would say we are all Edward freaks! There weren't alot of votes on my "Valentine" survey, but 100% would like to have Edward as their "secret valentine". I fell a little bad for Jacob, though. I am reading New Moon again, and I just have a special place in my heart for the cute little werewolf, but I completely agree with all of my friends.

Well, if you check stepheniemeyer.com daily like I do, you already know that there are big things in the works with the movie. If you don't I will tell you now that they have cast the Cullen clan! Check out the website and tell me what you think. I have the link listed in my faves. I am actually pleased with the choices. I am glad they have picked actors and actresses who are relatively unknown. It makes the characters more endearing if you haven't seen them in a bunch of other things. Anyway, just thought I would put this out there.

K, so I had to put in a plug for my friend Chelsea. She makes the cutest little hairclips, the pink one is my fave! and you can buy them at children's boutiques all over the valley, from Bountiful to Sandy (at the new shildren's store "Kinderwinkel"). You can look at the blog page , tatertothairclips.blogspot.com, and see all the different varieties that she makes and if you want a specific one, just ask. Chels is very accomodating. I just thought I would put this out there for all of my friends with baby girls, or with girls maybe on the way. I have to get my baby shopping fix somehow, since I can't do it for myself, I will live vicariously through you! Love you all, and congrats to those with special deliveries this year!

http://tatertothairclips.blogspot.com

For the Football Lovin' Appetite!

So at work, one of my co-workers has a sister, who has a friend, who has a cousin, who also had a friend, blah blah blah, you know the drill, that worked at cafe rio or something, anyway, she (my co-worker) has in her recipe file, the pork and rice recipe, so if anyone is looking for superbowl ideas, or just dinner, here you go...

Cafe Rio Barbacoa Pork

2 LB Pork Roast

12 oz can of Coke (the secret)

1 C ketchup

1/2 C Brown Sugar, or more if you like it super sweet

cumin to taste

garlic powder to taste

Cook in crock pot for 5-6 hours

remove roasts and shred

return to crock pot and cook for 1 hour

Cafe Rio Cilantro Lime Rice

6 cups of cooked white rice

1 oz salsa verde

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

juice of 2 limes

cumin and garlic powder to taste

mix and serve hot

Hope you all enjoy, and Happy Super Bowl

GO PATRIOTS/GIANTS!?