Four 4s

Okay, so Lindsey tagged me to...

1. Choose the 4th folder in which you store pictures in your computer.
2. Choose the 4th picture.
3. Explain that picture.
4. Tag 4 people.

Last April, five crazy WASPs (and one lucky WASP husband!) got to party it up in Playa del Carmen. After a long stressful day lounging by the pool, we decided to relax and decompress in the resort hot tub...which we quickly discovered was broken. It was only slightly warmer than the pool at that time of night, and we were pretty cold. Since our complaining fell on deaf staff ears, we ran up to our room to fill our balcony jacuzzi. Then we all crammed in it. I'm not really sure why - there may have been some beverages consumed that day...

Tag - you're it!

1. Amanda
2. Kate
3. Crystal
4. Krystyn (might make for an easy PSF!)

True beauty lay not in people, but in nature.

Today, for whatever reason, I found myself thinking about Costa Rica. My sister in law and I spent nine days there three years ago, and it was one of the most amazing times of my life. It is such a gorgeous country, and I can't wait to go back!

On that trip, I saw something that the vast majority of of people will never see in their lifetime - an active volcano with active lava flow! Not only is it active, but the Arenal Volcano is one of the most active in the world, with several small eruptions of smoke, ash and lava daily. Although you can not see red lava during the day due to the reflection of the the light, it is there, slowly making its way down the mountain. The volcano often spits out boulders the size of cars (sometimes as big as a house!), which can be heard if one is close enough. Seeing this volcano was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen!

Our second day in Costa Rica, we arrived at our hotel in La Fortuna, which sat at the base of the Arenal Volcano. This was the view from our hotel balcony!

A better look from the balcony. See all the ash tumbling down?

We took a guided hike through the Arenal Volcano National Park to get to the volcano. At this point, we were two kilometers away from the volcano. Our guide said that seven kilometers away is the distance that is considered "safe."

A pretty shot as we waited on the sun to go down so we could see...

...it's there at the tip of the cone on the left, but very difficult to see when it's not in full resolution...

...so we switched to night vision, and look at the glow near the cone and at the base- LAVA!!

We saw much more than what is in that particular shot, but it became increasingly hard to catch on camera. Plus, we were in awe of the sight, and we didn't want to watch through a lens!

The volcano cone is surrounded by clouds the majority of the time. This was the view outside our hotel balcony the next day. We were extremely fortunate to see it so clearly the day before.

As we left La Fortuna, we snapped another cloudy shot of the volcano from Lake Arenal.

Of course, these pictures are missing the thunderous sounds of ash and tumbling boulders, but I hope you got the gist of this awesome experience!

I got 42 days to go!

Ok, so CCR actually sings "miles" instead of "days," but who cares? It's 42 days until my birthday!! Now I'm usually not the birthday countdown person, but this year is super exciting! Why, you ask? Well a while back, I read a news report that Elton John had announced that his final show at Caeser's in Vegas was to be...April 22nd, which just happens to be my birthday!

I've been wanting to see him for as long as I can remember, and when we were in Vegas for our wedding, we just couldn't work it in even though some of our wedding party went. And, a final show on my birthday just sounded like a sign so I had to call Tony and ask if we could go. I don't ask for much, and he thought it sounded great, so he said YES! :)

As soon as tickets went on sale last month, I snagged them up! I'm still checking travel sites almost daily to find the best flight deals. Flying in for one night is not as cheap as I had hoped, but I just keep my fingers crossed that I'll find a fabulous deal. So, until then, I'll count down the days until I have the best birthday ever! I'm so excited!!

I'll leave you with my fave EJ tune - buh, buh, buh, Bennie and the Jets!

Coming up for air...

I am drowning! We got back from fishing in Arkansas last week, and I have been so swamped with work, laundry and lake house plans. Not to mention, guess who's back? Roxy! But, that's a story for a different blog.

This was the trip that if it could go wrong, it did! It snowed on our first day to fish which prevented some of Tony's family from coming. The fishing was not so great. There have been much more fish caught in previous years. The keys got locked in the car and the car battery died - separate incidents. The wind chills were in the 20s the whole trip, but the day we left - the temperature got up to 60! I got car sick on the way home...to the point of pulling over and getting sick on the side of the road. There was more, but I think you get the idea...

BUT - we had the best time ever! Daniel and Priscilla share our love of quoting movies... to the point that the four of us were carrying on complete conversations on movie quotes alone. It was hilarious! There was a lot of alcohol consumed - mostly by the boys. One of my favorite parts of the trip was Tony trying to make grilled cheese sandwiches- inebriated. There was a lot of bread and cheese wasted on that one!

Priscilla got her first fish ever! I didn't even know that she had never been fishing before. What a great sport to go on a week long fishing trip! I wish the fishing had been better for her, but she had fun. I think everyone on the Little Red River heard her when she snagged that first fish!

I was very happy to have caught a big one, by no means a monster, though. It measured in at 15", which is good because I wouldn't have been able to keep it had it been 16" or over. That's a really good sized trout, and he gave me a lot of fight. I caught him in the process of trying to catch Walter. Walter was huge! He hung around Uncle John's dock, taunting us the whole trip. We think he was probably pretty close to being 24", which is the size you get to start keeping them again.

John is convinced that I had Walter, but I don't know. I hooked this huge fish, got him out of the water and I bent down to grab the line and get him...and he spit out the hook! I was so crushed. Although he was very big, and I'm sure I couldn't have kept him, I don't think he was Walter. After that, I was very deteremined to get him again, and this is what I caught.

We really had a great time, and we are already planning next year's trip...and Daniel & Priscilla want to come back with us! Here are some other highlights from the trip:

Squirrel hunting is a tradition for the guys. Daniel taking aim at a squirrel.

Priscilla and Tony spot squirrels for Daniel.

The boys playing guitar.

Tony helping Priscilla with the catches of the day.

Daniel and his pickerel!

What an ugly fish!

Tony relaxing after a long day of fishing and drinking beer.
Priscilla & Me (me looking chunky due to four or five layers of clothes!)

Tony's Uncle John and John's father in law, Norman aka Peter Wrinkle

Norman , Aunt Teresa & Uncle John.

Gone Fishing!

We are on our way to Arkansas, and I'm so excited!! Those trout do not know what they are in for! We get to see Daniel and Priscilla and his uncle John and Aunt Teresa. Also popping over for a few days are Tony's aunt Judi Fay (on his dad's side - love her!), his uncle Paul and his cousin Sarah, and his aunt Mary and uncle Bill. So, I'll be missing from the blogosphere for about a week. I don't think I have the patience to blog from my Crackberry, but I promise lots of pictures and tales of the fish that got away when I return!

Thank Goodness it's Friday!

Yay! This week has finally come to an end! Roxy went to her new home on Wednesday night, and yes, I cried. :( She remembered Lupe right away from all her time spent at the shop, but Lupe's husband Teddy was another story. She growled and barked, but she started warming up to him when we gave him some cookies to feed her. I got a good report yesterday that Roxy and Astrea (Lupe's husky) got along famously. Lupe said they played until 4 am before passing out, and they ate together and everything! I'm glad to hear she's doing well, and at least I get to hear about her progress. And, if for some reason she doesn't work out, I will take her back in a hearbeat! Riley and Gidget have been total slugs since she left, and I kind of forgot how lazy they normally are!

We are going to do lots of work on Fort Smith this weekend - wreck out a wall in the kitchen and hopefully the bathroom. I finally got the layout of the kitchen worked out. Tony and I happened to have a huge brain fart when we were planning the exterior, and we didn't have the window in the kitchen shortened...so we ran into a problem putting the cabinets where we planned. After hours of drawing it out, and an extra trip on Monday to measure again, I created a layout that will work.

It's now one week until our annual trout fishing trip in Arkansas. It's a tradition with some of Tony's family, and it is so much fun. But what makes this year extra exciting is that we are taking our friends Daniel and Priscilla! They live in Lubbock, and we don't get to see them as much as we'd like. Tony and Daniel went to school through high school together, and they are great friends. Daniel and Priscilla got married almost two years ago, and she is such a doll. We have so much fun when we get to spend time with them, but this will really give us a chance to get to know her better. There's not a lot to do in Heber Springs but relax and fish, and we always come home with a ton more than we can actually eat. Hopefully, one of us will catch a monster this year! Ever since I learned that the 40 pound world record trout was caught there, I've wanted to see someone in our group catch a whale!

Floating along the Little Red River...only one more week!!