All Together Now Costa Rica / Family

All Together Now

by Feb 12, 2011 11 Comments

The past few weeks, we’ve been very busy looking for our next home, and I haven’t had much time to write this blog post. I’ll talk about the house hunting later, but for now, I’m going to reminisce about the fun times we had together with my mom and my sister’s family when they were here for a visit a few weeks ago.

Like me, my mom works on-line, so she was able to come down for a 3-week stay, even though she had to work a little while she was here. The last week, my sister Ashley’s family joined us, including my awesome brother-in-law, Justin, and their 6-year old daughter, Kennedy. We had a blast! The little cousins loved playing together, too, except for the occasional (I mean, constant) fights over who’s “first” and what’s “fair”.

Most of all, it was just fun to be all together, and have time to talk and play. Our friendships and love for each other grew and deepened, and we’re really looking forward to the next time we can be “all together”.

My mom and sister are covering the trip in detail on their own blogs, but here’s a quick list of some of the fun things we did:

  • Relaxed in our house, listening to music controlled by my iPhone (thanks for bringing down the Airport Express, Mom!)
  • Watched the incredible display of New Year’s fireworks over the entire central valley
  • Visited the nearby towns of Sarchi (hand-painted ox carts) and Zarcero (topiary), and also Montezuma (hippies) in Guanacaste
  • Played Rory’s Story cubes (a game where you make up stories based on images on dice)
  • Went to Doña Ana beach with some local friends
  • Drove through four rivers in Guanacaste
  • Visited Zoo Ave in La Garita
  • Stayed in some lovely hotels in Playa Tambor, Playa Carillo, La Fortuna, and Manuel Antonio
  • Visited La Paz Waterfall Gardens
  • Zip-lined through the mossy trees and fog at Selvatura Park in Monteverde Cloud forest, and swung on the Tarzan swing
  • Visited the fruit market in Grecia
  • Saw (and almost got attacked by) Monkeys in Manuel Antonio National Park
  • Bodyboarded and played at the beach
  • Taught my brother-in-law how to play foosball. I even let him win me once. :)
  • Had some amazing food made by Jen, our friends, and some wonderful restaurants
  • Swam in the Los Chorros Waterfall
  • Listened to dozens of Beatle’s songs as we drove, as well as other music
  • Ate at Café Delicias numerous times
  • Drove around lake Arenal and swam in hot springs at Los Lagos resort
  • Took the ferry from Puntarenas to Guanacaste
  • Watched Tangled 3D in Spanish, and The Incredible Mr. Limpett
  • Had some friends over for visits and meals
  • Saw sloths, monkeys, iguanas, scarlet macaws, blue-crowned mot mot’s, and more, in the wild

What a fun time we had! I’m so glad they took the time to come visit. Here are some pictures and video (not all taken by me) of our time together.





Brandon is a location independent entrepreneur, musician, worldschooling father, and the principal author of this blog. He's all about reaching his potential and enjoying life to the fullest in each moment.


Comments

  1. Jennifer Pearce Says: February 12, 2011 at 1:12 pm

    Thank you for coming everyone!!! It was so much fun to be all together again and doing such fun things. A very special thanks to Grandma Alli for all her help and beautiful pictures and taking care of the girls so we could get some couple time. Also a big thanks to Ashley and Justin for allowing Brandon and I to go on a very romantic moonlit beach walk in Manuel Antonio while they watched the kids. :) We love you!!

  2. the mom Says: February 12, 2011 at 4:30 pm

    Yeah! I post! I’m so happy you were able to do something with all that video. If I’d had to go through it, along with the photos (I’m still making my way through them all) no one would have ever seen it. I’m almost done with me “Arenal” post – hopefully available later today.

    This trip was so much fun – you guys made it that way. We had just the right amount of relaxing time and touring time and just great to have the together time. Fun tucking the girls in bed and driving them crazy with my “good night ladies” song :)

    Thank you, thank you, thank you for a wonderful vacation! And I, too, can’t wait til we’re “All together now!”

    Love you!

  3. the mom Says: February 12, 2011 at 6:01 pm

    My only regret of the whole trip is that we didn’t take a family photo of all of us. I think the image you used of us all looking cool and yet dorky in our zipline gear is the only one we have of us all together….

    • Brandon Pearce Says: February 12, 2011 at 6:49 pm

      Yeah, I can’t believe we forgot to take a good picture all together. I’m glad we at least had one, even though we do look dorky (except Ashley – she’s got the expression of a model). :)

      • Your seeester Says: February 13, 2011 at 9:48 pm

        I know… I’m a bit bummed that’s the only picture we have as well. We ALL look a bit dorky, myself included. Although thanks for the the compliment. :)

        Hopefully we’ll be all together again sooner than later and we will make sure to take a nice family photo. Where we don’t look like construction workers.

  4. Dad Says: February 13, 2011 at 10:23 am

    That looks like so much fun! I’m so glad you all got to spend it together. Robin and I and the kids think our time with you in Costa Rica last summer was the best vacation we have ever had–and that includes our trip to Japan!

    Thanks for sharing the love.

    Dad

  5. Irene Says: February 13, 2011 at 2:41 pm

    You all had a great time it’s easy to see. Thanks for sharing all the stories, pictures with the rest of us. I’m so happy you could all be together and enjoy one another.

  6. Your seeester Says: February 13, 2011 at 9:50 pm

    Absolutely one of the best vacations of my life. If not THE best. Thank you both so much for making it such a wonderful experience. We had some great times. We’re having withdrawals…not just from Costa Rica, but from hanging out with you guys!! And thanks, mom, for everything. It was so nice to be with you AND Brandon’s family all at the same time. We need to do that more often than once every other year, if possible.

    That was awfully nice of you to ‘let’ Justin win at foosball :)

  7. Ayshah Kassamali-Fox Says: March 1, 2011 at 9:15 am

    Hello,

    I would love to chat with you through email about your experiences raising a family in CR. I am currently in the preliminary stages of researching a potential move to CR in the next couple of years. My husband and I have 2 sons, ages 3 years and 9 months so moving is a bit complicated in terms of ensuring quality education and healthcare for them. Not to mention us finding a means of financial security! I understand you work online. I am a freelance writer and I run a small online writing service. I do not have a large clientele yet and would need to build the business up a lot more before relying on the income. ANy tips on online business and how to make them lucrative enough to support a family in CR?

    Any advice would be great…thanks!

    Ayshah Kassamali-Fox
    New York-USA

  8. Silence of the Clams » » Waterfalls & Cloud Forests Says: May 11, 2011 at 2:19 am

    […] on for a few days adventure without me – which you can read about on Ashley’s and Brandon’s […]

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