So, to our trip....
We headed to Costa Rica with my parents. Just the four of us. We flew into San Jose, then drove our rental car to where we were staying. We made a quick stop at the Costa Rica temple. It is beautiful! The temple is our goal, so this was a great way to start our trip.
The temple grounds were amazing. Definitely the most beautiful thing we saw in the city of San Jose.
My parents are so cute. They still do sweet little things.
Both Kent and I loved having them with us. It was wonderful spending time together and getting to experience new things together.
This was our house at Congo-Bongo. It is a small group of jungle houses in between cities on the Caribean side of Costa Rica. Check our their website http://www.congo-bongo.com/ if you want more specific info about that. Our house had 3 bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen. It was literally in the middle of the rain forest. We had wildlife all around us. Our house was so open to all of this; it was AMAZING.
The day we arrived, we saw this sloth up in the trees right near our house. We also saw a toucan (but didn't get a picture).
We saw these Howler Monkeys quite a bit, but we heard them even more. The sound they make is something else. They sound huge, but they are just little guys. They were often in the trees right by our house in the morning. That second picture is a mommy and baby.
There was lots, and lots of wildlife and beautiful plants. Here are a bunch of pictures. Some are not for the squeamish. All of these things were right near our house. 
It was a short walk through the jungle to the beach. When you got close to the beach, there were crabs EVERYWHERE. I am not kidding, EVERYWHERE! It's a good thing they were shy, or they would have been very intimidating. Kent got a couple on video. Pay attention the the sounds of the jungle too. It was never quiet.
One of the best things down there was the fruit. We ate the best pineapple, mangoes, and coconut I have ever tasted. We ate a whole pineapple everyday. Has anyone ever had a white pineapple? Oh my goodness! Yummy, yummy, yummy. Now everything here is a disappointment.
There is a local place that makes coconut ice cream that was to die for. I wouldn't have even considered trying coconut ice cream, but they were out of the one I wanted. Once we tried it, we had to have it everyday until we left. It was SOOOO GOOD!
The local people ate a lot of rice and beans. We made rice and beans with eggs and local salsa most mornings. It was yummy.
To mix things up a little, we decided to make french toast. No maple syrup, so we made our own pineapple syrup. So, so yummy. We did that after my parents left, and we felt bad they missed out. My parents were there for the first half of our trip.
I loved the beach. We had it mostly to ourselves. We only shared it with the other guests at Congo-Bongo. The water was warm and clear. The sand sloped out gradually, so you could walk way out.
We got married right here. So those wedding pictures were all taken on this beach we got to enjoy through out our trip. The path we were on in the jungle is the one you walk through to get here. You get to see more of how beautiful it all is in those pictures.
We also got some R&R. It was a wonderful trip. This place came highly recommended from a friend. We would highly recommend it as well. It was AMAZING!
What a dream. That about sums it up for me. What a dream I never dared dreaming!
12 comments:
Being in Costa Rica with you two was an experience I'll always treasure. Like you said, the fruit, animals and vegetation were almost surreal. But the best for me was being with you two. Kent is so much like Chad - a really great guy. You're both lucky to have each other. Love you so much. Mom
Oh Kathleen, you sound so happy! Your trip sounds amazing. The pictures are beautiful. It makes me want to get away! And Kent sounds like such a great guy! Give him a big "welcome to the family" from all of us! We love you!
Looks like you guys had an amazing trip--what a way to start a marriage!
Congratulations again!
Kathleen, I know you don't know me well. I'm in your ward and have watched your trials and triumphs for a while. I'm so happy for you. Kent looks like an answer to your prayers. How blessed you are! We are moving to AZ, but I will keep track on your blog. Best wishes for a happy life you so richly deserve.
Jo Anne Gooding
Dude you guys had the most picturesque marriage ever. And such a fun trip! Ashley and I are all looking enviously at Costa rica wondering when we could save up enough to take a similar trip.
YEAH!!!! You finally updated your blog! I love all of the pictures! I hadn't seen any of the ones that you took. I'm coming back to Twin today, so you'll have to show me. Love you,
Amanda
Wow, what a dream come true! That would be absolutely amazing!!! That is so neat, and it is so cute to see you guys so happy! I'm so glad all worked out well for you, you surely deserve it.
Congratulations guys! It sounds like an amazing trip!
Wow, what a paradise! That looks like an ideal vacation. I'm trying to talk mom into taking all of us there some day, it would be cool if we could all go to that temple in a few years too!!! I can't believe the wild life, those crabs might have scared me. Seriously soooooo gorgeous and my mouth is watering just hearing about how the fruit and ice cream tasted! I'm so glad you two got such a special wedding and I can't wait to hear more about it from both you!
I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to handle all the wildlife. Seriously.
I'm glad you two have found each other and are very happy! Congrats again.
Wow! It looks amazing, but I'm not sure I could survive all the "critters". The wedding pictures were great. Hope to see you in June.
Hey guys, did you ever take a good look at the very first picture? It totally looks like you're hugging some black guy because of the shadows. I had to double take a few times to realize who that was. Congrats again.
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