We took this little plane from Placencia to Belize City on the way home rather than the three hour bus ride. It was worth it. Mom rode co-pilot and the flight was super smooth.

 

Our final days in California. We had an amazing time. The guys were so nice to us and spoiled us. 

 

Meanwhile, Dad was walking around Belize looking like this and they were getting around the island on a golf cart. 

 

We enjoyed a night of bowling.

 

We went out to dinner. 

 

The guys thought they were pretty funny!

 

The guys' where we stayed were watching this French bull dog. Aidan and I had fun playing with him. 

 

I had a ton of fun in California. We went off-roading. 

 

Mom and Dad were off in Belize while Wyatt was in Iowa and Caden was in California. 

 

We stopped in Glenwood Springs on the way home to visit the adventure park since the last time we were there, most of the rides were closed. I wanted a do-over. Mom and I rode this swing behind us twice. The first time we sat facing towards the mountain so that when we swung out off the cliff we were facing down. It was crazy! The second time we faced the other way. We also rode the roller coaster which feels like you go off the mountain edge. It was fun, but not nearly as much fun as the swing. We also rode the mine drop again and then headed back home. 

 

Mom and I went mountain biking in Fruita for a weekend. For future reference, we did Rustler's loop, Mary's loop, Highline lake trail and another pass through Rustler's loop. It was a weekend full of fun and hard work. We treated ourselves to pizza and Mexican food for rewards. 

 

Hurley mid-lick. 

Somebody really liked Birdie and was sad to see her go. 

 

My mom's cousin, Summer died May 1. She went back for the funeral. Summer and her sisters had been talking a few weeks before she died about what they wanted their funerals to look like (not sure why). Summer wanted everyone to dress up in bright colors and she wanted fried chicken and cotton candy, so that's what happened. This is Aunt Carol Ann running the cotton candy machine. 

 

Mom, Grady and I went to Winter Park for a weekend. We walked along the river for a bit before sitting for lunch. 

 

This is Gertie, who we thought was Birdie. She was only 5-6 months and we had her for a few weeks too. She was sweet, big and clumsy. She was also a Parvo puppy and took a bit to warm up to us. Once she did, it was fun to see her personality come out. 

 

This is Titan, now Tucker. He was one of our puppies and unfortunately got returned. He is such a sweet dog, but struggled when the owners started leaving him in a crate for 10-12 hours a day. So, he came back to live with us for a few weeks and this was a common scene at home. 

 

Our guide created this video for us.

 

We stopped at this beautiful beach on our way to the airport. We pretty much had it to ourselves. 

 

 

We had fun jumping off this rock.

 

On the final morning in Manuel Antonio, we took a bike tour through a village. We rode up to this bridge, then dropped our bikes off and got in a van which took us to this waterfall and swimming hole. 

 

The monkeys also wanted to say goodbye. They did not disappoint. 

 

We also went down the nature trail on the property and we found this sloth starting to wake up. 

 

This would be our last night in Manuel Antonio, so we wanted to venture out again to see the animals. We found this sloth sleeping in the trees. 

 

This was where we got out off the river. This bridge is the only way to a village on the other side of the river. The kids who live here attend school on this side of the river and have to cross this bridge every day to get to school. Some of them cross on horseback, some cross by foot and some cross by motorcycle. We saw a motorcycle come across as we were getting ready to leave. 

 

We went rafting on the Savegre River. It was a long drive on a single car wide gravel road for most of it. We passed really interesting houses and villages. Our guide was really great and is on the Costa Rican national rafting team. Wyatt opted not to come with us and instead stayed behind at the hotel.